It's that time of year again, when students everywhere will be anxiously waiting to discover if all their hard work or, in some cases, lack of hard work, has secured for them a place in their university of choice. I guess there'll be a lot of disappointed faces on that day and beside all those who have got the grades they need and have their next few years firmly mapped out, there will be another large pool who will be sinking into despair at the letters beside their subjects, when they realise that their intended career is no longer open to them. For that group, it's back to the drawing board, going through clearing in the hope of getting on a different degree course or going to another university or college and for some, the choice may be to take a different route into their intended profession. Of course, many discover that when they actually begin their new studies, either the work is beyond them or simply that it's not really what they want to do after all and may choose to either jump ship into the big ocean of employment or at least jump on to another boat setting a different course and keep paddling for another few years. Some even become 'perennial students' never seeming to end their studies, by taking on doctorates, masters and the like and prolonging the time when they can be removed from the 'bank of mum and dad'.Since both our lads are more than half way through their respective times at university, it has made me reflect on the whole idea of campus life and my first thought is that it is a very different experience to university thirty years ago but in other ways it hasn't changed at all. Anyone who was a student in Belfast in the late seventies will know that the city was fraught with dangers, especially after dark and there was always an eerie feeling that you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. ON a very recent trip in the university area, I was reminded of this when I saw the array of coffee shops, restaurants and bars that now exist not solely but predominantly to cater for students within five minutes of their living accommodation and I recall the sole chip shop with its few wooden tables that used to be the only haven for hungry students. Now the city is a vibrant, cosmopolitan, eclectic mix of establishments and, to their credit, most students are determined to enjoy their short few years of freedom before the slavery of employment kicks in and the bills follow through the letter box.
So was it worth it all? I suppose that's the question everyone who has been through the doors of Queen's or any other university ask themselves when it's all over and, looking back, I reckon it was, though I have to say that hindsight is a wonderful thing and I often looked at those who chose not to study beyond school but found a more than adequate niche in employment to fund their lifestyles and that of their families. Yet apart from the studies, what does university actually teach us? I've no doubt, for many, the biggest adjustment is to discover that you are your own decision maker. It may not seem that important, but now you choose when you eat, what you eat. when you go to bed, when you rise, whether yo attend all your lectures, who your friends are, how much work you do, what you wear, how much you spend each day, in fact decisions, the majority of which were usually made for you to a greater or less degree. And of course some can handle it better than others. I always remember those who had ploughed their way through their 'grant' allowance before half of the year had passed but I guess at least they learned all about budgeting, regardless of what course they were studying. Others saw their new found freedom expressed in late nights spent partying or just chatting with their friends in somebody's flat, which often resulted in a 'lie-in' the next morning and missed lectures but I think they learned all about doing things in moderation when the 'powers that be' began to question their non attendance. For some, it was simply a place to study and get a degree and they never got to grips with the social aspect of university and so completed their course and left campus not really having learned much about themselves and their personalities. And of course, a small, select band of undergraduates remained exactly that because they could never adjust to the level of freedom to decide that they had been given and found their security in the world of work much earlier than they had intended. But I reckon most would agree that it was worth it, whether simply as a way to stave off the evil day of employment, to gain the confidence and maturity to be ready for a job or to obtain the qualifications for a chosen career but often most benefited because the whole package was character building and maybe helped to make us the people we are as individuals today. Yet I believe that by the time most leave campus, they are mentally ready to do so and I guess you just grow tired of student life. You just grow up.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes 'When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.' And isn't there a sense that as we become older in the Christian faith, we also need to 'grow up' and to understand more deeply the God whom we claim to serve. Yet some believers never seem to grow up and appear to be quite satisfied with their assurance of heaven. Paul puts it beautifully when writing in Hebrews by saying 'In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food.' It's like all those years we've been following God and have never explored the richness of the food He can give, being content with the knowledge of our forgiveness and little else. For many, it was our traditional Christian family background that brought us into contact with Jesus and His salvation but ultimately it was that same tradition which stopped us thinking through our faith more deeply after conversion and now we still are drinking the same milk, surviving but not growing. University isn't for life. It's a stepping stone that shapes our future and the grades that assured our entry were only the start of a long journey. Salvation is for eternity but wouldn't you like to travel beyond the door that you entered and leave the milk bottle behind?
