Second Year of University: A Battlefield Nobody warned me about..

1st Semester

I remember my first day back like it was yesterday. I walked into the lecture hall, found a seat, looked around and just froze. Where had everyone gone ?

First year, that same room was PACKED, loud and overwhelming. You could barely find a seat. But this ? Half of the faces were missing and whole sections of the room were empty. I kept telling myself people were running late, that they'd show up eventually until the module leader walked in. She looked around at us, the survivors, and launched straight into it. No sugarcoating was added, second year was literally a different dimension. Double the effort and double the pressure were required to succeed. If you weren't ready for that, the empty seats already told you everything you had to know.

It didn't really hit me until the work started. In the first year, anyone could make it by "trying". Second year wanted something different. This included consistency, week after week. And honestly, I was ready for the challenge. I had something to achieve. For a while, it worked. I got a 1st on my first coursework. Stared at that grade like I could do better next time. Not that I wasn't grateful but I always target the highest excellence.

Then, I fell sick and of course, it had to be right in the middle of my final coursework deadline. I requested for an extension which would give me one extra week. One week while my body was falling apart but I couldn't afford to be ill, not really, not with my grades on the line. So I pushed through.

There was even a section where I had to record my voice for a presentation. I wanted to cry. I sounded so terrible. Like, if you were to imagine a crocodile having a voice then that would be exactly what my voice sounded like. But I recorded it anyway, submitted it, and informed my academic advisor. What else could I do?

And that still wasn't even the end. I had 3 weeks left to study for my exam. Three weeks after everything my body had just been through. I was praying, like genuinely praying, and regretting not starting sooner. Even though my schedule had been absolutely packed and I had tried. Somehow, someway, I got a first on that exam. That was the day I fully understood the power of prayer.

But then my coursework grade came back. The one I'd written while I was sick and exhausted. I was shocked. It was lower than I expected. Reading that feedback felt like a slap across my face. It was honest, fair, but it stung. I had to humble myself and admit I could have done better. And somehow, instead of breaking me, it lit a determination in me.

2nd Semester

I came into second semester with a different energy. This was also when I started Oikodome and began investing in my own personal development. Because I genuinely believed there were no exams this semester. Just two courseworks and that it was going to be manageable, calm and this would give me a chance to breathe.

Well, I was so wrong. Not only did the exams exist, but there were two of them on two completely different types of modules. Plus two courseworks. A full gift basket of stress, great. I couldn't dedicate every day to revision because the coursework deadlines were closer and more urgent, so I had to constantly choose and always feel guilty about whichever one I wasn't doing.

One of the courseworks was a lab report. I had started it, technically, but I hadn't given it the daily attention it needed. So, yes, you guessed it... I pulled an all-nighter. I gave it everything I had. By morning, my eyes were burning so badly that I could barely hold eye contact with people or objects. I wish I was exaggerating on this one.I convinced myself it was worth it. Surely a first was coming my way.

It wasn't. I was 5 marks away from a 1st. I sat with that grade and thought: what was the point of trying? It felt like the harder I pushed, the more mediocrity chased me. And yet again, reading the feedback, I had to admit that the marker wasn't wrong.

But then something unexpected happened. My other coursework came back with the highest grade I had ever received in my entire university life. I hadn't even seen it coming. That one moment made everything feel worth it. I was genuine thanking God for such a victory.

Eventually, I had 3-4 weeks left to revise for the exams. I gave it everything that was left in me. When I finally walked out of my last exam and made it back to my accommodation. I caught my reflection in the mirror, my eyes were completely red, like I'd been through something. Because I had.

I went to sleep thinking: nothing good comes easily.

Then I rememberd that when my academic advisor asked my peers how they felt about the year, one answer said it all — "exhausted, honestly." They looked done with life. I felt that in me and I could relate. But to be honest, what really kept me going was me just trusting God and doing my part.

What's the Lesson?

Start early, please. I am begging you. The courseworks where I got my best grades were the ones I started with time to spare. The ones I rushed, the grades showed it every single time.

Manage your time and prioritise what's due soonest. You don't have to be "perfect, you just need consistency.

And if you're in second year right now feeling like it's too much, don't quit. Find your reason to keep going. Not just a vague hope that it'll pay off someday, but a real, personal reason. That's what keeps you moving when the exhaustion sets in.

It will be worth it. But you must decide that before you finish, not after.

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