Misha's thoughts on uni

Well, I guess there's no denying it - I'm a second year student and that kinda means I have to regularly (well, more or less) make an effort to turn up to uni and do some work. Anyone who's seen me at uni will be impressed with the dedication, consistency and positive attitude that I have towards my studies. Not.

Here I will put a few of my own thoughts on the meaning of life related to uni...

First year

After giving it some serious thought, I've come to the conclusion that no matter how many later-year students you meet in O-Week, and no matter how many of those later-year students tell you that first year is the year to have fun, you still end up trying too hard. You feel morally obliged to come to every single lecture, aim for that magic High D, and then glow with pride when the exam results finally come in.

The pride bubble bursts when you realise, after some time, that marks don't mean shit in first year... Smarter people tend to realise this around the start of session 2, and manage to compensate for the time they've lost. Other, less lucky mortals will push on all the way into second year and will kick themselves silly when it finally sinks in.

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Second year and the What the hell am I doing here? syndrome

Well, I don't know if it's really a syndrome since I might be the only one who feels this way. But a few weeks into my second year of SEng I started thinking about whether I'm actually doing anything useful at uni - after a year, I feel like I haven't learnt anything. I was there during session, did the assignments, sat the exam, got the marks, and... Seriously, if someone came up to me and asked me What have you got to show for all the time you've spent at uni?, I'd have to dig real deep to come up with an answer. I'm not gonna try to do that now - I'm still hoping some sort of miracle will happen tomorrow and I'll finally know what my place in life is. These miracles do actually happen from time to time, and they when they do, you will feel a lot better. At least that's something to keep the light at the end of the tunnel shining bright... In case you haven't noticed, I like to finish my paragraphs with some sort of deep, thoughful sentence that deserves to be quoted around the world for years to come.

Some words on the infamous Second Year Syndrome - it's all true, people. If you breeze through first year, you will get the impression that uni is a piece of piss and you can afford to take it real easy in second year. Uh-uh, not true. I was one of the gullible, lazy ones who fell into this trap - for me, second year uni was a completely different story. Session 1 was an absolute nightmare for me as I struggled to pass my exams. I did it, but the exam session was one of the most depressing experiences at uni. I seriously hope I don't have to go through something like that again. But somehow, I have the feeling that I will. But perhaps I will be more ready for it the next time round...

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Third year

Well well well... what can I say. Sometimes I'm surprised I made it this far. Not in the sense that I thought I wouldn't make it, just that a short time ago third year seemed like so freakin far away. And now it's week 11 of session 2, 2004 and another year is coming to a close. Time flies... Weird.

Anyway, this year was the first time I gave some serious thought to what's gonna happen when I actually do end up leaving UNSW with a degree. It was also the time when I realised that going with the flow isn't always the best thing to do - although it seems like it's the easiest and more natural. Somewhat reminiscent of the dreaded HSC three years ago, perhaps unwillingly I let my study once again creep into the foreground, slowly pushing everything into the shadows.

Now is also the time where I have to let some things go... I have to say that leaving stuff behind is always hard, especially when it means a lot to you... especially when you worked so hard to get it. That really sucks sometimes...

The positive side of this year was that the stuff we studied at uni began to show it's importance in the real world. Suddenly you turn around and say 'Hey, I can do this stuff...' Now is definitely not a bad time to have that thought at the back of my mind - knowing that your effort is paying off is always a good feeling.

With these thoughts in mind, I'm letting time drift towards the final exams of 2004. A bit early to reflect on the whole year... but although I must say that it hasn't been all that good too recently, it hasn't been all that bad either.

I'll probably write some more around exam time (only a few weeks...), when I need excuses not to study.

To be continued...

Stay tuned for more words of wisdom and Misha's all-time favourite subjects. Click here to go back and find out more about Misha.

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This document was last updated on: 00:08 7/04/08