'Geographers do it in the field'

I am a proud geographer. I remember my first Christmas as an undergrad when we all got our geography hoodies. Never were we cooler than when we were walking around campus, all wearing our dark green hoodies supporting various geographer-related innuendo. Geographers do it in the field. Check out my pyramidal peaks. Not even continental drift can keep us apart. The list of innuendo is endless! In retrospect, I was probably wrong in chosing the catch line 'Give us a Pinch' (a reference to a legendary geography lecturer in Southampton). Other than geographers who went to Southampton, nobody gets it. And yet random strangers do still pinch me! One man even felt the need to tell me that my promiscuity was an ugly thing. I personally feel that wearing a hoody is anything but promiscuous - but each to their own! Later in that same year, we were no longer in dark green hoodies but in bright blue polo shirts supporting the words 'Sponsored by Crayola'. Yes... that is a reference to geographers and their map-making skills.

But the point is that during those 3 years, and still now, I wore those hoodies and t-shirts with pride. At the end of my time at Southampton, I didn't only get a BA (upper second class... thank you very much!), I didn't only get a new innuendo-based wardrobe, I got something to identify myself by. It sounds stupid, but I'm sure that anyone who went to university (and at least felt they got something out of it) can relate, whatever subject you studied for.

My hope is that I can keep this sense of identity and take it into my professional career. Isn't a job so much better when you actually feel a passion for it? Wherever I am in 10, 20 or 30 years time, I hope I am still proud to wear some dorky t-shirt with a company logo and some unintelligent humour on it!

Geographers... represent.