I’m so glad I failed my university entrance exams.

It was all thanks to Michelle Pfeiffer and the movie Dangerous Minds. 

I had my heart set on heading to teachers college and changing the world one student at a time.

But I only passed one out of my three final exams. 

Despite a spirited plea from my aunty, I was denied entry into teachers college. 

And I completely blame my parents.

Mum and Dad made a ballsy move when I was in my final year of school. 

They threw a dart at the map, bundled my sister and I into a plane, and showed us another side of the world for 12 months.

Now, before you hipsters think Bali or Europe…. The dart actually fell on the tiny, beautifully land-locked, horse-loving, Russian-speaking, mountainous land of Kyrgyzstan. 

It was an incredible adventure. 

I learnt Russian, enjoyed living in snow, I went to a local music school to learn the Kyrgyz’s national instrument (3 string guitar/banjo thing) and eventually played a song in front of the president’s wife (which made national news!), drank fermented mare’s milk, I even had a gun pointed at my head…

Needless to say, I didn’t do much school work that year, and ultimately failed my bursary exams.

But despite the set back, I soon found my self in art school and eventually became a graphic designer… a career I didn’t really know existed. 

Thanks to Mum and Dad’s bravery, I found my calling. 

A perfect career for a strategically minded, artistic individual who liked to quietly challenge the norm.

Stay brave people.

CJ