As I sit here waiting for my Macroeconomics exam to come, I am thinking of why it is that I cannot and have not been able to fall asleep. The problem has been persisting since the end of my law exam which was a mere few days ago. After the review and effort I put into the preparation for my Business Law II exam, I realize that perhaps I can achieve things in university. To be honest I have not been working as hard as I should or as hard as I did back when I was in the midst of the good old IB exams. But strangely enough, due to all the conversation in the kitchen that I share with the people I live with who have become some of my closest friends, I realize that this is the common view of the majority of the kitchen. It is that we do not work as hard as we should throughout the semester and then expect to achieve the highest of high grades that we possibly can. It is always the same story, start off the semester or any form of school period time, with high hopes of working hard and determination to attend every single lecture only to find ourselves hitting snooze for the fifth time and sleeping through it. This is the story of the majority of the student faculty I feel but of course I cannot speak for everyone attending the University of Stirling or any other University student for that matter. It seems to be the typical pattern for me in any case because I start out bright and ahead of the the curve and all that that people say is required when being successful. But after approximately the fifth week, this semester's case, I come to the dull and almost depressing realization that I just cannot be bothered anymore and fall into a pattern of "I'll see if I can make that lecture" when the lecture is actually at one o'clock in the afternoon. I digress. The point I am trying to make is that for the first time, after I started early when preparing for my accounting exam (which was before the law exam), I feel like I am working hard and can be successful. Last semester it was a case of getting used to the environment, but this semester it is about achieving. I was confident about my accounting exam! In the two semesters of having accounting forced down my throat I feel finally that I understood it! I realize (for the umpteenth realization) that it is at the end of the semester, in which we approach examinations that we break the pattern and the underwhelming sense of underachievement has been rid of. Everyone is going to the library and passing off the opportunity to drink "with the lads!" and get some studying done. But the idea that I am struggling with is the fact that university, I feel and please disagree with me if you like, is a streamline. A streamline in the sense that we are all moving in the same direction but cannot seem to break the mould, yes like the VO5 advert. The mould of uncreative regurgitation of facts that we have "learnt". The same standard testing that we must all participate in the see if we are achieving or not. Some might say that perhaps degrees such as film and media or English have creative elements to it but is it not only a take that the university or school you attend wants you to put across in order to score as many points as you can? Correct me if I am wrong.
As I watch Californication, the show that I am apparently obsessed with, I envy the creativity that some people have. The ability to just write and see where you go and see if you can develop a story out of the nonsense of life. It is that creative side of me that I am trying to divulge here that may or may not be a complete failure. I have never been much of a creative writer but as I think of it now, have I ever tried? The old saying of "never knock it 'till you try it" comes to mind. An interesting story that I remember from Zurich just before I graduated was one from a guest speaker who was speaking to the school as a whole about technology. Despite the fact that I, attending as a school that was a computer based school, felt as if he was preaching to the choir sitting their completely unimpressed with what this man had to say, there was one thing that he said that I have been thinking about a lot recently. He said that he was friends with a man who was very very wealthy and that this man's son was accepted to Harvard University. As impressive as this may be, the man said that he was deliberating over whether he should allow his son to go because he claimed that "these are the years of someone's life where they are at their most creative and where entrepreneurial inspiration might strike". I have been thinking about that long and hard and felt as if it may hit home a little bit for me. I am not saying that I am anything near as intellectually brilliant as anyone attending Harvard University but I feel as if I am more inspired to do something other than be doing what I am doing. Perhaps it is out of boredom that sets in during the period between the beginning few hours of the semester and the last few hours before an exam but I do feel like I should do something entrepreneurial, if you will.
However, "in conclusion" as the mould states we are allowed to begin our final paragraph, I feel as if there is perhaps too much mould that could possibly be reformed but I think that it should be on our own accord and perhaps it is not the systems fault. There are plenty of success stories out there as we very well know. But there are the odd success story that did break the mould, even for a slight bit, and went out of the way to create something that became brilliant and beautiful in its own way and right. Someone say Mark Zuckerberg?
Just as a side note ( I know this is after the paragraph in which I said "in conclusion" so excuse me but) check this out: http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_themselves.html
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