I hate university! I hate my university! University sucks!
If you think these things, then I’ve written this article just for you. I didn’t like my university either. There are a lot of factors to consider when trying to figure out why university sucks. I’ve listed them here under five headings, based on my personal experience.
1. Stress from the change in your life.
When you make a big change in your life you go through something called transition anxiety. This can be especially difficult for young people, who don’t have much experience in life. Basically, when you go to university, you’re leaving behind the solid footing you had in your life, so you end up not knowing what to do. Sometimes university sucks only for the first few months, until you get used to it.
You have to go out and try new things, take on a new attitude that you will conquer the new experience and make sure you have an outlet for stress, be it sports, music or anything else. Having someone you trust to communicate with is also very important.
2. Social skills.
If you’re at university now, and you don’t have good social skills, this will make your life way more difficult than it has to be. If your social skills are not good enough, then you have to improve them now, without delay. Skills such as knowing how to find a girlfriend or boyfriend can make all the difference in your university experience. Take a look around my site for some ideas.
When I was at university, I was completely unprepared. I had no social skills and wasn’t sure what to do. My real social education began after university. Don’t let this be you. Get started NOW. Trust me, if you hate university, you will hate university a lot less after you improve your social skills. It seems daunting at the beginning, but really it’s not.
3. Over-stressing about courses.
Worrying too much about your performance is a major mistake. Think of it this way – You’re young, there’s not much of a point in ruining your life stressing out over your grades in every university course. Stressing out is counterproductive. You have to find a strategy to keep your stress levels low. My experience was that the more stress I had, the worse my performance got.
You have to find a balance. You must do your best and at the same time be unattached to the outcome.
4. Studying the wrong thing.
I have personal experience with this and I cannot stress this enough. When I was 17, I was in high school and the system decided that I’d have to choose what I was going to study in university. How the hell was I supposed to know? I was 17!
By the time I was 19, I wanted out. The career I was heading for did not suit me and I knew it. But I didn’t change majors and that was a huge mistake. Maybe the biggest of my life. I listened to my parents as they put massive pressure on me to continue with my studies. This mistake ruined quite a few years of my life. It lasted until I went to live abroad. When you don’t like what you’re studying, you’re faced with doing that thing in your career AFTER university as well. How horrible!
If you’re studying the wrong thing, wake up. Going into a career you hate really makes life suck.
My recommendation? Take an aptitude test. These can be very useful. I didn’t take one and I paid for it. And I had quite a few classmates who did the same thing. Find a career that suits you and that is also in demand. You can get this information within the school you’re in.
5. Going to the wrong university.
This is another thing I did – I went to the wrong university. Some universities are full of rich, preppy kids and other snobs. I went to one of those. Being someone who doesn’t like fake people, phonies and bullshit, it was a bad choice for me.
Other universities have a more diverse crowd of people. Hippy types, computer dudes, etc… The best thing you can do is go to a university with people you can get along with. It will make your life a lot easier.
Even the climate can make a difference. Are you stuck inside because of the cold or rain? Or are you sitting on the beach in San Diego? Are you living with your parents? Or in a dorm room with someone you hate? If you’re sensitive, it’s easier to be closer to home.
I’ll leave you with a few more questions. Do you make friends easily or not? Do you like stress or not? Are you shy or outgoing? What are you good at? Where would you have the most to offer? How do you feel on a day to day basis? Are you happy or depressed? Do you feel left out of university life? Do you feel anxious often? Above all, do you feel lonely?
Ask yourself more questions and see where they lead you. They will help you make a conscious choice, rather than have a choice made for you by others or by habit.
Who do you want to be in the future? Because one thing is certain, you will arrive somewhere. But where you arrive is up to you. What do you really want to do with your life? What inspires you?
