Chapter 3. My journey as a writer.

When I was 21 I decided to enroll in a Diploma in Advertising at AUT. I was accepted but, having heard that group presentations were involved, my fear of public speaking prevented me from starting, so I continued working as a builder for another year. The following year I reapplied and this time went through with it. I did the course partly because I was sick of my job and also because of perceived societal pressure to go to uni to “get a piece of paper”. I think I knew at the time that all I needed to get a copywriting job in an ad agency was a good portfolio, but as an early-twenty-something with time to burn I decided to spend a few years as a student instead. I was only really interested in the creative side of advertising but the three year course required me to do papers not only about the broader business of advertising but also straight business papers like accounting and commercial law (which I failed two, possibly three times before I was given a pass mark). The one paper – and lecturer – that made the university experience worthwhile for me I found buried at the end of my second year in the lazy summer holiday. Led by NZ ad guru and copywriter extraordinaire Jim Falconer, the copywriting paper uncovered a love of language which I had lost since I was a kid.