How do you decide what to do?
I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school. There were always so many people who had their life planned out; future lawyers, doctors, hairdressers, beauticians – and then there was me. I always knew I wanted to go to university and get a degree, experience the student life, but never had an idea what to study. The pressure of having to decide the next 3-4 years of my life at the age of 17 left me looking to my family for advice, which on reflection seems so silly because it was MY future, not theirs. But anyway, there I was and before I knew it I was enrolled in a course called ‘Ecological and Environmental Science’ all because it would guarantee a job at the end of it.
Completely ignoring the fact that I had never studied geography in my life and FAILED biology in 6th year, I went to Edinburgh University to start my adventure. It’s safe to say I lasted about 7 weeks. I knew instantly that the course was not for me. To be honest that kind of scared me more because once again I had no idea what I wanted to do, and I hated the thought of telling my mum and dad that I wanted to drop out. However I did, and it was the best decision I ever made. Mum and dad could not have cared less, as long as I was happy. This time I decided I would follow my gut and do a subject I enjoyed, which was Business.
Applying for a new course was actually surprisingly simple and the moment I started it in a different uni, I knew I had made the right choice. Business was something I had always enjoyed at school, and it wasn’t until I actually started studying it in higher education that I realised how much you could do in it. In first year you’re allowed to pick five different business subjects to try for a year (first year is class cause it’s kind of like a trial year, where a lot of courses let you try out a few different subjects).
After attempting economics and finance in first year I listened to my gut and realised numbers were not for me, much like biology, and that I definitely wanted to focus on HR and Management – another two classes I had tried. Definitely try out as many subjects as you can, because I don’t think I would have realised how much I actually enjoyed HR if I hadn’t realised how disinterested I was in the finance stuff. LUCKILY I got to learn that for myself and managed to complete this degree.
Is it hard?
Yes and no. It’s definitely hard, but nowhere near as hard as I imagined. The staff are very understanding that everything is new. I’d say it’s the same jump as from primary to high school. The hardest part is probably deciding how to balance your time. In first year I was only in uni three days a week, and one of those days was only for two hours. This is because in subjects like business, a lot of your degree is actually doing your own readings along with individual and group assignments. There’s so much more independence in University, and it definitely helped me learn how to manage my time better. I would always try and get any course work finished towards the start of the week so that I could go out at the weekend. You are always given all your deadlines for the year in your first couple of weeks, so it makes planning easier. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely takes time to find the way that works for you when it comes to getting work done on time, but hacks like making a timetable for the week on a Sunday night have been my saving grace.
The Student Life
Socialising is by far the best part of uni. When I started my new course it was so daunting, I knew nobody going into first year never mind anyone going to study the same course as me. Luckily, there are lots of group chats that get made in first year for each subject. During my first week I got added into one of these chats full of people in my course chatting about meeting up at the union (where everyone goes to socialise).
I felt so cringe at the thought of meeting up with people from the chat, people I’d never met before, but the moment I did was the biggest relief. Everyone I spoke to was on the same page as me. I’m forever grateful that I actually went to meet a group from the chat, because I met my four best friends that day. I was always told that uni would be the best years of my life, but I never realised that it actually would be true.
Life after Higher Education
I have to admit it has taken me five years out of school and a second chance at uni to finally have a rough idea of what I might actually want to do for the rest of my life, but trust me when I say I will probably change my mind at least five more times again. But that’s ok! I have accepted that life is so short and that it’s ok to try different things, fail a couple times to succeed. My focus for now is to become a teacher, a business teacher actually. CLEARLY I just love the subject so much, and studying HR made me realise I want to be interacting with people all day. Luckily I only need to do a one-year teaching course and I’ll be sorted. Even though I probably would already be a teacher by now if I’d just listened to my gut 5/6 years ago, I wouldn’t want to change my uni experience for a thing.