Student Life: Is Life as a Student Really Boring?

Student Life: Something everyone seems to be complaining about these days. Being a student is a phase of life we all have gone through, are currently going through, or will go through. It is a part of life or so we are taught. Some even believe that life is a school and we are all students. But is going to school even worth it?

Let’s not deviate. I hear so many complaints; student life is stressful. Going to morning lectures, taking attendance, impromptu tests, dorm life, living with roommates. It is stressful, boring and mentally tasking. Some may even say mentally draining.

The projects, both the hard and simple courses, the friends, the course mates that never talk to you except to borrow something or ask for help, the ones that only talk to you to invite you for one party or the other, the ones that always seat in front, having a complete lecture note, the ones that always invite you for one Church program or the other.

The backbenchers that are not even sure why they’re in school in the first place, and of course, let’s not forget the special ones that never attend classes but yet come up with honours as best graduating students, we call them “ghost students”.

I think that’s all of them, did I miss anything? You truly see the good, the bad and the ugly. Then there are the lecturers. The ones that come to class once a month and thrice in a whole session, the punctual ones that never misses a period (I have personal issues with these ones), the ones that their second name is “leave my class” (I love these ones), and of course the ones that come to University to look for a wife.

All these plan their way into a student’s life. But despite all of these I ask you, is being a student not a voyage?

Student Life is Only as Interesting as How You Make It

Yes, it is. Don’t just go to class and go home and repeat the same cycle again. Common! routines are boring. Don’t live your life that way, of course you are going to end up a committed bore.

Make friends, attend parties, break some rules and be yourself. There are so many of them that won’t stop reminding us of how they came to school to study, you can be among them if you wish, but I will advise you don’t. Deep down they want to be free and live happily like us, but because they don’t have the means and most times don’t know how to go about it, they always come up with such a lame ass excuse.

With that, they create an atmosphere where they look forward to when they’ll graduate and leave the institute.

I’m not saying you should party and forget yourself or leave school and follow a guy somewhere, No. There’s something called balance in everything you do. Eat pizza but eat vegetable salad also. I love school. The scene of students moving about at 12 midnight, with late night snacks, talking and laughing out loud, studying, watching movies… The thrill of the next project, the next outing, that chance meeting that might just change your life for better or worse as the case may be.

I love the parties as well as the study groups. And yes, I’m a brilliant student.

We’ve all painted education as this horrible place where the meager talent you have is sucked right out of you. But who says you can’t paint and be an Engineer? Or a Footballer and be an economist? Mr. Beans, we all know him, a famous actor, studied engineering in school. He did not use his certificate one day for any actual beneficial thing but when asked, “Do you regret going to school and your chosen course of study?” What do you think his reply was? of course “NO”.

Many at times because of laziness, lack of passion, motivation, will and drive, we tend not to accomplish that which we know we should be accomplishing. And because man by nature hates admitting to a fault, who do we blame? The educational sector. “How I wish I had known; I would not have spent so many years trying to get a certificate I did not use at the latter end. Maybe by now, if I had truly pursued my dreams, I would have been like Bill Gates or at least well off”.

You can only find a solution when you know what the problem is. The educational sector, your parents and the economy are not your problem. The honest truth is, if these factors weren’t even there to hinder you, you’ll find a new thing to complain about, maybe even God. I’m not saying don’t complain, even I believe a little grumbling is good.

Err out your opinion, criticize the government, laugh at that friend, I think it’s a little healthy even, but when you make it into a habit and an excuse for a depressed, pathetic or unfulfilling job or life, that’s when it becomes an issue.

Student Life Is An Experience

Having an expectation, having so much hope for school and we all know, more often than not, is never met. Most of us come to school with the notion that school is a learning ground for gaining not just theoretical knowledge, but practical skills as well that’ll help you in the real world.

After that, we walk into that million-dollar job just waiting right there for you especially for those of us studying professional courses like Engineering (because you are the one that created the company). And when our eyes are finally opened to life, we start hating and blaming our lecturers and educational system as a whole on a daily basis.

I have a very wonderful friend like that, my best friend actually. Every day his song is “I hate school. Why am I even in school? Did they give any assignment? (He’s asking on the submission day of the assignment)”. What we fail to realize is that school is actually a learning ground but for all aspects of life.

A medical student can choose to take computer courses like coding, develop himself and even be better than actual programmers. Yes! it’s true. More often than not we are brought up with the belief that a fulfilled and satisfied life is to graduate from a good school, with good grades, get a good paying job, get married and have two or three kids.

In so doing, we are applauded for having lived a ‘good’ life. Because of that, we are always being pressurized by a standard that was set probably before even our grandfathers were born.

No, a thousand times no! A school dropout can amount to as much as a fully certified graduate. It’s all based on self and determination. Why do people travel? For the joy and pleasure of it. For those that travel for business, well, I have nothing to say to you. Look at school as the same thing. You don’t eat just to satisfy your hunger. If you do then I have a question for you, are you okay?

Dear Diary

School is for everything. Have ten boyfriends, party, come back 12 midnights, have a fling, kiss that boy, because trust me after school, you’ll wish you did all these things and more. It’s just that never forget the primary reason of why you are there, to get your degree.

By the help of God, I’m a first class student in my finals, but I never forget to go out with friends and have fun. Just unwind. Relax. Chill. Life is too sweet to spend away on just boring things.

You define your education, not the educational sector, not the economy, not life in general but you. “Las las school na scam”, a popular Nigerian student’s slang these days. Ok, don’t go. Drop out. Why be there in the first place? I for one, feel that a University is a place where you learn everything. You learn to cook, read or actually study and do research, make, or rather, choose your friends, drive and so on.

I learnt how to dance in the University and I’m still learning. I’m presently learning how to make different delicacies, my course mate is putting me through, I guess that’s another course for me. Tattoos, drinking, praying, religion and of course drugs are all in school. There is intimacy too, I think I lost to that in a way, as it controlled my wandering mind for a while, I regained afterwards.

Choose your weapon wisely, a popular gaming slang. Don’t just go, read, get the result and get out. Here we say, you passed through school, the school did not pass through you. Learn a new skill. That hair you’re passionate about plaiting and styling, learn it. Those shoes and glasses you love advertising, learn how to market it and even make money from there. That art you love drawing, improve on it. The new machines you love inventing, design it.

Whatever you want to do, it’s just you and the world, do it. Educate yourself whichever way you want to. You’ll learn from your mistakes. Get around with all of these and tell me if student life is really as boring, dull, uninteresting and a waste of time as many people make it out to be.

We are so adapted to complaining and grumbling that even those that love school also say “I hate school”. I dare say without school, many of us will still be where we are today; just complaining about different things and blaming a different circumstance.

Let’s assume there’s no school for a year. Right now I am jubilating, even though it’s just hypothetical. Do you really think you’ll be happy for the whole of that year? Or if they cancel school forever, as some of us so desire, will it really be ok? Appreciate where you are, what you’ve been through, the journey behind and ahead, where life’s taking you.

Don’t worry, don’t stress, don’t fuss. Do the best you can and above all, enjoy yourself and then tell me if being a student isn’t as lovely, beautiful and wondrous as it can be. In all, know how it works for you!