Am now in the midst of the 8th week of uni, which so happens to be my last semester in this school. Was walking home with Jessie earlier on when I asked her, "How ah Jessie, we're gonna graduate soon!".
I guess everyone will get this kinda unsettled and perhaps fearful feeling towards graduation. At some points in time, you're really looking forward to it and yet the uncertainty of what lies ahead makes you feel scared at the same time. I was researching on internships and sending out my CVs to several local banks and investment banks when I suddenly felt this chill down my spine when looking through the websites of renowned IBs like Barclays and Deutsche Bank. It makes me wonder if what I've learnt in school really allow me to step into the real working world and work with these professionals, especially when we're handling real monies and other people's fortunes at that. Which is why I've decided to go for an internship instead of applying for graduate programs or for a full time job because I still want to explore the finance world and learn more about how they work in real life. Often, I ask my friends what they wanna do when they graduate, particularly those who are in the same major as me (Marketing or Finance wise). & most Finance undergrads will answer you: Investment Banking. Then I go on and ask, which part of IB? Why? They'll just shrug and go, don't know, just IB will do. I'll be like, "Huh? You don't know and know what you wanna do at the same time? What if you find that IB is not for you, or worst, finance is not for you?". Guess what's the million dollar answer that almost everyone gave me?
"Oh doesn't matter, earn big bucks what, who wouldn't want?"
Oh wells, I guess everyone has different ambitions. While salaries and all matter most to people, interest weighs the most for others.
Anyway, the point of my blog post is that, I'm very grateful for having studied here in Uni Melb, even though the above is just a random rambling of mine, haha. It's just that, if not for studying in this school and being able to major in both Marketing AND Finance, I wouldn't even know that I'll do well in Finance subjects, not to say applying for jobs in the bank! People who've known me for a very long time would've known that for the longest time, I'm a Marketing person, and haven't thought of studying accounting or finance or actuarial studies at all. It's just that, they don't appeal to me. And with the Singapore's education system, most people are only allowed to major in one major,so naturally I'd have thought that I'll be doing stuff related to Marketing in future.
So for that, I wanna post a shout out here.
THANK YOU NUS FOR REJECTING ME!
& NTU for giving me such a bad experience and time in the school.
Because of the local unis, I managed to find my way to Uni Melb which opened my choices and allowed me to find out what major(s) really suit me, and to explore other areas of business in that sense. I'm not saying that local unis are not good, I'm just saying that studying overseas is better. I have friends who enjoy themselves in local unis, feel very proud of themselves and all that you could think of. I'm happy for them, but you can say that I'm happier for myself.
I know of many people who couldn't make it into local uni, especially those who graduate from polytechnics. It's not that you're not good, it's just that they have too many candidates to choose from. Don't be dejected, because while one door closes on you, another will open. Getting into a local u doesn't even mean anything; ask anyone who walks down the streets of Orchard Road and you'll find tons holding a degree from local u. But ask anyone if they like what they're studying, enjoy their time in uni, and getting grades that they think they deserve with a considerable "happening" social life, I guess you'll just find a handful.
& I'm proud to say that I'm one of those people you'll find me saying "yes" to all the questions above. & for that, I really appreciate and wanna thank my school. Never for once I've experienced "Monday blues" or dread going to school or dragging myself from bed because I really hate school. I always go to school happily, although there are days where I skip lessons, but I highly attribute that to the bipolar weather that we have here.
You may think that I'm looking down or even despising people from local uni. Well, I'm not, and in fact I do look up to those who can go through all 3 or 4 years because I myself know how tough it is. I do admire my friends who manage to hold on until now, and are doing considerably well in school, because it really is not easy. But I appreciate having a "life" over here, experiencing more things that you'll never have thought of if you didn't go for any exchange programs or whatsoever. It's truly the experience that matters.
I can go on and on about the people here, what we do and all that makes life here so wonderful. But I'll save that for another post before someone comes criticizing me on how bias I am towards my school. Guess what? I really am biased towards my own school because I love it a lot.
Whatever it is, for those who got rejected from local unis, I feel you. But don't be dejected and feel lousy, because it's not you, it's the environment that we're born into. Just go with the flow, another door will open for you and you'll find a place that's truly for you.
