An Atypically Personal Post

Last night, as those who have the dubious pleasure of following me on Twitter will know, was spent at a University reunion – or, rather, a gaudy, as my esteemed establishment of learning terms it. And, as is my wont, it got me thinking.

I was at University with some really quite fantastic people. I am in touch with several of them, but not as many as I’d like. And advertising has played a part in that. One of the side effects of working in Adland is the number of brilliant people you meet – and one of the sad facts of life is that there’s only room for so many folk, and working in advertising has meant that more of those slots are filled with people I met in my 20s than is the case for friends who work in other, more lucrative, but less fun industries.

As life progresses, you have to make decisions – sometimes conscious, sometimes inadvertent – about who gets to remain a part of it. And if life does come with regrets, then that, for me, is probably the area in which most of them lie. So if you are a student, be aware that choosing to work in advertising will mean that you lose touch with a lot of the people that you currently feel are indispensable. And that sometimes it’s only human to regret that.