"I often just feel as though I’m plodding along"

Lucia, 21, Fine Art Student

By Orla Loughran Hayes

What’s your biggest struggle as a millennial?

Precarious jobs and degrees; even though degrees cost massive amounts, you are left wondering whether they are worth anything at all. Furthermore, even if I’m working really hard, I often just feel as though I’m plodding along. One thing that really annoys me as a millennial is when the older generation say: ‘you’ve got it so bad’, or ‘it was easier in our day’. I always feel like saying: how is that helping?

Do you think a degree is worth much today in the job market?

It’s hard to say, I mean we are told it is, but who knows! When I chose to study art for my degree, I didn’t do it because I thought it would get me a direct job. I just saw it as an opportunity to continue studying a subject I loved. I suppose that was also because I was 18 and wasn’t really thinking about my future. People often say that if you study art, you aren’t going to get a job, but it seems like most degrees don’t necessarily have a job at the end anyway, only certain degrees do.

What advice would you have given yourself five years ago?

I would say keep up all your interests and don’t let embarrassment or lack of confidence stop you from doing what you want to do. When I was about 15 years old, I stopped playing sports because I felt self-conscious, now I’m playing football again and I love it! Life gets better when you’ve overcome that self-consciousness that comes with teenagehood.

What would your perfect scenario be?

I would love to shadow David Attenborough. He doesn’t really travel anymore though, so probably it would be shadowing the crew. In fact, any wildlife film crew would be awesome! I used to want to be a zoologist. It started with a love of Steve Irwin and Komodo dragons. I remember a lady who worked in a zoo told me that I would always be poor if I did it, so I gave up that zoologist ambition. At the moment, the ultimate perfect scenario would be making films and making/being in performances for a living.

"Even though degrees cost massive amounts, you are left wondering whether they are worth anything at all"

What has been your best life experience so far?

I tend to appreciate the small events rather than big life experiences. As they say ‘it’s the little things in life!’ When I went on holiday this summer with my nana and my mum, we were just walking down the street and music started playing from a nearby van. My nana just burst into a waltz in the street! She got out her walking stick and danced around with it flamboyantly. It was so odd and out of character because she is usually so cynical. She even finished the dance with a little spin! It was so unexpected; which is what made it amazing. Lots of small events like these are my best life experiences, like yesterday I saw a heron and a crow fighting in the air, it was great!

What keeps you awake at night?

Generally, I sleep quite well but sometimes worrying will keep me up. Perhaps if something has happened during the day I will play over the event in my head at night time; it’s pointless really.

What would your ideal job be?

Something that I don’t hate…I’m trying to stay open. Ideally, something creative! I love making films and performing so doing these and sustaining myself from them, would be absolutely great.

On that note, what pushed you to want to become an artist?

I was curious about what I could do with art and what it actually was… I’m still not quite sure exactly, why I’m doing it, as my thoughts about art are always in flux as I’m studying it. However, I do know that I get really excited about it!

What do you love about art?

Aspects of art do irritate me; it has a lot of problems and contradictions. However, it can be extremely satisfying and it’s an exciting way to try to understand and make sense of things. Also, when used well, it can be extremely powerful.