Finding Optimism in a Disappointing Academic Career
How the stressful journey saved me at the unfulfilling destination.

When I was eighteen and forced to make decisions that would impact my entire life, I didn’t really have any firm beliefs apart from the following.
- I thought that, according to society, if I didn’t enroll in post-secondary school, I was stupid and incompetent.
- I knew I hated science and calculus.
With these two beliefs being the only mantras driving me forward, I enrolled in my hometown university. I then spent five years of my life working towards the goal of achieving a degree in business.
I took my two beliefs and followed the pack, taking zero risks in the process. I think it goes without saying, but I look at this decision as one of my biggest mistakes in my professional life.
Why I Was Wrong About the Destination
I remember on my first day of University, I was grouped with a bunch of other first-year business students, and we were paraded throughout the campus. I joined several conversations that day attempting to make friends, and what we talked about shocked me. I am not exaggerating when I tell you ninety percent of those conversations showed the motivations of my colleagues to be cutthroat and monetary, demanding six-figure salaries, no matter the cost.
It was frankly, soul-sucking, but at the time, I rolled with it. I was this uninformed kid who was playing too many video games instead of finding any real passion for life. I wasn’t about to analyze and find the fault in these privileged goals.
From there, my business degree let me down about as much as it could. Between the case studies dated from the 1980s to the fact that anyone with a pulse and money earned this degree, I wasn’t having a great time.
As a quick disclaimer, I would like to point out I am painting with a broad brush. As much as I would like to tell you, every aspect of my degree was disappointing, a small group of teachers will forever deny me of ever being able to make this claim. I am genuinely thankful for the effort they made, however, unfortunately, it doesn’t entirely change my opinion of the program.
While my friends were learning specific practical skills such as coding and graphic design, I was learning about this ‘new innovative marketing trend’ called social media.
In sum, my problems remain with the specific outdated material, the majority of professors who lacked any type of care, and the ease of earning the degree.
Now, it’s not difficult to be critical of your bachelor’s degree. It’s one of the most expensive things you will ever purchase, and it will inevitably never turn out as advertised.
The natural part is complaining you weren’t happy with it, the hard part is personally taking the blame for your decisions.
When I enrolled, I had done no prior research, I had just followed what society was telling me to do. You can’t go wrong, taking a general business degree, and I didn’t need to take any risks deciding to stay in my hometown. I made a life commitment with no motivation in a desperate attempt to not stand out from the norm, and it worked.
Even though I was young when I made this decision, there is no getting around the fact I was wrong. Not about the science thing, I still hate science.
No, I was wrong in assuming university was the only logical path for me to take. I was wrong in thinking that following a standardized path would lead to a fulfilling life.

How I Still Benefitted from the Journey
Okay, enough of me complaining, let’s talk about the bright side of making the biggest professional mistake of my life.
To start, think about where you were at the beginning of your degree, and look at where you are now. Pretty different, right? That’s growth, and it can be attributed to the simple fact that through the uncertainty of your degree, you found out who you really are.
Maybe not completely, and surely there are tons of unanswered questions, but you’re certainly closer than where you were before.
I’m solid in my beliefs and my motivations in life, and this gives me so much happiness. As much as it pains me to say it, I owe this happiness to the fact I wasted five years getting an outdated, uninspired degree.
The credit, however, doesn’t fall to the university or academic curriculum, it falls to the experiences I had while struggling in university, and the realizations I made while at some lower points in my life.
An excellent example is how I found my passion for writing. While trying to figure out what I wanted in life because I was repeatedly being let down by my degree, I joined an international development club. Through them, I went to Malawi over the summer, where I followed a friend’s recommendation and started a blog. My writing continued after my travels, to the point of finding Medium and now publishing regularly.
Am I massive writing success? No.
Do I know I know I have a passion for writing? Yes.
The key takeaway is you have to be disappointed in your decisions to realize what you really want in life. There simply are no shortcuts here. If I did something else, I never would have had my experiences; thus, I may have never found writing as my passion, or anything thing else I know consider a pillar of my life.
So, in summary, it’s straightforward to be critical of your university experience, especially when you are a broke post-grad who can’t find a job to save your life. What many people don’t realize is being completely and utterly let down by university (or anything else) is sometimes just part of the journey to get you where you need to be.
Do I still think my faculty and school system should be held more accountable for the sham they call a curriculum? You bet.
But in the end, I am where I am because of those years of my life. At the end of the day, I can either take responsibility for my choices and plan to make better ones in the future, or I can complain until no one is listening.
As a fan of progress, I’m going to go with the former.

