Hey guys!! I decided to get in another guest writer, my good friend Oge to share her experience about university and engineering in specific.
When my friend Praya requested me to do this write up, I thought I’d have nothing to write but here I am...attempting to squeeze in plenty of things in a blogpost.
Going to uni is definitely a whole new experience on its own. I’m about to enter my second year in electrical engineering and I’ll share a few of my experiences.
Firstly, I’m an international student. I come from Nigeria in Africa. It’s a whole deal traveling all the way to Malaysia. It’s a two day journey so I’m sure you can imagine the discomfort. When I first came to Malaysia in February, I was not sure what to expect as it was my first time.
I thought for one I’d finally get to escape the ‘evil’ clutches of mosquitoes and hot weathers. But low and behold, the same things greeted me. I found the place interesting honestly, it’s a very multi cultural country with various types of food and slang! I’ve really grown to like the place.
Now onto the deep stuff. There are so many things they don’t tell you about uni. No one ever told me that lecturers expect you to know the whole textbook before class, no one said lectures would be more boring than staring into thin air.
No one said that waking up to go to a boring lecture would be the hardest decision you’d make all day.
No one said how easy it is to fail a course and no one told me I was going to spend so much money on food!!
Uni really does slap you in the face in the first year. You’ll meet lecturers who talk for two hours straight and refuse to give breaks. Some who teach so well and make their points in less than two hours, some who spend the whole two hours reading from their computers. I mean I might as well do that in the comfort of my room.
Honestly the worst thing for me in my first year was group assignments! Just pray that you get assigned to a group that actually care to pass. It is a horrible experience working with people who don’t care about anything at all. I spent most of the time begging and forcing them to do their own work. Although it taught me some leadership qualities, I don’t think I’d want to do it again!
Home sickness is something common for people who come from far places and are staying somewhere else. It wasn’t really the case for me because I’m a total bookworm and I barely had time to reminisce. But calling home really helped me. Calling as often as everyday or at least texting helped me overcome any feelings of home sickness. I’d encourage international students to do the same, it really does help.
Uni isn’t all so bad once you find yourself. It’s a huge place with lots of people and lots of decisions to make. But if you know what you want and find yourself amidst all the hassle, it’ll be easy.
Some tips;
1) Get a friend or study partner. This is very important because you can never know everything. A study partner will help you in aspects you’re not too confident in and you share knowledge with them. It really is essential at least in the first year until you can find your feet.
2) Know what you want at an early stage. You find that once you don’t know what you want, you spend time exploring different things and you get easily distracted. It is very important to find yourself. Knowing what you want gives you direction and it makes reaching your goals easier.
3) Don’t forget where you come from and pray!! Irrespective of your religion, pray to your God for constant guidance because sometimes the stress can be choking. Definitely keep a tight hold on your culture and prayers.
Finally, uni does not have only bad experiences. It also comes with a lot of growth and maturing. Growth in different forms like spiritually, intellectually and in mind and thinking. You get to experience new things, like friendships, knowing how to deal with different kinds of characters, overcoming struggles too. There is so much uni has to offer.
I’ll leave with a saying from my place, “Don’t just pass through university, let university pass through you”.
By : Oge Emekwue
A hearty thank you to Oge for sharing her university experience and Google for all the Gifs you see above. #saynotoplagiarism
Till next time....
x PRAYA x
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