The Beauty Of The Days Gone By (Sophie)

This week has been a week full of much contemplation about life, relationships, friendships, and how University changes or affects you as a person and in regards to your life as a whole.

There have been a few ‘triggers’ this week for such thoughts, but one in particular occurred while I was on the tram along Swanston Street.

I saw a girl from my old high school. ‘Back then’ (Year 12 I mean), she was this fresh-faced bubbly outgoing girl who never wore an ounce of makeup on her porcelain skin and never seemed to care much for ‘fashion’.

Here she was now; with her made-up face, her new clothes – the fashion of the moment type attire, what seemed a more reserved persona…and above everything else, a new set of friends standing beside her.

For a few minutes I wondered if she had simply changed, or if she had changed because everything around her had changed?

It is often said that University is a “fresh start” so you should make the most of it. For most of us, these “fresh starts” only come around every 6 years or so – think beginning Primary School, beginning High School, and then beginning University. Between these times you must accept whatever category others have pigeon-holed you into and whatever friends have wound up by your side before you finally get the chance to change everything if you get bored, or if you simply change while those around you stay the same.

I wouldn’t say I’ve been necessarily ‘lucky’, but I have had the opportunity to experience more of these “fresh starts” than most people. Three different primary schools and two high schools afforded me many opportunities to test different waters and figure out the kind of person I was and who I wanted to have around me in life. At my third primary school I edged out of my shell realising that in life, if you want to get anywhere you need to be confident and outgoing or you will be missed in the crowd. By my second high school I found some like-minded individuals who encouraged my intellectualism and sharp sense of humour. Now by the time I started University, what I experienced was not a “fresh start” – it was a homecoming. I finally feel like I’m ‘home’ – that I’ve found a place where I can be exactly the person I want to be; the person I’ve become.

So for me I consider the two parallels; I wonder in the people I meet, who is experiencing University as a “fresh start” and who has finally come “home”?

I think neither is to be looked at as being somewhat more advantageous than the other – both are exciting prospects, both allow you to meet fantastic people and both create some kind of comfort. It is just interesting to see if anyone understands the perspective I’m coming from.

I had so many expectations for University; many of which changed. In fact I would say that so many more unexpected things have happened to me this year. Proving yet again that despite my (sometimes!) obsession with planning, it is always impossible to know exactly what will happen.

I came to Melbourne University with an open heart and an open mind; searching for excitement, intellectual stimulation, a riveting social life and new people.

This year I’ve now experienced at times, more excitement than I can deal with! I’ve found so much intellectual stimulation of which, sometimes works to the point of de-motivation where I think “Am I really smart enough to do this? Will I ever even make it to the office of an Investment Bank some day?” (Don’t worry these thoughts disappear within minutes as I realise if I don’t give it my best shot I’ll regret it for the rest of my life!). I’ve found a social life that causes my calendar to overflow, forcing me to learn how to say “No”. And I’ve found the most truly amazing people I could ever hope to meet. When older friends, associates and mentors in my life told me that University was where I would make many life-long friends, I never really believed them. Now I know I’ve made some friendships that will definitely see me through much of my adult life. In particular…I came here with no expectation of relationships…and somehow I found J.

It is funny how these things work out.