I dedicate this post to our dearest Emma (former ASK coordinator), who for many months has been yearning for a blog post written by myself. It is truly worth the wait, Emma!
Last November I sat my final exam, which marked the completion of my undergraduate course and meant (I thought) bigger and better things. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d miss being an undergrad student. Therefore, I am writing this post to remind all you undergrads hungry for the completion of your degree to STOP and look around and enjoy your time at FedUni!
In the words of Eckhart Tolle: “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have”. And “People look to time in expectation that it will eventually make them happy, but you cannot find true happiness by looking toward the future”.
Simply put: enjoy the present moment for all its ups and downs!
Note: I am currently completing a Bachelor of Science (Honours), which is the beginning to a research pathway.
So here’s the list…
1. Friends – not to say I only know how to have friends in undergrad, because that would be very sad! But I met some wonderful people in my undergraduate years who I shared experiences with every day for three whole years. Something about learning together and getting through difficulty and stressful times together really builds bonds. Now that we have all gone our separate ways, I find myself missing them all terribly. The worst part is that I have discovered that keeping in contact with people you’re used to seeing everyday but can’t now is actually a really hard habit to pick up. Also, making time to catch up with them all is now a big challenge, when it used to be so easy, because we all live in different cities and have such busy schedules. Although these problems have arisen this year, we are still super keen to keep in contact and make it work. So the message is: don’t take you uni friend hangs for granted and learn how to keep in contact now!
2. Structure and routine, and believe it or not, Lectures – honestly never thought I’d say I missed lectures but the other day I was strolling around Mt Helen campus and saw a human biology lecture (my favourite first year subject) being run in the Y building lecture theatre and, surprisingly, I felt a deep yearning to head in, sit down and start taking notes about the endocrine system (hormones). Others may disagree but I truly do miss the structure of an undergraduate timetable with lectures, tutorials and practicals all set out as well as being taught brand new information almost every day. You can’t get that many other times in your life. Although I hear you wondering, “doesn’t honours have loads of reading new information all the time?” and all I can say is “being taught has a completely different experience”. So cherish the hours your lecturers and tutors put into teaching and preparing and appreciate a timetable because many of you will only have one for a very short part of your life.
3. Subject variety – They always say choose an honours project based on what interests you and that is what I did. I find my project (breath analysis lung cancer diagnostics) fascinating, but I do miss learning about four completely different topics at once. It is very mentally stimulating and, sadly, with a single topic I find it sometimes a little boring.
4. Being a PASS Leader – in 2015 I was the PASS Leader for Chemistry and it was awesome! Safe to say I miss helping first years struggling with balancing chemical equations and understanding resonance structures and stoichiometry! Also sharing chemistry games and jokes was the greatest!
5. Knowing what I’ll be doing next year – I am a keen planner and I always know what is coming next, but finishing undergrad (and now honours) I am totally unsure of what’s up next! Its easier to know but also exciting to not know!
6. Long Holidays – it had to be said! Although undergrads have exceptionally hard 12 week periods, the holidays are extraordinary and I will miss them for sure! I recommend you travel in them as getting 3-4 months off in summer is somewhat rare in the working world!
Also, what I won’t miss:
- Cafeteria food
- Being hungry in lectures
- Stressing about exams!
- Making the journey to the private study rooms only to find they are all full
You may disagree with this list, so tell me why through the comments!
Also here is Ryan. He is the ASK co-ordinator and always dresses very well!
– From Bella (The coolest SAL there ever was!)