Hui Xin is a first year English, Creative Writing & Psychology student from Singapore
Soh Hui Xin
I was one of those kids – an all-rounder, top of the class, loves biology, and one of the many students who wanted to become a doctor so she could help people.
I was also one of those kids – the student who didn’t finish their homework, failed several subjects and the one whose teachers thought would not make it.
Having been set on becoming a doctor, I experienced burnout in the two years leading up to A-Levels for several reasons: I had just finished major national examinations, I was in an unfamiliar environment in my new school and the pandemic happened. I was unmotivated and no longer enjoying doing the things that used to make me happy, and I was so tired all the time.
Medicine began to feel less like a dream I wanted to pursue. I then realised I had hyper-fixated on studying medicine for so long that I neglected my other interests. People change, and goals can too.
During this stressful period, I started binge-reading again as a way to cope, and I fell in love once more with something that makes me so happy. In a way, I consider myself lucky. Not everyone has the chance to fall in love with something twice.
It brought me so much joy during the examination periods and I found myself thinking that if the exams were about books, I would not dread the revision as much.
Funnily enough, for my General Paper exams, I was usually choosing the question that discusses art and for my A-Levels, I was writing about films. And I did well in this subject.
It then hit me that if there’s something else I enjoy doing and that I am good at, why not pursue that instead? I have so many other interests I could pursue and while I felt that I owe it to the younger me to study medicine, I also owe it to myself to re-evaluate which dreams I wanted to pursue, among the many I have had.
Searching for alternatives
So I started searching for alternative university course options after my A-Levels. I knew I still wanted to do something related to biology, but I also wanted to do something related to the arts industry.
Strathclyde is one of the few universities that offers a degree in Creative Writing. And here, I am able to study it alongside English and Psychology. This is not available in many universities. I must admit I did not know Strathclyde existed until I wanted to undertake such a degree. However, as someone who has been in an elite school and had imposter syndrome, take it from me that prestige is not as important as you may think. I did not know much about Strathclyde, but I took the chance anyway and I’m glad I did.
Personally, I come from an educational background with very rigid and rigorous examinations. If you’re from Singapore, then you know how valued academics and grades are in our meritocratic society. Our examinations are really strict and focus on testing academic knowledge.
I find that I enjoy and excel at the current style of assessments used in university for my course, which offers me more creative freedom.
For one recent English assessment, I could choose between 6 different questions, one of which was to write a short story adaptation and it was really fun. I wrote an adaptation of Jane Eyre from the perspective of Bertha, a supposed madwoman. Pretty much the only limitation I had was the word count. I have never had this much flexibility before for an assessment and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Furthermore, I love that the professors place more emphasis on quality and less on grades. My professors had said multiple times that our assessments were learning opportunities and they don’t place any stress on you to get a certain score. They provide an environment where learning is the priority which I really appreciate. It also helps that, for my subjects, first-year grades do not count towards your degree so I can really focus on learning and adjusting to university.
Advice for others
If you’re looking for some advice, I would say that when considering your options for university, make sure you know your strengths, not just your passions or goals. Every career path is scary. Some like high success and prestige, some prefer a more stable path, and others prefer doing something they are passionate about.
I would say you should choose whichever one you believe would make you happy. Don’t live your life at half volume. Every choice you make takes its own kind of courage to do so. So be brave.