đź’ 3 life lessons I learned at University
A couple of days ago, my friend asked me what changed me the most over being a university student. It’s actually a good question that made me think “why don’t I turn it into an article?” and boom! Here we go!
Quick personal info:
I recently graduated from the department of Journalism at Shih Hsin University, about to head to the UK to do a master’s in International Public and Political Communication in September. I recognize that it was a life-changing journey for me at the university, all in all. So, that’s diving into what I have changed since I got into the university.
Let’s separate the transformations of me into 3 aspects:
- Empathy
Having conducted many reports on various people and narratives, I have developed skills in empathy. Yes, I call “empathy” a skill, because when you put yourself in others’ shoes, you could understand people’s behaviours and intentions. It can actually sharpen your story-telling and writing skills (of course there have more advantages, to name but a few) as you can portray the details of your interviewer’s stories and also protect them from being offended if the topic is sensitive since you would have the conscience of caring others.
Being a journalist for most of my university period, I found some people live in their echo chamber, and turn a blind eye to others’ opinions if it is against their views. It is terrible but common to see in society. Thus, I wish myself an open-minded person and am on the path to doing better, as an open mind could truly include different perspectives, and I genuinely believe that the world would be much more friendly if we have empathy.
2. Enjoy “me time” and being an introvert
I am more of an indoor person and an introvert. I don’t like to talk to strangers (if I need to) and even my classmates. I would feel uncomfortable and exhausted in the conversation. Being an introvert made me feel disappointed in myself because I could not fit in a group easily and feel comfortable at the same time. It had set me back for quite a long time.
However, being a journalist, I have to interview many people in different industries, and later I found out that I can actually adapt to it :) I might still be nervous but often find sparkle while I am talking to my interviewee, not only because they have interesting and inspiring stories but also the fulfillment after I finish the articles and deliver them to the public.
On top of that, I am not giving up on being an introvert. Being alone to load up my energy is still my remedy to recover from the social hangover. But, I am really into being alone which help me organize my thoughts and clear negative one out of my mind. My “me time” usually includes watching films, journaling, etc. After all, I won’t be afraid to talk to strangers for the most part.
3. Gain courage to pursue my dream
I once almost give up studying abroad this year, as I distrusted myself have enough talent to survive in a foreign country… I recognize it sounds stupid because I had held the offer from the university in the UK at that time. Fortunately, I have a strong support system that constantly encourages me to pursue my dream. To read more about self-distrust, you can check out the article below.
Besides my family and friends’ support, confidence is crucial when making a decision. To be honest, sometimes I thought a “lack of confidence” would prompt me to progress since I need to work harder and harder to fill the gap between my talent and others’ expectations. However, the mindset is poison, it exhausts me most of the time. That is definitely not how growth-mindset work and I had learned a hard lesson.
In a nutshell, appreciate what resources I possess, know my strengths and keep developing in them, be conscious of the path I am heading to, and understand what sacrifices I would need to make. Just be clear in life but try to be gentle if you feel a bit lost in life because it is normal to be confused sometimes. Likewise, in my opinion, it is not what you have at the moment that matters, but how long you can dive into one thing that matters the most.
If you have a dream and keep dedicated to it, just be trustful of yourself, because it will not be perfect but you will definitely make progress, and it might bring a remarkable breakthrough to your life that you never dream of.
