Ending Life as An Undergrad, The Beginning of...
As some of us students approach the tritely, but aptly, named ‘end of an era’, what is the next move? As with all experiences of consequence, time seems to have flown by, but equally we find it hard to believe life at university will soon be over.
One student, Ed, says he is looking forward to leaving, even though in an ideal world he would choose to pander to his love of Shakespeare in further study. “I’m ready to start earning money. Also, I feel a 9 to 5 job would give me more tangible goals since studying literature is endless.” He laughs and continues to express a sentiment shared by many: “I’m quite looking forward to being an adult!” What has helped Ed find direction is leading his first English lesson single-handedly, which confirmed his lifelong desire to teach.
On the other hand, Catherine from Glasgow is worried: “There are lots of things I'd like to do upon leaving university, and the careers service are helpful, but it's still really difficult deciding. I'm worried that I'll make one wrong choice and not realise until it's too late.” Like Catherine, Sarah from Edinburgh University chose to look for internships abroad, because she was unsure of what she wanted to do. “Rather than do nothing I thought it best to develop my German skills and I suppose it will stand out on my CV.” More specifically, she hopes it will lead her towards a job in the EU. Other students, like Corrie, also from Glasgow, plan on travel for travel’s sake. The break, fresh start and hope of a drastically different set of life experiences is what has motivated her to travel through New Zealand and Australia for a year before entering the job market.
Newcastle-born Julie is planning on doing further study. “I’m excited that I am finally going to achieve what I have worked so hard for what seems like all my life, to get an illustrious degree,” she considers. “But I felt anxious because just now it doesn’t seem like getting an undergraduate degree is enough to get you anywhere”, a worry many students this year have, especially considering the immense amount of job cuts all over the country. “I have managed to avoid facing the reality that to achieve such an end I have had to put myself and my family into debt. It is a privilege I have certainly paid for. But most of all I am sad that a huge part of my life is coming to an end – the city, the people, the amazing friends I’ve made.”
A problem many arts students face is the notion that continuing with the humanities is ‘impractical’ or makes you a ‘bum.’ Gavin from Dumfries does screenwriting and Poppy, from York, intends to be a novelist. Far from constituting the ubiquitous adolescent phase most people experience, their desire to write has been a constant one. “I can’t think of anything better than to be financially independent through a job I truly love” Poppy reflects. It is surprising, after all, that the arts are looked on as not as ‘serious’ as other jobs, when so much of our everyday life involves a consumption of and influence by newspapers, magazines, television, film, advertising – any kind of media in fact.
But what of those of us who finish university for altogether different reasons? Sophie from London decided not to continue with a French-Italian degree four years ago, and instead chose to pursue a career in medicine. “Dropping out rather than completing a first degree was initially a shock, and hard to deal with; after all the expectation of finishing school people want you to go to university and be ‘successful.’ On the other hand, I didn’t finish with loads of debt, or the feeling that I never wanted to study again. Other students in my class have completed degrees already, even PhDs, so there is more riding on this second one for them.” Sophie has found, too, that the life experience during her transitional years between the first and second degree has been much more useful for what she wants do. It definitely proves that there is no one clear-cut path for all of us; the image of our future drummed into us throughout school can be somewhat limiting in that a certain amount of free movement can be healthy.
Although issues of money and what direction to take are worries for us all, one sentiment is consistent throughout the different stories of students; that these years at university have been special. We can remember being told before entering university that friends for life would be made, and that a degree presents some of the most formative years of your life. However, this arguably only becomes obvious the nearer we get to graduation and see a familiar door close, and search for the next to open.
Phoebe C. Linton
