Friday, March 18, 2011

Great Expectations

Everyone knows that honours year is an expedition into the unknown. The beaten path of structured assignments and lecturer driven lessons are left behind to embark on a new and challenging journey. What I have found surprising is the disconnect between what I thought honours would be like and the reality. I knew I would  hear about current psychological research and research methodology in a more interesting and practically orientated light. However, I was not prepared for how fascinating and entertaining these classes are. A three hour seminar seems to fly by.

I also didn't expect to be drawing so many comparisons to my first year of university. As a first year, do you remember the excitement of learning something in class that just made you think 'Wow, I really have to tell so and so about this'? I'm sure you can also recall the feat of trying to remember people's names and your timidity exploring previously uncharted areas of the university. These aspects of university life have been heightened in my honours year. My class has doubled in size, meaning there are many new people to meet. Likewise, the scarcity of computers this early in the semester, has led me to discover labs overlooked by other students. Every day is a chance to learn something new.



Yes, this journey into the unknown is marked by nerves, self-doubt and the need to grit my teeth and walk over the speed bumps, but it is also one of the most exciting and enjoyable experiences of my university career so far. I am starting to understand what past honours students have said about this year really being one of the most rewarding experiences at uni. Hopefully when the path seems impassible I can look at the post and remember why I am doing this, because I love it.


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