Dear Me: A Letter To My Undergraduate Self
Staying at home has made me a little more reflective than usual. As I scroll through my Instagram history, I’m reminded of all the amazing moments during Frisbee competitions and traveling for exchange, though internship season was probably the toughest. I am the uncool nerd that was adopted by my extroverted friends, and we shared some of the most amazing and fun times.
It has been a year since I graduated, and I really miss school. No one really says this but I think university kind of does hand-hold us a bit. I mean, do you really get a syllabus or organised timeline for learning things on the job? You will understand what I mean if you have ever felt like you were thrown into the deep end at work.
To those who are still in university, it’s a tough journey and I hope to share some encouragement and tips. There are some things I wish were emphasised to me earlier, so if I could write a letter to my undergraduate self here’s how it will go.
Dear Me,
How are you? I guess you’re in your freshman year, probably still figuring out how to navigate SMU’s campus. There will be many people giving you ideas about what you should do in order to do well in university. It might seem like there is a formula to success, but what is success to you? This is the time to figure that out for yourself.
Don’t be pressured to choose the “perfect path”
“Participate in this academic club”, “Do a ton of internships”, “Join the executive committee of this organisation”. Despite the well-meaning advice, you don’t have to follow an idealised path. For example, though it is highly recommended to take on many internships, there is also value in spending time on other things like club competitions. It all depends on what you want to achieve, which others cannot spell out for you.
When it’s time for you to select your major, it will be tough to choose based on just the introductory classes taken within your first 2 years. Though you could look at industry trends and think about payscale, it also helps if you know your strengths and interests.
Explore your strengths and interests early on
From classes, clubs and career paths, try to explore as much as you can at the start. Talk to your seniors, industry professionals, or read more books to develop your knowledge. If you get into the creative side, practice a lot and take on freelance work to build up your portfolio. You should find out as much as you can about your options before narrowing down in year 2-3.
As time goes by, you should be more selective in choosing where to focus on to gain experience. Most importantly, be open to unconventional paths, and don’t be discouraged by people who belittle your choices. These days you can make a career out of any niche, as long as you keep learning and get better at it each time. Make sure that you understand the risks and are aware of what you are getting yourself into.
Give your all for everything you do
With anything that you have chosen to focus on, go at it with 100% effort. Try to look for activities that can help you to develop your interest and skills. If you like finance, go take part in industry-related competitions and seriously prepare for them. They often give really good feedback as you progress in the competition. Don’t worry about not being qualified enough because no one expects you to know everything. Keep trying to read a lot and surround yourself with people who inspire you to take on challenges.
Remember that blogshop you ran during your secondary school days? Maybe you will be good at entrepreneurship, why not start a business? I know your first thought just went to your studies/GPA, but just know that an opportunity like this won’t come by again anytime soon. The student life is not exactly carefree, but it is full of possibilities (man, now I sound like a university ambassador). The school probably has lots of resources for undergraduate entrepreneurs to take advantage of too.
Don’t be intimidated by the smart kids
Sometimes people will refer to their high-achieving peers in a god-like way, such as “Finance God”. Other times you will hear how people strategise their class bidding to avoid being in the same class as a group of “scholars”. Instead of being intimidated by the them, try to learn their good traits. Having smart classmates elevates classroom learning because they ask good questions. They might have some advantage from being in academic clubs, but it will not do you much good to be intimidated by them.
Instead of looking outwardly to one up others, you should work towards improving yourself. Although there is some sense in benchmarking against your smarter peers, the rat race is most felt by those who constantly make comparisons with their peers. Wouldn’t it be much better if we can support each other instead? Everyone needs friendship regardless of how well they are doing. Hence it is important to see someone for who they are outside of academic achievements.
Stay sane while hunting for internships
Brace yourself, internship applications are competitive and hard to navigate. It’s like the chicken and egg problem – how do I get experience if the internship interviews require experience? You could be sending out 20-30 applications and not hear back for a long time, all while watching your friends securing theirs before you. This is a real emotional struggle especially in a small and competitive business school.
From the second year onwards, it might seem like internships are all that people talk about. For this strange phase in your life you are at risk of attaching your self-worth to your career development process. This will be difficult to avoid as people tend to extrapolate their future expectations based on these stepping stones. It is crucial to stay grounded, don’t get swayed by other’s achievements or lose yourself over the chase for prestige. If you can, tune out conversations that cause you to experience negativity.
Take useful classes even if they are difficult to do well for
Most classes in business school are focused on soft skills, and you might need to go out of your way to learn useful technical skills like statistics or programming. Although you might prefer to take online courses on your own, chances are you will do it lazily. However, taking a class in school gives you the extra push and you are forced to get your hands dirty through projects.
It’s true that these classes are difficult to do well for, but genuine learning is more valuable than taking classes that you don’t care about just to get better GPA. When you apply for jobs in your final year, your resume will most likely reflect the previous year’s GPA anyway. Better still, take advantage of S/U’s and pass/fail university exchange modules.
Take time to nurture relationships
I was chatting with a dear friend and we agreed that work friendships might never be able to replace or match friendships made in school. There is less judgment, far fewer expectations of reciprocity, and less politics stemming from hierarchy differences. So now is the best time for you to cultivate relationships worth having for life.
Initially, you will probably have a big social circle which shrinks as the busy-ness sets in. During this time, you start to figure out who are the friends who really matter, the ones who care and see the best in you. Continue to help them and be there for them even as commitments grow. Studying together works well too, since you will be able to teach and motivate each other.
Learn how to plan your travels
It is really fun being the one who plans because you get to introduce your passions to the people you travel with. If you want to go hiking and camping, go ahead and take the initiative to plan it! You can even consider solo travel, which is an exciting experience that also hones your problem solving ability.
You will also be more aware of your personality – whether you prefer to plan all the details or go with the flow. It will not be easy to work with everyone’s preferences, but you will learn to communicate your ideas better. The best part is that you get to map out your own travel plans if you go for exchange.
Read more: Which exchange university should you choose?
Gain financial literacy
Start to track your expenses and set monthly budgets today. You always want to be aware of where the bulk of your money has gone, and having a record helps you to analyse your spending patterns.
As you save up, you should also learn about investments and how to manage your money for the long term. You might eventually hear a professor say “If I meet you 10 years later and you have not participated in the stock market, you have learnt nothing”. Don’t feel pressured through, make sure you know how to assess the risks for yourself. Read some basic investment books, such as The Intelligent Investor to learn about the advantages of ETFs. Also look out for Singapore Savings Bonds, especially if our 10-year interest rates are above 2% – much better than bank rates.
The third step is to understand insurance – health, life, critical illness, disability, personal accident. Start learning about what you will need to budget for when you start work, and be more informed when you listen to insurance pitches later on.
If you feel up to it, learn the economics of money and understand more about the arguments for Bitcoin/other cryptocurrencies. Keep an eye on Central Bank Digital Currencies because it is pretty mind boggling stuff which could be progressing really quickly.
Don’t be too harsh on yourself
I know you will have very high standards and expectations of yourself. However being impatient about your progress could cause you to get very discouraged and avoid social interaction because you feel guilty. This doesn’t do you any good, so remind yourself that your identity is not tied to your achievements. Just think about how you can improve and move on.
I hope you will be happy
Learn to live a little, hangout with friends who know how to work hard and play hard. Sometimes it is alright to trade studying on Friday night for a spontaneous hangout with friends. Here’s another idea, break out of the school bubble occasionally and go on a long weekend trip. Have you ever seen autumn leaves? Here’s a tip, recess week in October is the perfect opportunity to visit Hokkaido!
When you look back on your university experience, I hope it will be full of happy and fun-filled memories regardless of the outcome. I hope that you will develop resilience and learn to take things in your stride. Even as you start working, keep that childlike enthusiasm within you to overcome challenges and become a better version of yourself. There will always be uncertainty of the future but I guess that’s what makes life exciting. Now go on and have a great time!
With love, your 2020 self.
