Welcome to the campus of March which will be sooner or later, filled with the scent of cherry blossoms and with students’ dreams and hopes of serendipity and trying something new. However, this beginning can be a pressure to somebody, especially for juniors and seniors.
Agonies of uncertain future have been common dilemmas of university students for a very long time. I also feel like a condemned criminal, waiting for my doomsday: the graduation, only two years left from now. Many of my friends confessed they feel the same way when thinking of future plans. This anxiousness intensifies when hearing news of someone studying hard for bar exam, certificates or doing an internship and etc. This anxiety made more students to dip themselves into this struggling at earlier age and to pile up “Specs” (Useful specification that can be written in resume) rather than cherishing their once in a lifetime youth. Students often complain “it’s too late to do something challenging” and start worrying that they might be a few steps behind from their peers. Students tend to compromise with hardships rather than challenging them, to live up to others’ expectations soon.
For these short-sighted, short-tempered youths, professor Kim Ran-do (Seoul National University) advises not to be chased by time by giving a life clock comparison. When dividing the average lifespan with 24 hours, one year equals 18 minutes which means students in 20s are living around 6 to 7 o’clock in the morning of their lives. Despite this earliness, we fear about “being late” in our lives and feel vulnerable about not having practical achievements.
Professor Kim also says that early success is not something to be acclaimed always. We cannot argue that spring flowers are the best because they are the earliest blossoming flowers. Likewise, some friends are fit for early career life while some of us are fit for winning races in a slow and steady way.
Do not be disappointed about not knowing where you are going or the speed of your yet to be achieved goals. Go and throw yourself into unexpected chances and find your own way initiatively. Do not be afraid of failures since we still have plenty of time and strength to recover and try again. Remember, we are different from each other; the important things is to blossom ourselves in our own flowering seasons.