Decision made

My brother returned from England on Wednesday night, which was very exciting. He has only been gone for 3 weeks but we have missed him a lot. It was the little things like not hearing his keys in the door at 4pm coming home from school and the fact that for the first time I can remember, a bottle of milk went unconsumed and eventually off in our household! We also did the smallest supermarket shop, according to Dad, since Mum and Dad had kids! The boy sure eats a lot of food.

Initially I wasn’t going to be able to go to the airport to pick up Alex as I was covering a shift at work for my buddy who has just had her wisdom teeth taken out. However, the last leg of Alex’s flight from Brunei to Melbourne was delayed so I made it home just in time to come along to the airport.

Anyone who has flown internationally knows that the process of getting through customs is a slow one. Since mad cow disease has been a problem in the UK for some time now, customs are very strict about keeping British plant matter out of Australia. Subsequently, getting a cricket squad of boys and their cricket spikes through customs isn’t a speedy process.

More than an hour after they’d landed, the boys finally came through the gate. They were tired but in good spirits and I received one a very warm and heart-felt hug from my brother.

I have worked a lot this week. In first semester I kept myself afloat but didn’t actually save any money so I was keen to fit as much work into my break as possible. I am planning to fit some extra shifts in this week, too.

This week I decided that I would go back out to Frankston for the second semester of my course. The main reason that I decided to go back was because I couldn’t find an alternative path that I wanted to commit to. I know I want to be doing something different next year but it will make more sense to apply for different courses for the start of next year.

I have changed one thing though, I will be doing three subjects not all four. I know that I do not want to continue my degree long term so I have dropped one subject to reduce the stress on myself. I still want to give myself a challenge academically without the additional fatigue.

I am really happy with this decision. I don’t know what path I will be going down next year but I trust that the additional science knowledge will come in handy. What I know for certain is that another semester of having a structured lifestyle and having to work really hard to live up to my standards is what I need more than anything.

I was feeling almost allergic to the prospect of going back to Frankston. I fairly set on not going back until I had a discussion with both my parents about it. Whilst neither of them tried to tell me what to do, they did both hint to me that another semester of paramedics would be the best choice. I was very reluctant to do that but after reflecting on it for a few days I realised that sometimes the hardest option is also the one with the most opportunity for reward.

I don’t know what that reward might be but I’m starting to work out that sometimes you have to trust that someone else might have a better idea of what is best for you than you. Coming out of the self-centred haze of adolescence, it is hard to balance having strength in your convictions but having the wisdom to account for your own short comings by utilizing the skills of others.