Getting A Second Chance With University

Life very rarely gives you a second chance but thankfully I have one.

I am twenty-years-old now and should technically be in my second year at university. I applied at the same time as everyone else in sixth form, got my five offers, accepted one as my firm choice but then exams came…

I was convinced I had flunked them but actually I did better than I thought. After getting into my head that this wasn’t the case and that I had failed meant I was not mentally prepared to go. When it came to results day and I actually got into my university of choice I was shocked – in fact there were tears.

At this point, I then didn’t feel ready to go. I had taken a job expecting a gap year whilst I reapplied to universities so instead I deferred my offer to go a year later; giving me much needed time to grow as person. My gap year which I spent mainly working with a sprinkling of gigs was the best thing for me. My confidence grew so much and I learnt how to be an adult.

So when it came to going to university although I was anxious about settling in it wasn’t as hard as I think it could have been. In fact the actual “living” part of uni was never really an issue but the course…well it sucked.

I was studying Computer Science at an university where having studied it previously was not required. I very quickly felt out of my depth because there were so many people who were already very competent at coding and love it. My first day of coding we were tested which counted towards our degree. Crazy.

My exams in January were simply diabolical. To say I was low is an understatement and it just accentuated that I was doing the wrong thing. This was shown in the results.

There are areas of the subject which I enjoyed but I knew that firstly, the chances of me passing the year were slim and secondly, this isn’t what I wanted to do with my life. Life is too short to do something you know you are going to hate for the rest of it. University is also VERY expensive – so why waste it?

The easiest thing would have been to swap courses within the university but my uni doesn’t offer anything else that tickles my fancy so I instead I am going elsewhere in September to study Music Technology. Much more my bag!

It is been a weird month or so of trying to sort everything out from finance implications to trying to get out of contract for next year’s accommodation. It has not been easy as it feels like someone (companies) are trying to screw you over at every turn but I am now at a point where everything looks brighter.

The course I will be doing looks incredible and facilities are awesome – with four studios and two radio studios! I went and sat in on some first year’s classes and felt so excited by it and now I have a place I am so happy. It is such a relief that I will finally be doing something I want to do and can pursue an area I am incredibly interested in. It is going to be an interesting ride for sure.

Second chances rarely happen but I am seriously chuffed that I have one. I am excited to see what the future brings.

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