Diploma? Check! Degree? Check! Any idea about what I want to do with my life? Uhm … are those the proverbial crickets? Apologies for starting out with a metaphor, but is there any better way to describe this feeling? We are at that stage in our lives where we are clinging to what we know, the shiny straight and narrow, so to metaphorically speak – the hook. Every inch of our being has been poked, prodded and moulded to this stable and rather uncomfortable place to which we are currently clinging. What lies beneath us? Well, we do not really know. From the vantage point of the hook all we can see is open blue water, and this terrifies us. We know that we want to get off this hook, we want to be free of it, but how? Wriggle off the sharp end and drop into the great unknown? The thought of this freedom exhilarates us, but the fear of letting go of all we know somehow holds enough power over our minds to keep us wrapped tightly around this painfully comfortable place. But lets hang on for just another minute to think, what happens if we never let go? What happens if we try to get as comfortable as possible, and just wait? Well I can tell you firstly, you are never going to stop wondering what will happen if you wriggle off. Secondly, you are most probably going to be swallowed by some big fish ( a company or a corporation) and get hoisted up into society where you will become part of a fish stew, or if your’e lucky enough you may wriggle your way into a California Roll. Basically, you will become another cog in the capitalist machine. Yes you will have purpose, but do you genuinely think you will reach fulfilment? Now if you don’t get swallowed by a big fish, and very few people are so lucky, you will most probably be starting your own business or moving into your parents basement. Now, these options may not seem so bad depending on what your priorities are, but are you really ready? To slave away 24/7 because lets face it, once you are your own boss you are never off your own clock. Or alternatively, are you ready to have your parents friends continuously ask you what your plans are for the years ahead? No, you won’t have an answer for them, because you don’t even have the answer for yourself. So, this leaves us with option 3. Wriggle, wriggle, wriggle.

The last wriggle will be the hardest, not only is it the final step before you drop into the great blue beyond, but you have to get past the point of the hook. The point is there to pull you back, it is a social construct that has been slowly programmed into your mind for the past twenty something years, telling you that what you are doing is not safe. Its job is to keep you away from the dangerous drop.