Why I Didn’t Drop Out Of University And Why You Shouldn’t Either

Although university can be really stressful at times, here is why you shouldn't drop out of university and what I learned because I chose to stay!

University can hold the best and greatest times of our lives and it can often look that way with everybody else, but let’s not forget that we all face bumps in the road every now and then and believe me you’re not alone! Our circumstances can change and our lives as students can start to become difficult with pressure and stress that starts to mount – not to forget having to work on top of that for assignment deadlines. Adapting to a new life in a new city at a new university started to feel difficult and it made me nearly quit during my first year, but now that I’m at the end of my second year I feel grateful that I persuaded myself out of dropping out of university. Here are some of the reasons why I didn’t drop and why shouldn’t drop out of University

1. Things Get Better

There were times during my first year where I felt that studying journalism just wasn’t for me, as it very difficult to talk to people on my course because at the time I wasn’t trying to get to know anyone else but my flatmates. Then when circumstances changed with my flatmates, things started to become lonelier, and because of this I kept thinking that if I couldn’t talk to people on my course, then how am I going to become a journalist where communication is required. Looking back at it now, it was very much a confidence thing. I moved into new halls with new people at the start of my second year and started to focus more on trying to build my confidence and I’m much more confident and have made lots of new friends in the process. If I had have dropped out then I wouldn’t know the people I do today, so what I’m saying is, is that things get better. It just requires patience and small steps in improving confidence by stepping outside of your comfort zone. This is the main reason you shouldn’t drop out of university; everything will get better.

2. Money

As every student knows, university isn’t cheap. It’s quite the contrary and many feel anxious about having to repay the money when they leave or even spending money on things they enjoy whilst at university. Something that I thought about when considering the prospect of quitting my studies was the fact that I would have to pay the money back as soon as I got a job. But then I realised that I wouldn’t be able to become a journalist, which is my dream career without a degree. So with this considered, I backed out of quitting and decided to keep going to pursue my dream career despite how I was feeling at the time.

3. Grades

University can be a time-consuming experience and can be quite pressurising when trying to reach your deadline on an assignment. Studying your course is something that requires devotion as well as trying to balance a social life. This is something I stumbled on and started to become difficult, which soon added stress and pressure, which made me nearly quit university. Instead, I started to organise myself better by creating goals and planning how I was going to go about things. By doing, this I started to improve myself in the later months and my grades started to increase. Though I had to resit four of my assignments when first-year finished, it motivated me to do better in my second year resulting in me achieving a final grade that was two grades higher at the end of my second year – showing you shouldn’t give up and prioritise your end goal! If you’re not doing well in one of your classes, you shouldn’t drop out of University because of it. There are plenty of resources and people willing to help.

4. Making New Friends

When you’re at university, is inevitable that you’re going to meet loads of new people and everyone is going to mean something to different to you. Even when making friends, those friends down the line may not be your friend in a year’s time – things happen, and things change. This is something that I found particularly difficult as I found that personalities can clash putting a halt to or even ending some friendships. As annoying as it is, it happens to everyone through their lives and it became a reason as to why I nearly quit university, but I’m glad I didn’t as I wouldn’t have met the friends I have now who I met a few months down the line. In this process, I’ve learnt a lot about people and to watch out for the signs if that ‘friend’ isn’t really a friend. Always remember that you have a choice who you involve yourself with at university, which is why I only now hang out with people who are positive and have good intentions!

5. Setting Goals

This one has been my top motivator during my second year at university. When I joined university in my first year, my goals were unorganised and unclear therefore making me struggle to have a good university experience. As soon as I got into second year, I started making plans and doing the things that made me happy. I accepted myself who I was and started to become passionate about the things I loved again and recognised that we all have blips from time to time and that nearly quitting university was a bump in the road. Since writing down my goals and becoming motivated to achieve them, my confidence has grown a lot and I feel much happier as a person. I really am glad that I kept going and didn’t quit because I would have been in a worse position. I’m grateful to myself for telling myself to keep going and change the things that made me unhappy! Setting goals is important to keep yourself on track! But if you can’t reach a goal, it’s okay! It is not a reason to drop out of University!