Well hello there lovely readers!
In this post I want to talk a little about what it means to be ambitious.
At two, very separate points in my life, it has been suggested or even stated outright to me that I am unambitious. This could not be further from what I believe to be true about myself, and makes me wonder about the meaning of the word 'ambitous.'
Let's start at the beginning. I am 17 years old and about to finish High School. I have a confirmed place at university but have deferred entry for a year because I have booked a one-way ticket to Australia. I've spent over two years working part time in a shop in the roughest part of town, saving every penny I can and forsaking any kind of social life so that I could save up the required £4,000 to do so. Some of my school mates and I are talking about our future plans and when I talk about my insane solo venture to Australia, about going to university to study a subject I love, and hoping the rest will fall into place later, someone told me my plan, or lack thereof, was 'unambitious.'
Skip forward 6 years. I have an MA (hons) degree, I won the Mary Chenoweth Prize for Excellence in Church History 2011-12, I have a Saltire Award for 200 hours volunteer work (plus, if we're being fancy, equivalent awards for 50 and 100 hours work), I have been working 2, at times 3 jobs for the last 18 months so that I can afford to live independently while building new skills and finding new opportunities, and I am about to move to France for an extended period despite my dubious language skills because I want to continue to push myself out my comfort zone. I made a comment about how many of my friends have proper graduate jobs and are stressed out their ears, and how I was glad to be in the situation I am in, and I was called unambitious.
No, my friend, I am not. My ambitions do not involve getting a certain level of job, having the right make/model of car, or having 'executive' in my job title. I have no desire to work in the Oil & Gas industry and 5 years in Aberdeen has not changed my mind.
I want to be the best and HAPPIEST version of me that I can and I want to change the world.
I am not unambitious.
Go F&%K yourself.
Over and out
Love love love
Sorry for swearing
Naomi
