January has come, meaning the CAO deadline is looming – and if your school is even remotely like mine was, everyone you see, from 9am until the end-of-day bell rings, will be telling you how vital your list of choices (and the order you put them in!) are for the rest of your life.

But it’s not the teachers and guidance councillors that are the most daunting when asking what you’re going to put down: it’s the friends who have had their CAO planned since November that are really freaking you out!

You’re going to be sick of hearing this by the end of the year, I’m sure – but honestly, don’t let the pressure get to you. Of course, that’s easier said than done, but take it from someone who didn’t take even half a minute to stop, step back and take a breath. By this time, when I was in 6th year, I had worked myself up into such a panic, if someone had told me the sky was pink, I would have taken their word for it. For the first time, I felt totally lost in life and – cheesy as it sounds – I forgot to be true to myself.

Despite never really having been great at maths, within a week I’d been convinced by my school Guidance Counsellor that Engineering and Computer Science should be my top choices. Which couldn’t be further from what I love to do now, which is photography – but a younger me hadn’t taken that time to work out what I really wanted to do. Instead, I listened and then agreed to the first thing anyone in authority suggested to me.

So think, what motivates you? If video games are your thing, why not check out a course related to Video Game Development or Computer Science – and maybe a few years down the line you can help create the next Fortnite. Maybe instead of keeping up with the Kardashians tonight, you can keep up with all the latest courses in fashion, design or retail management. Maybe you’re like me, and the music business has always fascinated you, though you’re not quite willing to step out, under the stage lights.

So, I made the wrong choice. After a year doing something I had panicked myself into choosing, followed by another year off, I finally took the time to decide on something I really wanted to do: Arts Management at Institute of Art, Design + Technology, Dún Laoghaire. It not only offers an insight into the music business, but has also introduced me to modules that I never thought I’d be interested in, like marketing and business.

My advice is this: rather than concentrating on how many points will get what course for you, or what courses are offered in the college your friends are planning to go to, or any of that nonsense, take that minute, or hour, or week to work out what motivates you every day. And even if you can’t see yourself doing that for the rest of your life, it is always okay to change your mind later.

The CAO is not the end of the world. Really. I, for one, can say that from experience...