A few reminders about starting your Degree.
My masters is starting tomorrow - actually, it’s fresher’s week but still - so I wanted to take the time to remind myself (and potentially others as well as many courses are starting around this time) of a couple of things:
It’s okay to feel nervous when starting a new degree, maybe even at a new university. I’m starting my masters so I’m technically “used to it”. But I’m still anxious about a lot of things.
Related to that: Don’t feel stupid if you’re already worrying about what to wear, how to speak to others and all of that. Prepare as much as you can, there’s no shame in laying out your clothes a couple of days before (or is it just me?) or making a plan of what to do on campus in your free time. You need it - you do it.
People focus on all sorts of things. What you want to achieve with your degree might be completely different from what somebody else has in mind. I’m really seeing this degree as a way of building a career and advancing in academics but others might see it primarly as an opportunity to network in other fields. Just make sure you know what you want from it.
Similar to that, it’s okay if you don’t know where you’re going with your degree yet. You’re just at the start, and a lot of people will say crazy things like “I’ll work for this internationally recognized company once I’m done here” but they might not end up doing so. Figure it out step by step. Stay on track, stay curious, stay open-minded, you’ll find where you will want to go.
I might think of some other things later but I really need to remind myself of that right now. Can anyone relate? (:
