‘REALITY hitting home’ is a particularly apt phrase at this time of year for students.
The first term of being a fresher or a second year student is likely to have slowly frozen to a grinding halt.
Money, energy, and enthusiasm all run dry right before Christmas, and there is a universal desire to return home.
We realise that our housemates are not at all what we expected, that achieving a First requires the same commitment to the library as to partying, and that money, despite what we tell ourselves, does not magically appear from nothing.
The Christmas period thus creates a whirlwind of emotions. For those who have had a hugely successful term, and can smugly re-read their essays with First scribbled at the bottom on the flight back, this euphoria obliterates any other worries. But for the others, however, who arrived at the end of the term with one hangover too many and an insatiable desire to move permanently to campus to escape a Cold War between housemates, the outlook has less of a festive glow.
If anything though, Christmas is an opportunity for students to closely examine the reality of university life. This ‘reality shock’ is well timed; January, and therefore the well-intended time of making New Year resolutions, is approaching.
For those who have not had to eat a diet of soup for two weeks because of awry financial calculations, or who haven’t personally nicknamed the library to delude themselves that visits there are social, need only resolve to maintain these achievements.
But the rest of us should use the break wisely. For example, if you have found that the majority of your folders are empty, or that you’re not quite sure what your course is actually about, arrange to meet your tutor before the end of term, so that you can begin the New Year afresh.
If you’re returning to exams after the holiday, make certain that you know what and how you should be revising, as a failure so early in the year could be a cause for calamity.
Likewise, if your financial situation has reached the point where you pay for milk with a handful of two pence coins, scrounged from every corner of your room, then make strict goals for the next term, including a realistic weekly budget.
Lastly, if your accommodation is not working out as expected, attempt to leave on a friendly note so that you don’t have to return to conflict; resist the temptation to make a picnic for the return home with their food, and instead stretch yourself to leaving a friendly Christmas card for everyone.
Remember as well to tidy before you leave, as being unable to enter your room because of the barricade of chaos behind the door will set off your ‘new leaf’ period very badly.
However your term has panned out, either for better or worse, there will be many in exactly the same situation as you.
After you have resolved to get back or stay on track (a to-do list is helpful in these situations), spend the rest of the Christmas break making the most of being on the island, and with family.
Family are incredibly important, and their absence whilst at university often leaves a huge gap.
Christmas is typically a family time. While students often see home time as an opportunity for free food and heating, also enjoy relaxing with them, even if this means sometimes gritting your teeth and agreeing to a bracing walk up Bradda Head.
Source http://www.iomtoday.co.im
In conclusion, no matter what reality you are facing, use Christmas to rejuvenate and prepare for the New Year. ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’ [Mahatma Ghandi]. This may sound an overdramatic motivational phrase for addressing a few mishaps, but nevertheless it is crucial to remember, after all, university can only be what you make it.
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