The End of an Era: My Thoughts on Leaving College
By Opinion Editor Baneen Talpur
As I sit on my desk typing away in the library, it is hitting me that is is my last article for the UCC Express. I finish college in less than 2 months, and I will finally have my undergraduate degree under my belt. I struggled a lot over the course of my degree, COVID hit in the middle and due to some severe issues in my life outside of college, I had to drop out after my first year, returning 2 years later. I never thought that I would ever finish my degree or achieve any of what my life looks like today. Things were so low but here I am 6 years later, proud to say that I finally did it, better late than never. My college experience includes some of the best experiences of my life. I learned so much about myself that I never would have elsewhere and am so so grateful for the opportunity to be able to go to university. I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect and give advice to future students or those contemplating going to college.
Some Time Off After Secondary School
Nowhere does the Irish Education system ever encourage anyone to take a gap year. After the horrors of enduring the leaving certificate, students are expected to go straight into university with no solid understanding of who they are and what they would actually like to do. The cost of college, living, and accommodation in Ireland is the highest it’s ever been, with students having never struggled this badly before. The world of university is not the same as school, teachers are not here to break things down for you and to keep on top of you to ensure that you stay on track. Everything is a choice at university, and you are responsible for all of it. Make sure that you know what you are doing, take the time to figure things out. Work for a while to build up some cash, you never know when it will come in handy and trust me as a student you will need it.
Be Passionate About Your Studies
Make sure that you pick a subject that you genuinely somewhat enjoy. This makes the workload easier and more manageable. Go to lectures. Making yourself familiar to lecturers puts you at an advantage when there are 300 plus students in a room. Immerse yourself in your field. Go to the library, read every book you can, explore every shelf. This is a place with so much knowledge that you will never get to experience again. Seize the opportunity to learn.
Gain Professional Experience
If you have the opportunity to do a placement or work experience, TAKE IT. While college gives you lots of knowledge, there is a whole world out there to explore too and there are some things that are just learned from experience. Through work placement you get the chance to build a network, meet new people and to get a more hands on experience and an insight as to what your field is like post college. Everything is not as it seems in college sometimes so professional experience is a great add on and opportunity to see how things really are.
Get Involved and Put Yourself Out There
There is so much to do at college that is not directly related to your studies. It’s insane. UCC alone offers over 117 societies to choose from and clubs are separate to this, trust me there is something for everyone. While joining a committee is great experience and you get to connect with people on a deeper level, it can sometimes be stressful and affect your college course load. You want to make sure to manage time effectively and do not over commit to things, you will burn out. You can go to events and still have great experiences and if you want to delve deeper there is the committee option too. I got the opportunity to play some ultimate frisbee, a sport that I did not even know existed before I came to college, I tried canoeing which was very relaxing and went to many neurodiversity and paksoc events during my time where I learned so much and got to try new experiences. I got to be a peer support leader, got so involved in student media, my main interest. I started off contributing to Motley, got to work as an editor on F-Word and here I am today, Opinion editor of the UCC Express.
While it took me longer to finish my undergrad than most people, I enjoyed every moment of university life. I am so grateful for everything that I got to do and everyone that I got to meet along the way. I got an outlet to do what I love the most, which is to write. The UCC Express has honestly been one of my best experiences at college, I worked with a team of great editors and writers who I learned so much from. If you get the chance to go to university, absolutely take it but I also remind you that it is not for everyone and it is a huge commitment if you want to do well. Learn as much as you can, you won't have this many resources again. Meet as many people as you can, go to events alone and chat people up. I swear there are so many people with vast backgrounds here that you will never have the chance to meet again. Ask people for coffee or drinks, go out, again the older we get the more responsibilities we have, full time jobs, relationships, children. This is a big chance where you can explore with not as many consequences. Make friends, do not be afraid to be vulnerable, if people do not reciprocate at least you took that chance. Try to have as little as regrets as possible. I have very little, the only one really being I wish I went on more nights out, but I still have most of my twenties for that.
As I try to plan my future multiple opportunities await. A full-time job, A postgrad, travel. This is the first time where I am not tied down by education and it is overwhelming, however I am not afraid to take a break either. Throughout my studies, I held myself back in the library or worked like crazy, it is so so important to press pause and reflect. Make sure you do nice things, because you do deserve them.
For so long, I believed that I didn’t, and university is what allowed me to realise that I did. Immerse yourself, try it all, just do it.
