Last Friday Night, by @MrBenGolding
By Ben Golding – From the 2015/16 Intake
Last Friday night it happened.
The thing that wasn’t supposed to happen.
There I was above a pub in Brixton, nervously sipping my pint, wondering how long I should wait until I toddled off home and tried to forget all about this SCA thing.
And then they said my name.
I had won the Dan Wallace scholarship.
I was going to the best advertising school in the world.
Everything went blurry and a bit giddy.
People were hugging and congratulating me and someone bought me a drink.
It hadn’t really settled in until now, I keep getting flashes of intense pride and gratitude and about 8 other mixed emotions.
Yesterday I came into work and gave my boss my notice, he wasn’t annoyed; he was understanding and just a little bit jealous.
So it’s official, I’m 26 and I’m going to be a student again. It has taken a month to scratch the itch that has been bugging me for years.
I have got about 8 weeks to read a stack of books, start and finish a personal project, go to an actual interview day at the SCA, and work out how I’m going to live for the next 18 months.
Second chances don’t come around very often, especially ones that change your life, so I’m going to set myself some rules to get the very most out of my time. This manifesto will be posted somewhere in my flat to look at every day before I leave, potentially also I will get them tattooed on my chest. That’s still a maybe though.
- Work Damn Hard Every Day.
- Do More Than Is Required.
- Okay Is Not Good Enough.
- Look After Yourself.
- You Are Master Of Your Own Fate.
They seem pretty filled with hyperbole but I know that sometimes I need a push to do the best. I’m excited and nervous and very busy with work and all these extra projects until I start in September, it’s a date that cannot come too quickly.
You’ve got 8 weeks SCA, and then I’m coming for you.
