By Lilian Asal, Second Year, Law
With the start of term approaching, Clifton Downs will soon be flooded with seas of stalls. Each society promises fulfillment, skill-building, and lifelong friends. Yet this sheer amount of possibility can create a suffocating paradox. University overflows with chances to lead, campaign, and compete. But is this mountain of opportunities good for our development, or is the constant pressure making us less curious and more robotic?
The abundance of opportunity is necessary to meet the diverse needs of a growing student population. Whilst catering to niches is important, students are left with pressure from peers and a CV-building culture. Yet, this is only a brutal reflection of the cut-throat hustle culture of the real world. In a society which measures worth by productivity, life after university is less forgiving. In order to avoid burnout, students should selectively seize opportunities. But we all know this is much easier said than done.
This instilled hustle-culture causes a pivot, where opportunity becomes an obligation. I never thought I would start my first year at university and be quickly greeted with an impending fear of unemployment, but when students start mindlessly signing up to prove their capability, university becomes less a time to discover who we are but instead how many lines we can add to a LinkedIn profile. Ironically, I will be reposting this article on my LinkedIn. We must remember to do things for ourselves, or students will be left overloading their schedules for fear of missing out or falling behind. If you reach this stage, I suggest you turn off your LinkedIn notifications for a bit and remind yourself for the fifteenth time this term that comparison becomes the thief of joy.
Maximillian Burnos
There’s been a scrambling shift from curiosity-driven to resume-driven participation. It drains our drive, making us lifeless. Such phenomena only adds to the toll on mental health leading to anxiety, burnout, and loss of genuine passion. The replacement of the desire to explore with a mechanical chase for achievement is a normalised tragedy. I’d argue a neglect of the essence of what it means to be human. To be consumed in trying to look impressive instead of utilising the breadth of opportunity to find passion leaves students vulnerable to an increased likelihood of inevitably disliking where they end up after university. We must not let ourselves be habituated to doing things for the sake of them and instead embrace what makes us truly fulfilled.
Opportunity itself isn’t the enemy; the culture of constant optimisation is. Opportunity enriches us and offers new skills, networks, and confidence. Students should not shelter away from exposure, but instead should indulge in the different worlds available from student politics, sports, cultural societies, and research projects.
It is naive to discount all the ways your career can be enriched by the opportunities at university, yet the intention behind this exposure is crucial. We often find ourselves lost in collecting meaningless accolades. By carefully cultivating genuine interests, rather than performing, could we not be following our own curiosity to create an income from what we love? Perhaps this is an idealistic utopia only available to a few. The tension between passion and pay comes down to how our society operates. The better paid, better quality of life. Is this not the factual reality of the world we live in? Despite efforts to counteract disparity, income will always remain a harsh determiner of accessibility to healthcare, travel, education, etc. Our society operates as a hierarchy of status. This is inevitably going to trickle down into universities where students compete for opportunities, reflecting the competitive reality of the job market.
Olivia Howard
When you die do you not want to remember that you’ve done things for your own fulfillment? I thus issue an urgent warning to students, against promethean ambition. It is painful to watch people forget who they are whilst chasing fairytales of status and power. It appears to me to be a tragic overcompensation of insecurity in character or ability. Whilst exploring new things is one of the main developmental points of university, it is not breadth that I truly criticise but careless ill-thought engagement. Sympathetically, I admit students have very little choice on the matter. Whilst CV-building culture is shamefully shallow, it only serves as a reflection of reality today, where worth is measured by achievement and productivity. Simply being a graduate is no longer enough. Thus, it is too tempting to run on autopilot to collate opportunities in an attempt to distinguish yourself rather than honouring true fascination.
This recognition of worth and congratulating those for productivity may, however, be necessary in a society where anti-intellectualism is on the rise. It is easy to be in our Russell Group bubble where we only speak about burnout and pressure, when really the masses of the next generations are getting lazier, completely consumed by and reliant on technology. The abundance of opportunity is necessary to inspire as the creative begins to die.
I know it can feel overwhelming, but it’s crucial to remember that having so many options is a privilege. Students tend to forget that we have full control and autonomy in what pressure we choose to succumb to. It is a need to prove yourself that causes a dull in excitement from the joys of what it means to have so much available to you. Life after university can be cold, where abundance in opportunities becomes less available. Selectively engage in what you truly enjoy, while you can. Remember the abundance is not a reflection of you not doing enough but instead what makes university a developmental place for everyone. I strongly believe an emphasis on depth over breadth and self-discovery can only effectively come from within.
Featured Image: Unsplash / Patrick Perkins
Do you find the opportunities at university exciting or overwhelming?
