When you need to take some twists and turns in life

6th January, 2021    |    By  Reach Out    |     844

Hey– I’m Jay, I’m 16, and I’m in my last year of high school. Thinking about my future can be stressful, but I have so many opportunities to be excited about. In the midst of exams and lockdowns, I’ve enjoyed thinking about what’s next for me in life.

That’s why in this series, I’ve been talking to people who have been down this road before. In this episode I talked to Corey Tutt– when he was a teenager, he felt totally lost– his best friend killed himself and as a result, he’d lost his passion for Australian wildlife.

Since then, Corey has won the Young Australian of the Year award, and started Deadly Science, a charity which gives STEM mentoring and resources to indigenous kids around the country. One of the things he taught me is that there’s nothing wrong with taking a few twists and turns in life. As someone who’s looking into a career in the creative arts, it’s a good reminder that there are so many different paths you can take and still end up where you want to be.


Also check the related topics:  

Starting in a new place Finding and starting work

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Video Transcription

When you need to take some twists and turns in life

Hi, I’m Jay. I’m 16, and I don’t know about you, but between COVID, exams, and everything else, I’ve been wondering what the hell I’m going to do with my life. That’s why I’m talking to some people who can tell me what comes next when you have no clue yourself. Today, I talk to Corey Tut. Corey is a Kamilaroi man, and in 2018, he founded Deadly Science, a charity that supplies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids with STEM resources and mentoring. Corey is a great example of how having a great life and career can have some zigs and zags to it.

For example, when he was my age, Corey had just dropped out of high school to work at a zoo. That was the thing that got me out of bed in the morning. You know, that was my purpose. For a moment there, as an 18-year-old, I lost that. The reason why I lost that was that my best friend had committed suicide. You know, suddenly, there’s a healthy 18-year-old guy that is really nice, and you think you’re going to be friends with them for 20 years, and then tomorrow, they’re gone. I think the way that changed me is I lost all that ability and that love for animals. I really lost it. I ended up needing a change, and I saw an ad in the paper for an alpaca handler. I ended up shearing alpacas and going around Australia and New Zealand.

Corey says if you want to find things that are meaningful to you, you might have to take a few twists and turns in life. But those twists and turns are how Corey found his passion again and started Deadly Science. I had to prove to myself what it was to be well and what it was to recover. That’s something that I’ve had to learn over the years, and I’ve realized that that passion, that purpose, and that belonging is so essential to a young person. I got that from alpaca shearing, believe it or not. I got the belonging that I was really looking for, and now, with Deadly Science, I’m hoping to give that to kids around the country today.

So, what’s one practical thing young people can do if they’re feeling directionless in life? Go on Netflix, check out a documentary. If you don’t like it, turn it off and pick another one. Life is full of opportunities to learn. Go for a bush walk, wonder, and ask yourself questions. There are no dumb questions. Asking questions is science. As young people, we get conditioned not to ask questions. Defy it, be against it, ask the questions, and learn.

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