Career Blog
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“When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?” (Billy Joel)
University is a weird phase for students.
It’s the official bridge between childhood and adulthood.
It’s a purgatory that blurs the line between what’s acceptable to do as a young adult finding one’s place in life and a grown-up ready to hit the ground running.
It’s a time where failures and mistakes are encouraged because as soon as you cross that graduation stage, people can’t chalk up the fact that you’re just a kid or a student.
University is a weird, but almost comforting phase for students.
So, why is everyone in such a rush?
Four years will come and go in a blink of an eye and in hindsight, the experiences and memories made in university will be cemented as an essential period in your life. The stigma for students that decide they want to change programs or for the students that just need a little break is almost taboo. The mere concept of graduating past four years brings up several questions that have an undertone of negative connotations like: “What happened?” or “Is everything okay?”
Everything IS okay.
And everyone is different. Everyone has a different path and distinct opportunities. Graduating in four years may notbe the right path for you. Rushing through a part of your life just because you feel pressured to by society’s standards is an easily preventable regret. Take a year off if you feel like you have to. Change programs if you know that this is not the future you see yourself in. Four years is not the deadline that everyone has set for you and it’s definitely not the deadline that you should feel chained to.
There’s so much waiting for you. Before you know it, you’ll be right there in the middle of everything. Years will fly by. You will hit different milestones and make countless more memories. It will be at your doorstep one day, so there’s no need to rush out the door to find it.
So, like Billy Joel says, slow down and cool it off before you burn it out.
Vienne vous attend.
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“Who are your biggest inspirations in life?”
"My biggest inspirations in life are my parents. Growing up poor in Pakistan, my parents did not have many of the simple things that a lot of us take for granted. In 2008, I had the opportunity to visit my Mother’s childhood home. Upon arrival, the sight of the kitchen left me in disbelief and shock. You could barely fit two people in there. What was even more shocking to me was the fact that my father’s kitchen was even smaller than that. My father and his family lived an underprivileged life. Fruits were a luxury for him and was something that his family indulged in twice a year. Looking back, I now understand why during my childhood, my dad only ever bought fruits for dessert. He’d spoil me by making me smoothies and bringing cut fruit to my room.
In 1995, my parents took the courageous step of leaving their life in Pakistan behind and starting a new chapter in Canada. I am proud to say that my parents worked so hard to get to where they are now. They are now very proud small business owners in Toronto. However, to this day, my mother determinedly works 10 + hours, 7 days a week. Sometimes this makes me sad, but it’s also comforting and gratifying to know that I have such inspiring and loving parents. I hope one day I will be able to accomplish something remotely close to what they have done and make them as proud as they have made me."
- Mishal Butt
3rd Year Marketing Student, Member of WMN
