Kuliah S1 Lagi? Why Not!

Alhamdulillah, we made it to 2021!

Postingan pertama di tahun 2021 ini saya pengin curhat tentang saya yang kuliah S1 lagi padahal sudah punya gelar S1. Akhirnya ada beberapa teman/keluarga yang tanya, “ngapain? kenapa ngga S2 aja?”. Well, it’s gonna be a long answer. That’s why I’m writing this post. But I also dedicate this post for those of you who are still hesitant to go back to college again.

So.. Why bother taking another bachelor’s degree instead of master’s degree? Will it be worth it? Although my case would be different from yours, some of my reasons may help you to start considering getting a second bachelor’s degree.

• I wanted to enjoy my life to enrich knowledge while I am still young. They said 20s are the critical time in life to focus on learning and improving yourself. 20s are the best time for academic learning and it’s the phase where we can easily absorb in learning new things. 20s are the ideal time to enjoy life, have fun, but also to figure out what you want to do with your life.

• Taking a master’s degree is a very serious commitment, not to mention that it often comes with a hefty price tag. It needs serious time to study, research, and focus only on the specific topic/field that you want to master. Let’s say.. I’m not ready for this. I’m just trying not to push myself to achieve more than is reasonable or force myself to do something beyond my limits.

• Taking a second bachelor’s degree provides me enough time to keep learning while preparing for what's ahead of me. I’m trying to enjoy the moment I’m living right now. Carpe diem, a phrase that I used to urge myself to enjoy the present time and give little thought to the future. How can we live in the moment when our mind is constantly worrying about the future? Well, "future" itself is a scary word, right?

• I always love learning new things. By learning something new, I will be exposed to ideas I’ve never heard about, or I might think about things I’ve never thought of before. Therefore, for my second bachelor’s degree, I wanted to take a major that I WANT to learn, not necessarily what I NEED to learn. I thought it would be interesting if my second bachelor’s degree completely unrelated to my first.

• I don’t want to waste my money and my time, so I decided to take a second bachelor’s degree at a university with online platforms. Online universities provide a more flexible schedule that can fit around my existing life. It generally affordable and I have an option to not physically attend classes, so it will also save my time. I’m a typical introvert, so I know for me, I would prefer to study in my room by myself with music in the background.

• The intention is not for me to switch career paths entirely, but to open up more and more opportunities down the road. In the future, maybe I can have a job in a company within my expertise while having another job independently with a completely different area of expertise. I will never know. By having another degree, I hope it will open up more opportunities for me to be whatever the world prepared me to be.

• I truly believe that education is a lifelong investment. By investing in education, the knowledge will keep my mind sharp, and make my thinking wider and critical. I think I will also have a constant reminder that there are so many things that I’m not good at. For me personally, education is an essential tool for my self-fulfillment and personal growth. It gives me inner satisfaction to be the best person that I can be.

• There's no knowledge that is ever wasted (tidak ada ilmu yang sia-sia). Some might say it's not true. But my point is that even if my second degree can't help to enhance my career, it doesn’t matter. It will help me in another way. Just like math or chemistry that you learned in school, you're not technically using them if you're now an artist, but that doesn't mean they're wasted. I believe there’s no limitation of degree to get knowledge. After all, knowledge is so much more than just a ticket to a better career.

• I do what makes me happy (self-love comes first!). Every time I make a decision, I always asked myself first, “if I choose this path, am I going to enjoy the journey along the way? Am I going to be happy if I do this? Will I be okay?”. So I need to ensure that I will enjoy the process. Life is already so demanding, so I choose not to push myself to be someone who does everything based on the rule of the age or to live in the standard that our society made.

I have some other reasons, but generally those are the main reasons why I’m taking another bachelor’s degree. To be honest, not too many people around me know that I’m taking a second bachelor’s degree. I just don’t feel the need to let everyone knows, but it’s not that I’m hiding it either.

Time flies so fast. Alhamdulillah, I’m already in the final semester of my studies and I will graduate soon! I’m looking forward to the next journey of my education.

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Hey! If you also have a plan to take a second bachelor’s degree, especially if you feel that your current major is not what you really passionate about, go ahead and take it. 

Everything has its own time, so don’t be discouraged if you want to start over with your education, even if you’re not in your 20s anymore. It’s totally okay studying not to get a job but to gain knowledge.

You have every right to decide what you want to learn and you don’t need to prove anything to anyone. At the end of the day, this is your life. Do it for yourself.