I'm dropping my youngest son of at university this week so, as you may expect, there have been lots of 'advice' chats about the does and don'ts of university life.
Clearly there has been all the usual stuff: DO treat study like a professional job, work regular hours; Enjoy the social life but DON'T party too hard; DO keep fit, the 'Freshers 15' is a very real thing.
You know the routine?
But there's also the more esoteric advice, and this is just one example, but one that comes from the bottom of my heart (and years of experience), and it's not just one for politics students:
DO join a mainstream political party / politics society.
The reasons are varied, and most of them worthwhile:
- At its best politics is about reasoned argument, it helps you develop your ideas and decide where you want to go in life.
- Politics improves your employability skills, whether they are improving in public speaking or the project management of campaigning.
- Politics helps to improve your personal network, the people you encounter early on keep popping up throughout your professional and personal life. So, it's always a good idea to be nice to them.
- But, most of all, the significant majority of people involved in politics are worth knowing. They care about the issues affecting the world around them, which means they have already thought about them deeply, and they have chosen to positively make the world a better place by getting involved.
I'm really not bothered which party my son decides to join, we accept these days more than ever that personal views change based on experience and party affiliation isn't a lifelong commitment, and each party has its strengths (and weaknesses).
But people involved in politics are the ones who step up, they want to make a difference, they are among the connections and friends that you want to develop.