Are you feeling lost? Well, you've come to the
right place. Welcome to Lostish, where we, Rose
Chachko, and Emmanuella Kathreptakis, share
what it's really like navigating your twenties.
We're two semi -lost girls figuring out careers,
relationships, wellness, purpose, and everything
in between. Each week we dive into the highs,
the lows, and the lessons of chasing your dreams,
finding happiness, and learning to embrace the
uncertainty. We're not here to pretend like we've
loaded all together. We're simply just figuring
it out with you. Hey everyone! Welcome back to
the Lostish podcast. It's great to be back a
week later. Tune in every Sunday morning. We
have new episodes coming out. But just to get
right... Right straight to the point straight
to the point no blast today's episode is probably
something that I feel will actually relate to
so many people our age But probably piss off
a lot of the people in the older generation.
Yeah. Yeah, I think especially like parents and
Maybe even grandparents. But we're going to talk
about it anyway because we like to be a little
bit controversial. One of our favorite conversations
of all time. Yes. Um, university. Yeah. And look,
it's actually a topic that doesn't get talked
about enough. And it's, it's super important
because it's one of those things where like,
you know, University isn't for everyone and it's
the path that kind of gets drilled into us back
when we're in school you know you finish school
you do your high school certificate your exams
you go to uni you get a job etc etc but that
path isn't for everyone and we've really realized
that along the way by being a university i've
actually done i've got two degrees so i haven't.
acting degree and a media and communications
and film degree. And you know what I think we
should preface the episode by saying that is
that this I feel is probably something that an
episode people will find funny that we're talking
about because like I think we were both in high
school the very like you know good girls always
got good grades made it into university. Not
always, I didn't always get good grades, but.
No, but like strive for it. Yeah, we were hard
working. From back home. Yeah. And I think that
makes us all the more sort of reliable to speak
on this, because you'd think that we'd be the
first people to turn around and say, yep, it's
great. Yeah. Fantastic. Everyone should go. Yeah.
Where in reality, I say this to everyone, that
if I had known what university would have been
like. Four years ago when I started my degree
I probably wouldn't have gone back. So yes and
like we said like we were actually talking about
this yesterday with my mom university something
that we don't regret doing no like it's it's
a great tool but it's not a necessity and you
can absolutely get by without it just get by
do well very well better than people who. you
know go fifty to a hundred thousand dollars in
debt studying to get a literal paper like you
have to even pay for your gown that's how ridiculous
it is and your hat to in reality like do jobs
that you pretty much just work. Like learn on
the job with experience i don't know some people
saying that also everyone has a different experience
some people like their life to university and
that's fine to be honest like i started a drama
school. Like literally before i went to actual
uni and for me that was the most formative year
of my life not only did i meet. the most amazing
people who are now my friends and my family but
it also set me up for my acting career. It has
also taught me so much about resilience so much
about myself like that was so formative and that
was I mean that that was uni for me for a year
like that was I was actually gonna say I feel
like what you did was. I wouldn't say it was
uni as much I'd say the type of uni we're referring
to what you did I think was great and it was
a one year crash course and like built up your
confidence in a whole year. But I think the kind
of uni we're going to refer to in this podcast
is more like the conventional the conventional
the one where people don't even know what they
want to do but they're just like well I'm just
going to go to uni just for the sake of going
to uni. And they'll end up studying something
that either they hate and then drop out one year
in or a four year course like four years submitting
four years of your life to something that you're
not sure about. I don't know and I think like
just. like to pause on that point the reason
why I bring up my drama school experience is
because like uni for everybody is different like
for me for a lot of people uni is film school
it's art school it's fashion school it's drama
school and because I'm I'm in the creative industry
that was what my life was so that's what I knew
back then and then transitioning from a very
active very practical environment to A very conventional,
traditional theory base sitting in a classroom,
not talking to anyone, writing meaningful essay,
meaningless. Yeah. Maybe some, some meaningful,
some most meaningless, um, meaningless essays.
And like, it's very, very different. And I think
I really want that to change because I think
uni would be a completely different environment.
If it was way more practical and involved that's
the thing that i think shocked both of us is
that like just a touch on sort of what we're
doing obviously we're meeting communications.
About to finish and i was speaking to rose about
it actually when when we initially wanted to
start this podcast and i was like it's actually
crazy how we've gone through four years and if
you actually asked me what i've learned when
i first went into this degree i genuinely thought
that by the end i'd be able to shoot a film work
a goby like no other like everything being excel
queen write a newspaper like no other yeah and
now It's like you look back and to be honest
like we've both done internships we've both gone
in the workforce to some extent and it's just
so interesting how I feel like I could have done
everything I learned at those jobs without my
degree because you learn on the job you learn
with experience and it's crazy how to me this
the path of going to university yes it expands
your knowledge but to some extent I view it as
like You know doctors and GPs how like you can't
specialize without going to a GP first. Yeah,
why can't I just go straight to the specialist?
Yeah, why do I have to go through that first?
Like I'm not benefiting anything. It just seems
like a little bit of a scam in my opinion. Yeah,
and sometimes sometimes it is and it's like.
Also, for a media and communications degree,
you need a really high score. And that shocked
me. It shocked me because I'm thinking to myself,
like something like nursing, right, which is
super important, where you literally have the
lives of people in your hands. That is something
to me that needs to be higher score. You know,
in Australia, we call it an ATAR, which is the
mark that you finish with after school. Basically,
yeah. And nursing is Way lower than meeting communication
and it's like really in meeting communications
you technically don't really have to go to uni
to have the knowledge absolutely skills and like
this is what I want to reiterate is that uni
is a tool it's not a life requirement can be
a magnificent tool in connecting you with the
right people in teaching you a few tools and
skills and skills. Time management. Yeah. Confidence.
Social things. Collaboration. Yeah. Writing skills.
Like that sort of stuff. Yeah. But it's not,
you don't need to, and that's not like for certain
degrees, like to be a lawyer. I was actually
just going to say lawyer, engineer, doctor. Medical.
Anything medical related. We're not saying don't
go to university. Please don't take it the wrong
way. Yeah. But we're saying more for people who
feel like that's not what they want to do, but
feel like it's their only option because Because
they just do yeah, and then they end up dropping
out halfway through anyway and paying you know
years worth of Hex or drop swapping degrees and
then having to do sick do it all over again.
Yeah Oh, you know what? Some people want to do
that But we want to make you feel a little bit
less alone if that's not The path that you want
to take or you I was literally having this conversation
with my brother the other day He was saying like
he came into my room and he was like Emmanuel.
I like I don't It's not really what i want to
do he's in year 12 about to graduate high school
and he was like i know i don't want to go to
uni i know i can do so much more than that it
just like look so depressing and a bit like you
know i'm stuck in a rat race but i feel like
that's what you know our parents want us to do
and i'm like listen take it from me you don't
have to and i know that probably sounds hypocritical.
And this is coming from someone who is very well
educated and like you have a lot of experience
Yeah, I recognize look I did take school very
seriously But then obviously once I got into
university high school grades became irrelevant
now that I'm in the real world University seems
to have become a bit irrelevant and it's just
funny how I can recognize the benefits it has
to some people and to building life skills, but
not so much specific degree skill if that makes
sense I don't know maybe we're rambling on about
specifically our degree I just think university
has become a little bit too of like an expectation
now it's a precious thing I think sometimes You
feel this pressure to like have a certification
in something or a paper in your hand. Something
in life nowadays, but that doesn't have to be
a university degree. But also people can do such
amazing things with no piece of paper. Like the
amount of people who I know who are very, who
have very successful businesses who are like,
you know, I'm not going to go down that traditional
path. I'm going to actually create something
of my own and have become so successful in a
very fine. financially stable and things like
that. It's really inspiring actually. That's
not to say you can't do that with a degree too,
I've just recognised a pattern that happens a
lot later in life than people that take the risk
to do it earlier on. So yeah. No i think it's
it's one of those things that people are gonna
agree people are gonna disagree but i think that's
why we want to talk about it is the fact that
there are gonna be different opinions on it people
may think what are you guys talking about unis
the greatest thing in the world and and i need
to like i have to go to uni to make it in life
if that's what you think that's fine like that's
your that's your journey that's your path but
ninety percent of people that we've spoken to
are on. Are on the boat that are on the opposite
of life. Yeah. I don't know what I'm doing. I
actually haven't learned anything. Now that chat
GPT is a thing. I feel like that's been taking
over. Now it's literally just a tool for people
to end up fast tracking their paper. You have
people in, in medical, doing medical degrees,
our future doctors, our future nurses, our future
surgeons, right? And chat GPT is writing their
assignments, writing their exams. And it's just.
It's a little bit scary to talk the other day
that literally said guys stay healthy because
just a reminder your current people studying
medicine are using. Not everyone we're not saying
anyone but a lot a lot of scary yeah i've got
friends doing medicine who are like oh yeah i
just got you know not to write out my friends
or anything but yeah chat gbt just like did my
essay for me and i was like whoa like right but
like that's really scary because you're. You're
gonna be looking after me when I'm older. You're
gonna be the future. Yeah, and it's not to say
we haven't used it before but I'm actually so
lucky that it didn't come out at the beginning
of our degree No, I know because it taught us
it taught us how it taught us the skills that
we needed to know But now it's like we're in
our last year of uni, right? The home stretch
and it's like chat GPT has has come in handy
a lot But it's also like to be honest our last
last year went doing a little bit of pointless
things. You'd think you'd be doing things exactly.
But the most, I think for me, the best kind of
experience I've had this year from uni and what
has come from uni is my internship. I'm doing
a fabulous internship with the Sydney Film Festival,
which is Amazing and you know i've been in films
that have been a part of the festival in the
in the past and something that i feel really
passionate about and although it's not acting
so much which is my main job. It still provides
me with the right skills of behind behind the
scenes things to see how it all evolves and if
that's something that i wanted to go into the
future great that's i have that up my sleeve
you know and i'm actually in the room i'm networking
with people i'm meeting amazing creatives who
are in the industry and i'm working with a fabulous
team that has actually taught me. a lot and it's
told me that a workplace can be really fun at
work it doesn't have to be all serious it doesn't
have to be a depressing place that you don't
want to be at it's about finding that niche i
wouldn't have had that opportunity if i didn't
go to uni because i got that through uni and
it was a requirement for us i know you're doing
an internship as well with a very similar situation
i'm currently doing a pr internship at a company
that i love and i was there for almost six months
last year um but i guess my point was with before
again, like it's one of the less and one of the
more fun actually sides of the corporate jobs.
But I guess what I was saying before about how
I learned so much more on the job rather than
carrying things over for my degree, like every
single person in my office did go to university.
But I remember going there last year and being
like, I feel like I could do this stuff without
university. But it's a requirement you say that's
interesting you say that because not everyone
at my really at my job went to university yeah
there's a few people in there that have an acting
degree that i who i went to nida with but not
the conventional. Like university yeah it's and
and people have employed people are working people
are getting money but they're in an industry
with where they want to be there. Not so much
because they have a paper in their hands and
they're like yeah now it's a requirement for
me to start working cuz i'm certified. You know
what let's talk about let's move on to i'm speaking
about how people can. Sort of have that tough
conversation with their parents if they feel
like it's truly not something if you feel like
it's your only option and you know It is always
better to go ahead and study or take some time
off to find what you're interested in and what
you want to pursue Yes, don't be afraid to take
some time off. Yeah, if you want to take a gap
year do that like I actually have a gap years
first then. Yeah. Let's, let's just talk about
that for a second because here I have written
down trust your gut, not the timeline. If you
think that you need a bit more time to figure
out. What you want to do with your life whether
you need the path or whether you just want like
experience for a year you know traveling whether
it be working as well like being freelance take
that path. Take it off and do nothing and just
you know be a productive be a productive year
and and do what you love in that year experiment
try five different jobs if you want to they could
be casual going going. Again what rose said travel
a little bit i think i know a lot of people that
have taken gap years and i know when i applied
to university actually i remember i think i told
you this before that i only applied to that what
to the one university and i told myself if i
didn't get in i'm taking yeah you did and now
i'm saying you know what okay i got into the
union i went now i'm gonna take a gap year after.
Because I feel like even then, whether you do
it before or after or in between, it doesn't
matter. Taking the time to truly figure out what
you want to do. Don't feel like you're stuck.
It's actually smarter to take the time off to
figure out what you actually want than to just
go in. And then figure out you hate it. It's
actually smarter, it's not lazy. I actually have
that written down here as well. Gappies can offer
real clarity and lead to better choices in the
future. They really can and I feel like if I
didn't take, I didn't necessarily take a gap
year, but I didn't go straight from school to
a conventional uni. I did drama school for a
year and that's why I had to defer my other degree
because I got into NIDA and I thought, okay this
is gonna be a really formative year in my life
doing what i love to do learning so much about
myself building resilience building friendships
building connections and that's exactly what
i did and i would i don't think i would have
been able to have the experience that i had later
on in life if i didn't have taken that year off
to pursue something that i wanted to pursue and
figure it out for myself because that year as
well i was like do i want to go to you now after
this Oh, I don't know. I didn't necessarily want
to, but I thought, you know what, like, I'm still
so young. I want to keep learning. I want to
keep learning. I want to keep connecting. And
to be honest, if I didn't go to uni, it wouldn't
have led me to you. Stop. That is so true. I
didn't even think about it. It wouldn't have
led us to each other and this podcast wouldn't
exist. Exactly. I don't even think we would have
started a podcast. No. We did do a podcasting
unit at university guys. We did. We did a podcasting
and radio unit and we loved it. I think we learnt
most of this on our own again. Yeah. But not
to dis on any of our teachers or anything. I
mean, no, they probably don't even know who we
are. Yeah, it's actually crazy how you're not
connected. No, you're not. It's not like school.
I think school is a hundred percent beneficial.
I think everyone should finish school. I think
that teaches you the foundation of your life
skills. But once you get into university, it's
crazy how much you become a number. Yeah. You're
just like, I don't feel connected to any of my
teachers. At school, I still keep in touch with
all of my teachers from school. So do I. I loved
my school teachers and they were the most, they
were honestly like, it's kind of weird to say,
but like a second family to me. I don't keep
in contact with a single person from my year,
but my teachers, like if I see one of my teachers
on the street, like you best believe it'll be
such a fulfilling interaction. And they still.
all wholeheartedly support me they all watched
my show they like a lot of them came to my showcase
at drama school and things like that and i was
like oh my god it's so beautiful it's really
beautiful and in uni that doesn't happen no in
university i don't even remember one name exactly
like who that might not be everyone's experience
no it's just so big and it's so it's transactional
yeah yeah anyways let's go back to what we were
talking about about the conversation to have
with your parents or whoever it is in your life
that's trying to encourage you. To be honest,
one thing, and I've said this to my parents and
family's faces, so they can't say I'm saying
anything behind their backs. But it's actually
so interesting how people that have gone to university
are the first people sometimes that will turn
around and say, you know what, you don't have
to. It's not for everyone because they know what
it's like. My dad is the only other person in
my family that went to university and my dad
is the only one that said I wholeheartedly agree
with you. He went to the same uni as us and he
was like I Don't regret going it definitely expanded
my education, but I'm not ever going to push
anyone to go Whereas my mom, and I've gotten
my mom a little bit on board now, but my mom,
my grandparents, the other grandparents, it's
like instilled in their brain. And it's like,
as if you're not going to go to uni. You have
to go to uni. Like what else are you going to
do? Like you have to get a degree. My family
is the same really. Yeah. And it's, I think it's
a bit of a traditional mindset now, not a bit.
It is traditional, but it's just so interesting
to me how the people that haven't even experienced
it from themselves, there's such a, stigma around
it being the best thing on earth and sort of
the only option to get ahead in life. Yeah. When
that's not the case at all. And the people that
have gone to the first people that will say,
you don't have to go if you don't want to. It's
not for everyone. You can definitely go. It's
not a bad thing. It's not the best thing. And
I just found that so interesting. So yeah, how
should people let's chat a little bit about how
people should navigate. Having that rough conversation.
What tips would you give to people to be honest
at the end of the day? I would say it's your
life It's not your parents life. It's not your
grandparents life. It's not your boyfriend's
or your girlfriend's life. It's your life and
you need to make the decision that's right for
you and sometimes you've got to block the noise
like, you know, you can obviously listen to parents
and friends and family for advice and Navigation
but like. Ultimately it's your life if your mom
or dad says to you. Are you need to go to university
and become a doctor because i'm a doctor and
everyone in our family is a doctor but you don't
want to be a doctor. You're going to be miserable
if you go and pursue something that you don't
want to pursue It is your life and you only have
one you only have one life I would give to people
is don't take advice from people that haven't
been in the situation that you're wanting to
pursue or People that haven't done it themselves
and that's not me talking down on you know my
family that I was just referring to but It's
definite i don't i only take what they say with
a grain of salt to an extent where someone like
my dad i'm like okay it's a bit comforting to
know that you went and you don't think it's the
bill and end or like someone for example who.
I've got a couple really close friends who dropped
out of high school even and are now pursuing
great things and stuff that they really want
to see that people doubted them for ages and
it's really inspiring to see and yeah reaffirming
that it's not. completely necessary for everyone.
Like we said, it's a tool, not a necessity. To
be honest, when it comes to advice, ultimately,
I think meshing the two things that we've kind
of said, it's no one else's business. Or decision
of what you want to do and if that disappoints
people that disappoints parents of that disappoints
friends or partners and so be it you know like
you. And it's not to say that your parents aren't
gonna support you because they are piece of advice
that my dad gave me once please so he told me
once and this has been ingrained in my brain
ever since i was like fifteen years old. but
he said to me he's like do what you love and
you'll never have to work a day in your life
and it's crazy to me how simple it is and people
may have heard that a million times before but
that's literally all it's about everyone has
to work people by human nature have to have a
purpose and have to be working towards something
i wouldn't want to be doing nothing with my life
and to be honest i say to myself all the time
like if i just had free -flowing money and i
never had to work or work towards something whether
that be you know In my life now a university
assignment or going to my casual job or whatever
it may be working on my body at the gym or eating
well. By human nature we are those types of people
however when it comes to your work life. Doing
something you love will make it obviously not
feel like work and yeah. It's you having to work
a day in your life yeah doing what you love like
imagine you if you were acting i don't think
you would like yes you'd be exhausted but you'd
love it. I don't think that's your dream, I don't
think you can sit there considering it work as
such. Do you know what I'm trying to say? For
me, this is how I like to put it for people,
take it how you want to take it, but for me acting
is one of those things that it's the hardest
job, not the hardest job in the world, but it's
one of the hardest things that I've ever had
to do. And it gives me a lot of stress and a
lot of anxiety and uncertainty in life. But it's
so worth it because it's something that I literally
cannot live without. It's just in my blood. I
just love it so much that it actually just counteracts
everything else. And for me, when I'm, you know,
on set or on the stage or even auditioning, like,
look, auditioning isn't fun because, you know,
it's, it's. it's very hard and there's a lot
of rejection but I love it and for me like if
I get it if I get an email from my agent telling
me you have an audition for so -and -so I guess
I get so excited not because I'm like yeah okay
I'm gonna land this role but because it gives
me an opportunity to show what I can do it gives
me an opportunity to be put up for something
great and I just love it I'm just like this is
an opportunity for me to show myself I completely
understand where you're coming from because we'll
expand on this in another episode but I was very
similar with and I was just gonna give another
piece of advice with stuff like that. But I think
for us, the reason we love this stuff so much,
the more unconventional things is because it's
something that we would do for free. Even if
you weren't getting paid for it, that's how you
know you truly love it. And that applies for
so many things. It doesn't have to be an unconventional
role. I know people that thrive off of the jobs
that they're doing. People that are teachers.
I know people that would do it for free just
because they're obsessed with children. I have
about five different friends that are primary
or high school teachers that absolutely love
it. Yeah. And they wake up every day and are
so excited to go and teach their children, practically.
So it doesn't have to be just, you know, acting,
modelling, athletes. No, because we're the simplest
thing. Yeah, surely anything but the point is
truly taking the time to sit back think about
what you want to do with your life Not listening
to outside perspectives, especially people that
aren't in the position that you want to be in
or haven't done what you want to do figure out
what it is that you love and then take the steps
to do that because That's the only way that you're
gonna feel like you're not burning yourself out
that you're doing something you'll love you love
that it doesn't feel like work and I guess we've
gone a little bit of a tangent off of the university
scheme, but that's just because I feel like now
so many people treat it as their only option.
Yeah. And it's not an only option. Take this
from people that have done it for four years,
rose for five. Yep. It's not the only option.
And I just want to reiterate, it is your life
and no one else's and you choose your path and.
outside influences, just put a little block because
it's your life. You only have one of them. YOLO.
Yep. That's it. We've covered everything. I just
went through our talking points and that was
everything. Well, we hope you enjoyed this episode.
I actually really liked this episode. Yeah, I
do. We got very passionate and into it. Anyway,
we will see you in the next one. Bye.