After more than two years out of school, I begun a fresh lease of life in university on Monday. Of course, if you have stopped studying for so long, going back to school isn’t all that appealing. But well, that’s life.

If you ask any freshmen around school, hectic is definitely the first word that comes to mind when asked to describe their first week of school. Most anyway. There seems to be a general consensus that the first week was certainly no honeymoon period. Lessons were instantaneously kicked into fifth gear after the customary introductory briefs. It was as if we would already be acquainted with the stuff that was going to be taught.

Class hours were fantastic though. With about fifteen hours of lessons and a four-day school week, life seems perfect. But here is where the cookie crumbles. Outside of class hours, there is a lot of juggling and shuttling between project meetings, group discussions and co-curricular activities. Furthermore, due to the unique learning pedagogy, minds and mouths have to remain active throughout the day. Class participation and project meetings have in fact become phrases much bantered about.

Then, there was the issue of unfamiliarity as well, both with the people and the environment. Without friends in class, and sitting among a sea of strangers, lessons are really going to be miserable. So does navigating around school especially when you’re rushing for classes. Obviously, as time goes by, this issue will eventually cease to exist. But for now, it will continue to perpetuate itself.

I’m glad to have survived the first week of school. No doubt it was tough, and I would need more time to adapt, but I believe that as I slowly adjust to the workload and teaching style, I might just find a sense of joy and accomplishment in what I’m doing.