The Unspoken Curriculum

University life? It’s a whole different beast. It isn’t just about learning letters and numbers, you’re building character.

Let me ask you this, if you can’t survive four years in a dorm with strangers, how do you expect yourself to be a CEO and manage a team? If you can’t deal with a strict lecturer and scrape a passing grade, save your tears—you’re not ready to face the government officials out here or the real-world bureaucracy. I’m just starting to realize how much my mom struggled just to get me a "Kebele" ID let alone this Pass—no—port thing. And you’re talking about ??? ??? and ???! ??! If you were not there to register for classes every semester with the procedures and the offices changing like the seasons every time, maybe think twice before dismissing the value of campus life.

There were moments when I absolutely loved university, and there were moments when I hated it with every fiber of my being. That was all about my perception. But at the end of every step, I'm like, “Oh, was I this far behind before?”

Whether you pursue your dream or not is all your own problem, it’s not going to university. It’s about whether you make the most of it. There is no way that school life will make anyone less capable of what they can achieve. I’d say, you better listen to your Mom and make it into university, not some random cousin who has an Engineering degree and pursuing a second one in accounting. Believe me or just listen to a random fresh graduate, who, in his college years, has been awarded all the letters in the grading alphabet, telling his experience. If you’ve completed your campus journey, you’re surely a step ahead in your life than someone who’s not been through. Yeah, you are not wasting your time.

Remember! You’re going to face HRs who are crueler than your proctors and managers stricter than your lecturers.

At best you’ll face government officials who are now not afraid to ask for your salary that those campus registrar buddies were afraid to ask. Still, we used to know somehow and pay double the penalty for being a day late to register. And, remember? They don’t work in the afternoons; especially during those two registration days. So, it wouldn’t have mattered if you made it there yesterday too, during their tea break. You better taste this first. Life gets seven times harder once you step out into the real world. No, it’s just three times. However, if you can’t handle those four or five years, how do you expect to manage a lifetime of responsibilities? At the end of the day, those struggles will become the foundation of your strength.

I have got friends from university—some employed, some employing. And some are still figuring things out at their own pace, or just taking their time, whatever. I'm sure they’re all far better off than those trying to avoid being employed and pursue their own path without tasting college life. Far better than those who drop out to launch their "groundbreaking" startups because they couldn’t handle the coursework or were told that college isn’t worth it.

It is even confusing when people say that you need a good network of people and soft skills to succeed, and they talk trash about campus life. Well, guess where you build those? Campus is where you meet people from all walks of life. I can get you the best musicians and poets, designers and developers, bodybuilders and counselors. I know a guy who knows the guy who founded Ablaze Labs. I can easily introduce you to two of my close friends who are also managing their own startups, one of them is already on his way to becoming a millionaire. I have met them all on campus. We’ve shared the same meal. Tell me, how often do you get these gems in the elevator, let alone share a meal with them?

I bet most of us had grown up eating our meals just with our relatives. We didn’t have the experience of eating with strangers, for days, without any supervision. That’s not what will happen on campus. You’ll discover that there is indeed a food you should never eat again and a friend you should never eat with again. There will be a time when you’re required to be there to see your friend eat even if you don’t. You’ll meet both “cafe seqay jema” and “qumsa jema”. You’ll meet the intro- and extroverts; the 5 AM and 10 AM club members. You need to figure out how to keep the balance between these if you want to eat, learn, sleep, and live peacefully.

Campus life is more about learning to coexist. It’s like figuring out how to deal with the guy who insists on sleeping with the lights on and the windows closed. You learn not just to set boundaries but also when to switch them on and off. Yeah, that’s where the real life happens.

Don’t get scammed.

Learning is the only way. I am literate. I’ve been through it all: Nursery, LKG, 1, 2, 3, high school, university, Alison, Coursera—you name it, I’ve tried it. Anyone who’s really gone through all of this wouldn’t dare to say it was a waste of time. And, if they do, they either have some hidden agenda, or they’re just plain selfish.