University: Doubts, How Does First Year Feel, Work Load etc.

Dear lovely readers,

as some of you might know if you’ve been keeping up with my blog for the past year and have noticed my absences, you know I’m currently enrolled in university. Last year I was a freshmen and I have now officially started my second year. I’ve never really wrote about my experience and a post completely dedicated to uni, but I’ve read some posts last year, when I was going to begin my journey and I have to admit some really calmed me down and reassured me about how it might be so here we go…

WHAT AM I STUDYING?

I’m doing a double-subject program, which means I’m doing two courses simultaneously. I am studying languages and I chose Italian and English.

HOW DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR PROGRAM?

I have personally always been passionate about learning new languages. I attended an elementary school and later on a high school that had classes in Italian, so I’ve learnt Italian when I was still a kid and have always loved the language. As for English I’ve always been fond of it.

BEFORE STARTING UNI

Before I started I have to admit I had a different vision of how I thought it would all be like, but it’s normal. When are things exactly the same as we imagined them to be?

FIRST WEEK

Confusion, confusion and once again confusion. My first week of university I could describe myself as a student that was floating around the building – checking which lecture I had next, afterwards I had to run to reach the classroom only to realize I had no idea where to go and desperately tried to figure out which floor my lecture room was in.

Not only that, since I have a double-subject program I had to plan out my schedule by myself so that the minimum lectures would overlap with each other, which caused even more confusion all together, with freshman Arianna staring into her laptop screen with two schedules in front of her and an Excel folder to help her combine the two together. Not fun when you’re already so lost about everything that’s going on.

FIRST MONTH

I’d say the first month is the hardest one… well at least before “exam season” starts. You are catapulted into a whole new world – new city (or at least for most students that move to attend university in another city), new people, new methods… everything that surrounds you is pretty much new and sometimes this can be hard to adapt to, at least so quickly. Therefore, I think the first month is the hardest one as of everything that is happening around you, and well, in your head as well.

But just keep on going. You might feel you’re only getting to meet people for a quick chit-chat talk and then you don’t talk to them again, and you don’t know what’s going on in your classes at all, your teacher is lecturing about a very hard topic, you miss your family and friends… You’ll feel all types of way, but it’s normal. As long as you think you chose the right program, you enjoy at least some classes (there is always a few classes that are harder), you need to stick to it. Keep going. There will be days when you feel like this whole situation is not meant for you, you’ll feel as if you don’t fit there, but you most probably do. Believe me, if it really doesn’t feel right, you feel it in your heart. And if after a few months it really seems not to work out for you you can always  drop out or transfer to another university.

LECTURES

University is so different from high-school especially lecture-wise. Some professors have power-points, others just talk without stopping or having anything written on the board, some even read from a book that you can purchase or borrow at the library. All types of lectures pretty much. They are also a lot longer than high-school classes, usually double the length which in the beginning you have to get used to. I’d say especially if you are in a bigger uni, with more students, all the classes are less “personal”.

WORK LOAD

The material you have to study for your exam is many, many more pages than you had for one exam in high school. Some subjects have power point presentations that are more than fifty slides long per lecture and then a whole book to read through for the exam. For some you don’t get any material at all and you have to make your own notes. Either way, the amount of material and topics you have for one exams is much more than in high school so the best thing is to stay on top of your work all the time. Studying a few days before is much less likely with 100 pages of one topic only, believe me…

I HAVEN’T MADE THE RIGHT DECISION

Many students realize they enrolled in a program that doesn’t suit them, they don’t enjoy the lectures, it doesn’t feel like the right decision and that’s okay. Who hasn’t made a wrong decision before? We all have, so don’t stress about it. In my country you can switch programs during the first week without it being written on your index. Otherwise you can drop out and choose to do something else before enrolling into another program the next year. Some also stay in the program they chose, finish their year and then change. As long as you know there’s nothing weird or embarrassed in doing that, so many people do it. It’s normal!

A YEAR LATER 

It’s been a year since I started uni and it feels so different now. I’ve adapted, got used to most of what uni brings into your life and the hectic rhythm you need to have if you want to keep up. You really do get used to it, but as everything else, it takes time. Be persistent, keep going and it’ll be fine, I promise. It’s not as extreme and confused and hard as it seems in the beginning. There are harder moments, it gets super stressful when you have exams, but it’s part of the whole experience.

 

Lastly, if you’re going into university next year and you haven’t enrolled yet, please, choose with your heart. I’ve been told so many times that I should study something else, something that guarantees more money in the future, something more fun, something whatever. At the end of the day you’re going to be the one sitting in front of those books, underlined sentences and papers. You and not the people suggesting another program, so truly try to keep in my what you want to be doing.

 

And that’s all I have to share with you right now, if you have any question relating university or my experience please don’t hesitate to ask me 🙂 I’m more than happy to share my experience.

Good luck with your school year, I wish you all the best!

 

Love,

Arianna