The Final

In this commencement/convocation season, such articles will pop up again.

From Straits Times Jul 9, 2011 
Cherishing the last year of varsity life
The freedom an undergrad enjoys will be a sweet memory in working life
By Ian Poh


THEY say one does not know what one has until it is almost gone.

I am talking about undergraduate life - usually signed off each July with happy scenes that involve the tossing of funny-shaped hats.

The working life that follows is something to be looked forward to, but now being just a year away from that new phase of life is making me appreciate college life a lot more than I ever did.

For starters, there is the weight of expectations - and the consequences of falling short of them.

At work, I would expect to be entrusted with enduring responsibilities that only increase were I to start scaling the corporate ladder.

And if I fluff my lines badly, I expect someone to notice, the mistake to go on my record, and my hopes of quick promotion and end-of-year bonus utterly dashed. My boss would lose faith in me.

Just this past semester I submitted a term paper I had a very bad feeling about.

It came back with an A+, but would have made little difference coming back with a C- as far as others were concerned. I was accountable only to myself. Any disappointment would have been my own to bear.

Second, as a student I can lead a lazy lifestyle that could never happen in most respectable jobs.

Working life imposes an inescapable structure on your life - you are meant to be on the job between a certain start and end time each day, and any periods of absence need to be justified.

Similar rules are in place in the form of class timetables to regulate an undergraduate's comings and goings, but at the end of the day, he can decide on a whim whether or not to keep to them.

The consequence of skipping school? Perhaps the need for more intense mugging, to make up for lost time. Also possibly a headache from falling asleep in a bad posture. Best of all, the grades do not necessarily have to suffer. Most of us, myself included, know this from experience.

But the consequence of skipping work without first declaring it on a leave schedule - it's a short walk to not being wanted back. Not to mention a sure way to make yourself unpopular with your colleagues.

The reason for this difference?

The gap in responsibility between being a student and a worker.

As most Singaporean males would have experienced first-hand at some point during national service, mistakes bring suffering upon colleagues. The consequences are felt almost immediately, because sheaves of paper with your name on it end up in the in-trays of colleagues.

The bottom line is simply that if I skipped as many work days on a whim as I have lectures, I would be out of a job long before the end of the third year - a milestone I have already passed in college.

With colleagues counting on me to do my work well and on time, I dare not let them down. It is one thing to hurt oneself, but a far worse thing to hurt others when they do not deserve it.

It is undeniable that responsibility is more than just a virtuous way to behave. Responsible behaviour is not easy to display consistently, but it is a requirement for survival in adult life. Unfortunately.

For now, though, I shall enjoy having nothing to do with it for the final year of undergraduate life that remains.

And some years down the road, I intend to further my studies.

Not simply for the sake of improving my qualifications, but also to relive what I am about to leave behind.

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Early this year I featured a similar article. This time I decided to do the same, in order to constantly remind myself that I should cherish my days in University.

It can be pretty scary how fast time flies. I was introducing myself to other university students when I said 'Year 3...going to Year 4 soon'. Hey wait, year 4? Final year? Gosh! I'm Year 4 already! I feel so old compared to those who are waiting to enter uni.

In education the levels are clearly identified by numbers (eg primary 3, secondary 2, etc) so you can keep track how fast time flies (and how old you're getting). But in work there is no such distinction, so 5 or 10 years can pass without you feeling much.

Although this phrase 'cherish your university years' has been said to death, I still have no idea in how to do it. I still mug a lot during school term, putting my focus in academics rather than school-related activities. While friends are participating in camps, getting involved in volunteer work, contributing to CCA organizations etc, I'm still standing my ground in prioritizing my studies. At least in JC, though short, I had fond memories in my CCA activities. But in uni, there is nothing much to reminisce, other than academic matters.

If someone were to ask me, 'What is your best memory in university life', I wouldn't know how to answer it...

The only thing I know is, I'm trying to make full use of university holidays to travel overseas. This is what made me decide to go Europe. 'If I don't go now, I probably won't have the chance to go later, and enjoy myself as much.' I'm actually hoping to go for a summer exchange someday, but I guess I won't have much of a chance anymore. The final summer is already gone.