Two Important Lessons I learnt in First Year (Pirika)

Hi there,

Its me again, Pirika, with another post to hopefully strengthen and equip you with what you need for this academic year 2020.

I have a lot of experiences to share but this one is more important as I believe it will help a lot of young people out there. It is about the two most important lessons I learnt in my first year at university. Yes, there are a lot of things you will learn in first year which will be covered in my subsequent posts but the following two are at the top of that list.

Let's begin:

1. Independence
If you are going to university, I'm pretty sure you would be living the comfort of your home where almost everything is made available to you and you do not need to worry about tomorrow. In university, it is quite different. This is where you have to learn how to stand on your own feet. Yes, you might have a place to sleep and meals may be made ready for you three times a day but what about everything else? Well, its all up to you. You will call the shots. The space that you would be given to exercise your willpower will be huge, trust me. You will have to learn how to manage without the help of your parents or anyone else been there for you in the flesh.
But there is a catch to it: every once in a while, we all need somebody to lean on because not every trial that we face can be conquered easily, and alone. It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help so you should not be ashamed of doing so. A famous saying that goes like this: "Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.".

2. Resilience
That is a big word...I know. In simple terms, it is your minds ability to recover quickly from depression, illness or misfortune. Being a university student is hard, and it can even be harsh at times when the professor marks you down for something you gave everything for, when you get scolded and embarrassed for not performing to the best of your ability, and the list goes on. You can give up, yes, that's easy. But to be able to keep pressing on despite all that; to be able to accept it, take it in, and keep pressing forward - that, is hard. Jodi Picoult, an american author and bestseller, said that "the human capacity for burden is like bamboo - far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance". It can be difficult, but you have everything you need within you to keep you going, to survive and to thrive. A rubber band, despite been stretched, can retain its original shape afterward. Be like that rubber band - be resilient.

Thank you for reading, and a belated Happy New Year 2020 to you.