How Late is Too Late?

There’s a misconception around aging and the milestones we are expected to meet along the way. Graduate at 17 with immaculate scores, head to university straight after school, start our life career and marry at 25 - complete with a dog, a house deposit and a baby on the way! Why is there so much pressure on us to find our version of success at a young age? The stress of high school and those dreaded OP ranking scores still haunts me today. I was a straight A student until the distraction of friendships, relationships and growing up in general got in the way. Fairly normal teen drama type stuff. That one "final" score, summarizing the last 12 years,  instilled in me the belief that I wasn’t “smart” or “worthy” enough to study the field I was passionate about. I wish I knew then what I knew now… that success can come at any age!

There are no rules (or timelines) when it comes to finding your purpose, starting a new endeavour or even finding love. Creating a life that you're proud of can begin at 15 – by graduating school in year 10 to do an apprenticeship or study at TAFE in a field you are passionate about. It can begin at 25 – by leaving that “safe” job you’ve been at for years, taking a risk in starting your own business. It can start at 37 – when you decide to take a totally different career path and enroll in university for the first time. And how about 60 – when you decide to start a health and wellness journey you’ve been putting off your whole life. Taking a year off to travel doesn’t have to be within a gap year after school or a retirement dream… make the plan and see where it takes you.

Did you know

• Famous Author and inspirational woman J.K Rowling published her first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone – at 32 years of age after facing personal hardships in her life.
• TV Chef and Cooking Author Julia Child learnt to cook at 36 years old. She wrote a world-famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
• Vera Wang, global fashion designer, began her career in fashion design at 40. She had followed her passion for fashion working as an editor at Vogue for 17 years prior.

• Anna Mary Robertson Moses or “Grandma Moses” was a humble farming woman that started painting in her 70’s. She became a folk art sensation and had 20 years of success before passing away at 101. Some say that her art changed the world.