Ep 3-Transitioning to young adulthood

The speaker discusses the differences between high school and university experiences. In high school, there were strict schedules, but in university, schedules are more flexible. They suggest that students should make better use of their time in university to explore other opportunities. The speaker also mentions that being a student in university does not exempt one from the responsibilities and challenges of adulthood. They emphasize the importance of being aware of the dangers and uncertainties of the outside world. The speaker concludes by suggesting that orientation programs should focus more on preparing students for the realities of adult life. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to yet another episode of Totally Random Things. This week's episode will focus on high school versus uni, the things that went down in high school and the difference between the things or the experience we had in high school and that of uni. Let's start off with how bad the schedules were back in high school. The 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. kind of schedules, those will no longer be there in uni, and that was such an amazing thing. You don't have tight schedules in as much as maybe the times when the semester really gets, you know, the pressure really gets worse. You also have a time of the semester when you're really, like, you know, enjoying because you have minimal classes or classes are not happening at all, or even if they're happening, you don't have classes Monday to Friday. You also don't have classes 8 to 5 every other day. You have a very favorable kind of schedule, which is such a plus, but also the thing we don't get to understand is that we could put this time that we've got into proper use. Most of us, me being a victim, we used most of that time to, you know, chill, watch a lot of movies, maybe hang out with friends, which is not wrong at all, yeah, but I feel like with the proper guidance, we would have been told, oh, in uni, you're not just expected to be a student. You can be a lot more. You can implement all the ideas you've had. You can try this and that out. You can just do a couple of things with the time that you've got at your disposal, but the fact that even our parents are just expecting us to be students and deliver good grades, maybe, that is the one reason that holds us back from getting out of those comfort zones and actually trying something, because we can say we lack resources. One of the resources we need is STEM, which is clear that we've got a lot of it, yeah. Maybe it's not the same case for all courses, but I'm sure it's the case for most of them, yeah. The other thing that they didn't tell us is the fact that just because you're out of high school and you're a youngster and, you know, you're just naive and all that, doesn't mean that the world will treat you with more leniency, no. It's going to treat you just like any other adult. The con men are going to come at you so harshly, and they're going to con you so shamelessly. They will not think twice about your age or the fact that you're a student or the fact that you're from high school. And once you're in the outside world, you get exposed to all those things going on. People won't be hesitant of, you know, calling you out for your wrongdoings out there just because you're a student and, you know, being a student and being in civilian clothes, it's, you know, it doesn't, you know, distinguish you much from the normal monarchy, so if anything you're actually viewed as a normal monarchy, prices of things are the same. You won't get things sold at you at a substandard price just because you're a student, no, it doesn't happen that way. You're just treated as an adult, you are. You're no longer treated as a minor. In the same way, if, let's say, anything happens and you find yourself in a police cell, they're no longer going to, you know, be so lenient on you. They're going to treat you harshly, very harshly, which is very much likely because now you're an adult and anything, you're interacting with the normal monarchy every other day, every other time, because again, being a uni doesn't mean you're in the confines of the school so frequently, you only may be there if you need to sleep there or if you need to be in class and then that's it. Most of the time you're out and about doing your own things. The other thing they didn't tell us is that in high school, you're forced to be in a spot, you're forced to exercise your own body, you're forced to take a nap and all those things, but in uni, no one forces you to do any of this. You choose whether you want to be in a spot or not and if you choose not to be, no one is going to push you to be in one, which is such a great thing, but at the same time, being in a spot means that whenever you turn up for a game, you get paid for that, so, and a very easy way of making money, so you get to choose, do I want to get the cash or do I just want to have the freedom of not being in a spot, yeah? Which is really nice, not being pushed around every other time, doing something out of your own free will even makes you more productive. Let's also look at time frame. In uni, there's so many activities going on every other day, every other week, there are all these activities going on and no one pushes you to attend them either, no one requires you to attend that career talk, no one pushes you to attend that, whatever activity that is going on, it's out of your own free will. You choose, do I want to be there, do I want to be there, do I have time for this, do I not, do I feel fit to be here, do I not, it's, you, you become your own person, you make your own decision, you don't have anyone, your mom is not there, your teacher, your class teacher is not there, no one is there, ah, should I attend this, ah, they are not there to tell you, you have to attend this, it's important, no, you make that call, is it important, am I going to benefit from it, you choose, or do I have important issues to attend to, and that is such a great thing, because now you start learning the whole aspect of, you know, decision making, it's not just making decisions to get yourself out of a situation, it's about your own life, it's about molding yourself, yeah. The other thing is how you're exposed to all evils of the world when you're in uni. In high school or pre-high school, you're in an environment that is very much safeguarded, everyone is looking out for your safety, they have to be accountable for where you, you're aware about what happens to you, so they have to, you know, look out for you, but now out here, no one is looking out for you, if by mistake you, just outside, you get late, coming from wherever, you could run into thugs, they could beat you up, they could steal from you, you could get shot, a lot of things could happen to you, it stops being an issue of trying to run away from the job, so that you don't get punished for being late for prep, it becomes an issue of, I got late, now I'm trying to run for my life, so that I can run from this place, yeah. Reality starts hitting a little bit more harder, yeah, so you have to be ready for all of this, and I feel like the fact that maybe we're not given proper guidance, you're not told, you're not given a full picture of what to expect, and as much as we've got orientation, it doesn't revolve much around the reality bit of life, it just focuses on the school setup kind of thing, which again is some sort of a cliche, because all through high school, you get people to come talk to you, they tell you this is, you know, in uni, this is what you do, this is what courses you do, blah, blah, blah, all those things, so now people should start basing the conversations around the realities of life that come with you being a young adult in uni, yeah, and that will be it for this episode, see you on the next one, goodbye.