what is your opinion about student life

May 22, 2014 [ROXANA-FLORENTINA HUREZEANU]

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What is your opinion about student life?

Life is a journey, not a destination, Ralph Waldo Emerson used to say. As

a journey is described by the stations it passes through, so is life subject to

sequences. It is commonly accepted that a final destination for life is, at

least, the death of the body, which is what everybody can see. In general,

people tend to analyse life according to what is tangible, they tend to

quantify and the common approach to life becomes a highly material one.

However, life seems to be a more complex equation, and as such, it is,

perhaps, easier to think of life in a binary manner: period and experience.

The first period in life is the experience of childhood, which precedes

adolescence and then, we reach the early adulthood time, a rather

controversial concept. In an attempt to limit controversies, I will refer in

particular to one choice within early adulthood, which can be student life. I

call it a choice, since it may not necessarily be the path chosen by every

youngster, but it is, unquestionably, a popular choice.

Student life is an experience that can hardly be defined in a unitary manner,

since it differs from individual to individual. Of course, it is characterised by

communities of students, but the same student experiences appeal

differently on a personal basis. It takes a different effort to reach this stage,

it lasts more or less, depending on personal projects, and it marks people to

a greater or lesser extent, depending on their expectations, their motivation

and their already acquired knowledge, be it life-related or academic. It would

be in order to say that student life is, potentially, the liaison between

learning and doing, a last opportunity to reflect more before acting. Many

students are still benefitting from their familys support, so their worries are

not comparable to an individual who is working full-time, trying to make a

career out of his profession. Furthermore, they afford enjoying the moment

significantly more than a non-student, and they are often told to do so,

because this bohemian time will not last forever. From this point of view,

student life can be referred to as a romantic period, where a major goal or


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stake would be to draw an inner portrait of our personalities, to sketch our

view of life, the conditions of this journey, as we would like them to be. In

this sense, student life is a period of transition, meant to prepare youngsters

for the new life ahead of them, as adults with more responsibilities.

Nevertheless, this is hardly a general rule, and more likely, a theoretical

approach. In real life, I feel that students do prefer the live the moment

attitude, abiding by short-term or spontaneous ideas, as they feel there will

be enough time to think more seriously about the future later on in life.

Another aspect about student life is, undeniably, the academic side, which

is an opportunity to define what we want to do professionally. Universities

conceive their study programmes according to the challenges that

prospective students would have to face. For instance, every description of a

degree encompasses potential career directions, references from Alumni

communities, and the latest trend, the so-called Sandwich programmes1. In

this vein, universities are placing more emphasis on their Student Affairs

bureau, where students meet psychologists, human resource specialists,

doctors and legal councillors who understand and help students whilst they

are registered with the university. In the end, it is mostly about creating a

community, where support is an impetus.

One of the main tenets of the student life as a community is the Students

Union, which exists within every university globally. It is a structure that

resembles any Union, with a committee chosen on the grounds of a voting

system in order to appoint delegates for any major matter, such as

financing, international representation, university clubs (for hobbies), and

other activities. Then, every university, with its Students Union send

representatives at a national level, making their voice heard and lobbying for

students rights on the political scene.

1 The option to take a year off ones degree, in order to follow a placement scheme in an industry related to

the academic programme. After the completion of the placement, the student is to return to the university and resume his studies (this programme means an extra year of study, since the student remains registered as such at his university of origin, and there is a placement coordinator who is meant to assist and provide feedback for the student).


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In addition to the administrative feature of the student life, there is also a

thorough, emotional one. With student life, there are new people to be

discovered, which imply new relationships, some of which might last for a

lifetime. It is a time that should be perceived as an opportunity to enrich

ones soul and to broaden ones mind. Student life can only be that which

individuals make of it. In this sense, it can be enriching, or boring, active or

passive, a chance for personal growth, or just some time taken to postpone a

grown-ups life, with a job, and the lifestyle associated to young

professionals. Going to university might often mean leaving home (as a city,

or even as a country), which is itself a step towards growing-up. In this

context, there is likely to be a cultural shock, doubled by home-sickness,

which is a constant experience amongst students who pursue their

education away from their natal place. Moreover, this is also a time when

decision-making becomes a frequent process in peoples daily lives, starting

from the choice of a study programme to being consistent with ones initial

plans. It is no secret that people often start something and then they are put

off by difficulties they might encounter, such as the lack of financial means,

or emotional problems as a result of long-distance relationships, or simply

unfortunate relationships. So, students must tackle these issues, which is

essentially a lesson about responsibility and assuming the consequences of

ones choice.

Finally, a student must also learn to cope with peer pressure, which is

always present, and its weight might vary depending on how much an

individual seeks acceptance. In other words, the personality spectrum plays

a major role in the way a student manages his social life. This is one of the

main contributors to student failures, and it tends to occur when students

make their university choices without carrying a mature, well-documented

research before applying for a higher education programme. In order to

prevent these failures, prospective students are advised to meet educational

psychologists who can build a personality profile, based on which one could

determine the appropriate careers, hence the adequate university

programme.


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To conclude, student life is a major sub-sector of life as a whole. The

characteristics of this period vary according to individuals, and the end

result will likely influence the future professional lives of graduates. The

Alumni networks are a proof of student lives long-lasting effects on the

personality of individuals. They offer students the possibility to keep in

contact and they consolidate the feeling of belonging to a unique community

(ie students who have attended the same university, who shared similar

experiences). Student life experiences allow individuals to pursue their

interests, but they also imply exercising self-management, since engaging

with higher education is a choice and not a compulsory step in ones life. On

the whole, being a student is a possibility to take a better train for lifes

journey, since it has the potential to equip one with skills that would be

more complicated to acquire outside the academic experience.

what is your opinion about student life

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