Something big happened last week… I finally graduated from Lancaster University with a BA in French Studies! You’ll already know about my time here if you’ve read my blog for a while, but to say the absolute least: it wasn’t easy and I’m very proud of myself. I’m especially proud of the passion I developed for my degree in this past year, leading me down interdisciplinary rabbit holes that enhanced my general knowledge.
While my French level has undeniably improved thanks to my degree, I’ve learnt other things that go far deeper than the academics associated with university. More specifically, I’ve ‘grown into myself’ and learnt more about who I am, which was probably helped by living away from home and meeting like-minded people.
As I reflected on my time as an undergrad, I compiled this list of five things I’ve learnt at uni beyond French. It might help you to see that going to university is so much more than simply studying and getting a degree, as that couldn’t be further from the truth!
1. Household chores (’how to survive’)
This is slightly embarrassing, but I’d never cooked, done a food shop, washed clothes, or really any home-keeping tasks before starting uni. This led to utter cluelessness when I tried them, because how the hell do you turn on a washing machine? Admittedly, I don’t think it’s very common to be oblivious to these at age 18, but it was a huge learning curve for me.
Most of my first year was spent eating ready meals or freezer food because nobody ever taught me how to cook, but a lot has changed since then. I was recently complaining to myself that “I just make the same things all the time”, but I rationalised it by thinking of my unnutritious past, and I make everything from scratch now. I never would have pictured that in first year, so a win is a win in my eyes.
If you feel like this, you’ll get the hang of it with time. And even if you repeat meals like me, it isn’t bad to stick to what you know; you’ll get really good at them!
2. Time management
There’s a classic stereotype about uni students that we’re off uni more than we’re in, and we pay an extortionate amount of money to drink and laze around. This isn’t completely false, but many people underestimate the amount of work we’re expected to do independently. This means having to balance our studies with a social life, societies (for some), hobbies and self-care.
It’s essential to make sure that students complete seminar prep, submit coursework on time, and for language students, practise their languages, behind the scenes of contact hours. One method I’ve used, is going to uni for the entire day to complete all my studying, ensuring that evenings and weekends are reserved for leisure. This won’t work for everyone due to other responsibilities or personal preference, so you need to find the best system for you.
3. How to be alone
In my very first week of uni, I spent most nights partying but the days felt strangely quiet. I didn’t have any family or dog to speak to, which taught me that uni can be solitary at times. Academic pressure means that a lot of people are busy working, and you’re separated from friends and family back home. While going to events and speaking to others is easy in theory, spending lone hours in your room is inevitable, which can invoke feelings of sadness or homesickness.
This used to be utter torture for me as I’d think I was a ‘loser’ for spending time alone. However, this stems from the false idea that solitude is inherently bad. After my year abroad, where I spent several months alone, I learnt to enjoy my own company. Although I value time with friends, I now spend much more time alone and I’m happy with it!
4. Critical thinking/critical reading
Critical thinking and critical reading are acquired through undertaking academic research, but they’re valuable for many areas of life. I recently watched a video about the reading crisis in Germany, where a high proportion of German children can technically read, but they’re unable to deduce information from the text. This means they don’t have the skill to critically look at a piece of work, making me grateful to have learnt this at university.
In the case of my dissertation, I used these skills to discern why I supported or opposed scholars’ opinions, which some students shy away from; they assume that academic papers are automatically ‘correct’. In reality, the highest marks go to students willing to critique a scholar’s point, because it shows the ability to critically examine texts instead of blindly accepting them as true. In my everyday life, I use it to understand the books I read for fun, as well as biased newspaper articles. Honestly, it’s a skill that everyone should learn.
5. Openness + cultural understanding
Since students come to university from a range of different countries, religions and upbringings, you will certainly meet people with contrasting life experiences from you. You may not be used to this if you grew up in a homogenous place, but university is a melting pot of cultures that you’ll learn to love.
I had a lot of Indian friends in first year, who taught me new things about the country’s culture. I also used to go to German society, where I witnessed the genuine beer-loving way of the Germans! In the past four years, I’ve learnt about various different cultures through the people I’ve met, which I look back on with appreciation. I have no doubt that coming to university has made me more open and curious to learning about others.
If you’ve read this and you still believe that uni students are lazy, try it yourself; you’ll learn all sorts along the way!
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