It’s over. Or if it’s not, it’ll be over soon. For me, it’s over. That’s right comrades, we’ve climbed the hurdle. You’ve made it through the HSC, and I’ve made it through my first year of uni. It’s been one helluva ride. When I look back on what I wrote when I finished first semester, The Prodigal Returns, I don’t think there is much more advice I can give you. But maybe I can give you a few pointers or thoughts you can mull over or consider when you start uni.
Taking time off: For a lot of people, post-HSC, this is a necessity. I’m sure some of you are so zonked after all that intellectual slaving that you’d rather look at the blade of a machete-wielding bashibazook in far off East Turkestan (as part of your round-the-world trip, of course). But the advice I was given was – go to uni straight away. Do your first year, see how you like it, then decide whether to continue or not. A lot of people I know have done this, and took time off either in second semester, or intend to take time off next year.
Why go to uni straight away? Well, in my case, there was no option. I didn’t have the money to go overseas, I didn’t want a full-time job, and a four-month holiday became a mind-numbing slog by the end as all my academic knowledge began to drip slowly out of my left ear. But, more pragmatically, I’ve heard that if you go overseas, the power of the trip is so great some people find it hard to get back into the rhythm of study. But, if it IS for you, and you do feel the need to travel, don’t let me put you off. Get out there: I’m sure those bashibazooks are just waiting to put that knife edge against your aorta.
Balance: I think for a lot of people, this is a really hard one to nail. I found it a problem, and yet I was probably more balanced than some. I had my share of fun, but enough study time to limit the academic failures.* It’s all too easy to take it to one extreme or the other. A friend of mine has repeatedly done fantastically in her essays (kudos), but I think that her social life might have suffered as a result. Similarly, there are horror stories of people who have been out all night, partying hard, and remembered they have a 3000-word essay on Manichean interpretations of Ancient Egyptian algebraic sophistry due the next morning. Not a pleasant place to be in. Also, in some instances, it pays to do well in first year. In my case, I hope to major in government and ultimately do honours in it, but in order to get into honours, there are requisite units. The easiest way of getting into these units (they’re not open to everyone) is to get 70% average over two units of government. Not impossible, but you still have to work at it.
However, aside from those basic suggestions, I wonder what knowledge I can really give you as a first year veteran of the University of Sydney? I remember everyone telling me that Uni is a rollercoaster that you just have to ride and hope you land on two feet. I think I’ve used that metaphor about 50 million times. But I also think it’s probably true. I’m lucky that I have landed on my feet. I enjoyed uni, I know what I want to do next year, and aside from some personal ups and downs, I’m really looking forward to going back.
But that isn’t to say that uni isn’t hard. It is tough. I remember getting my modern history essay back in first semester, having tried really hard and thinking I’d do well, only to yell at my mum “I’m never doing history again”. I haven’t (well, modern history, anyway), but you get back on your horse and try again.
It’s very hard for me to distil eight months of fairly intense learning and new experiences, but I guess you can say three things about uni:
1) It’s not easy
2) It’ll change you
3) But above all…it’s unbelievable fun.
*NB: Asako will probably disagree with me profoundly, and say I worked like a packhorse all year and had no fun.