Well… today I visited a university open day. It was my local uni, an RG. Drove down and parked without a problem, but decided that I will never enter the lane that changes from down to up ever again it was scary as hell.
The university itself is actually quite pretty, lots of trees and greenery and the buildings had a bit of a dark academia vibe which I quite liked. It was the perfect balance of dark academia and bright, green, open spaces. It also smells musty but I suppose some may appreciate that more than others. The student ambassadors were really friendly and knew where everything was considering I didn’t have a clue. The main building is huge and I got lost just trying to find a lecture theatre. Lots of stairs and lots of narrow corridors.
The student union building was surprisingly modern considering the rest of the buildings weren’t. Very bright and airy and colourful. And surprisingly colourful and comfortable chairs. The lecture theatre the welcome talk was in was huge, genuinely massive. I think it I had sat up the top I would’ve got vertigo or something it was that steep😭 I visited some more of the lecture theatres and had a look at some classroom/seminar rooms and they were also quite dark academia vibes. The campus itself is beautiful and it was a nice day so that made it better of course.
I paid visits to my chosen subjects at their respective stalls among the throngs of people gathering at the medicine stall in their desperation to try out CPR on a dummy, you do you I guess, especially the one that said “I don’t even want to do medicine, I want to do law but I want a go of that dummy thing there.”🤷♀️
I was quite disappointed that geography wasn’t as similar as I thought it would be to A Level but that’s alright I suppose. I picked up a prospectus or two for both human and physical geography because they’re in totally different buildings🤯 Human geography is in social sciences and physical geography is in Earth sciences. I wanted to have a look at the history building but when I got there there was no sign of anyone, no student ambassadors or professors or even a table that said “History”, the building looked like it was abandoned because it was completely empty..
There was a Greggs right outside the SU which I quite like tbh I like a good Greggs every so often. Southern fried chicken baguette for the win 💪🏻 Everything was very close together, apart from the accom but I suppose nobody minds.
The accom however, I found quite disappointing. The rooms were very small, and I don’t mean smaller than what I’m used to but there was just enough room to shuffle between the bed and the desk. There was also no shower head in the room that apparently a student lives in???? The kitchen was also very small, I can only assume its because it was a flat of four, maybe they’re bigger in flats of 6 or more. It also felt really constricted, it didn’t feel like the community everyone raves about🫤
I think the visit to the university really just solidified my feelings about uni and my future and although I’m still applying I’m going to give it a proper think but while I was walking around, there was just this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I know I wouldn’t be happy here. Seeing everyone bounding around the stalls and to lectures made me realise that I feel vastly different to everyone else and it does make me feel a bit down I suppose. I would love to experience student life and halls and clubbing but I really don’t think that I’d cope, not now anyways. I suppose it’s only a train ride away if I want to do it but I want to meet new people and branch out a bit. I was scrolling through a list of the societies at the uni and thinking about which ones I would join and there were so many I know are just lots of fun. I know the “great separation” is fast approaching and all my friends want to head in different directions with their lives (uni, apprenticeship, job, nothing.) I just don’t think I’m ready to give up what I have at home, it feels as if my life has moved so slowly for the first 16 years of my life and too quickly for the last two years as I only really started having a social life in Year 11 after I found my forever bunch of friends. I’m not worried about them, they’re going to do great and I genuinely believe that they will be the successful people they want to be.
This is not to say I don’t have ambitions of my own, I do. I want to live in a nice house in the city with a cat and make enough money in my job that I genuinely enjoy so that I can afford to travel. Maybe a boyfriend who knows🤷♀️ It’s almost like being told you’re going on your dream luxury holiday but you don’t know how you’re going to get there be it plane or bicycle.
I suppose it’s really got me to kick my arse into gear because there’s no point in doing nothing next September. Sure the job markets shit around here and all Indeed suggests to me is the army, uber eats, or “teach English in China” I’m going to have to sort something out. I know many people, especially older ones scream about apprenticeships but it’s a bit hard when the only ones within a 50 mile radius are engineering or hair and beauty and then all the rest of the results are over the complete opposite end of the country.
In conclusion, no Doris, I am not going to university.
