This serves as a reminder of what I have been through as an undergraduate student. So I am going to talk about my first year only in this particular post.
As the first semester commenced, I had no idea what was geology all about other than studying about rocks and the planet Earth itself. So, I went to the first class, and lecturer introduced to all of us(the first year student) the courses and options that we are going to face as a geology student.
The subjects are mainly about the introduction to rocks, minerals, fossils and the basic concepts that are classified under various subdivisions of Geology. At first, I did not manage to understand all the subjects quite well, but I took the initiative to raise hand to ask a question if I did not understand something during the lecture session.
However, some modules did offer practical and laboratory time slot and thus, we were able to apply what we have learned during the theory classes. This includes mapping, and basic rocks, minerals and fossils. It was fun overall.
Even if I did not find it easy to comprehend, I started my own initiative to pretend to ask a question that I might already know the answer. This serves some sort like a check list to ensure that I have grasped the right understanding and not from a different school of thoughts. All the basic concepts of geology, classification of rocks,minerals and fossils, basic definition of certain terms and the list goes on and on.
In the end, when the final exam approached, I fully gathered my strength to persuade myself to keep studying to achieve the best result as possible. As a result, I managed to get a CGPA of 3.57. However, I got a "C+" in Basic Rocks because I suddenly lost my thoughts and memory during that exam period. Luckily I did not fail and thus, that was the worst result I ever had for my undergraduate years. In semester 7, I retook the paper and I got an "A" for it. My redemption for that subject had finally been paid with my own effort.
I may not be the best student in my batch, but to be able to emerge as one of the Top 10 STUDENT is already a significant achievement for me. Like seriously, how many Geology students in Malaysia achieve a CGPA higher than 3.60? I am not trying to condemn others but what I am trying to imply is that geology is very difficult, even much more severe than the amiable medicine. I doubt those with straight A+ and 4 flat can even achieve 3.50 for the total CGPA for the geology course, let alone 3.70.
So later onwards, I will keep you updated with my memoirs of my study and co-curricular activities during my time in university. I believe life is not just about straight a's and CGPA, but still, it one of the important aspects that most employers look upon as early preliminary selection for jobs or even scholarship application.
