I have a week left in the town I live in now. I should really start packing. (I will as soon as I write this, promise.) It's scary. And exciting. As might be expected. I'm looking forward to planning and cooking food. Always being able to chose what to eat, and to be able to find a recipe and then incorporate that into to the foodshop for the week is going to be fun. The flipside is that I now have to cook all the food I am going to eat. I might afford eating out sometimes, but I feel like it is the wisest to reserve that for social occasions rather than me just not feeling up for cooking. I'm going to have to study and like revise and stuff. For real. And I am anxious about how that it going to work out. I think I'll manage but will it feel stressful and horrible on a daily basis. Will I find any friends? Will I like the typical student life? Will I feel horribly lonely living alone? Who knows?
I'm 50 years old. Graduated from high school on a Friday in June 1987, and went to work for a tech company on Monday. 20 years later I got an AA degree in Fashion Design in 18-months, because hiring managers needed to be able to mark the box "College Degree?" with a "Yes", when I was applying for jobs. I never got to experience college. Intense learning environments. Honing your mind and skills against instructors and classmates. Doing the hard work of finals and timeline management and learning hard shit. And then fully letting go, with fellow classmates, in a bacchanalian release. Feeling pride for my mascot/team/school (because of Stockholm Syndrome) and having that connection with people for the rest of my life, because of our shared experience with that school/team/mascot. My life is amazing. My skills are at the top of my game, and I get paid handsomely for it. But that doesn't mean that I don't miss what you are about to experience... I'm having some major twinges of jealously...
I'm going to try and enjoy it as much as I can. A year ago I probably would have said that the social side of uni "wasn't for me" but now I have the mindset of trying to experience it and make the most of these 3-5 years. Also, if I may ask, why did you chose fashion design specifically? It seems like it wouldn't have any overlap with what you actually do for a living?
Two reasons: 1. I had always had a knack for dressing women. Even when I was super young - junior high school - I used to help friends, my mom, my sister, with style questions. "Does this coat look good?" "Do these earrings work with this top?" The advice I gave was generally not what they were expecting, but it turned out they loved it. Often, when shopping with female friends, I'd suggest they try something on... they'd look at me weird, and grudgingly say, "Uh... ok." and try it on... and it would become their FAVORITE item in their whole wardrobe. So it seemed I had a talent/eye for women's styling. I wondered if that talent carried over into design, as well... and... 2. I needed a job desperately, and because I didn't have a college degree, I couldn't even get my foot in the door anywhere. When I looked at my finances and realized that in a short 18 months of intense school schedule I could get that check mark AND find out if I was a good clothing designer, well... it seemed like the right idea at the time. It led to a VERY interesting 5-7 year phase of my life. Here's a photo of me being interviewed by Hip Bop Battle magazine/podcast, at the MAGIC Menswear Tradeshow in Las Vegas in 2007, for example.
This was (and is!) my favorite part about living on my own. I have recipes for lazy days when I don't really want to cook, but most of the time I get so much enjoyment out of crafting elaborate meals all for myself :) I have a feeling you'll be okay! You did IB, right? It's going to be a similar workload, but you're going to have more unstructured free time to manage this stuff. Truly, you'll get used to it. You might feel overwhelmed now, but I promise once you're in the trenches it'll be easier to plug away at. I don't know how university is in Europe, but in America things were usually a little more free-form than high school. Professors have a lot more room to work with you to make sure you're learning the material, and you're going to have a ton of resources you can rely on if you need them. Definitely! I made some of my best friends in college. There's going to be a ton of new people, and you might (for the first time) have more options for friendships than "We have compatible personalities and live nearby." Moving out (for me, anyway) was a huge opportunity to find people with common interests. You might be surprised at the variety of people out there! I did, and you might! "Student life" encompasses a lot of different lifestyles, though. You'll find a way-of-life that suits you, and it'll become a comfort once you've gotten it down. Maybe! But you don't have to spend all your time alone - you can invite people over, visit friends, or go out and do something. If you feel lonely, come talk to us and we can inspire some things that might help! You, six months from now!I'm looking forward to planning and cooking food.
I'm going to have to study and like revise and stuff...And I am anxious about how that it going to work out.
Will I find any friends?
Will I like the typical student life?
Will I feel horribly lonely living alone?
Who knows?
Important point, I did IB, but I didn't finish it. So at that point I couldn't handle that workload. But I'm hoping I can now, with less tears.(But to be honest I think the hardest part about IB wasn't the workload but the culture where being stressed out of your mind is a virtue.) I really hope I'll be able to enjoy this, and it feeling like a fun thing rather then a terrible thing to power through. But it'll be fine. I think. It's just all a bit scary.
It's wild to me that this is so universal across national borders. A friend of mine did IB in Mumbai, I did it in Nebraska, and you did it in Sweden, and we all complain about the stress culture. I promise that my first year of college was much easier than IB, and by the time it ramped up I was prepared for it And it's okay to be scared! Just try to focus on your own growth and well-being, I have no doubts you're going to kill it :)...the culture where being stressed out of your mind is a virtue.
Are you living on or off campus ? If you’re not living in dorms I would make a conscious effort to be active in student life activities or find some club to be apart of so you meet people outside of your classes. It can be really easy to not go when you live off campus but make sure you force yourself to get involved, you’re experience will only benefit in the long run. As far as the studying, just be organized. My planner sets 3 weekly goals and 3 daily ones and that helps me stay on top of things so they don’t pile up. Also, do the readings in the textbook or other sources. I’ve watched so many people wracking their brain trying to study what they learnt in the lecture for hours when they could have spent a faction of time reading the damn textbook or watching the video the prof set and understanding it. I do my best when I sit down with the readings as well as the notes I took in class and combine them into one big great note. Hope this helps ! Don’t forget to make time to have fun and get involved, a good planner will help you see you have time for it on top of studying !
I'm living in a student flat. So i have my own bathroom and my own small kitchen, but everyone around me is a student. (Well S.Os don't have to be I don't think but that's a minority of the people there.) There is an introduction-week (more like 10 days) with a lot of activities that I'm going to participate in - but I have a feeling it's going to be the more stereotypical "partying and school/team spirit" which I'm not sure is my scene. It's probably going to be fine, but it's hard not feeling a bit worried you know? I'm replacing almost my entire life.