There comes a time in everyone's life that we realise the full extent of a situation we've placed ourselves in. As a person, we are gifted with a sudden, overwhelming sensation of vision- like the shroud covering the days and weeks ahead has suddenly been torn away, and all you are left with, is *assumes full lotus position* a feeling of serenity.
Or so they keep telling me.
As a person, I’ve never particularly suffered from stress, despite the pressures I’ve faced. Sure, there has been the odd breakdown over a Module B HSC English essay, but nothing untoward. In schooling (as least based on my experiences) it is generally accepted that, as the assessments and study begins to pile up, everyone separates into two groups.
A: The people who don't work much, and decide to be unconcerned about results.
B: The people who do work, to varying degrees, yet still stress themselves about pedantic nothingnesses (if that wasn't a word, it is now).
Of course, the average high school student would know the answer to this problem- I sure know that it was repeatedly hammered into me by ‘Study Specialists’ and ‘Educational Guidance Counselors’. Cliché laden phrases like ‘For guaranteed success in your education, balance study with personal time, while maximising efficiency’ and other such uninspiring drivel were repeatedly thrown at us. *Dodges Study Guide*
In perfect honesty, I can say that there is no right answer when it comes to getting the best out of University or School. From personal experience, I’ve seen people develop widely different study habits, each of which have had varying degrees of success. Throughout the HSC, I was guided (very light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-esque) by the constant assurance from others that Uni life would bring a great reduction in the work pressure – although things would get more difficult, the learning curve wouldn’t be too challenging. In the words of a man much, much greater than myself: Nothing could be closer to the truth, and still miss the mark entirely.
Uni life is easy in the sense that time commitments are significantly lessened, with only the students doing truly insane courses coming close to the 30 hours approx. face to face that is high school. Nor is there an absurdly dressed man collecting homework and passing judgment on your behavior from the front of each room.
Granted, the duty tutors are often garbed in strange and exotic fashion, and they may give disgruntled stares after I’ve destroyed my friend’s paper fort with my paper B-17 bomber (I should mention they try to bribe me with chocolate biscuits regularly), but their purpose is purely to facilitate your learning experience. And that’s it.
The biggest thing to settling into uni, before you get completely overwhelmed (thus obtaining zen-like status described in the opening section of this piece), is to simply realise that everything is now your own responsibility. No more teachers chasing you down corridors demanding your report on the Stylistic Devices Employed By
So, in summary:
Do your very best to enjoy uni, and all the clubs and societies it offers- live the life, so to speak, get involved in the social side. It’s the things you do to pass your small amounts of spare time, and the people you meet that will get you through the crazier assessment periods. But please, don’t forget the true purpose of university- to learn, to grow, and to eventually become an experienced geek in your chosen field. 'Cause that, dear readers, is what it’s really all about.