my university application process
Hi! So a lot of people have been asking me for help in regards to applying to Oxford and asking me to share my experience. Took me long enough because I’ve been super busy since the dawn of time (or I probably just have poor time management skills, idk). Anyway, I finally decided to write this blog post in case it might be useful/insightful for anyone who wants to read it, and is seriously considering applying to Oxford for undergrad – especially for a History or humanities degree!
I decided to break down this post according to different sub-topics to make it easier to read, so feel free to skip whichever parts you feel are not relevant.
• General timeline • Personal statement • Self-reflection • Aptitude tests and written work • Choosing an Oxford college • Interviews • Mental health • Privilege and the luck of the draw
General timeline
1. 15 October - submission of UCAS application 2. 30 October - aptitude test 3. Early December – interviews 4. January – Oxford decision results 5. May-June - A-level exams 6. August - confirmation of your place at Oxford upon meeting A-level requirements 7. October – enrolment and registration at university
Personal Statements
This is a very long-winded section that I get asked about a lot, so I’ve decided to share my PS along with a very brief guide I wrote based on what I think and have experienced.
In all honesty, the personal statement does not have the weightage as significant as aptitude tests and interviews when you’re applying to Oxford; Though I feel the need to emphasise that other universities, especially those that do not conduct interviews will definitely weigh in your personal statement as part of the admissions process, especially universities like LSE.
From what I’ve been told, LSE prefers personal statements that are more aligned with their modules and what they have to specifically offer. When applying, I had the option to choose between ‘History and Government’ and ‘History and International Relations’, to which I chose the latter because I felt like my personal statement was more suited for LSE’s IR modules than their Government modules, hence increasing my likelihood of getting an offer.
After having gone through the whole admissions process, I eventually realised that the personal statement part of my Oxford application was probably one of the most trivial things that I spent losing so much sleep over, because everything else in comparison felt so much more taxing.
However, the personal statement does serve as an important starting point for discussion during Oxford interviews, as I’ve often been told – despite not being asked a single thing about my personal statement while I was there! (more on this later).
Anyway, here is a very brief guide I wrote on personal statements, using mine as a point of example:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qROGw7t5DXLAKu_X_6IIgzDSudwqJ3iw/view?usp=sharing
Self-reflection: passion for your subject, being genuine, committed, and authentic I know this is cliché, but this is essentially the most important thing. Some people might disagree with me, but if you’re privileged with the autonomy to actually choose and decide the course of your degree, I solely believe that your decision to study that subject or apply to a specific university shouldn’t be for superficial reasons; primarily because 1. admission tutors can probably tell if you’re being fake, 2. the whole process is really, really rigorous, time-consuming and exhausting, that you’d really need to willingly commit 100% also 3. You really don’t want to be spending the next few years doing a subject you’re only vaguely interested in, and regretting it when it gets too intense or difficult.
More on that later, but this is when I move to my next point, in regards to aptitude tests and written work.
Aptitude tests and written work
Most Oxford undergrad degrees will require applicants to sit for an aptitude test specific to the subject they’re applying for, so in my case, it was the History Aptitude Test (HAT). I honestly cannot emphasise enough how important the aptitude tests are when it comes to Oxford applications!!! Oxford has a very stringent system in which the tutors only decide to interview you if you’ve scored well enough on their aptitude tests, so losing out on this totally means that you’d be rejected pre-interview. It’s tough, harsh, unpredictable and pretty scary, but I guess it’s mainly to filter out the applicants so they have a lesser number of students to interview.
I’m not sure about admissions statistics or the yearly threshold for each subject (though I’m sure they can be found online), but from what I’ve been aware, in my year, the cutoff point for my college was scoring 68% in the HAT for History (and its joint schools) applicants, and I was really lucky because I scored a mere 70% which eventually allowed me to get shortlisted for interviews. I was informed by the admissions officer that the average score for my cohort of applicants was 58%.
Honestly, my best advice at this point is that you should revise for the aptitude tests as much as you’d revise for your actual A-Level exams. You can download and access a lot of past year papers on the official Oxford website which I strongly recommend, hence familiarising yourself with the format and relevant skills required for the test.
I only started practicing a month before the HAT, but did make an effort to write at least two essays a week, and often discussed them with the History teachers in KY, Mr Wallace and Dr Cooke. Get help from your teachers!!! Having good and enthusiastic teachers really does help A LOT. Also, I remember Dr Cooke telling me some time before we even started practicing for the HAT, how he thinks I should apply to Oxford because “I don’t wanna jinx anything, but I have a strong feeling you’ll get it. I know sometimes you can come off as being anxious or overthinking, but you have no idea how valuable the complexity of your thoughts can appear to the admissions tutors, ” lol which was honestly really encouraging, and something I held on to throughout the entire application process, especially at times when I felt hopeless.
I was actually really put off from applying to Oxford at first, because whenever I Googled ‘Oxford History Aptitude Test’, a lot of advertisements on ‘Oxbridge coaching for aptitude tests and interviews’ came up from really posh, private organisations based in London and the UK, which I found quite elitist at first, hence further re-enforcing the idea of Oxbridge being inaccessible to individuals from underprivileged backgrounds. I often doubted myself, thinking that I have little to zero chances against privately-educated British students who’d have so much more of an advantage than me, and that there would be no point applying, anyway.
But after having gone through everything, I can argue that this definitely isn’t the case if you’ve genuinely got the potential that tutors are looking for! I eventually decided to go ahead with applying anyway, because I didn’t want to lose out on the opportunity, so please please, please, don’t ever feel intimidated thinking of other applicants or interviewees – yes, some of them are definitely more privileged and have wider access to a better quality of education, etc, but not applying would mean that you’d eliminate your chances completely, and would lose out on a huge opportunity. More significantly, don’t forget to actually register to sit for the aptitude tests along with the submission of your UCAS application, registration also closes on 15 October!
More on admissions tests: https://daniathedalek.tumblr.com/post/186682475314/hey-i-saw-your-post-on-how-to-apply-to-oxford-and
Written Work
A lot of humanities courses at Oxford require you to submit at least one piece of written work, and my requirements were generally quite broad and simple, with the instructions being “applicants are required to submit a piece of written work, no more than 2,000 words of any historical topic by 10 November 2018.”
Upon further research I discovered that the minimum word count should be around 1,700 words, so you’d might want to consider writing an entirely new piece for submission, instead of merely submitting an essay you wrote in class or for an exam if it doesn’t meet the minimum word count.
In fact, I’d actually strongly recommend starting an essay from scratch, getting it marked by your teacher and using it as submission for your written work mainly because: 1. you’re free to choose a topic you genuinely enjoy that you’re familiar with and aren’t writing under pressure (ie: timed conditions if it’s a class essay), and 2. if your written work is brought up by the tutors to discuss during the interview, you’d know you at least chose a topic you would be comfortable to discuss in depth.
My essay was written in the usual A-Level History A2 format (30 marks) about Hitler’s policies towards women in Nazi Germany from 1933-45, and was around 1,800+ words. It took me about a week to finish writing, researching, etc and I eventually got it marked and signed by Dr Cooke, before attaching the written work cover sheet and submitting it to the university via email.
In all honesty, I’m not entirely sure how much weightage is placed on an applicant’s written work in regards to their overall application, but I do know that similar to your personal statement, tutors during the interviews can definitely question you about it and probe discussions based on whatever you’ve submitted to them.
Choosing an Oxford College
My personal reasons for choosing Oriel were mainly because I wanted a centrally-located college, a small one, one with a 24 hour library, multifaith prayer room, and one that offers accommodation throughout the entire duration of your studies; Hence, Oriel ticked off all the requirements on my checklist. I mainly narrowed down a list of colleges solely based off their facilities at first, before eventually going through the tutors’ profiles for my course and coming to a decision. Before applying, I talked to a family friend who studied at Oxford who suggested I look at the colleges via Google Maps, which I found to be pretty good advice, because it did give a clearer idea of what to expect of the location.
I genuinely don’t know if choosing the right college increases your likelihood of getting an offer, but from what I’ve heard, some colleges are more competitive than others, (ie: Balliol, Christ Church, Magdalen, as opposed to St Hilda’s, St Catz, Regent’s Park etc. DISCLAIMER: I don’t know the extent of truth in this, merely speaking from the stereotypes I’ve heard!) But even if that’s the case, a lot of colleges that are over-subscribed to end up pooling their applicants to other colleges if they feel that the applicant is still worth interviewing or be given an offer.
I met a lot of people who did not apply to Oriel but were happy to get interviewed there anyway, along with a few others who were interviewed at other colleges in December last year, but were eventually offered a place by Oriel in January 2019. Despite each college operating independently, I’d say it’s a fair shout to argue that the university tries its best to make the application process designed to ensure that the deserving candidates are still awarded with places at the university, regardless of which college they end up in.
On a personal level, I’d advise against making an open application – not because it reduces your chances whatsoever, but because it doesn’t give you the opportunity to apply and decide which college would be suited best to your preferences (in terms of facilities, location, etc) and also your preference in the tutors who would eventually be teaching you for the next few years.
Since I applied to Oriel, got interviewed at Oriel, and was offered a place by Oriel, I’m pretty sure my application was mostly assessed by the History tutors specifically at Oriel, though that isn’t always the case for people who are offered interviews or places by colleges that they initially didn’t apply to. I’m not fully knowledgeable on the whole collegiate system, but this is merely what I know, and it may not necessarily be 100% correct! Alongside everything else I’ve mentioned, I’d also recommend watching this video on choosing an Oxford college: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igcbIeNudag
If financing and scholarships would be one of the main issues you’re taking into consideration, I know that the Jardines foundation offers scholarships for Malaysian students to study at four specific Oxford colleges, though it’s definitely very competitive. A few other Cambridge colleges are also listed down by the foundation, so if you’re considering applying then here’s a link that might be helpful: https://www.jardines.com/en/community/foundation.html
Interviews
Surprisingly, I only had two interviews! Since I initially applied for HisPol, my two interviews were one each for history and politics. I was at Oxford for 4 days, and in all honesty, I’m quite sure that the actual interviews (+ interview prep) only took up 2.5 hours of my time, at most.
For my History interview, I was assigned to read a historical document for an hour, and it was about 12-13 pages long – which I was really freaked out about at first because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish reading, since the font was really small and the language was very academic! It was mainly about Thomas Macaulay and the abolition of slavery in 19th century Britain, but also addressed issues like the concepts of masculinity and feminity within the sphere of the existing social context, which I thought was really interesting.
Anyway, surprise - I didn’t actually finish reading the text by the time they informed me that it was my turn to be called into the interview room! I honestly spent a lot of time analysing the excerpt and making notes all over the pages that didn’t manage to read the last page. As soon as I got into the room, I was honest with the tutors and told them how I haven’t finished reading, but they reassured me that it was completely fine since I only missed one page.
The interview started out quite generic, with “what do you think of the extract you’ve just read?” being asked as the first question. I actually don’t remember any of the questions after that, because they were quite specific towards certain parts of the excerpt, but I remember constantly checking through the notes I made within the margins of my pages, and being really grateful that I thoroughly analysed the text before my interview. I also recall being asked to provide a counter argument a few times after I said something, so I’m genuinely grateful that my participation in debate throughout high school has helped me deal with being put on the spot like this. Frankly, I genuinely enjoyed the conversation I had with the tutors and thought it was a really interesting discussion. The whole interview lasted for about 30-40 minutes, and surprisingly, they didn’t ask me anything at all about my personal statement or my written work.
The next morning, I had my Politics interview which honestly started out a bit awkward and rough, lol, not as much luck as my History interview, but it was a learning experience! I was assigned to read a really short essay, about ‘The Rationalist’ which was only just one page, and had 30 minutes to read it. Despite making notes and writing down my analysis on the paper, I think I panicked after being thrown off during the first half of the interview, and did not refer to my notes as much, so when questioned about what I thought of the excerpt I mainly spoke of what I remembered from the top of my head.
When I first entered the room, one of the interviewers gave me a bar chart with the heading “% of party unity in country A and B” and told me to analyse it, which really caught me off guard because I really didn’t know how to analyse it!!! at all!!! There were no numbers or figures or statistics on the paper, literally just the title heading and two bars, so I spent nearly two solid minutes not saying anything because I genuinely didn’t know what to say – until the interviewer prompted me. Eventually, I settled for the most embarrassing answer EVER, and literally said, “oh, the bar for country A is higher than country B” and I was trying so hard not to cringe because of how stupid it sounded LMAO ANYWAY… the next 10 minutes rolled on with the interviewer still asking me questions about the bar chart which I genuinely could not answer but the discussion eventually got steered into the direction of asking me about party unity in general, what I thought it meant, if I could think of any examples (so I started talking about UMNO lol).
Then, the second interviewer started asking me what I thought about the essay on The Rationalist which had been assigned to me earlier, and I only felt like the discussion started to become enjoyable towards the end. I very much preferred the more philosophical aspects of the discussion, when they started asking me about what I thought politics is and how I defined politics, asking me if I thought “is violence always political?”, “if I told you that chocolate ice cream was the best ice cream in the world, would that be political? What if I locked you inside this room and refused to let you leave until you agreed with me that chocolate ice cream is the best in the world? Would that be political then?” which I thought was a really interesting conversation because it then lead to a discussion about power structures within politics, discussing violence in a non-political context, etc but the conversation eventually got cut short because it had already been 30-40 mins and my time was up!
After leaving the room, I comparably had a better feeling about my history interview than my politics one, but what had already happened has happened, and all that was left was just to wait. According to the general schedule of Oxford interviews, other colleges can definitely call you at random to be interviewed at their place, but this wasn’t the case for me. I was required to be at Oxford from 5th-7th December, being told that interviews could happen at any time on those 3 dates, but surprisingly I only had one on the 5th, and another on the 6th, which were both at Oriel College. I spent most of my free time after/in between my interviews just walking around and exploring the city and hanging out with Amanda (my feminist comrade in arms) before eventually leaving on the 7th.
I’ve been asked if a Skype interview or if going there in person would be better, but again, like most things, each has its pros and cons. Every year, there are still a lot who get in after getting interviewed via Skype, so the decision should be yours to make upon what you think is best. Going to the UK would mean that you’d get the full experience of the interviews and the environment of the Oxford colleges, but could also put you at risk of being jetlagged, exhausted, falling sick due to the weather, and perhaps even feeling intimidated and inferior in the presence of other interviewees. Despite the university providing free food and accommodation for all interviewees, the cost of travelling to the UK should also be taken into consideration.
I sometimes wonder how my interviews would have been like if I chose to do it via Skype, especially since both interviews required me to read some material beforehand. Perhaps they would have asked me about my personal statement, written work, or something else instead? But while I was there, I genuinely enjoyed my time at Oxford and Oriel overall – I found the city to be very beautiful and captivating, and the people genuinely nice and approachable, it was fairly easy to make conversation with the other interviewees and the students there.
At times, it did feel a bit foreign, especially hearing people talk about how they studied subjects like Latin, Ancient Greek and Classics for A-levels – which is something that’s almost completely inaccessible in Malaysia. But I didn’t find it pretentious though - I think it’s generally just the way people feel it’s okay to discuss topics like that in a place meant for academic discussion, and how they’re merely being enthusiastic to talk about things they’re genuinely interested in. A lot of highbrow conversation going on at times, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily make it an elitist or a bad thing, depending on how you choose to look at it.
The student helpers also conducted a stand-up comedy and a general knowledge quiz at the after dinner at pub. When it was time to exchange and mark our answers, to no one’s surprise, my group literally got half the answers wrong, but so did the other groups! It made me feel so much less intimidated to know that other people here aren’t omni-knowledgeable beings who are good at everything, but instead just normal teenagers like me. And I know this is going to sound a bit petty, but when I mentioned “affirmative action” as one of my answers to the quiz, someone told me upfront that they didn’t know what it means, which really reassured me that the people here don’t necessarily know the things you do and vice versa, and aren’t necessarily smarter or better than each other - it’s just that everyone is probably good at their own thing in their own way.
Mental health!
Trigger warning: depression and anxiety.
I consider myself to be quite vocal on issues related to mental health, because they are experiences that have personally affected me throughout my whole life, and I think that raising awareness is therefore very important. I know how frustrating and isolating it can feel to have your problems not being taken legitimately, or people merely brushing it off as you being emotional and dramatic, when that honestly always isn’t the case. The whole application process definitely took a huge toll on me, but I’m really glad I still got through it, nevertheless.
For example, the morning of my HAT (30 October), I awoke with really bad stomach cramps, which usually happens whenever I’m stressed out or extremely anxious, and in that moment it honestly felt like my whole ambition of wanting to study at Oxford appeared as though it was spiralling out of my hands due to conditions that were beyond my control. The paper was at 2pm, and I could barely eat lunch or breakfast, I spent nearly an hour at the college matron (around 11am-ish) crying nonstop and having an anxiety attack + still really bad stomach cramps, not being able to do anything but wait for it to pass. Eventually, I managed to show up at the exam hall just before 2pm as if nothing had happened.
After the HAT, I still had to continue with my written work (needed to get it finished a week before the actual deadline because I had a lot of other things to sort out the week after) on the same day, I didn’t have time to properly calm down after the exam and take a break, so I literally wrote the final paragraphs of my written work while crying and having stomach cramps. I could barely eat dinner as well, every time I tried to eat, my body would just somehow refuse the food and I almost vomited multiple times. It took a whole lot of sheer willpower and determination to get though that specific day, despite breaking down and crying at hourly intervals, but this is exactly what I mean when I say the Oxford application process is really intense and rigorous that you’d really need to want to do it for the sake of doing it, and would be willing to learn from the experience even if it doesn’t work out in the end.
By the time I was done with the finalised version of my written work, it was nearly 1am. The next morning, I got Dr Cooke to sign and stamp the written work for me, and immediately after that, the matron rushed me to the nearest clinic to get me treated for my gastric and anxiety. The doctor at Tanjung Malim insisted I go home, so my parents came to pick me up a few hours later – and that was the start of my Sem 3 mental health crisis which resulted in me not being in college for literally almost an entire month :) I had my wisdom teeth removed a week afterwards, so it was just a whole lot of physical and emotional pain, not being able to eat solid food for nearly 2 weeks, and generally not being able to do anything at all because I had definitely reached a breaking point at that time. I attempted to come back to KY to sit for semester exams (some time around mid November), but the moment I got into the exam hall, I literally froze up, started panicking, cried silently at my desk, couldn’t answer a thing, and literally left the hall with a blank, unanswered exam paper. My teachers were really understanding and supportive though, so they all suggested that I go home and take some time off for the next few weeks.
The entire month of November was genuinely the worst prolonged state of terrible mental and physical health I’ve ever been in, I went to therapy on a daily basis while still being anxious at the thought of anticipating Oxford interviews in early December. It was also in November that I went to the Georgetown Literary Festival in Penang, despite barely being able to sleep properly on most nights, coupled with my constant stomach cramps, inability to eat solid food due to my wisdom teeth removal, and frequent anxiety attacks during the day.
Surprisingly, getting my conditional offer from Oxford in January 2019 took a further toll on my mental wellbeing, with the pressure and expectations affecting me quite badly. I could barely study at all during my final semester in KY, I’d spend at least 3 hours on a daily basis just crying and feeling completely hopeless at the thought of meeting my A-level requirements (AAA), because it honestly felt impossible back then. It didn’t help that the college library was also undergoing renovation, and I had nowhere comfortable to study, since I’d usually study at the library throughout my previous 3 semesters in KY.
I did pretty badly for my trials (some time around mid April, so it was only a month and a half left before the actual exams!), getting a D for Economics, even, because I could barely study due to how distracted, exhausted and constantly overwhelmed I felt. In the month leading up to exams, I studied on a daily basis for 3-4 hours at most, which I think is pretty minimal compared to the hours my friends would put in. It was really difficult to sit at a desk for more than an hour without crying or feeling completely worthless, so I took a lot of breaks, and had to pep talk myself into studying multiple times a day, despite it being something I used to genuinely enjoy. Like I honestly, genuinely love learning, and reading, and writing essays – but in the months leading up to my actual A-levels, even something as menial as getting out of bed in the morning seemed impossible at times. My sleep was also frequently interrupted, so I was often always lethargic and exhausted, which made it really difficult to focus whenever I tried to study. I’d wake up in the middle of the night often feeling anxious, and I also had to deal with frequent gastric pains and stomach cramps which often shows up along with my anxiety. The reason why I’m sharing this here is because I know I’m not the only one who has experienced something like this, and there are so many others in a similar position who have no outlet to seek help or ask for advice, hence the reason why I think that raising awareness on mental health issues is extremely important.
Up to this day, it still seems like a miracle how I’ve managed to scrape through my A-Levels with A*AA, when I was genuinely expecting to do badly for the actual exams. I honestly already made a list of university courses that I’d want to apply to via UCAS Clearing if I didn’t meet my requirements on results day.
I’m also a huge advocate for not overworking yourself, so please, please, please, take care of your mental and physical wellbeing despite how stressful the environment in KY can be! Take some time off because you need it, don’t force yourself to work more hours than what you’re capable of, and learn to develop healthy and reaffirming ways of talking to yourself, by being more compassionate and less punishing whenever you feel like you’re not as productive as others.
I used to feel really insecure and inferior seeing other people study in KY for hours on end, but I eventually discovered that 3-4 hours a day worked best for me, making sure to maximise my focus and productivity within those short bursts of energy and work. I also made it a point to be consistent, hence working for 3-4 hours a day on a daily basis, instead of working for 8-9 hours on one day and then completely not doing anything at all the day after.
If I felt distracted, I would stop and eventually continue a few hours later when my thoughts felt a bit clearer and I actually had the mental capacity to continue. Since my subjects were all essay based (History, Literature and Economics), I found that the best way to study for me was by making notes on the whole syllabus from A-Z, and eventually writing essay plans and timed essays. As the exams drew nearer, I referred less to the textbooks and more to my own notes, because they were much more comprehensive and easier to navigate.
Privilege and the luck of the draw
In all seriousness, not trying to downplay anything here, but I do think I am genuinely very lucky and privileged. I am saying this because I acknowledge that not everyone has access to the same opportunities I do/did, hence it doesn’t really level out the playing field when applying to top universities, which makes it a systemic problem that needs to be addressed.
But I’m privileged in a sense that my parents are supportive of my ambitions and willing to pay for my studies in KY, and I’m lucky because I could answer the questions that the tutors had given me during my interviews. Had I fallen sick, was in a terrible state of mind, or genuinely did badly in my exams or interviews due to circumstances beyond my control, it would have been purely bad luck, and not my lack of capabilities per se. I was fortunately, at the right time, in the right state of mind, at the right place, though I understand and empathise that not the same can be said for a lot of other people.
I always feel like the universe has its wisdoms which are unknown to us, but will eventually work out for the best. For example, I applied for KY batch 19.5 and got rejected, which made me really upset for a quite a while. Eventually, I found out that they didn’t offer English Literature for 19.5, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since I really wanted to do English Lit as an A-level subject. Similarly, re-applying to KY in July 2018 and eventually getting in probably meant that at my second try, luck was on my side. I also know of people who have applied to Oxford and got rejected at their first try, but successful in their second attempt, so really, not all hope is lost if things don’t work out your way the first time around.
I am also lucky in a sense that life has offered me a lot of second, third, fourth, and endless chances despite initially screwing up in the past. Before enrolling in KY, high school wasn’t exactly the easiest time for me, mental health always at an all time low, and I literally moved to four different schools throughout the time span of four years, and only properly settled and felt content when I entered MRSM TGB at the age of 16.
Yet, even then, I was a very average and mediocre student at best, constantly doing badly Maths, Add Maths, Chemistry and Physics because I genuinely struggled with those subjects a lot, despite still putting in the effort. It was only in the months leading up to my SPM exams which my grades started to improve (my GPA went from a 3.47 to 3.81!), and I honestly did not even anticipate to get straight As for my SPM exams because I really was quite far behind in comparison to the rest of my batchmates. To be fair, even in KY, I had never been one of those kiasu, “I need to get 90% and above for all your subjects” type of people, but just generally worked at my own pace. I truly, genuinely, wholeheartedly live by the motto of “you came here to learn, not to compete” and it has made me feel very content with life.
If people looked back at my 16 year old self and got told that “she’ll be going to Oxford,” I doubt anyone would believe it, and that they’d mostly laugh. There is no way in hell that this mathematically and scientifically inept, emotionally unstable teenager would ever be capable of that. Heck, even when I got rejected by KY to join batch 19.5 and was upset about it, someone told me that “this school is supposedly for the best students in the country, and you’re not really up to that level, so what do you expect?” :) In fact, even when I got my Oxford offer in January 2019, someone told me upfront that of all the Oxford applicants, I was the person they least expected to get in. Even up to this day I still get a lot of flak from people looking down on me for wanting to do a History degree, telling me that it’s a useless option and that I’d end up jobless after I graduate, but I’ve genuinely accepted the fact that people can and will continue to be mean and there really is nothing I can do but ignore them.
Honestly, at times, a lot of things are genuinely beyond our control, we can’t always do our best because we have our limits and different capabilities. You really can’t tell where you’re gonna be in the future, or if things are gonna work out in the short term. But one thing that’s certain is life is truly full of the unexpected – a lot can be given to or taken away from you without you ever thinking it was possible, and above all else, even if everything seems so overwhelmingly hazy and uncertain at times - I’ve learnt to believe that the universe does, and will always continue to have your best interests at heart, and that it might take a few years down the line for everything to all make sense, but things will eventually work out in the end - that, I can promise.
