AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LIFE

By Lorenzo Cherin

 

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That to be a student of life

Is to major in a very big subject           

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That a gap year at any time

Will only have been a waste of time

If it feels like something is missing

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That Fresher’s Week at the start of it all

Was the same length of time

In which they say that God made the world

But somehow doesn’t seem as long or as important

But sometimes does seem almost as long ago

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That it is better to enjoy your time

Being in a Hall of Residence

Than it is to spend your time

Longing for the Hall of Fame

 

 

At the University of Life I learn 

That to score is not necessarily to succeed

That to flunk is not necessarily to fail

That to pass is necessary to proceed

But that to be put to the test is to be expected

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That to prepare can be worthwhile

But that you can prepare too much 

For something that does not happen

And yet not do so at all for something that does

 

 

At the University of Life I learn 

That to cram at the last minute

Can become habitual

And that to make it up as you go along

Can become the norm 

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That getting a formal qualification 

Is merely the result of wanting a form of justification

That it is good to get a certificate

But that to be certifiable

Is only based on someone else’s opinion

And that you might need a second one

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That the individual letters

You are given to put after your name

Are not half as relevant as the individual characters 

With which you make a name for yourself

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That the liberal arts  help to free your mind

But only if you learn to keep an open mind

That to excel in the Art of a Bachelor

Might mean being single minded

That to become so expert in any Art

That you are called a Master

Need not mean having a superior attitude

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That the word conscience includes within it

The word science

And that science should include conscience

In more than words

That to be a Doctor of philosophy

Also means having patience

And that a degree of any kind is only a part of it 

For the greatest beneficiary of our studying

Really should be humanity’s

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That you will be lectured to many times

But that to have someone

Who really teaches you something is rare

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That to find a fellow student to study with 

Will make the whole thing much less lonely

But that not everything you study is on the curriculum

That not everything on the curriculum do you study

And that extra-curricular activities can be fun

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That the things you learn may change you

But that you can learn to change things too

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

That to graduate will take a lifetime

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

It is not an Elementary school

 

 

At the University of Life I learn

It is a Residential school

 

 

At the University of Life I live