I've Learnt More Than Just Literature

In previous posts I've talked about what my first year, second year, and what university in general has taught me about life, but I've neglected to talk about what I've actually learnt about myself over the past few years. 

The years have really flown by and compared to when I arrived at Keele as a fresher, I feel more like I know who I am. Cliché, I know, but it's made a pretty huge impact on me. So here's a few things I've learnt about myself:

1. I can achieve much more than I think

          - Whether it's writing a better essay than I thought I ever could, actually exercising on a weekly basis or making a decent contribution to a class discussion, I've learnt that all I need to do to achieve is push myself that little bit extra.

2. And I enjoy achieving

          - When I started going to parties in school I got it in my head that trying hard at school was 'lame' and unless you were already intelligent, it was pretty pointless trying to give it your best effort. I let myself down in school and pretended not to care because I thought getting told off was quite amusing. Back then, I did find it funny to get in trouble or do badly in a test for stupid reasons but now I've come to realise I enjoy achieving things. I wish I tried harder in school and college, though my grades were never bad, I know I could have done better. 

3. I'm a confident person

          - When I came to uni I'd been dating one of the most confident people I know, he had a huge group of friends and charisma that filled the room, so, being quite shy anyway, I always felt like a bit of a shadow. Not to blame him at all! But I feel university gave me the chance to spread my wings a bit and stop using someone else's light as an excuse for mine being so dull. Now I speak up in seminars to put my ideas forward and I'm even a student ambassador...I've definitely surprised myself!

Notice how these realisations appear to be getting bigger as I go along? My mind is suddenly coming to life with everything I've never said aloud. 

4. I didn't like who I was trying to be

          - I've always tried to be someone else. I spent my teenage years constantly wishing to be anyone but me and it took a long time to accept me for who I was. I'm not someone who needs to get out of control drunk on a weekly basis, I'm not someone who needs to be surrounded by people all the time, I'm not someone who needs other people to speak for me, and I've truly found out that I don't need to rely on other people for happiness. I've always enjoyed my own company and I thought that made me a loser. I've spent years jumping from having few friends to having loads, and I've now realised I like a quiet life. 

5. Other people's opinions shouldn't have such a big impact

          - I've gone through phases of worrying about what people think of me and then not giving a sh*t, but in all honesty, I've learnt to just not think about it at all. I have moments when I judge people and think something bad, we can't all be angels, and if people have those moments towards me there's nothing I can do to change that. Most people of the same age group don't judge a book by it's cover but by the blurb someone else wrote. Gossip and mistakes follow so many people around and if that's what forms people's opinions of others then there's not much you can do to stop that. These days I keep myself to myself and get on with what I enjoy doing. I've made my mistakes and wouldn't deny them, and I don't want to fuss over regretting them either, because what is that going to change? Just worry about what you think of yourself. If you're happy with who you are as a person, I mean truly happy, then why should someone else tell you who to be?

6. I actually enjoy studying literature 

          - You can read all about this here!

7. I'm excited to get into the world of work
          - When I started my final year I didn't think I was remotely ready to leave student life, but as the year's gone by and plans have started coming together my excitement for the adult world is growing. People older than me have said nothing but negative things about adulthood, but I'm not willing to let other people's desire to remain a student form my opinion of becoming an adult. I like a night out and free time, but honestly I'm ready to sink my teeth into a new challenge and start earning some money!

Thank you university...

What have you learnt about yourself during university?

MissIsGoode

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