I hear a lot of people say to young people that they should go to university because it’s ‘the best time of your life’ and having recently graduated in September of this year, I was reflecting on my time at university and what I’ve learn’t over the last three years.
I want to start by saying honestly that I do not agree with the comment that university will be ‘the best time of your life’. Don’t get me wrong I have had a good time at university and have definitely made some friends for life, but it was also one of the most physically and emotionally challenging time in my life. And no that isn’t because of anything within my personal life but 100% to do with the outrageous work load that comes with completing a university degree.
I may sound like i’m being dramatic but I have never worked so hard in my life than I did when I was at university and yes that may be to do with the pressure I put on myself to do well, but isn’t that the whole point of uni? Why go if you don’t want to do the best you can?
When I signed up to go to university I don’t think I really had any understanding of how hard it would be until I was actually there completing the course. In my last year of uni I worked so hard and was probably really sleep deprived but I tell you what the friends I made at uni really pulled me through! There were several occasions at the beginning of my third year where I could have easily quit and I questioned whether I even wanted to do it anymore and it was my friends who got me through it. And realistically if you’ve come that far, it would be a bit silly to quit right before the end!
I definitely found at my university that as a cohort we were set very unrealistically hard assignments that required a lot more work than the ‘average’ assignment. We were also set a lot of group assignments which are quite frankly horrendous. I really did not like group assignments as it means you have to semi-rely on other people to get the grade you want. I also felt that sometimes our university lectures didn’t give us the recognition we deserved in terms of grades as they were too scared to give out those higher marks.
I definitely sound like i’m being really negative about university but I don’t think there are many places out there that give a realistic interpretation of university. I also don’t think that university is a waste of time, it gives you so many opportunities that you may not be able to achieve without a degree and if I had my time again I think I would still choose the path that led to university.
So as I said earlier I recently graduated and although hearing your name being called and then walking across a stage may sound silly, the sense of pride you feel is amazing. I felt so proud of myself as I walked across the stage, knowing that I had worked so hard over the last three years and that it had paid off as I received a first class degree! It was also so much fun to get to wear the funny hat and gown and lets be honest isn’t that why we all go to university anyway!
As you can see then, although I found university to be one of the most challenging times of my life, I also think it was one of the most rewarding times. I am so glad I went to university as it taught me a lot about adult life and the life I want to live. University and graduating was definitely worth it and I would recommend university to anyone because it gives you such a sense of accomplishment and can open so many doors for you. It also shows you just how hard you can work to achieve what you want and from that I think I became a much stronger person!
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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
Jordyn Amber x