Bit of Advice on Picking GCSEs and A Levels. 

As GCSE and A level picking season are almost upon us, I thought I would post this. 

So when it came to GCSEs (For those of you not from the UK GCSEs are exams you do when you're 16) I choose mostly languages. Latin was natural for me due to my two year head start, and I thought (and still do think) that French and Spanish are gorgeous languages. I wasn't much good at Drama or Art (though I am, to this day, still very good at having people laugh at me) neither was I too fond of geography (the human part, not the physical part) so I dropped those. 

I ended up doing all the core ones (English Literature, English Language, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Method of Maths and Application of Maths) and my options were French, Spanish, Latin, Ancient Greek and History. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life and so was thinking, since I was doing so many languages, I may go into translating or government work. 

I then had a eureka moment and realised translating would be a) boring and b) not make any money and that government work was a wasp nest that I really did not want to touch with a ten foot pole. From there I got into physics and astronomy by watching TV and reading. The rest is history. 

Looking back at GCSEs, having finished them, they really can change the opportunities you have in life. Let's say that in Year 11 you suddenly realise your life passion is environmental work and you took History instead of Geography. In my school if you haven't done Geography for GCSE you can't do it for A level, simple as. So getting into a good university to study environmental sciences is going to be more difficult without that Geography to help. 

Even at A level, there are some girls in my year who when asked what they want to do at university say: 'No clue, but I want to do something which makes a lot of money'. While that is all well and good, let's say later this year they find a career they fall in love with for which you need full A level maths and they haven't taken Maths, again, you have an issue. 

I got lucky in that I figured out what I wanted to do with my life when I was going into Year 11, now I can only hope that in three years when I'm starting university astrophysics is still my passion. I don't think my ambition will change though. 

While I regret not taking Geography for GCSE and doing History instead I only lost 5 mark out of a total of 200 on the GCSE, so I probably made the right decision. While there were times when I was cursing my Spanish homework and was wondering why I was taking Ancient Greek after school, my grades were what I wanted. Also I enjoyed a majority of them. 

Because I have to have some favouritism! 

So guys. Unless you know exactly what you want to do (and remembering it may change) please don't think too much about careers. Dear Lord, don't just do a GCSE because your 'bff' is doing it, I beg you. Those bossy parents who seem to think they can control what you do in the future? Throw them (metaphorically) out of the window.

When it comes to picking your GCSEs or your A levels here is the best advice I can give to any year 9 or year 11:

Pick the subjects you adore.