The transition from pupil to student
In this essay, Mirdit describes his experience in transitioning from high school to university, and the challenges it has posed.
Upper secondary high school wasn’t that hard, I watched movies while having subjects. The tests were kind of a mess, but luckily no exams because of the covid-19 situation. The best thing of having online classes was not having to get out while it was snowing. I could also “sleep”, while attending classes. At that time, I thought university would be another chill year, but that was an easy thought, a no energy taking thinking. I wasn’t ready for what awaited me after the third year of upper secondary high school.
The beginning of university was very relaxing, but also stressing. There were extra things I had to do; pay for the semester, get the correct timetable, get the right books and finding the right classrooms. The canvas website was so confusing, I had never seen such an advanced school website like that before. Maybe I was just a new beginner (I was), but over time it got better. The hardest part was programming, I have some C# from upper secondary high school. But when I started university, I got to know that we will be programming in Java instead. I think this was the hardest part of beginning in university, so far. The other subjects were things I have done before. I also had a subject at high school called “Programming”. Here I learned to make a game using scratch the website. I’ve also made a portfolio website.
I think as a student I hold more responsibility than being a pupil. I also had to take loan, while in secondary high school I got money for attending school. I’ve also thought of dropping out many times, but I’ve dealt through it. I like attending university now, because the tasks are easier, and I started reading more books. I thought programming would be just copy’n’paste, but that was totally WRONG! Now since it’s the end of the semester, I think the exam period will be so stressing, it’s always like that. But I manage to do all the tasks alright. There aren’t so many exams, just four, but four is enough to give you tons of stress.
Back to the school bench after full-time employment
In this essay, Tormod reflects on how his university experience differs from his years in full-time employment.
After working full time for a few years, it has been a rather strange transition to go back to being a student.
When working a job as an employee, I had expectations and requirements tied to my performance, and I was held accountable by my employer.
In university, there are still things that are required of me, but the only one to hold myself accountable is myself. If I want to sleep late in the middle of the week, I can do so without anyone telling me I shouldn't.
I am allowed to, but also forced to, make that decision for myself. To quote one of my favourite childhood movies: With great power comes great responsibility
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I have gained a lot of freedom, but I must have greater discipline in my day-to-day life, compared to working my old job.
In returning to university, I've had the opportunity to meet many new people. Many are a fair bit younger than me, and have fairly recently graduated from high school. But it's also not too uncommon to be in the situation I find myself in - returning to finish a degree after working for a few years. Some simply want to try something new, while others have been forced to find a new direction due to the effects Covid-19 has had on their employment situation. It's very refreshing to meet so many people with very different backgrounds, and I think it will enrich all of our academic lives.