Things People Do Not Understand About Uni

In October 2016, I wrote this post all about 'Some Misconceptions About Uni' and the feedback I received was breathtaking! I wrote that at the beginning of my second year of uni when I was so fed up and angry of people assuming that all students are lazy and useless. 8 months on I have finished my second year and achieved another 1st overall. How do you think I've achieved that? Definitely not by sitting around and doing nothing... so why do some people think Uni is all fun and games? 

1. Just because you're studying a degree about a subject you enjoy, it doesn't always mean it is going to be fun and easy

I study advertising and marketing communications, so you could say I am passionate about it considering I have my own blog/brand, but this definitely does not mean I throughly enjoy it. Now, I am only speaking for myself and my own experiences so this might not be the same for everyone but I HATE it when people say that my uni work must be easy because it is something I'm passionate about. Yes, I am passionate about it but after writing 40,000+ words of reports/essays and 14+ presentations and 6 hours worth of exams later, I don't exactly feel tip top about the subject. 

One thing I hate about my degree is the fact people think it is just 'advertising' and 'marketing'... I think I've done about 4 weeks of advertising and marketing in my whole degree. It includes so much more, you wouldn't even believe. 

2. Living at home doesn't make your uni life much easier than living in halls

Yes, living at home may take the pressure off slightly but I still have full right to feel just as stressed and lonely as people do in halls. When I first started uni, it felt like I had been chucked into the deep end and someone (who lives at uni) said that I was not allowed to feel like that because I still live at home. No one has the right to tell others how they should feel. 

It is nice to live at home because it saves the hassle of moving your whole life backwards and forwards and I'm still around friends and family, but that's about it. There are many downsides to living at home. I don't have that 'uni experience' like others do, it wasn't easy for me to go to freshers events which is why I didn't go (and because of other reasons), it was more difficult to make friends because you're not around them 24/7. So living at home certainly does not make it easier.

3. You get lots of time off even when you're at uni

Yes, I only go to uni 3 days a week but this does not mean I stop as soon as I get home. When I am at uni I'm in lectures, in my breaks I'll be doing group work and when I get home I'll carry on with my individual work. Even when I gave myself time to 'relax' I couldn't fully relax because I felt guilty that I wasn't doing any work.

We do get 4 months off for the summer and it is so nice to have a break but at the same time, I feel like I'm going crazy because I have no purpose. I'm trying to keep myself busy but ironically my mental health is worse during the summer, as I have time to sit and think and my mind is no longer occupied. 

So if you're not at uni and you tell a uni student that they've got it easy, think again! If you haven't gone to uni yourself, then you have no right to say how a uni student should be feeling or how they should live their life! 

Do you feel the same way as me?

Let me know in the comments below!