Is Uni Really Worth It?

We all know about that moment in college/6th form where we get to apply for university. This place that looks and sounds like one of the greatest places on earth. I mean living away from home, independence, freedom, fun. You’ll hear the older generation talk about how it was the best 3/4 years of their lives and if they could, they would do it all again. Even tv makes it look fun. Joining clubs, going out, maybe even finding your other half. Now I know that may sounds like American uni programs, but still. 

What you don’t really hear about though are the negatives. The fact that it’s great to live within walking distance of your classes, but that these subjects that you paid to study will stress you out more than you could have ever imagined. That for most people, you will most likely have to work and study because student finance will only just cover expenses, or in some cases will only barely cover half. You don’t hear how despite being surrounded by so many people, uni can in fact be one of the loneliest places on earth. You don’t even hear that for some (particularly those with bad money management) there may be several nights where you have to go to bed hungry, or that water will be your dinner. You don’t really hear about any of that at all. 

So we happily pick up ourselves and sign up to be a uni student with all these false hopes, because student finance is funding it and it’s about to be lit! Of course there are those students, where going to uni was never an option; it was always gonna happen. But for those who actually had a choice (myself included) we willingly decided to go because, it’s uni. Why would you not?

Then the time comes for us to move out and move into uni. We get our room key, move in to our room, meet our flat mates and our parents go home. I’m not gonna lie and say that I didn’t enjoy uni, because I did. Had great fun, made some great friends, great memories and for the social aspect, I would do it all again. But at the same time I went through some really stressful moments. Really stressful. Uni made me cry on several occasions, especially in third year. When I tell you third year broke me, I’m not even lying. I was my most vulnerable in third year because I was so stressed out. There were many nights were I would go to sleep crying, because it felt like I physically couldn’t do anything else. 

Even now. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t have gone to uni; that if I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have had to go through all the stress that uni caused over the past two years. That I would ultimately be a happier person, because I wouldn’t have gone through all the low moments that I went through as a result of uni. There was a point in the last two years that I could have actually been depressed, but due to the stigma behind it, I didn’t even want to admit that to myself. 

So again, is uni really worth it? After all that I’ve said, although brief, would you go to uni? Whether it be that your thinking about it now, or have already finished. If someone came to you and told you the real and honest truth about what this uni thing is really like, would you still decide to go and willingly put yourself in all that debt? I don’t even know how I would answer that question, because I, like I said, I had some great moments in that place. Not to mention I loved how I lived within walking distance of all my friends.

Uni is ultimately a bubble where once you step out of it, real life actually begins. Your faced with the harsh reality that although you studied for so long for this job and spent so much money on this degree, that you might actually not get that job straight away. Oh and don’t forget, you still have to pay even more money just to walk across that podium and get those pictures. And don’t kid yourself in thinking that it’s cheap. Imagine after you just put so much blood, sweat and tears into getting that piece of paper, you still have to dish out even more money just to get the attire and the pictures to commemorate your success. LOL. In all honesty there cannot be a greater scam than universities. 

Despite all of this, yes uni isn’t for everyone and I don’t think every job requires you to go to uni, especially with all these alternatives like an apprenticeship. I saw so many of my friends drop out within the first two years, but I would still say that uni is a great experience. You’re in a place where because you don’t have your parents breathing down your neck with all their rules, you’re actually able to learn about yourself and who you are. You’re able to truly grow and know what you stand for. If you’re religious, you’re truly able to learn and understand your religion for yourself, and why you believe what you do. I say this because although I was born in the church, I don’t think I really started learning and understanding it for myself properly, until I went to uni. Before that, I feel like I was just doing what I was told rather than doing it because I wanted to. 

Uni really makes you grow as a person, and for that despite all that I went through (from thinking that I wasn’t even gonna graduate to graduating with the grade that I had worked for) I can honestly say that it’s worth it. It’s an experience in itself, a worthwhile one at that. All I would say, is truly know what you’re signing up for and don’t just do it because everyone else is, or for all the sunshine and rainbows. Take everything into consideration. Know why you’re doing it and what it would mean for your life. Not your friends. Not even your families. Know what it means to you, and for you. Because in the same way that only you and your relationship with God can get you into heaven, only you can live your life and make the most of it. No one else can do it for you. 

So yeah. Uni is worth it. It’s most definitely a headache, but it’s worth it.