Photo by Jonathan Daniels on Unsplash

Remember in my first edition of the "Slaying Adulting series" I talked about finances? Well, in this edition we're moving onto Education. This, for me is an important aspect of adulting because we spend a huge chunk of our lives in educational institutes where we encounter many temptations, go through mental and emotional breakdowns ,all for that degree we've put our hopes and dreams into. It's tough but we keep grinding through the struggles. There are different aspects I'd like to focus on and if you feel there's something I should've added that I didn't cover, feel free to drop your comments below!


DISTINCTIONS IN HIGH SCHOOL MEAN NOTHING IN VARSITY - WE OUT HERE GETTING 50'S 💆💆


You know, I used to be really smart in Primary school, until I went to high school. Getting distinctions in high school doesn't mean you're going to slay uni. Sometimes the direct opposite happens and sometimes those who struggled in high school, slay in uni. I think this is attributed to the fact that we're studying something we're passionate about, we enjoy it and so we slay in the course.

Also, everyone is HK praying for a 50% in uni, anything else above this is a bonus actually. PS: ALWAYS do your assignments, they help ALOT come exam time.

I feel like that was needed to start this blog post on an assumption free note. That is, you erasing every assumption you have about what this post is going to tell you and what you think you already know.


UNISA IS A GREAT OPTION IF THE FUNDS AREN'T THERE

I don't know why people hate on UNISA, there's nothing wrong with unisa. I went with UNISA after high school and I could feel my class mates HK judging me, but guess what? A year down the line, they're in UNISA. Throughout my entire year at UNISA I'd receive DM's from people I used to school with asking me about UNISA, what it's like etc. Let me tell you right now, IT'S GREAT!

You know how junior positions require you to have like 2 to 3 to 5 years experience? yeah, I feel like businesses wanted us to go to UNISA so we could study and work simultaneously. Any job gives you an opportunity to acquire work-related experience, no matter what your field is! You can always learn a thing or two from a job and get that extra cash-money for spending! You don't have to be a stereotypical, broke student. You choose the broke life, it doesn't choose you.

I would personally encourage anyone and everyone to enroll at UNISA. ESPECIALLY those students that like to miss lectures and never really want to go, or those students who feel like they're paying waay too much school fees for the lecturer to be teaching off of slides.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO STUDY, TAKE A GAP YEAR 💆



I know the frustration that comes with knowing you could've been in second year this year if you had known what you wanted to study to being with. See, last year I was doing a BA in Multimedia, Digital Visual arts. I loved it. It was hella stressful but I loved it. It tapped into my creative side and there was nothing number related (BONUS). However, I didn't quite have a passion for the degree and I'd always sit up thinking what I'm going to do once I had graduated. I kept researching every week or so on the different careers you can branch into after obtaining the degree and after sometime the same results would show up - none of those careers seemed appealing to me.

Long story short, I changed degrees and I'm doing first year again, just within a different faculty. On the plus side, I received academic credit for business management so I'm taking two second year modules.

It's completely okay if you feel like the degree you're currently doing isn't giving you that purpose, or that thing. My advice is though, drop it RIGHT NOW. don't wait an entire year, ignoring your feels. Tertiary education is expensive AF! So if you're fresh out of matric and you have no idea what you'd like to study in uni, TAKE A GAP YEAR. don't be excited to start living that student life because trust me, there's nothing appealing about that life .I mean, there are benefits to it but that's beside the point. There are a bunch of things you can do during your Gap year. If you'd like me to create a post on this, comment below 😉


GET A JOB WHILE YOU CAN 💆

Being a student is really nice - I get that but, getting a job is even nicer. It looks good on your CV and it can give you that extra money you need to slay the student life. It can be quite strenuous and daunting to balance your social life, good  to okay grades and a job (rightly so) because it's a lot of things to do simultaneously. You just need to have a good schedule and see what works for you because there is no one-fits-all formula/method that can help you multi-task.

What if you can't get a job in the field of work you're studying for? Well, that's 100% okay. I realised that my previous job had certain aspects/skills I learned which can be applied to my field of work. For example, I've worked with various brands so I can add that on my CV as work experience. I was once a waitress and for those of you who haven't waitressed before, waitressing is all about getting the customer to buy more and increase the bill to get a bigger tip - if the customer  tips.

YOUR MENTAL HEALTH SHOULD BE A PRIORITY



Studying is not only stressful but it can be depressing. Something happens when you're nearing 20 and you're not where you expected to be in life because high school sold you heavy dreams. It's okay because it happens to most of us. What helps me cope is reminding myself that social media is only half of the story. People don't show you the struggle, they just want you to see them winning in life. Besides this is your life and everything that's meant to happen will happen. trust the process.