For the last 5 years of my academic journey I have been eagerly waiting for my ‘last first day’. Yes, without any shame, I have been anticipating the end of University. That’s not to say that I do not enjoy educating myself in a fruitful environment full of uplifting inspiration to even the not-so-desirable and seemingly endless deadlines. However, I’m ready to grab my degree (excuse the slang but, I’m not a graduate just yet!) by the balls and, well, play some ball! As a student, it is easy to feel like you’re constantly a benchwarmer – your socks are pulled up high and you’re ready to put all that late-night training into some 5th-gear action on the court in front of all the big guys… Alas, reality sinks in and the ‘big guys’ are your parents in that god-awful tracksuit cheering you on as you run circles around them with one final and rather rusty training wheel, scratching to come off!
Okay, okay – it’s not THAT bad. But, my point is, that the iconic ‘last first day’ is TODAY (please hold your applause until the end) and the itch is certainly itching to just DO STUFF – no more dribbling (for the sake of previous metaphor – stagnantly dribbling the ball. However, boring lectures may be subject to saliva down my chin). Sure, University supplies you with a constant list of things to DO but as the end peers closer, you begin to realise just how much you thought about doing things but never did; “I’m going to start my assignment prior to the week that it’s due”, “I’m going to read all my readings before class”, “I’m going to participate more in class discussions”. It is so easy to fall into the category of ‘procrastinator’ rather than ‘student’, and I have no qualms of admitting that as I certainly know that I haven’t been the only one.
Which brings me to the enlightenment ignited within on my blissful ‘last first day’. Alarm goes off at 7:30 a.m. and I roll in every direction on every angle of my bed until I am reluctantly forced with no other choice than to reveal myself to the world. I get to class at 9:30 a.m. and not a minute earlier as I don’t want to look too keen… because lets be honest, I wasn’t. I’m confused because I didn’t have the luxury of even choosing this class time, but I am slowly retreating my fist from the air to the timetabling gods that had stricken me to a 9:30 start – classic self-pity of a uni student, I’ll grab the tissue from you later! Not only that, but FIVE. WHOLE. CONTACT. HOURS. In a 168 hour week, it seems a bit extravagant, hey? I mean, I have things to do! (*This post may contain traces of sarcasm). Nonetheless, it was a concept that was certainly foreign to me and I had no idea what to expect from this thing they call a ‘studio’.
By the end of class, I learnt what a studio is but also the importance of thinking about things and, wait for it… actually DOING those things that you think about. It’s something that I’ve always known, but have only ever just thought about – how ironic! The benefits and use of studio learning is that it is a space where I can confront what it is that I don’t know, but what does matter, to then be able to learn and apply it to create something.
In reflection, my last first day is my first last day of ‘just thinking’ and the beginning of DOING.