Is university worth it? It’s a common question asked nowadays in public discourse. There are innumerable self-help gurus, entrepreneur types, dim witted politicians and ex-students who will give their take. “Don’t go!” they say. “Make your own way in the world” (often by following whatever scam they are selling). Whilst this kind of rugged individualism may appeal to some, and has some genuine merits, I instead would suggest that going to university is an enriching and worthwhile thing to do. To make this point I want to reflect on my first year.
The first fits of freedom are often beguiling. Days pass in alcoholic haze, kitchens dirty, work left undone and the body is nourished only by pot noodles and kebabs. When I look back to the first 3-4 weeks of life in Talybont I have trouble placing things in chronology. Events (and unfortunately certain people) are inevitably condensed into the freshers' whole. But having departed that time I have, for the first time in my life, had to look after myself from day to day. Th is perhaps more than even the academic things I have learned, has been the most fulfilling aspect of the year. When I came here, buying and cooking a reasonably healthy rota of meals was a challenge, one I have almost overcome. As I was also looking after my health, having a mum who works as a nurse meant I never really needed to self-diagnose, I learnt the hard way not to put every symptom down to a cold. In both learning to cook and stay alive I can name two obvious ways in which moving to Cardiffhas taught me a great deal. Th is is however, not the 1960s, and home is but a phone call away whenever advice may be sought. Nonetheless I can’t imagine that I would have become as independent had I stayed at home.
Of course, for most of us caught in the dominion of the alcohol aisle, Cardifflife inevitably results in more than a few wobbly mornings, and perhaps an equal number of slightly embarrassing nights. Some might dislike this student “decadence” but who cares? For most people University is three years of fun to be looked back on favourably.
Speaking of his student years St Augustine wrote “all around me hissed a cauldron of illicit loves”. It is easy to draw comparisons to Cardifftoday, one only has to Misfits to see that. But Cardiffis more than it’s Corinthian aspects, and the experience of getting to know the city has been enriching. From Sunday strolls through Bute or Roath parks, or a wonder through the Edwardian arcades, this city has some real charm. (It is to those places, steering well clear of Cathays, that I bring people who visit me). As so many people go to university now, and thus generally move away, it is easy to overlook the significance of making a home in another place. Learning to find your own place in the world, not one given by inheritance or the decisions of others, provides the first opportunity for most of us to live an independent life. It is in that state of independence that I have for the first time taken real responsibility for my life.
It is a common criticism of university, normally from those who haven’t been, that going to one is like following the herd. Yet, the reality of the experience is far more individualistic. Th is is not Hogwarts, things do not appear as if by magic, one must do things for one’s self, no one else can.
Th at said I (and I hope the reader) have not been alone in finding my place in this city. I have made many friends here who I would otherwise have never encountered. When we meet people from outside our area of the country or whose background is very different to our own, we grow in understanding and outlook. Something perhaps less achievable by staying in our own shire. Some friendships fade away but others endure, and may prove for me one of the longer lasting legacies of university, but only time will tell.
I have yet to mention academia, which is strange since that is the only reason we are here, I hope. Perhaps my attention to the social side of university life reflects what the first year is like, at least for those of us who only have to pass. Yet I have gained a great deal from my studies. I have been made to see my subjects (English and History) in ways I would not have otherwise. I have been led into new fields of study and made to critically think far beyond the ways I did before coming here. Would I have thought to read Orientalism or The Canons of the fourth Lateran council? Probably not.
The arguments about the merits of academic versus practical education are beyond the scope of this article. However, I would argue that there are genuine merits to a university education in terms of teaching critical thinking and how to articulate an argument, skills which have an extremely wide application.
Th ose skills, along with the induction to independent life which accompanies university life, must show that moving to university is an entirely valid thing to do. A choice which propels you into adulthood and has given me at least, far more opportunities than could ever have found in my small Devon hometown.