Obviously you come to uni to study whatever course you pick. Yet now I am about halfway through my university experience there is a strong realisation that there is a lot more to it than that. Some people will go travelling after completing school. It's true that work won't allow you to have 6 months off to go to some peculiar town in the middle of somewhere to 'find yourself' or some other boring cliche often used. However, all this experience can be achieved at uni and though there is massive debt at the end of it, you also get something called a degree which I am told helps a bit with getting decent paid jobs.
The sort of things you learn at uni apart from the academia side of things are:
- Independence/ responsibility
- Cooking/ washing your clothes
- Money (and how to live off the budget of a four year olds pocket money)
- Clubbing/ drinking (and where the limits really are)
- Getting a house
- Meeting new people
- Societies at uni
- And seeing a different part of the country
I have loved uni more than I thought I would. The stress I have had to endure has only made me better as a person and matured me... some won't believe that.
The whole independence thing would be very boring to read about and it isn't so hard to understand that living away from home will make you become more adult. It's the same with cooking really. My diet consists of curries, stir fries, omelettes, bangers and mash and the odd something else (all cooked). You learn to cook quickly as if you don't your student loan can only buy so many take aways... If you really struggle then toast is always good. If you can't toast bread then you're a simpleton and sort it out.
Washing clothing was a nervous step for me. I have heard horror stories of white t-shirts going pink or clothes shrinking but it's easy. Colours with colours, whites with whites and don't put the water on a too high temperature.
Money is something that is often referred to as being non-existent with students. This has some truth in it but if your sensible and find the right shops to buy food and more importantly, the right pubs to drink in, you can budget it someway or another.
Clubbing/ drinking at uni is on a whole new level than to back home. Knowing you don't have a parent to come home to means the limits are risen or even erased. I cannot possibly begin to describe the things I have seen of other people being drunk but take my word for it, it's bloody funny. There obviously has to be a limit and there usually is but if someone goes way overboard you know there will be someone looking out for you and if not... then don't drink unless with a good bunch of mates.
Getting a house is by far the most stressful thing to sort. You have no idea what you're doing. No idea what prices are good or not for rent. Whether the house is good quality. Or whether the people you will be living with will be OK or complete bellends. I learnt that you just need to trust your gut and go for it. Take note of prices etc and it will all fit into place.
Meeting new people is easy. You see the odd person wandering around with no mates but they're usually too busy talking to their left hand and and listening to their right. This isn't me taking a dig at the loners out there but if you really want friends at uni it is easy if you try.
Societies... Mine was rugby union. I will leave this for another blog for obvious reasons.
Seeing a different part of the country is great. Coventry, where I am situated, is amazing, bonkers, horrible, beautiful, friendly and perfect all at the same time. You see everything in Cov. The people on the waiting list for Jeremy Kyle. The people who shout at trees. The people who look as active as trees. The low lifes who moan. And you see the brilliant as well. Cov will also get its own blog.
So to summarise, uni is just fucking brilliant! If you are not sure whether to do it, DO IT! If you don't like it then fine but you will be a very small minority who don't. Nothing will prepare you more for the rest of your life than lessons learnt at uni.
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