Should I Be in University?

Considering that 90% of my friends from high school decided to pursue some sort of post-secondary education immediately after graduation, I figured that I would do the same. But to be completely honest, I had absolutely no clue as to what I wanted to study.

I was too busy celebrating the end of high school drama and the birth of my first moustache. As a result, my first year at UVic in 2017 was a struggle to say the least.

Although I tried pretty hard, getting through all of my courses during my first year felt extremely difficult and took a ton of mental energy.

Despite this, I decided to stick with it for the next three years. Yet whenever I asked myself if university was right for me, I could never come to a clear answer. It was as if I was in a constant debate against myself.

“University is expensive.”

“Yeah… but I’ve met so many amazing people!”

“University is hard.”

“Yeah… but I’ve been given so many cool learning opportunities!”

“University doesn’t guarantee anything.”

“Yeah… but what would I do instead?”

I eventually got to a point in which I ended up with two choices. I would either do some serious soul searching and change my program, or I would drop out. I ended up choosing the former and switched from Biopsychology to Nursing.

Although this might not seem like a huge switch, the Nursing program at UVic is completely separate from Biopsychology. Therefore, I essentially had to restart my undergrad as a first-year nursing student. However, I’m glad to say that this was probably one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. Because of this switch, I was able to find a program which I genuinely enjoy, as well as a solid career path that I am finally comfortable committing to.

Wandering around campus alone was my personal strategy for maintaining a clear mind during this whole journey!

So, what’s the moral of this short story? I guess there are two things.

The first is to be patient. Give yourself some time and be careful when you’re about to make any substantial decisions. In my case, I was super close to hitting that drop-out button numerous times and I can only imagine what I’d be doing now if that actually happened.

Secondly, if you are in the position to do so (both mentally and financially), don’t be afraid to try new things. Nursing is something that I had never considered in high school, but I’m really glad that I decided to give it a shot. Who knows, you might just find the answer where you’d least expect it!