Introduction

'The die is cast' were the words of Julius Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon. This was only a small stream forming part of the boundary between Italy and Gaul but the crossing of it marked the beginning of the war with Pompey. A decision had been taken with consequences both known and unknown. Crossing the Rubicon was just going across a river, but it was also a decision from which there was no turning back.

'Decisions, decisions. Why so many decisions!' protested the 18-year-old when there were so many choices about which university, which course, whether to have a gap year, which friends to spend time with, which summer job to do and (unspoken) what to do about those parents! Taking decisions at age 18 is a shock to the system, ...

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