November 2012 university update.

Hey y'all, how's it hanging?

Do I talk weird? I think I talk weird. At least I type weird, cos I don't think I talk like that in real life.

ANYWAY! An update on my life for those I haven't kept in touch with. Hope things are good!

Me? Well it's gonna be a long story, so sit tight and get comfortable. Maybe get a cup of hot chocolate, cos I know most of you read my blog at night in bed, and a cuppa hot choc is best when consumed at night. Ready? OK.

My university journey began halfway through September. University of Manchester wasn't actually my first choice. I got in through clearing to do a Chinese and Japanese joint honours degree. Why? Well it was actually a last minute decision. Truth is, I really wanted to take a gap year so I could figure out what I really wanted to do in uni. However, my mom had different ideals. She detested gap years, thinking that it's a waste of a year. Hmm, actually, could it be she had no faith in me to make good use of a gap year? Could be that.

So yeah, my mom wanted me to go straight into uni, so I did. Which meant I went into uni half-heartedly. I didn't have the drive, the motivation, to actually do it. I just though 'I'll just get through these 4 years, and it'll be over in no time. I'll have a degree, get a good job, and that'll be the end of it.'. That may have the been the most costly and time wasting mistake I have ever made. I missed my first ever lecture, and from then on, I had only been going to 5 hours of 14 hours of lectures a week. Terrible, I know. A waste of money, I know. But like I said before, I didn't have the drive or the motivation to go. A week later, I dropped Japanese. The reason is because I didn't read the small print on the website for the course. This is what it says:

 "The first few weeks may be particularly intensive for those who have not encountered Japanese script and we strongly advise all applicants to ensure that they have learned at least the hiragana script prior to Week One of teaching; guidance on materials to help with this can be obtained from language tutors."

Yeah.. since I applied for the course through clearing, I didn't have the chance to learn the hiragana script. For those who don't know what it is, it's like a kinda Japanese alphabet, but not really. And since I didn't have this skill, I couldn't catch up at all, and there were tests every week that would affect the overall grade at the end of the year. Knowing this, I asked to switch from Japanese to Screen Studies, while still keeping Chinese. What is Screen Studies you ask? Well.. From what I gather, it's kinda like Film Studies. A Mickey Mouse course. Useless. Sorry to all those who are doing the same or similar degree.. but that's my honest opinion. I went to two Screen Studies lectures before I stopped going altogether. Do you know what we did? We watched old black and white films.. and discussed the themes. There wasn't even any speaking! It was boring and pointless. I thought cos it'd be interesting for me, because I make YouTube videos and studying film might interest me, but it's the worst degree you could do in UoM. Trust me.

Because I hated doing Screen Studies, and because there was no other course I wanna do with Chinese (I detest Business), I have made the final choice of dropping out of university. Yeah, I said it. Gonna drop out of uni. It's a super huge decision, and I'm scared. Really scared. But my mind also feels clear. It feels like a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I've made plans for my future - finally- and I'll describe it to you now.

THE PLAN...

OFFICIALLY DROP
I have yet to talk to my academic advisor about officially dropping out of uni. I'm a bit scared of talking to her, but I've sent her an email requesting for a time to meet up.

WRITE A CV
I haven't written a CV since my practice one in high school. This is gonna suck.

TELL PARENTS
This is definitely the scariest part of my plan. I think my dad will be cool with it, but my mom is absolutely gonna destroy me! I'm most likely gonna tell her this weekend, so I'll let you know what happens after...

WRITE UCAS
I have to go through the whole UCAS process again just to reapply. Sheffield is my number one choice, but I can't tell you what degree I wanna do at the moment. You'll know when the time comes.

GET A JOB
Since I'm not gonna be funded by the Government anymore, I need to get a job to pay back off the loans I've taken out. It's gonna be effort, but I'm gonna try my best. This is something I've decided on, and I'm going to take full responsibility for it. No one's opinion or advice has influenced me on this decision.

SO YEAH... that's what's happening so far in my university life. Thanks for reading, much appreciated! I'm gonna try my hardest to blog more often, so look forward to more posts :)



- stripeytofu