Senior Sob Story — Finally Finished
So, I’m officially done with my undergrad.
It took me 4.5 years.
9 semesters.
20 credits.
And multiple panic attacks and nervous breakdowns.
Ask me again in another 4.5 years if it was worth it.
All jokes aside, I found this experience very enriching. I think I am so privileged to have gone to UofT. I am so privileged to have been a domestic student at a world-renowned publicly funded research institute. I am so privileged that they built a satellite campus 5 minutes away from my home.
I went to school for everything and nothing at all. I have a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a double minor in Statistics and Migration Studies. I know a little bit about everything and nothing really about anything in particular. It’s made me really fun at parties (no seriously, I can talk to anybody now).
I think university was an inherently good move for me, I can’t speak for anybody else, but for me, I think it was a smart move. I got to meet a lot of really intelligent people — some of them extremely kind, some of them were horrible human beings, but I think that’s a good lesson to learn, not all smart people are kind.
I don’t think I got the most out of my university experience, but I think it was a great incubator for me. I think it was a safe enough space for me to feel like I was really growing.
But I must say, UofT is not the most welcoming space. The people that do welcome you are extremely kind and provide a great support system, but the school does cater to a specific crowd. I have had to spend a lot of the past 4 and a half year feeling excluded and watching a lot of my peers go through the same. The school cultivates a hyper-competitive atmosphere and the student body is split down the middle with those that support it and thrive in it and those that are left to the wayside. Sadly, this is the reality of the real world, what isn’t the reality is the grade deflation and bell curving, the constant pressure on professors to keep class averages in ideal ranges and the battle to get one of the few spots available for top marks in some classes.
Do I think university has prepared me for the real world? No.
Do I think the last 4 years as a whole has? Yes.
I think that every single person’s university experience is nuanced and unique. Everyone has different struggles and a story to tell, I don’t think there’s any typical experience for a university student anymore.
I worked 7 different jobs, ranging from fast food to the public sector to startups while completing my degree. I know people who are graduating and looking for their first job now. I know people who finished their undergrad in 3 years, I know others that took 6. I don’t think anyone else is more impressive or more deserving of their degree, shit, I don’t think any of us deserve a degree because our society makes it so damn easy to go to school compared to third world countries or the United States.
I had to see a therapist. I had to have eye surgery done. I had my own battles with my physical and mental health.
And I’m just happy I’m still here. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to get myself the help I needed. I wish I never had to go through any of that, but I’m just glad it all worked out for me and I wish everybody else that same level of luck.
Thank you, UofT for the past 4.5 years.
