Things that have been said to me in the last 6 months:

“So, you finished watching Mad Men and wanted to be Don Draper?”

“I suppose you can always fall back on law if it doesn’t work out.”

“That’s risky giving up your salary.”

“I’ve got a friend in marketing they might be able to get you a job.”

“Are you crazy?”

Somewhere, in a parallel universe, there’s a version of me whose reaction to hearing these very real responses to the news I’m giving up my job to pursue advertising is to swing a fist, unleashing the frustration of hearing them for the umpteenth time.

Unfortunately, the version of me in this universe has to settle for a gritted smile and a fake laugh because I’m a nice person, and because I’ve never thrown a punch in my life.

I get it. To give up my career to pursue advertising may seem risky and unexpected. But when I hear these responses over and over again, the implication is that I haven’t really given it much thought. Trust me, I have.

I decided when I was 17 that I was going to study law at uni. I can’t remember why. I think it was an idea I had when I was even younger, and at the time I never found anything to change my mind. In second year, I got a placement at a law firm because that’s what everyone else around me was doing. When I came out of uni I got offered a job and the rest was history. That was a one-way path lasting half a decade that I decided on when I was 17 and I never came up for air to consider whether it was what I wanted.

Fast-forward a few years and guess what, 17-year-old me got it wrong, I don’t want to be a lawyer. I don’t like it. Listening to the Dave Dye podcast, he described people in advertising as “smart people having fun.” If that’s the case, then lawyers are “smart people not having fun.” I’ve now realised which side I want to be on. I want fun and creativity, and to make amazing adverts that persuade and inspire.

So, when I tell you that I’m going into advertising, just trust that I’ve thought it out. And if you feel the need to say one of the above responses, please know that here’s what I’m really thinking:

“So, you finished watching Mad Men and wanted to be Don Draper?”

No. If I based every life-decision on the latest thing I watched on Netflix, I’d probably be pursuing a career in serial killing.

“I suppose you can always fall back on law if it doesn’t work out.”

Damn that’s some negative thinking. Cheers for the vote of confidence.

“That’s risky giving up your salary.”

The words of someone whose life revolves around their mortgage?

“I’ve got a friend in marketing they might be able to get you a job.”

Say “Ad”. Ad. Say “Advert”. Advert. Say “Advertising”. Marketing. OH COME ON.

“Are you crazy?”

Maybe. We’ll find out. But I’m crazy excited.

@rdwest21