Those that have seen “Me, Myself and Irene” know that the main actor (Jim Carrey) is a schizophrenic who struggles to bring stability in his life. Being on a placement really is like having a split personality, the life of a young professional Monday-Friday 9.00-5.00 and then the life of a student after the 5pm mark.
When working in a corporate or commercial environment high profile professional appearance is a must! That means; the crease-less shirts, long Windsor knot tie, jacket, and mirrored polished shoes. But honestly speaking when I get home and get changed, I look on the floor where my clothes are rolled up in a ball and the thought of ironing doesn’t even cross my mind when I wear them.
At times the two contrasting lives do coincide with one another. I was in a meeting recently, and was supporting a point that a colleague made with the word “innit” (yes I know I’m a typical Nottingham guy). The use of slang is really looked down on in a professional environment.
So I guess you’re probably wondering, “How do you balance it? How do you keep your different lives separate?”… The answer is… you don’t! There’s absolutely no way you can go out to Oceana on Wednesday student night and make it up in time for work the next morning. Or being able to roll into work Monday morning looking like Dracula like we all do for Monday morning lectures.
The thing is both your separate lives begin to adjust and coincide with another. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself on Sunday’s that you spend the whole day doing the; weeks washing, ironing, and polishing of shoes… unless you still live at home and have a universal multi-machine called “M.U.M”.
I do think at first when you start your placement, it will be hard to adjust to the contrasting lifestyle of a student and a young professional, but someone once said “life is merely a test, a progression of learning”.
For those of you who are reading and are soon starting your placement, take every opportunity with both hands and make the most of your placement, in and out of the office. For those of you who are reading and finishing your placement, I look forward to seeing you soon and completing our final year at university together.