Yearly, myriads of young adults spill out of schools ready to take on the great big world. Some are attracted to the fast and shiny, ending up hooked and dragged into the dark depths of the sinister. Others, like salmon, swim upstream with all their might in pursuit of their goals. They’re the ones who have pondered every life decision, devoured every university brochure, and knew what they were going to achieve before entering high school.
Then the first day of university arrives all too fast. Butterflies are slowly replaced by slugs weighing down on your gut in an uncomfortable way. Yes, you’ve already chose and have been chosen to pursue your career goal, and are equipped with fresh stationary and the trendiest clothes, but trudging into university and witnessing various degrees of stressed-out souls wandering around to find a purpose is quite unnerving.
Suddenly the brochure depicting grinning students lounging on the freshly manicured lawn, laughing to their hearts’ content seems deceiving. The first-years uniformly adorn the same mask – Huge eyes brimming with fear and anxiety, hidden behind brave, plastered smiles in the hopes of catching the attention of a similar vibe. The second, third, and even fourth-years march in with fierce resolution – This is the semester their ducks waddle obediently in a row. The final-years are difficult to spot – They’re already in class/ the library/ administrators’ offices with the glimmer of the degree already reflecting in their eyes.
From my individual experience, university was like mastering ballroom dancing for prom, and then turning up and finding out that you would instead be doing the salsa. From movies and websites, universities seem like the ideal place to procure your degree with the highest honour, whilst making lifelong friends, and bumping into your soulmate, and yet still maintaining a calm interior and an exterior portraying a life of wholeness. But I would call it deception once again. Attempting to pass modules itself proved to be arduous. Maintaining friendships in such a stressful environment allowed tempers to flare, with the lack of time making you strangers once again. Learning to spot people as menacing as a Great White became quite simple, so you avoided the need of having to punch them in the nose.
The tiara of a high-achiever is soon knocked off and viciously stamped on when you first encounter equally smart or smarter kids, as well as attempt juggling the tremendous amount of work placed in your young and incapable hands. The first few tests are enough to put you into a psych ward once you realise that the ease of almost absorbing-knowledge-through-osmosis you previously held would not hold up in a class of 400 students and 8 different modules in a year. Being awarded any mark below an A-aggregate stuns you into sombre silence, considering you’ve never had a below 80% aggregate. The first questioning of career paths begin.
The multitude of diverse lecturers offered varying stages of help – Some seemed like blow fish ready to puff up and destroy the opportunity of getting your degree in the required time, whilst others cradled your head above water whilst you paddled unsteadily through their modules.
And then one of the most chilling feelings – Failing a module. The dread seeping out of every pore is almost tangible when you’re first notified of your failure to make the cut. Self-doubt takes center stage as you consider changing fields without alarming your overly-protective family. Luckily over-crediting rears its beautiful head, and you once again spot the ever-evasive degree glistening in the distance.
From my perspective, university challenges you in a multitude of ways:
- Mentally – Try cramming minute words from huge textbooks
- Emotionally – Only students understand the struggle
- Physically – Running after the shuttle has added some agility
However, I would say that it nonetheless toughens you up for reality as you learn to avoid the rip tides and master your best stroke.
