Don’t you just hate those people who seem to have their whole life planned from the age of seven? They know what they want to study and where; what job they want at what company; what age they are going to get married and how many children they are going to have.
OK, maybe ‘hate’ is a bit harsh. The feeling I’m looking for is jealousy (yes, I said it). I’d love to be one of those people who actually knows what they want to do with their life. But unfortunately that’s not the case. I’m one of those who didn’t figure out what I wanted to study until one year before heading to uni. And to be quite honest; I’m still not one hundred percent sure I made the right decision.
Some people are perfectly certain that they have chosen the right course, the right university and the right path for their life. And don’t get me wrong; thumbs up to you guys. But I hate the feeling of being “trapped”. I hate to feel like I have to be here for the next three years, that there is no way back now that I’ve started and that I’m not allowed to change my mind. And again: please don’t get me wrong on this; I’m, most of the time, enjoying my course. But I like to keep my options open.
I like to feel that I’m the one who chose to come here, and therefore I can decide if, or when, I want to leave. I want to know that I can decide to take a gap year, travel or even change my course if that’s what I want – the point being that I know I can. When you start thinking about it, it’s not really that rare.
People have already dropped out of my course. Do I think they’re stupid? No. Do I think they’re weak? No. They simply made the wrong choice. Some of us just don’t really know what we want, therefore we might make wrong decisions every now and then. What is important to remember is not to make haste.
I doubt that everyone fell in love with their course on the first day of uni – everything was completely new, and you hadn’t really found your way around the university and definitely not around your course. You have to give it some weeks, months and maybe even a term or two before you can make the decision about whether your course is the right one for you or not.
And three years is a long time. Things may change; you may change. And let’s be honest – is it really the end of the world if you change your mind? Yes; you will have lost a couple of thousands of pounds, but when all is said and done what does that matter if you’re doing a course you don’t like?
I’m not trying to urge everyone who doesn’t like every single aspect of their course to drop out, but simply to let you know that you’re allowed to be uncertain. You’re allowed to admit that uni’s not what you expected. And you’re allowed to change your mind. In the end it’s your life; so aren’t you the one who’s supposed to make the decisions?
Photos by Bolsover Cruise Club and The Career Muse