University

I have no idea what I'm going to do once high school is over.

Well, that's not true. I want to do languages. I want to learn Japanese. I want to be able to speak it fluently one day, and I'd like to do Italian at an intermediate level by the time I'm out of uni. I want to do a course that will help me get a job in translating and interpreting from Japanese into English. One day, I'll possibly translate from Italian into English as well. Maybe more languages. I also wouldn't mind doing linguistics.

No, a better way of phrasing that would be this; I have no idea what specific course I'm going to do once I'm finished with high school.

As you can see, I've listed a lot of stuff that I want to do, and there isn't one course that will cater to all of it. Therein lies the problem (lays the problem? Word tells me that it should be lays but I've always said lies because, well, that looks correct to me. Hm). I'm tentatively looking at one course currently. I've always questioned the validity of a BA degree but it's the only thing that truly fits what I'm wanting to do. So I'm currently aiming for a Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Applied Linguistics. I'll be specialising in Japanese, of course. Thing is, this isn't offered at my university of choice. It's offered at another good uni, but... well, I want to go to the same place as my friends.

Even if we grow apart (I really, really hope we don't), I still want to at least start at the same place with them. We'll have different classes, but I'll feel a little more confident just knowing they're at the same place as me.
Honestly, it was hard enough starting at high school on my own. I don't want to do that again.

Course and friend-placement issues aside, I am really looking forward to uni. I love learning Japanese, so I have a good feeling about studying it in a class. Perhaps I won't feel so bored during lessons. I might actually try for a change. I also think linguistics will be good because, with Japanese at least, one of my favourite things to study has been the grammar and syntax of the language. It's completely backwards in comparison to English. It's interesting. I also find conversations in Japanese to be a lot more efficient at getting the point across than in English. Well, excluding the pleasantries that you just can't get enough of when it comes to Japan, but I digress.

There's little I can do with language study here in Australia, but I figure that, if I'm not doing something I find interesting and fun, then there's no point in doing it. I refuse to do something I hate just because there may be plenty of career opportunities. I need to do something I enjoy. That something comes in the form of languages, for me.

I've heard the stories of university life. I assume college isn't that different, so I can throw those stories in there as well. But I'm trying to not go in with too many preconceptions. I don't want to end up disappointed, right? Even so, I'm holding onto the hope that the student body will be a lot happier and easier to get along with than those I've dealt with in high school. I'm also hoping that I'll get to socialise more. I'm hardly a social butterfly. If there's an event, I'll want to be in the centre of it... but I do get sick of it after awhile. I find myself wanting to leave parties early because I also need my alone time. So I doubt I'll be involved in huge gatherings every weekend. But I still want to go to some things. I want to go out to music concerts and see different performances. I want to actually have fun.

Yeah, I think I am getting my hopes too high still. But I can't help it. I'm looking forward to this all a little too much, I think. But you know, I like having something to look forward to. Even if that something is as nerdy as furthering your education.