A Word From Me To You

Written by Travis Wilson, James Cook University Graduate

A friend asked if I wanted to write a piece for JCUSA’s illustrious student paper of life after graduation, I said “Yes”; but wasn’t sure what to tell you. I could go down the line of my personal experiences and make it intimate, or make it utterly unrelated to myself going by what other students have experienced. It’s not really in me to write about myself, I hate it, but they say do things that make you feel uncomfortable like making a life after bouncing from education to education.

I never stopped studying from when I started school to the end of my uni degree. Yet, I detested school. I used to dread the mornings. If I waited it out, I might be able to extend the time a little between when I open my eyes to when I’m eying another student as their parents drop them off. Instead of learning, I’d spend the days drawing worlds, writing lore, creating silly little romances in my head or my book. So you can guess it was a pretty big shock when I said to my parents I wanted to study further. My sister chose to do tertiary study off to the side, my close cousins all chose trades. I wanted to become a technical nerd and engineer, helping the world build technology for the future. We were drawn in with the flashy ads of “What you can do in the future!”

I got into the world of Information Technology in 2015, thinking it would open up the world of engineers and higher-level programmers to me. It inspired me to push toward my original plan of building smaller UAV and UGV for law, fire and rescue; that was a long term professional investment into my study. Previously I had the childhood dream of becoming a game developer. I’m writing this almost five years later, and hopefully, soon I will attend my graduation ceremony.

I finished my degree in the first semester in 2019; we had to wait ‘til the end of 2020 to graduate. A week before the ceremony, we were forced into lockdown, and all JCU events called off. I’ve always been pretty unlucky, but I never called for a 2-year break between degree and graduation. But as I’m writing to you, 26th of March, cross your fingers! Let’s hope Covid doesn’t take a massive u-turn in 2021. Well, that’s a little about my life in the study frontlines, not much different from anyone else, hard fighting and studying.

Now we are all sort of drilled into at a young age, that uni will be our decider, school will determine your life. Like the cartoons we used to watch where kids would fill out a test and be told “WHO YOU ARE!” Receiving the exact opposite of what they hoped. This viewpoint is not entirely true. Tertiary education paves the way for you to branch.

While I may not be a qualified engineer, I am a self-proclaimed engineer and programmer. I have studied cars, planes, boats, engines, motors, turbines, light, radar-lidar, satellites, you-name-it; for months on end after my degree. Where you take your study is where you are going to take yourself.

For someone who never really understood how to stand in the right lane, going to uni has helped push me a direction and taught me the basics of taking the steps. When I left school, the subjects I aced were: English and Art, and if I got better grades, science would be there too. I passed below B average in every other subject, just enough to get my Overall Position to get into uni. I had no idea where I wanted to go. Writer, Artist, Game developer, so many opportunities, but in the artistic industry it takes a backup to keep you on your feet for the time being while to work up to your project. I knew deep down I had a drive for storytelling though.

My first ever essay I wrote and submitted caused my teacher to call my parents in. I had written a short story instead! The experience never stopped me from writing extensively during primary and secondary. I wrote and wrote instead of working in class. I can write a short story, but to this day, I suck at writing essays.

Eventually, after completing my degree, I found the time once more to write non-fiction while I was looking for a job. I was still very iffy on if I wanted to be a writer. I got a little chaotic naughty and thought of the most taboo thing I could write, so I got a little drunk and started writing erotic fiction- it was terrible.

It wasn’t smashing the dolls together that made me realise “Wow, kid, you have some talent!” It was after those moments, when the characters were themselves. It was an intimate scene of the two characters waking and getting ready to head out, he was being a pain and what was a cheeky slap on the bottom from his missus, evoked a chaotic paragraph of a battleship crew going down. From that moment, I thought of myself as a writer, and that is always going to be on my priority of jobs to complete. I am a storyteller; I love telling stories. The point is, I was so hellbent on believing that to inspire the world as an engineer, you have TO BE AN ENGINEER by trade. The literary world of Science Fiction inspired a large percentage of inventions in the world. And maybe in the future, I could be working on some incredible innovations, but to inspire the world with the written word is still such a remarkable achievement that I am grateful to be a part of.

I didn’t want to make this about me and where I’m going, but my experiences formed my understanding. I want this to be a lesson for anyone who reads, do not throw away your dream career cause’ you don’t think you are gonna be able to achieve it. You have the time, and you can do it, School and Uni is only your first step. You hold the reins. I have had so much time to pursue more of my projects and activities since leaving uni. I am a professional photographer, a fulltime technician, I have a book in progress and a video game I am putting together, plus various cosplays and art pieces. Within all this, I am still finding myself the time to socialise. You’ve got to make the time as time won’t make it for you.

Good luck out there.