Recently I have found myself really not myself. I have been on and off sick for a while and now my body just seems to have hit by a train. These last couple of weeks have been interesting though as some unexpected things have happened like I THINK I’M SWITCHING DEGREES!!! *Gasps*
There was a night last week where a group of friends and I were studying and chilling in my room, we got talking about our degrees and how some were considering changing or were not 100% happy with what they were doing. One of my friends mentioned about a new undergraduate degree that the university is offering that pretty much focusses on everything I want to do. It’s called a Bachelor of Global Studies and it really encompasses Arts and Commerce in one, with more of an international focus. One of the areas/majors you can chose is called Global Politics and Human Rights. When I read this my heart instantly started racing, I read into it and everything about this degree sounded like what I wanted to do with my life and ever since then I can’t get it off my mind. I’ve heard that a lot of people change what they’re studying after first year but I never thought I would do it. I think I more didn’t think I would do it because the idea of adding time to my degree frightens me but I can’t avoid this degree.
Now I still want to do Law, no doubt that I love Law and I really hope that I make it through into part two. For me, it was more that I wasn’t having as much confidence in my Arts degree. The thing with Arts is it is a very broad degree and it can be quite hard to navigate. I think I should have talked to someone who knew how to structure the courses to ensure that I wasn’t doing anything unnecessary, looking back there were definitely the odd paper that I could’ve avoided and taken something else instead. I also felt I didn’t have a sense of direction with Arts, there are too many options and I wouldn’t be sure how to manage to sift through everything to ensure I was getting the most out of the degree. The papers that are on offer for this new undergraduate degree are pretty much all arts papers anyway but the list is smaller and I feel like I would enjoy it more. It even has a language element to it and I currently take first year French. So Cal is putting on his big boy shoes and going to talk to someone from the faculty who can hopefully shed some light on the situation and how it all works with everything. A few of my friends have already done so and are thinking they will change as well so it’s nice to know that I am not alone in this.
I guess the moral of this story is that although you may go into studying one thing, anything can happen and you might find that you no longer enjoy what you’re studying and that’s ok. There is always time and you can change if you want. Enrolling into one thing isn’t like a life sentence, if uni is one thing it is flexible. You can choose your timetable and classes, well mostly, there are restrictions obviously when it comes to how many streams of the classes there are, compulsory courses and what not but you get my point! You are in control when it comes to your study! So spend time on it, not just the enrolling process but also reading up on courses, see where it will lead in second, third year etc. Investing time in this early process is really good to ensure you are doing what you truly want. We don’t always get it right though. During the year I have changed classes, friends of mine have even changed degrees so like I said, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Just gotta go with the flow.
To all my fellow students I wish you all the best for the remaining few weeks at lectures before our much dreaded exams. To all you prospective 2018 students, enjoy your last term at high school and if you’re in the process of sorting out your study for next year, enjoy the process. It can be a pain but it is exciting stuff!
Hakuna Matata.
It’s so reassuring to know that someone else loves the sound of Global Studies as much as I do! Personally I want to do a conjoint degree, I would absolutely love to do Arts + Global Studies but I’m feeling a bit of pressure to study Law, because of job security. By the way, what was your language level like before starting first year French? And would you recommend Law to someone who is maybe capable but not fully invested in it, or is it the kind of degree that if you don’t have a passion for, you will struggle?
Yeah I know, I am really excited to see where it takes me. I had no formal education in french before so go for it if you are like me! Ummm no I don’t think you have to be fully invested in law, the idea of the first law paper is to see if you actually enjoy it and if not anyway so you can change if worst comes to worst. I know a lot of people who were really invested in law and now are not, and vice versa so it’s all about discovering what you find to be right for you 🙂 For me I had to be fully invested, if I don’t enjoy the subject I won’t do well but if you have the capabilities then you know, give it a shot because it might grow on you!
Hi z,
As someone who went through the entire law degree (graduating recently), then yes, if you love law, you’ll enjoy the whole experience (the academic side i.e. content, social side i.e. can be a bit like high school again, the competitiveness i.e. it doesn’t stop after getting into second year). If you don’t then, surprisingly, you can still do well in it but it might be a bit soul-destroying.
As for job security, that’s a myth, there is an over saturation of law graduates. But having said all that, it is very useful knowledge and you develop amazing writing, reading, critical thinking/analysing skills, and it goes very well with an arts degree as a conjoint (pretty much any major) so there’s no reason why you must choose law only over arts or global studies. So all this will give you an edge because of all these skills, so that would be “job security” in that sense rather than the sense of you will definitely get a good job practising law earning lots of money.
It’s so reassuring to know that someone else out there loves the sound of Global Studies as much as I do. Personally, I’m looking to pursue a conjoint with Arts, Global Studies or Law, but I haven’t decided what combination is my final pick. What was your language level like before you started first year French?
Love the photos 🙂 Would you be able to elaborate more on your Law Degree (Part 1 Law) as well as more info on Uni Hall (if you’re happy with your choice of staying there?)
Thanks !!! All the best
I definitely can!