Why I Left My Four-Year Bachelor Degree and Prolonged My Education by Six More Years to Get Paid the Same

The sound of page-turning and quiet footsteps, I open the page of my second-hand Latin textbook and read the title of the first chapter: First Declension.

To anyone else, this was a boring and tedious page of latin grammar; to me it was home and a sense of relief.

That day I was in a dusty Cattolica University library in Milan. I had just abandoned a four-year degree in European Studies in Trinity College Dublin and I had made the leap to start a six-year degree -BA and Masters- completely anew at 21 years old. Again, to anyone else this would have rightly seemed like a terrible oversight or failure: but I distinctly remember that it felt like the best decision I had ever made, because it was the decision that led me to my purpose.

Ten years later, I am at a computer and wondering how to introduce myself to the internet and explain what brought me here.

Where should I start?

Most people have heard or seen the term Ikigai on social media. Ikigai (生き甲斐) is a Japanese concept meaning “a reason for being” or “a reason to wake up in the morning.” It represents the intersection of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be rewarded for. Rooted in the Japanese philosophy of finding joy and purpose in life’s small moments and in contributing to others, ikigai encourages a balanced and fulfilling life. It’s often thought of as a personal sense of meaning, where passion, mission, profession, and vocation align to create a sense of purpose and happiness.

I found my “Ikigai” at 16 years old.

I was spending the year abroad at an Italian High School, Liceo Blaise Pascal in Northern Italy. Just like any teenager thrown into a completely new school, once I got there my main preoccupation was trying not to feel awkward or out of touch with my new peers. I was facing a new school system and the stress of dealing with new classmates and a new environment.

A girl who was two years older than me approached me one day and asked me what topic we were doing in Biology. She said she would help me if I was struggling. I politely thanked her for her generosity but felt embarrassed to accept, as she certainly had her own study to do; she was in her last year of high school and her plate full with daily oral and written tests every day.

Nevertheless, every breaktime she would insist and every time I politely declined. Until, one day, she approached when I was panicking over a daunting exam I had the next week. I had to produce a full essay on Dante in a two hour exam. How was I going to do this and, more importantly, how could I avoid the embarrassment of not writing anything?

I gladly gave into the invitation and this particular person, now a great lifelong friend, introduced me to Dante’s Divine Comedy in a whole afternoon. That day I truly understood what Dante was all about.

Fate would have it that because of that afternoon of DIY tutoring, I would years later decide to give up a prestigious Trinity degree, move country and also betray what most people’s idea of the “right thing” was from a career point of view.

There was something undeniably greater in exploring meaning and depth through Dante and literature than a perfectly good successful career in Law or Biotechnology could ever offer me (both were perfectly valid and interesting career options I had considered). Although, despite this, I caved into societal pressure by choosing a degree I was not passionate about in 2010, the dissatisfaction and yearning for something more never abandoned me and in 2013 I took the leap, gave it all up and packed my bags to start the degree that truly filled me with purpose and felt most fulfilling to me.

I’ve never looked back since.

My passion since then has brought me to continue to pursue my learning of literature through teaching my students. I love reading and creating resources for my classroom and sharing them with others.

If you’re interested in perusing my digital resource library with my no-prep digital literature ELA resources take a look at my TPT store here. I have adapted them to make them are Common Core aligned.

I promise to continue to grow it over time.

If you have any ideas for future content or any suggestions, email me at [email protected]!