Everyone has had their university experience. 3 years was a short one to me. I always make a self-evaluation since college life, be it monthly or quarterly, this time it is a wrap up on whatever I have gone through in the last 3 years of University. It is a follow-up after I did some filtering on whatever photo I took for the past 3 years as a frequent event photographer, you can view it HERE (if you are my friend in FB) This isn’t some quotes from warren buffet or Richard Branson or whosoever, it’s just my piece of words from the bits and pieces I have gone through.
So the 10 things I learned in University life.
I believe in the power of Blessings. Whatever that belongs to you will eventually belong to you because God has set it so. I always take life as a scene within the realm of blessings, well some say Karma, but it’s the same context. There are both happiness and excitement in receiving and giving. I realize this during the 3rd year when I stop my pace of activities and started to look into caring for others more, i have received a lot during the first 2 years, good challenges and stress.. and financially provided, and i decided to sew into the lives of others. This is not about Financial everytime but knowledge, perspectives and also mentorship.
Life about oneself is never about the world, but to know that you are taking part of the development of someone else and celebrating their success together, that’s an exciting ride to see how God works begin with. And i realize one would never start learning to appreciate the gift of giving until he gives willingly, not because he has extra to give.. and i also realize that many are not satisfied with what they receive and demanded for more, but we all have received many by our daily food and days.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Throughout these 3 years, I have seen people come and gone. Be it any level, leaders, team members or whosoever, they are all the same in this context. Leadership is defined within its own context, but values and achievements are totally another different chapters of it. I have seen individuals with great achievements, and low profile individuals that comes with great values… and also individuals with both. But to see one that has both Values and Achievements, are Rare.
With today social media sharing, people can be inspired by your achievements for a moment… but those with values, will be remembered for good. Getting to be the student representative and able to travel all around the world to attend high profile discussions can be an achievement, but if he fails in the basic responsibility of individual and family, everything else fails.
It’s not about style, status, personal charisma, clout, or worldly measurements of success. Integrity is the main issue that makes the difference between a good leader and a bad one.” ~ John MacArthur
Some tend to put segments in life where the university is one part after highschool and before career. But if we could see the linkage of all these 3 stages, a career can be started way long ago, when we see educational institute beyond just a time of receiving knowledge. This happens when one could find passion since young and execute their knowledge simultaneously during their education chapter, that’s how wonderful Information technology has made it today possible.
University has changed all around. Youths are defined in a great new way too, this is obviously seen when you talked about it with the generations before and know how the university has changed, students movements etc. While some still stayed back with the concept of University > Job method.. some who knows how to harvest their opportunity flew so fast and high since the beginning. This is the university of the 21st Century.
The man who sees an opportunity and does nothing is asleep with his eyes open.BRIAN HERBERT & KEVEN J. ANDERSON
This is one thing that I really struggled with. I wasn’t some high profile dude appearing in the media all the time nor some young girls getting into the model. But to the fact that during the first 2 years of my university life I have been a networker in a way attending conferences from different levels, by all means, be it student or corporate sector.. exchange name cards and try to spark some good connections. But it was so fast that often people ask me the question, “How do you manage your friends?” I hardly have Close Friends then until this final year I settled down on activities and thinking about it.
I think it’s a great experience thinking that I already did what the future working world will almost be like. Dad did tell me also that eventually, your best friend is your wife and your family. At times I struggle to learn from other friends to not to over concern on this and putting categories to it. Because this hits me when someone asks “So if you are going to invite someone to your wedding…” Or “Who do you think is going to attend your funeral?”
My dad said to me growing up: ‘When all is said and done, if you can count all your true friends on one hand, you’re a lucky man.’ Josh Charles
Most of my architecture coursemates will kill me after seeing this. HAHA. well as an Architecture student, time is always a factor when it comes to academics assignments. but this is a different context. Really 24hours is a lot. I would always go down to the roots of Time Management or Personal Management. I never believed in Time Management. I believed in doing the right things the right way.
“Effectiveness is doing the Right thing, Efficiency is doing Things Right”
Most of us in university fail in knowing what are the right things to do. It’s pretty much back to the same question, why are we here, be it a university or LIFE? what is our purpose and what we want to be in the next 10 years and what we hope to see? Until you get these answer right, you surely don’t know what’s an opportunity to you even though you are an optimist because you needed a direction. In a nutshell, it’s about FOCUS and Execution. Definitely my favorite quote-
“See time as a 10 minutes segment, then that’s how fast time is passing by” Richard Branson
Everything is just a matter of how you want to see it as. If I could be spending a whole day on blaming certain parties or individuals over disappointments and frustrations, then I would rather blame myself for not able to see it in a different perception that can improve the situation. I found this really helped me in moving on fast, really fast, problems are totally ok, just make sure that they don’t stay long, spot it and solves it by finding the person to talk about after a rational decision.
But of course for one to be able to shift his perception, he has to endure himself and challenge to do so in a different environment and position. A quick example will be thinking about Malaysia within, or outside when you travel. Travelling has made me so. It’s not comfortable at times because we have to see and acknowledge what we don’t like to see.
Humans see what they want to see.” Rick Riordan, The lighting Thief.
I say this because there’s a familiar quote saying that if you don’t learn how to love yourself, you would never learn how to love others. I learned this because I know the loved ones around me cared for me. I am an individual who loves risk, physical risk, or communication risk that made people around me worried for me at times. This is something I still trying to learn as at times I say and move on things that I want to be part of but not knowing the implications towards the others around me.
You can be interpreting this statement in many different contexts, it doesn’t mean individualistic or selfish, not at all! It could be saying putting others as part of yourself too. All I am saying is, if you don’t know how to care for yourself, why think so much about caring for the other person? You don’t wanna drag your loved ones down together with your problems.
Yes, strange? When I say Fall in Love, Fall into a relationship. Because you will learn a lot about yourself where you just can’t in any other scenarios. Yes, it can be heartbreaking, it can be wasting your time, or you can find your life partner. I am not to the issue of some auntie uncles say if you can’t find a partner in university, you certainly can’t find in the hectic working world. But I am highlighting the point that one can really discover things about himself during this phase.
People change when they fall in love. It’s a funny chemistry on how even two best friends come together to a love string but communications will all be different, I won’t elaborate this on my experience but this is clear enough for those who have been. Besides, another point is that Falling in Love during university brings different experience and memories compared to falling in love during working time =)
Needless to say, this is quite something the same as those quotes outside there. Chase your own dream… or whatever. But a person with vision has his dream and philosophy and stands in a manner that does not offend the others. To sum it up, it’s about finding your own purpose of life and dare to dream big, and know where you are heading to and the values you are standing at.
It’s ok for people to hate you because there would not be a personality or stand that gains all favor. So click with the same flock of feathers, but also respect the other opinions. I had experience of people hating me and giving me warning notes and making a publicity stunt before. The earlier you embark your dream, the earlier head starts you have, even though you fail, you know that your time is not wasted and you are not waiting for people’s instruction or influence to do so.
All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together. Jack Kerouac
The last but really, NOT the Least. I can ignore everything else mentioned above but not this. To Glorify God in everything I do could also pretty overlaps most of the things mentioned above. Throughout these 3 hectic years, I must say, it’s really God’s blessing towards me to be able to achieve whatever you think I did, or it’s really God’s work within me. Apart from everything that happened, I really agree with the saying that put God in everything you do, and as Isaiah 40:31 states (my favorite verse the most) that state: but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
These 3 years wasn’t an easy one, it wasn’t really just activities here and there but as a human been we are all tempted and failed at many times, but God made all things possible. Thank God I finish University safely. Thank God for the strength and blessings.
I Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (ESV).
That pretty much sums it up on the 10 things I learned in university. All I could do now is to remind myself of these 10 things as I step into the working world. I wish this post would be an encouragement to many who are those in university still to know that they are beyond what they think they are. University indeed was a cheerful place of memories, as I still left 2 more weeks in USM, I could really just picture myself hanging a wide smile sealing off this chapter of the university. I am saying this because I emphasize a lot on the university experience via some posts in this blog.
University – The Learning Curve that Matters
10 ways living a University Life
Remembering when I wrote the entry for “whatsafterSPM”, I was only Matriculation College then, time does travel. Good bye USM.
