University

I'm going to Canberra.

*shocked exclamations from those who can't imagine choosing anything over Medicine (especially if offered in your home State)*

What's made me feel even more sure about this choice is the fact that since I sent in the confirmation form, I haven't once had serious second thoughts about turning my back on the prestige accompanying Med. I just couldn't go through with a six-year course I wasn't enthusiastic about. Sure, it's where I have friends and family to fall back on, and there's the rep that comes with having Dr. before your name, but I wouldn't enjoy it. I'm sure of that. About all I could imagine doing was Psychiatry - and I'm not willing to go through a general six-year course to specialise after all that gruntwork. Besides which, job opportunities are assured for actuaries as there is a shortage of them in Australia at the moment, and the pay (believe it or not) is better. As a ballpark figure a friend of mine guessed a starting salary of $120 000 per year, but I seriously doubt it can be that good. But the point is, it's better paying than Med ... and doesn't cut so badly into your downtime.

The fact that I'm moving interstate for four years doesn't bother me - at least not too much. I'm thinking long-term, which means I'll be back in Perth by the time I'm 22 anyway, and when you're considering the long term, four years out of an eighty-odd year lifetime isn't such a big deal. It's the rewards I hope to reap after my hiatus in Canberra that is really important.

And if you're still not convinced, consider that by the time I return to Perth having completed my degree, my Med friends will still have another two years to go, after which they still have internships, specialisation etc. which takes several more years. Actuary is maths-intensive, and since *shock horror* I enjoy maths, it should be interesting and enjoyable, if a little tedious at times.

For sure I'll miss everything in Perth - the family, the friends, the places, the home - but I'll be able to keep in contact with friends/family through e-mail and phone, and every few months I'll fly back for a short while.

Enough of this justification. The choice is made, I'm happy, and as I leave on the 10th of Feb, I hope to spend as much time as possible in the company of friends savouring these last times together before I leave.