Time in university can fly by so fast, and it’s important to ensure that you get as much out of the experience as possible. You’re going to miss these years of your life once they’re behind you, so you should do your best to have as much as possible to remember them by. With that in mind, sitting around in your room all day long is never the right approach. It might feel okay now, but you’re going to regret it further down the road. So, what should you do to make your university years as interesting and fulfilling as possible? Let’s take a look at some ideas!
Meet People
One of the best things you can do in university is to build a network of contacts for your career later on. Some might even tell you that this is more important than your education itself. The truth is that having a good number of contacts in different areas can work wonders for boosting your career performance down the road, and it can also show you some interesting insights about the way university life works. Make sure to network as much as possible and use every opportunity you can find to build new contacts. It can be difficult when you don’t have a lot of free time, but it’s only going to get harder once you’re out of university.
Learn a Language
Even if it’s not in your curriculum, taking the time to learn a new language is another great opportunity most people don’t realise in their university years. This can work especially well if you are studying in an international university and have students from all over the world on campus. Take the time to get to know some of them, and maybe even set up an exchange program where you teach them something and they teach you something else in return. A foreign language is one of the most useful skills you can acquire during your time in university, and one that will stay with you for a long time.
Organise a Photo Album of Your Best Moments
A photobook is another great idea that many university students seem to ignore these days. Sure, having all your photos on your phone and cloud accounts is convenient. But nothing comes close to experiencing those moments huddled together with someone on a sofa, scrolling through a neatly designed photobook. If you don’t know how to go about this, that doesn’t have to stop you – there are plenty of resources you can take advantage of, and the overall process is surprisingly simple when you work with a company like Photobox. They will guide you through how to make a photobook and will help you ensure that your photobook matches your requirements and style all the way.
Start a New Hobby
University is pretty much the best time to start a new hobby and explore what you really enjoy in life. You’re no longer constricted by the expectations of your parents and peers, and you can easily start exploring ideas that are closer to your heart. It might take a while to find the right thing, and you’ll probably have to go through a few hobbies that you end up despising. But as long as you keep exploring and experimenting, you’ll sooner or later find something you love, and it will completely transform your life. It could be a sport, a craft, something even more artistic, or something unusual that nobody else is doing. As long as it brings you joy and doesn’t interfere with your daily life in any negative way, that’s all that matters.
Gain Some Working Experience
Many universities have mandatory internships as part of their programs, but that’s not universal. Sometimes you have to go out of your way to gain some experience in the workforce, and you should put as much effort into that as you reasonably can. This experience will prove invaluable once you’re out of university, and you’ll be much more prepared for the challenges of the job you’re going to be doing. Of course, make sure that this doesn’t impact your studies. Some people tend to put too much focus on their career development once they realise that they can land a job at that stage, only to undermine their studies as a result.
Try Something New and Scary
You should also try something that scares you and you’d never see yourself doing normally. Take a skydiving course, travel to a different country – anything that’s out of character for you and can bring something useful into your life. There is no shortage of options in this area, and the sky is the limit (in some cases, not even that). Of course, keep it safe – but you’re definitely not going to regret taking the time to do something crazy once you’re out of university. It will build your character and will also be a great talking point with people in the future.
Volunteer
You don’t have to get paid to get some valuable experience, and sometimes volunteering can open many additional opportunities to you. You’re probably in a better position to volunteer your time than most people around you too, so definitely try to take advantage of that. What exactly you’re going to volunteer with depends on your interests, but it doesn’t have to be limited to them. You can combine this with our previous suggestion and do something more unusual and exciting for you. You never know what you might discover as a result of your volunteering work!
Whatever you do, just don’t let those years go to waste. You have a huge opportunity to explore yourself in front of you, one that many people don’t even get at all in their lives. It’s important to take advantage of that and find out as much as you can about yourself. Because that knowledge is going to lay the foundation to your growth in life over the next couple of decades, and you’re going to be thankful to yourself for going through that effort.