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Now, facing one and a half months of exams, it suddenly struck me that I’ve never been as calm, cool and collected before despite the fact that I’m way behind the syllabus. Another self-proclamation here: Queen of procrastination. Yet I’m totally embracing this state of mind as I finally have a few days to catch up on reading at my own pace.
Just finished my first, and somewhat unplanned, semester of school. I’ve never undergone such an intense semester before and I think it’s the ideal warm-up for university down the road. In retrospect, I didn’t really study that much on my own. All the lessons, study groups and traveling back and forth to school were quite time-consuming, so in the end I didn’t really have the time or energy for the labor-intensive workload of mine. So… I probably have to retake some of the exams, but whatever, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Most importantly, this semester got me thinking of how I want my next semesters to be like: I’ll be opting for quality over quantity. As with anything else in life, it takes a bit of trial and error to get things adjusted accordingly. I’m still young, and I just realized that I ought to stop comparing myself to my peers, who are finishing their bachelors next year, if I want to be one step closer to my goals – even though it sometimes feels as if I’m moving backwards, not forwards. Sure, it will take a few years till I’ve attained the score I need for med school or clinical nutrition, but if I take things slowly I’ll get there faster. As cliché as it sounds, I still have my entire life before me and this is only the beginning. So I’m not rushing into anything. And one’s age isn’t an indication of success. Cutting down on the amount of classes and study groups so that I can seize all the prospective opportunities, beside studying science, sounds like a stellar plan to me. Because I’m a freaking restless person. On top of that, giving up on writing and contributing to magazines is not an option though I’ve basically put my life on hold since January. I’ve always loved writing, albeit I cannot see myself doing journalism for a living, simply as there are so many other things I want to do.
And speaking of restlessness… I have an incredibly amazing summer to look forward to while also being productive, thanks to the sometimes inconvenient restlessness. It’s downright my kind of motivation to stay the course. Totally unplanned, it was just on the spur of the moment that I decided to journey this summer. Well, I already had tickets for Paris but I was supposed to make money this summer, not spend them. But what the heck, I want to have fun! So I sat down, drew a quasi-map of all the likely destinations, and booked the cheapest flight tickets available a couple of days after that sudden, yet brilliant idea popped in my head.
So right after my last exam, the worst one, I’ll be traveling to Barcelona for the Sonar festival with some friends from France. I’m looking forward to late summer nights on the patio accompanied by magnificent music, friends, food, and wine – just picture all the lovely scenes from Kinfolk magazine. Then I’ll be heading to the south of Norway for the Hove festival (watch out for a giveaway soon). It was awesome last year, so there’s no doubt I’m going back. Following the festival, I’ll be travelling for three weeks in a row. First I’ll spend a couple of days in Copenhagen, then a week in Berlin, and after I’ll go to the Côte d’Azur, mainly Nice. Can’t wait to take the train from Nice to Monte Carlo, Grasse, Antibes, and Cannes, which I’m dying to explore. Then I’ll be visiting my beloved family and friends in Paris before going back to school. And although my summer looks a bit packed now, I’m trying to fit in a trip to Pisa and Forte Dei Marmi in Tuscany where I’ll be visiting Leen Hilde and surfing on the waves.
Needless to say, it’s going to be one of these holidays where you practically do nothing aside from living in the moment while wearing no-nonsense, yet pretty clothes, as epitomized by the girl in the picture above and in this post by Hannah-Rose. And hopefully, I’ll find the inspiration to write more and fine-tune some of my potential write-ups. Anyway, I can deal with my summer fantasies later. In the meantime, I’ll study hard. Best of luck to all of you who are in the same boat. And please let me know if any of you are renting out flats/private rooms or host travelers in Barcelona, Berlin, or Pisa.
have a fun and safe summer! and good luck on those exams.
Thank you, you too however you’ll be spending your summer season!
It made me smile to see your reflections in this post. During my last semester of college, I tried to cram in too many courses and too many extracurriculars and a thesis (on Ulysses, no less) and student teaching and 2 part-time jobs AND still have time for friends. Consequently, I had a breakdown (as in full on crying/sobbing) in my Dean of Students’ office a month before my final honors exams. Luckily the Dean at my school is just about the nicest woman ever and she managed to calm me down, helped me map out a plan, and then made me promise her that I would never try to take on so many things at once ever again.
I’m so glad that I followed her advice and am now spending this year teaching abroad in China instead of going straight into grad school. Like you, I have so many things I want to do, but sometimes it really IS better to just take some time to breathe before diving headfirst into the abyss. You don’t want to sacrifice quantity for quality, or speed for quality for that matter.
I’m incredibly envious of your summer plans, although after spending a year abroad I am mostly just excited to spend some time at home with my parents before moving back to Philadelphia into an apartment with some friends and starting grad school. Still, I spent a semester abroad in Copenhagen a few years ago and can’t wait for the chance to go back…
I know how you feel and I’m glad to hear you worked out what’s best for YOU – and not others. Some people have the motivation, their heart at the right place, or their mind completely focused on their goals and manage to follow that path without having stopovers, but luckily we all have individual needs and spending this year abroad (before diving headfirst into the abyss, as you put it) sounds very great. Generally, students need more experience than merely feeding their brains with theory and philosophical terms, that they won’t ever have use for in their prospective jobs, before choosing the right path in terms of career. How do people know their strengths when they’ve never had a proper opportunity to work out their work skills? My sister was a volunteer in Romania for a year, after having taken a few courses in uni and before taking her BA in journalism and NOW she’s finishing her second of five years of the professional psychology program. She’s accomplished A LOT although she’s only 5 years older than me, but we’re completely different individuals. I guess the internships helped her to figure out what she really wants to do. And five years ago, she was never supposed to become a shrink.
This summer I’ll end college and I still don’t know what I’m going to do. But I just feel so free haha, I want to travel around the country and spend some time back home.
Your summer sounds great :)
That was me last summer. Take your time!
I understand your sentiments in this post. Initially I was upset to stay an extra semester at college, but I know it’s best because I realized after the initial disastrous quantity-over-quality semester I should do things at my own pace. Good luck with everything, truly.
I’m excited about Paris for you! I’m traveling Europe this summer and also know the pull between spending money and saving/earning money. Your blog continues to speak to me and reflect my feelings about fashion, so thanks for being an online presence lol
As for places to stay, have you checked out Airbnb? I booked several (including Paris and Barcelona) flats with Airbnb. Have fun!
after three years of studying film studies then finishing my bachelors and not being accepted anywhere to continue my studies, I now have been working the whole year and I am not smarter nor do I know what exactly I want to do with my studies. It is very possible that I will not be accepted anywhere this year either so I am conteplating starting from the scratch and going for another bachelors but at 22 it just seems like I am moving backwards, not forwards…
Looking forward to a beautiful summer is definitely the way forward. Bonne chance!
x
I love how you tagged this under ‘happiness’. Your summer sounds so lovely and I wish I were as brave as you to undertake a beautiful summer trip like yours one day. After all, I’m only a freshman in my bachelor’s degree and I’ve got nothing but time ahead of me!
Good luck for your exams !
After high school, I was also lost in my studies and exams, in the so special French system that is called “classes prépa”, i.e. hell. But when it was over, I was so happy to have learnt so much and now I take time with my life ahah :)
And I am going to Barcelona too this summer, for July, would you be there in that period ? And I am also looking for a room, not an easy task…
Ah, that’s similar to what I’m doing (classes prepa). I study scientific subjects that I didn’t take in high school (I studied music in high school) in addition to retaking old subjects such as social studies, geography, history, etc as I need A in as many subjects as possible. What CPGE did you take? Ooh, unfortunately, I’m going to Barcelona in the mid-June. You should look for a room on http://www.airbnb.com.
I was at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux in the suburb of Paris. Its old nickname was the “high school in the countryside” :) it is so old that I don’t know if it was renovated once ahah
I looked into airbnb, but it is not so easy to find a not too expensive room and also to have answers from the owners.
Hey ! i step into the conversation to say I was in prepa too, in Lycee Louis le Grand !! :D Sorry for being completely random, i felt the need…!
have a nice evening…
How many Fleurette’s readers are we to have done a prepa in Paris ? ^^
Me too :)
Useless, but I feel the need to say it too. At least, having done that could be useful : talking about it here :p
Ah, you’re so right about not rushing things, especially when it comes to organising what you want to do with your life and what trajectory you want to be on to get where you want to go. I sometimes feel a similar pressure, since I’m still a student whereas a fair few of my friends from school have mortgages! Children! Shares and stock portfolios! They’ve been climbing the ranks of their industry towards their dream jobs for years! And I’m still having to explain to people why I’m still a student. But it was the path that was right for me, and I needed the time to figure that out (that’s code for “I had a terrible Honours year with an insane and horrible supervisor who told me I should leave science and study something else, so I didn’t know what to do with myself, and I took two years off from studying to work in a research lab and figure things out and make some money and it turned out that – hey! I can do research! I am good at science! The lab was supportive and encouraging and that’s what I needed in order to make the decision to commit to go back to being a student and to do a PhD.”) So yeah, no matter how much you feel compelled to compare yourself to your friends and peers, it’s a pointless exercise because it’s all so incredibly relative and personal. The younger you figure that out, the better.
And you have such fantastic holidays to look forward to! I can’t wait to live in Europe (come the end of my PhD) and have the opportunity to travel to so many incredibly different and amazing places with relative ease (not that anywhere in the world is really truly devoid of interest, but I’m just saying I can travel for 1500km here in Australia and end up in a city that’s pretty much indistinguishable, on a global scale, from the one I’m currently in, haha).
Thanks for sharing, Jess! About what you wrote in the parentheses, I totally feel you! I too have had several horrible supervisors who told me that I couldn’t study medicine because I couldn’t do my maths, just because they didn’t believe in me. Already in the first year of hifh school, they told me to give up my dream and didn’t at all mention that I should rather work towards it… so eventually, I gave up maths and science altogether in high school. But I just started studying it again this year, trying to make up for all these lost years of learning maths and science and figured out that hey I can do it too if I just take it slowly, hence I’m very behind but fortunately I’m not alone. Do let me know if you’re coming back to Europe. Flight tickets within Europe are so cheap, even cheaper than train tickets, so you’ve gotta take massive advantage of them.
Oh I love everything that you wrote :) I’ve been feeling similar lately. My friends are all getting their first proper jobs, and I decided to go and do my Masters and I feel so envious of them sometimes… But I have to keep in mind why I’m doing this. It might take years and years to get to my dream job, but one day I’ll finally do it ;) Keep positive x
You’re right, you have to think of what’s best for you and not what other people. I’ve figured out that I won’t graduate before I’m at least 30, but I don’t mind that. And I might do a phd as well, and that would take even longer. But what’s 3 years from now (till I might get enrolled in med school) as opposed to the rest of my life? :)
Håper vi sees på Hove! Jeg synes planene dine høres fantastiske ut; det er no rush in life! “Life is what happens when you´re making plans”. Nå inspirerer du meg til å reise mer til sommeren! :)
Ja, det hadde vært hyggelig! Du finner meg på Hoveposten :) Og på Flekken hver eneste kveld! Reis, skap minner, lev i nuet. Du kommer til å bli mett på opplevelser etter sommeren og da er det ikke så ille å begynne på skolen igjen!
Hi! Long-time blog fan of yours, though I’m only commenting for the first time.
I’ll admit I’m a little out of place amid the other commenters because I jumped right into working full time even before getting my undergraduate degree. For now, work and obligations have kept me from pursuing grad studies. But I can still remember clearly that feeling of being adrift and being not quite sure what to do with your life, and the vague niggling voice saying that my peers are leaving me far behind because they already know what they want.
What I know for sure in this aged time of nearing 30 is that it’s better to live in the now and savor what you can, rather than getting too caught up in “should be” and worrying too much about the future. There’s no worse bedfellow than regret and the sensation of “where’d my life go?”.
So here’s to your journey and to reaching your many dreams at your own pace and no one else’s.
Looking forward to you sharing snippets of your awesome summer. :) It’s at the top of my bucket list to roam Europe, hopefully with a wardrobe as cool and effortless as yours.
It sounds, and (more importantly IS!) exciting. The journey is the vital part, enjoy every moment of it, including the more difficult experiences, for they have so much to teach us. Now, I need to reassess my plans for the summer!
I hope you have a wonderful summer! All that travel sounds great. Until then, good luck for your exams xx
I’ve been feeling the same lately. It just takes time to achieve goals, and the expression ”Rome wasn’t built in a day” is at place here, I think. I too compare myself with other people (quite a lot!) and that’s very destructive, because there’s always someone who is one step ahead of me or does things much better than I do.
Your summer plans sounds amazing. Good luck with your exams!
Today I’ve read this sentence : “Comparison is the thief of joy”. Enough said, right ? :P It’s a hard sentence to live by day-to-day, but ultimately this should be the aim, don’t you think ?
Also I would like to add that for most people, working full time is no fun at all after the first few months. Some of them would probably exchange their place for yours, even if they don’t always say so…
I’m totally feeling you! Completely buried under finals and papers right now, but all I can think about is my summer trip to istanbul and the greek isles this august. Can’t wait to see posts on your travels!
x
Good inspiring post, always go for quality over quantity!
http://www.littleredbook-thatshaute.blogspot.com
Everyone needs one or two semesters to get used to the incredible amount of workload. The difference to high school is just insane.
And yes, don’t stress yourself, that’s really the best advice! Otherwise you will fall apart.
You will learn how to manage your time better & work more efficiently at some point.
Meget god idé å ikke forhaste seg inn på medisin, kan jeg love deg :) Lykke til og god tur!
Remember “The secret to success is learning to go from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Winston S. Churchill … it is indeed your case and mine too haha. Good luck! and big rewards in the summer as i can see :)
I’m guilty of constantly comparing myself to others which often leaves me feeling like I’m always lagging behind. I’d hate to sound like an old twat as it has been close to 20 years since I stepped foot in an university but if I could do things all over again, I would’ve done them differently.
Being a typical eldest child of Asian descent, it was expected of me to get a commerce/medical/engineering degree, graduate within the expected time frame and find a job ASAP. The 4 month sabbatical I took when I was 24 to backpack around Europe was one of the most life-changing experiences in my life.
What you have accomplished in terms of blogging and writing despite a heavy University workload is absolutely phenomenal. Your travels will only enrich your life. It’s wonderful that you’re restless because it means you have a broad perspective and are brimming with ideas. Bravo!
Oh, Asians… Last year I postponed a high school year due to illness, so I graduated a year later than my classmates – but I felt the need to lie about my situation to every Asian grown-up because it seems like most “old-fashioned” Asians expect other Asians to graduate within the expected time frame, etc. I hope you’re right about the last part, that I’m brimming with ideas. If so, they’re relatively subconscious, haha!
Thank you for this post. I get anxious about the future all the time, and this reminds me I still have lots of time for everything x
Thank you for all the lovely comments and wishes! You guys are the best!
I just turned 25 and I’m still unsure about what I want to do with my life, but half of me doesn’t give one iota of a care about it, and the other half of me is having a typical quarter-life crisis. I’m finding it’s a really conflicting age to be nowadays, we’re expected to be adults but yet don’t get treated with the same respect as older people (doubly with me because I look so young still). I’ll be finishing my BA in 2 months or so after being unsure about life direction after high school, and I’m proud of myself for at least achieving this.
Have a glorious Summer, once I’ve saved enough (coming from New Zealand European travel is quite expensive :( )I’ll finally head there, my mind/body needs a proper old-fashioned ‘grand tour’.
Thanks for this post. It is definitely a motivational one for all other students who can’t decide whether to rush through university or take things slowly. I hope you do continue writing, because your words never fail to entertain me. And I look forward to reading about your whimsical travels – I’ll live vicariously through your posts about them!
MAN! This is probably THE most random post ever especially because I’ve never seen your blog before, I’m from Australia and I’m a guy.. But, I actually came across it from googling “studying a long time for a bachelor degree” to seek some kind of peace of mind, after receiving some disappointing news from uni. And I have to say that reading your post and all the other comments have actually made me feel a whole lot better! If you guys want to hear a marathon of a story here you go – After finishing highschool, I studied design for 2 years only because I didn’t know what else to do. During that time, I discovered my passion for health and helping others which lead me to becoming a Dietitian. With no background in science (Funny because like yourself, I took up music instead of ANY science subjects in HS) and poor marks (I mucked around in HS) but with the determination to follow my passion, I slowly transferred from 2 years in Food Science, 2 years in Nutrition and finally into the Nutrition and Dietetics degree making me eligible to become a Dietitian. I’ve been studying 7 straight years to get to where I am now and not only am I feeling old (turning 25 in 13 days) but like yourself, I struggle with science. All of this pressure to progress further in my life/degree built up and I had a panic attack during my most important exam. This is what has lead me here. The uni rejected my special consideration application and because the subject was a pre-requisite, I have to be kept back for an entire year.
My only input to this blog from my own experience is that I’m fortunate enough to have discovered my passion. Heaps of people go through life never realising their passion or know what they want to do. I have a friend who finished his BA in 3 years, went straight into the workforce only to quit after a year and move to London to do something totally different. I’ve got other friends who’ve finished their degrees, hate what they’re doing and decide to go back to study another degree. Like many others have said, uni only offers you so much. The majority of my knowledge in my field, I’ve learnt myself from my own reading. “Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune.” That’s also in conjunction with all of your life experiences. So, I think it’s great and rare that you know what you want to do and that you’re not letting anyone or anything stop you from accomplishing it. I’ll probably graduate when I’m 28 but in the mean time, my plan is to defer for the year and finally open up my own business that I’ve been planning for some time – with all the knowledge I’ve gathered in 7 years.
You’ve probably finished your exams now and I hope you smashed it! But all the best with your summer plans and your future. And THANK YOU for this post. You’ve made it a hell of a lot easier for me to go to bed tonight =)