As my second year of university comes to an end, I have taken some time to reflect on the challenges I have faced and the lessons I have learned. Naturally, one’s time at university is a time of growth and elevation; however growth is often uncomfortable and challenging.
The first challenge I faced was making new friends at university while maintaining my prior friendships. None of my friends from high school came to Surrey, so during freshers week, I started from scratch, trying to find the right crowd and the right group of friends to stick with. In this process, I quickly learned that I would not click with everyone, so I had to strategically go to places where I would find like-minded people. In my case, this was the Law Society, the gym and the Afro-Caribbean Society. I later joined the East and Southern African Society, which further allowed me to find my people.
While during this, I also found it challenging to keep my old friendships. Although we live in the social media age, where it is easier than ever to stay in touch with people, physical distance usually makes people drift apart. This was perhaps a more painful realisation as I had to accept that I would not be close with all the people whom I once was. On the bright side, the friends I have stayed in contact with have become closer than ever, and they have guided and supported me through some of the difficult seasons of my university experiences so far. Overall, I learned that as you get older, you’ll meet a lot of people and form meaningful connections. Although you may not be close to all of them, the people you are close to will become a crucial part of your support structure.
The second challenge I faced was learning how to budget… properly! I have always been somewhat financially literate, however university forced me to take it to a whole new level. Prior to starting at university, I had created a very detailed budget for managing my finances, and at first, it worked very well. Unfortunately, I hadn’t budgeted for the unexpected expenses that you can never see coming. For example, what do you do when it’s raining, the bus is cancelled, and you need to come home urgently? Having a buffer zone in my budget for an Uber or taxi would’ve been useful, but I had to learn that the hard way. Or perhaps you need a new formal shirt for a Law Society event which was only announced a few days ago, again, what do you do? The lesson I took away from this was not just about money but life in general – expect the unexpected and rather be overprepared than underprepared. University has taught me to be conservative with my finances and to always have a backup plan… and a backup plan for the backup plan!
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly for me, was the difficult reality of trying to boost my career while at university. For many people like myself, university is largely about getting the technical and soft skills needed to enter their career of choice. However, in today’s world, a university degree alone is often not enough to secure a job in competitive industries such as law, finance, technology and engineering. Fortunately, through trail and error, hours of research and networking, I have been able to get some relevant experience which has massively boosted my CV and my confidence as an aspiring lawyer. The Surrey School of Law and Law Society have been particularly useful in this regard, offering great opportunities for CV reviews, networking, and help with applications for various programs.
However, it was in this difficulty that I truly began to appreciate that good things do not come easy and that achieving my dreams would perhaps be a bit harder than I expected before I came to university. I also learned that adversity builds character and that the losses in life can teach just as much, if not more than the wins!
Overall, my university experience has been extremely fulfilling so far, and I am truly grateful for everything which I have learned. I would encourage all students, current and prospective, to continue to work hard, stay focused and believe in themselves!
