A student of life or university?

I never actually attended University myself; by the time I had finished Upper Sixth Form, I was ready to leave education behind for a while. I looked into attending university, but honestly, I didn’t feel it was for me. I still did lots of different educational courses in the evenings, but I couldn’t put my finger on one specific thing that I wanted to do, so I decided to opt for ‘life experience’ and find a job instead.

What if?

I have never regretted my decision, but I have often wondered how different things might have been if I had gone to University. I have looked on social networking sites at school friends who went off to Uni and wondered what their life was like.

A means to an end

For me, school life was ‘ok’, I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it, it was just one of those things that you have to do to further yourself in life. As a student, I managed to get some pretty good grades, but I was far from studious. I liked doing projects, and I loved essay writing (surprising that I should now have a blog, hey!), but I wouldn’t say liked exams.

I couldn’t revise for the life of me; I really struggled to concentrate on reading something I had already read. I am the same now; I will never read a book twice because I remember it all like I only read it yesterday, so I don’t see the point in rereading it.

Ask for help when you need it

Some people are the complete opposite to me, though; they thrive on the pressure of revision and exams but struggle with the day-to-day stuff and get their thoughts onto paper. Some people pay for extra tuition to help them get their heads around a topic; others use essay writing services to help.

I imagine that the University really tests your willpower. On the one hand, you want to make sure that you get good grades. On the other you want to enjoy life whilst you can before you settle down into life, work and whatever else is thrown at you, so there will be times when you need to give yourself a little push, and there will be times when you need to look outside for help.

Last year Hubby decided to return to studying to further himself at work, and whilst we still only feel like 21-year-olds most of the time, we do need to remember that we have been out of the education system for (arrggghhh) nearly 18 years now! You think it will be easy to slip back into learning, but that is not always the case. Hubby had to attend 2-3 days at University and then spend the next 6-8 weeks on his own reading, collating information and putting it all together in the form of an essay.

He could call on his tutors’ help if he needed it, but what Hubby really struggled with was remembering how to structure an essay, how to not waffle, as he tends to do a lot these days. He found it difficult to stick to his 2000 words and make sure that he covered all of the important points. During these times, he would turn to me (with a baby brain – I don’t think so!!) or to his sister, a Deputy Headmistress, to help him find his way, but sometimes we confused him even more.

A colleague told him about a company that can provide help with essay writing and says he wished he had heard about it sooner; it could have saved him hours of stress and most likely a few grey hairs.

One thing I always stand by though is to never live your life with regrets, you’ve only got one shot!!