Blogs

I have always been interested in university life, mostly because I never had the opportunity to go myself.

When I finished high school I enrolled into a smaller, more affordable college to do my journalism degree. As an outsider I believed that university students seemed to have it all. They looked so carefree and as though they were having the time of their lives. It was the fashionable clothes, the newest gadgets, the endless clubbing and meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds that made it seem that way.

I’m pretty certain that when you made the decision to go to university, at least one person said to you “it will be the best time of your life”. They’ll tell you that you’ll go on crazy nights out, make heaps of friends and have more fun than you’ve ever had. Ever. 

But what if this doesn’t happen? What if you end up making only one friend? What if you aren’t going to loads of house parties? What if you aren’t turning up to 9am lectures still drunk from the night before? 

As a cellular and molecular biology major at the University of Michigan, I had always thought I would end up in a starched lab coat, struggling to steady a pipette. I needed experience in order to pursue lab research in the future but I was crushed when my application was rejected from the STEM branch of Michigan’s undergraduate research programme. 

Luckily, my Spanish instructor informed us of an opening for students in humanities research, led by Spanish professors. Although Spanish was my minor, I decided that a humanities lab was better than no lab at all and applied.

High school students in Albania often dream of studying at universities around the world. We imagine American colleges, British lectures, and student life in other European countries. Many of us don’t make it that far – often because we simply can’t afford it – but I was lucky enough to be offered a place on the economics master’s course at the University of Cologne.

While we may not be travelling around on hoverboards or wearing self-tying shoes, a lot has changed between 1969 and 2019, and higher education and university are just two of those things.

The internet has changed how university students study, prices of fees and accommodation have rocketed and smartphones have made socialising so much easier. 

We take a look back at just how university life has evolved, and the major changes that have made university life both easier and harder. 

Being a pansexual student has often raised many questions. “What does it even mean to be pansexual?”, is one of the most common questions I get asked about my sexuality, so let me break it down for you.

The most widely accepted definition of pansexuality is that it is an attraction towards people regardless of their gender identity or sex.

It was only a matter of time until I found myself lost in Bologna, wandering under the 666 arches and eating my way around the city. 

Part of the reason I applied to Yale University was because the student body has a reputation for being politically minded. It doesn’t matter who you are or what subject you take, these conversations are always being had in classrooms and around campus. 

Taking a short break from my social media dependence was an experience that I won’t forget any time soon.

No one wants to admit how much time they waste on social media or how much it means to them to share the little achievements of their daily lives. And who can blame them? We all want to be liked and crave the attention that we feel we deserve.

Everything about social media, from its endless scrolling format to the pesky Snapchat streaks, is all cleverly made to be so rewarding that we never realise that it has been designed to keep us hooked.

At 7am, as the sun’s rays sneak between my blinds and my alarm rings, I open my eyes. Climbing out of bed, I open my dormitory door and knock on the door of my hall mate, Fiona, to wake her before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

Another day, another opportunity to make it count. Here is what a typical day in my life as a final year student at the National University of Singapore Business School is like.