My friends, it has been a crazy four months of 2016 and how quickly time flies- I have just completed my first year at college! And that, explains my inactivity (sorry!)- after entering college, my life has four seasons too: semester 1, winter break, semester 2 and summer break. Pretty much like the weather!
Many have asked if university was what I expected and to be honest, it was not. Thus, today, I decided to share a few personal experience, and perhaps you too can relate to this!
Coming from Junior College (JC), the general consensus, or saying even, is that University will be easier than JC. I suppose it is to a certain extent, in terms of flexibility and freedom, but work load wise, definitely not! Ladies and gent, we got to be realistic, it is, after all, a further education, one that will probably be the highest education most will have, unless you continue pursuing. This coupled with intense time pressure because we now have lesser time to complete more work (for my course, at least).
But the benefit of University still stands- it is certainly easier focusing on 5 modules per semester than 7 subjects for 2 years.
Another benefit was on-campus housing, especially during study weeks, project deadlines, and evening gatherings with friends! And given that hostel life took up a bulk of my year 1, I am going to spend the next paragraphs sharing with you more!
The thing about university is that you do not get a form class so most opportunities of meeting friends are either school/ faculty activities or group projects. As such, hostel was one of the first few places I made friends in school. However, it does take up a lot of time and for some, it can be a lot to cope. so here are some tips that hopefully, will get you through as it did for me!
Firstly, discipline- you got to be consistent with your work and prioritise your commitments. Most hall activities take place at night so by the time you are done, you will probably be dead tired (unless you work on night owl schedule, that is) so its best to finish your work before so that you can thoroughly enjoy your hall activity!
Secondly, cherish the sleep you have now- sleep is a privilege during the school term, especially when you are juggling so many things at one go, so sleep now while you can haha (but not during tutorials, of course haha)
Thirdly, choose wisely- do not overcommit. This was one of the things that i wish someone told me, instead of “try everything” because it became really tiring after a while. This was partly due to the fact that i was struggling to adapt to the new education system and at the same time handling 5 other responsibilities while getting to know people. So yes, choose wisely.
There are a lot of things I would love to share but my thoughts are all over the place right now so I’ll save it for next time!
Do you have any tips you would like to share on surviving the university life? comment below! i would love to hear from you 🙂