Why did I choose AS Politics? | My story with politics

Hello!

My name is Emily, I am 16 and I am currently taking AS Politics.
My exam board is Edexcel and I am in the new specification (guinea pig year whoop).
I thought before I started with an analysis of further reading and other political stuff, I would give you a little introduction to me and why I chose politics as one of my A-levels (I also take English Literature and Music).

Important: I was put-off by politics at the start.
When I started thinking about what I was going to take at college, politics was not an option.
'Nope. That's scary and complicated and it will be really boring.' I used to say to my mum.
In fact, it was only about a week before my enrollment day when I decided to take politics. So, how the hell did that happen?!

The truth is, I do genuinely like politics. I love talking about things that are happening in the news and debating with people who have conflicting opinions with me.
Without me realising, I was beginning to take an interest in big news, most notably:
1. The US election (Trump).
2. The EU referendum.
3. The 2017 UK general election.
By following the news and watching loads of videos during these times, I was starting to broaden my knowledge slightly and develop more political opinions. But I still didn't want to take politics.

My decision was completely spur-of-the-moment, but I don't regret it.
It occurred to me that I was interested in politics but it was just that I didn't know much about it. So I took a chance and leapt down the AS Politics hole.

So... how is it going so far?
I didn't start the course with a lot of political knowledge. Sure, I would keep an eye on the massive headlines but I didn't regularly watch the news and I didn't even really know who any of the people talked about on the news was. This has made things hard. 
But, I am getting there. I am constantly pushing myself to keep on top of my work and do extra whenever I can. Politics is hard because I've never done it before, but, it is not scary.


If you are doing AS/A-level Politics, I wish you luck.
If you are unsure on if you want to take it - follow your instinct, even if that means changing your mind right at the last moment.

-Emily