Life Lessons You’ll Learn As A University Of Malta Graduate
Graduating is one of those key life-moments. After a handful of years of studying things you have no idea how to apply to real life, you’ve finally been given the stamp of approval.
You’re now a real person, able to venture into the working, adult world and play life.
Or are you? Only time will tell, but these are a few things UoM will prepare you for:
1. Maltese bureaucracy
Thanks to hundreds of secretaries’ offices you’ll be misdirected to over hours and hours of trying to get your assignment submitted, you’ll build up the armour needed to fight the unholy terrain of Maltese bureaucracy that is yet to break you down in life. Just remember: there is no logic to your department’s office hours. No. Logic.
2. Dealing with personal admin
Once you do finally find the secretary’s office and it’s actually open, you’ll need to be prepared to have every paper signed, every credit code listed, and basically all your shit together. Otherwise you will be turned away and, ultimately, could end up not graduating. Or at least you’ll be threatened with that every other day.
3. Standing up for yourself
Whether it’s stipends, freedom of speech, or gender-neutral bathrooms, your years at UoM will inevitably bring about a cause you deem worth fighting for. More than ever before you will rise to the nobel occasion and feel like a fucking hero ten years later when you triumph and they finally install a condom machine.
4. People Skills
Because UoM is basically a minefield when it comes to accessing basic information, like timetables, you’re going to have to suss out the people who know shit. There’s always that girl, Sarah, who has all the info on when a lecturer is absent, or what time your exam is, or when you last went to the dentist, etc. Make sure you can charm her, she will be the reason you graduate.
5. Running a business
You’ll only be prepared for this if you get involved. Do it. Join a student organisation. At least, you’ll gain a few more friends to find reasons to get żibel with. At most, you’ll improve on your organisational skills, your team working abilities, and generally getting shit done.
6. Self-motivation
The sheer agony of trying to find a parking space, running across campus to the wrong room three times, and trying to get through to Sarah to check exactly what time this lecture starts will make you want to just stay in bed on any given uni day. You’ve got to soldier on. UoM will teach you that, and life will be grateful.
BONUS: How to pick your battles
Arguing with the Melitensia librarian about how long your book is overdue is probably not one you want to waste time on (although – from first hand experience – if you don’t return your books in a timely fashion, UoM will threaten to block your graduation – see point 2). But making sure you convince your tutor to let you write about exactly the topic you’re interested in for your final thesis is vital.
Think hard about these kind of decisions, they will have an important impact on the person you will become in your career. And more importantly, they’ll teach you strength of conviction, which is more important than any extra credit you’ll ever take.
