Tasha Dhanraj worries about going back to school

It’s been a year since I finished my final exam on the International Baccalaureate. A year since I wrote an essay. A year since I was panicking about the structure of an E.Coli cell. A year since I stopped constantly checking my bag to make sure my graphical display calculator hadn’t been stolen – because of course most petty thieves have a penchant for differential calculus.

Now look at me. A year ago I was a student, and now I’ve done a full year out of education, parading around and trying to pass as a proper adult when really I’ve been thinking, “Why are you people expecting me to do this job? I’m a child! I’m not supposed to be relied on for anything!”

They say fake it until you make it, and that’s worked for me. After the first few months of trying to remember that putting ‘xoxo’ at the end of work emails isn’t professional, I have now got into my stride. I’m used to filing away pay slips and keeping savings in a separate account, as opposed to in a box that I once kept my stash of bourbons in. Heck, I’ve even joined LinkedIn.

“Most petty thieves have a penchant for differential calculus”

And suddenly, I’m faced with the realisation that in just a few months I have to go back to education. I might not have had a proper job for the last month, but I’ve still got the brain of someone looking to hit targets and expand global brand awareness.

The main issue isn’t even me leaving behind the world of work. It’s more me trying to remember what I’m supposed to do as a student. When I was writing three essays a week I found it pretty easy. Now I’m struggling to remember how I’m even supposed to structure one… (the ‘introduction’ thing goes at the beginning, right?) I’ve forgotten everything I ever learnt except for what a phospholipid is, which of course will come in really handy for my theology degree. And I’m heading to uni. It isn’t like college where I can lie about not having done some homework and get away with “Oh yeah, darn golly and call me Clive – I left the essay at home! Don’t worry, sir – I will email it to you as soon as I
get home.”

I can do this. I’ve still got four months until I start the first term. That’s plenty of time. I can easily re-learn everything I learnt in the first 18 years of my life, before I start uni, right?