Is university really the best years of our lives?

"You are going to have the time of your life in university!"

While most people have heard these exact words before starting their university journey, throughout the last four years, I have come to the realisation that this does not ring true for everyone.

Filled with starry-eyed enthusiasm and misconstrued dreams, most young adults go into university thinking they are going to completely reinvent themselves. Students from different backgrounds and experiences come together to learn and share experiences.

For many, university is a chance to thrive outside the strict confines of parental guidance. It is their chance to go on trips with friends and make the best of their time. But while the fast paced "university culture" might be freeing for some, it can also be quite stressful and confining for others.

The harsh reality is, for students who are trying to be financially independent, juggling jobs with studies, or have certain standards of grades for academic scholarships to uphold, the privilege of spending time with friends and joining clubs is simply a luxury they cannot always indulge in. In the Venn diagram of work, academics and social life, there is simply not enough hours in a day to do all three.

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While clubs definitely help students get out of their comfort zone and meet like-minded individuals, similar connections can be made outside of these. Most freshmen feel like they will be missing out by not being able to establish the wide-forming connections through clubs. So, they fall into the peer pressure trap and end up joining half a dozen clubs and regret it later once the workload hits.

Our passions and our motives in life can easily change as we grow, and it is only natural that the degree someone choose as a teen might not be their passion anymore as a young adult. Switching to a subject that genuinely sparks interest can be quite hard, considering the taboo and shame that society puts on quitters. Learning to prioritise your own happiness and passion is hard, but it is a necessary step in truly enjoying the years you spend in university. Not everyone will spend exactly four years in university; some will spend less and others will spend more, and that is okay.

If university is supposed to offer the best years of your life, then does that mean the rest of your life is all downhill from there? The "college experience" is a very romanticised, glamorised concept, but in reality, it is just one season in our lives.

At the end of the day, university is simply what you make of it. Amidst the chaos of academia and the bustling campus life, some find themselves, while others use it as a stepping stool for bigger dreams.

Reinventing oneself doesn't have to be confined to the boundaries of university. There is no definitive timeline, no one size fits all. Everyone has their own paths in life and university is simply one of the many hurdles we have to pass on our way.

Sara Kabir is a dreamer, a literature major, and a writer. Share your university experience with her @scarletfangirl on Instagram.