Having recently completed a three-year degree in English Literature at Durham University, I now feel more than ready to leave the student world behind me and move on to fresh pastures. That is not to say that I haven’t enjoyed my time at uni, since these past few years have undoubtedly been the best few of my life so far, but just that I’ve had enough of studying and trying to cram everything I enjoy in between long periods of essay-writing and revising. Yet my uni experience has provided me with a vast number of valuable life lessons that I hope will benefit me in the future, having helped me learn just who I am as a person and how to get the most out of life. Below is a list of the most important things I will be taking with me when I finally leave the bubble of Durham behind me…
1. I don’t, and never will, like Shakespeare
When I was on a course in the summer between years six and seven, I actually chose Shakespeare as one of the two topics I’d learn about for a whole week (my other choice was archaeology and I remember being sorely disappointed that we wouldn’t be allowed to do any actual digging…) This was probably the only period of my life that I quite enjoyed Shakespeare. Since then my relationship with the Bard has been on a downward spiral, to the point that I was gutted to find a compulsory Shakespeare module on the second-year syllabus. In our first tutorial, we had to go round in a circle and say how we felt about the module, with me bravely going first and admitting that I didn’t really like Shakespeare and wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. Everyone else followed and expressed just how excited they were to have the opportunity to study his works in more depth than they’d previously been able to, and how much they admired everything they’d read of his so far. At the time I felt betrayed and grossly unintelligent, but now I am proud to state that I really don’t get the whole Shakespeare hype, and ecstatic to know that I never have to face his plays again.
2. If I ever drink vodka again, it has to be mixed with something powerful enough to disguise its hellish taste
In first year, I was more than happy to pre on vodka mixed with any available soft drink, the most popular option being lemonade. Now vodka lemonade is a thing of the past, and will be staying in the past forever. In fact, I, alongside many other ruined students, now avoid vodka at all costs, having reached the mature and sophisticated age of wine and Belgian beer drinking: alcohol that actually tastes nice.
3. Life is about enjoying yourself, and not about getting the best grades
Although doing well at uni and getting a good degree out of your £9,000 + a year is undoubtedly important, it is not half as important as being happy in yourself and getting the most out of life. If you can party and play for a sports team and attend several societies while still getting top marks then perfect, but if you’d need to work all day every day to secure a first then it’s probably not worth it. Life moves quickly, and you can’t afford/don’t deserve to be miserable for any significant part of it. Plus, any satisfaction that you do get from receiving good grades wears off far more quickly than the happiness produced from spending time with friends and gaining new experiences.
4. To keep an open mind about absolutely everything
I have changed a lot during my time at uni, and have come to realise that I really like a lot of the things I thought I would never touch before I started. From mushrooms (normal, not magic) to mojitos, and house and techno to skiing, I now know never to turn anything down without trying it first. Picking up new experiences and hobbies also shapes you as a person, increasing your confidence and zest for life while also making you more interesting and supplying a lot of entertaining stories, particularly when your attempts to try new things go wrong (nearly crashing a shiny expensive Vespa and sliding about 200 metres down an icy ski slope on my side without being able to stop or slow down come to mind instantly.)
5. To always aim for the best before settling for second-best
I know a lot of people at uni who applied for various jobs and internships that they never thought they’d get, and then they got them. They are proof that pessimism is merely an unnecessary deterrent and not simply “being realistic”, and that you should chase your dreams and go for exactly what you want without letting other people or slim chances put you off. In the words of this famous quotation, ‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.’
6. Not to let other people’s opinions influence me
Throughout life, there are always going to be people who you don’t get on with, even if you’re the nicest person for miles around. The most important thing, no matter how clichéd it sounds, is just to be yourself and let the people who appreciate you for who you really are surround you. It may take a while, and your flatmates and initial course mates at uni may not be those people, but never should you try to change yourself to fit in with them, or worry that you’re doing something wrong. Some of my best friends now were complete strangers to me before I started my final year, and others are at a completely different uni or my friends from back at home. You don’t have to adjust to fit in with the people who it would be most convenient to hang around with, just keep being you and wait for other like-minded people to discover how great you are.
7. Durham is far better for a day out than a three-year stay
Family members who come up and visit for odd days are likely to appreciate Durham a lot more than you do as a regular inhabitant. When I first arrived I loved it here, by second year it had started to feel like home, but by third year I was getting agitated to move elsewhere. It is absolutely tiny. There is a very limited choice of clubs and shops, and even the cafés and bars it is famous for get boring after a few years. The cathedral is always impressive, but there are only so many times you can visit and walk down the same aisles before you’ve seen it all.
8. To push myself in order to get the most out of life
At school, I rarely did anything that took me out of my comfort zone, and I had a nice but largely uneventful time. At uni, there have been some difficult periods but definitely a lot more highs than lows, and the things that I’ve enjoyed the most throughout the past few years have always resulted from me putting myself in unfamiliar situations and just going for it. The best example of this, and one which I have always reminded myself of since when I’ve needed a bit of motivation, comes from Freshers’ Week on the All-American night. My mum had made me a T-shirt with the American flag on and I was all up for going down to the college bar then going out into town afterwards, but none of my flatmates wanted to and I didn’t know anyone else who I could go with. I ummed and ahed in my room, then made myself get changed and head down to the bar alone on the off-chance that I might bump into someone I knew, and otherwise turn around and go back for a quiet night in. When I got there, I soon saw another girl who did English and asked if I could sit with her and her flatmate, and then ended up having the best night of the whole week. Since then I have been to a lot of events where I don’t know or barely know anyone, and each time it has turned out to be so rewarding.
Therefore, I now feel ready to face the real world after three long years of university. Although I wouldn’t want to do it all over again, I am so glad that I have done it and, hopefully (results day is imminent), done it well. I am proud of what I have achieved, and immensely excited for what the future has in store.
Image sources:
http://www.studyabroad.sg/durham-university/
http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/blog/shakespeare-memes/
https://mpora.com/skiing/skiing-movies/3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Cathedral