Page 7 - Hull's School - Alumni Magazine 2023

by Florence Hull Who knew what
was coming next?
It has been four whole years since I graduated from Hull's School and so much has happened. After graduating, I decided (as most people did) to take a gap year and gain some work experience. I worked for
two months at the Zurich Opera House on an opera called Balthazar and then proceeded to intern at Hull’s School. What can I say? I just really did not want to leave. It ended up being a good decision as midway through the year, Covid hit the world by storm and most schools and universities had to close their doors and move online. On the one hand, I was able to enjoy a very relaxing and guiltless summer with my family. On the other hand, it meant that I had to start university during Covid, which is just as bad as it sounds. Despite the rough start, university life has been a lot of fun. I wrote and directed a Covid adaption of Romeo and Juliet, I gave theatre workshops to kids from local schools, and I started fencing. I proceeded to place second at a novice competition and win gold at a team event in Paris.
All of that was fantastic, however what I really want to tell you is how much you will change within three years (be it at university or any other place). I have made friends and lost others, I have loved university and fantasised about burning it to the ground. I used to have a plan that outlined the next 20 years of my life and now I barely know what I am going to have for lunch tomorrow. Things change and it's terrifying. But sometimes, when one door closes, you break another one open with a sledgehammer. Today I find myself six thousand words deep in a 12,000-word dissertation for my English Literature and History studies at Durham University wondering when it will be over, and I will be doing the same thing tomorrow. But this summer, I will be starting an internship at a minority rights activist group in New York, and after that I will be moving to Washington DC to start my Master’s program in Conflict Resolution at Georgetown University.
I know! Who saw that coming! I definitely did not, not even five months ago. What am I going to do after my Masters? Now that is a great question. Maybe I will start working for the UN or start an NGO myself, or maybe I will move back to Switzerland and become a teacher as I had planned in high school. Honestly, I do not know - and I love that. I don’t think I can give you any valuable life lessons, but I can tell you this: if something interests you, even if it has nothing to do with your field of study or what you want to do in the future, DO IT! Back in 2016, I was sure I wanted to become a teacher, but it is thanks to doing random stuff like joining the European Youth Parliament that I got to where I am now. You never know when your interests might change. Dabble with the present, as you never know what opportunities it might give you in the future.
Remember, life is not a box of chocolates. You know that a box of chocolates has chocolates in it - read the label! Life doesn’t have a label - heck, we don’t even know if it’s a box. It could be a canoe for all I know. Life is not handed to you; it is made by you. So, if you want to take that dance class, take that dance class! Work hard! It doesn’t have to be academics, but work hard at something because otherwise you will have nothing to show. Hulls School taught me many valuable things, but I think the most valuable lesson has been to trust my gut instinct and trust the process. So do the things you have to do, even if they’re boring. Engage in your passions outside of school and think outside the box of chocolates.
HULL’S SCHOOL ALUMNI 7