Four years ago, I couldn’t picture the end of my university career. It seemed so far away and I figured these four years would be about the longest of my life.
Looking back on it, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Moving a couple hours away from home seemed like it was going to be one of the hardest things I’d ever have to do, though it seems so miniscule looking back.
It really was a hard adjustment and the stresses of studying increased that ten-fold. I thought four years ago was the hardest transition of my life, but, once again, I was wrong.
The hardest transition is right now.
I always hear people say how they can’t wait to finish university and I heard the exact same thing throughout high school.
This statement doesn’t always make sense to me because, one way or another, your university experience has shaped you. You wouldn’t be who you are today without it.
When students begin university for the first time, more often than not they will be moving away from home. If you are moving away for university, you still have a part of you at your first home — whether you live two hours away or in another country.
The transition away from your home is hard, but you usually have the opportunity to visit your family throughout the school year.
When your university career comes to an end, you may have to move back home or to a new city and you have to leave your campus city behind.
You may not have a reason to even come back to this city once you receive your diploma, which can make leaving so much harder.
As a student, coming to university wasn’t much different from high school because you were still required to follow an academic schedule that the university put together for you.
You have a daily routine throughout the week and even if you have a part-time job throughout school, your day-to-day life is pretty much planned for you.
After graduating, things become more complicated because a career is generally at the top of your priorities, unless you decide to go back to school, like many people do.
No matter the case, there seems to be so much more planning than there ever was during your undergraduate career.
Sure, university may seem hard and it can be stressful, but there is so much more life beyond these four or five years.
Graduation is the start of the real world and it comes with endless decisions. It’s not that life isn’t going to be great beyond university, but it’s best to enjoy these moments first.Â
Finances become more of an issue after you complete your schooling because when coming to university, you didn’t have student loans to pay back.
Graduation is the start of the real world and it comes with endless decisions. It’s not that life isn’t going to be great beyond university, but it’s best to enjoy these moments first.
You’ll miss who you were during your years at university — I already miss everything about it and there are still a few days of classes left.
So stop saying you can’t wait to leave your university because a few weeks, months or years from now, you will wish you were back on campus.
Embrace the studying and cram your papers because this experience will always be your foundation and one day, you’ll just remember it as the good old days.