tka
Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Speaking with my university lecturer hat on, be very careful about making a commitment now that you cannot sustain. At university, you will be timetabled for a certain number of contact hours which will depend on the subject you take. Contact hours are the hours you're actually timetabled for - these may include lectures, seminars and lab hours depending on your subject. However, you will be expected to do a lot of independent study: reading, taking notes, meeting your lecturers to discuss your work, preparing for assessments, perhaps forming a study group and so on. While you may only be scheduled for 15 contact hours a week if you're doing an arts or humanities subject, you will be expected to put in a lot more than that in terms of independent work.
Universities also offer a lot of extracurricular activities. Mine offers everything from sports to tending the on-site vegetable garden. Typically, a university will offer sports teams, clubs for different hobbies and interests, and groups learning new skills or with common interests. You are (hopefully!) going to make friends and will want to socialise with them in the evenings. You may want to take inpromptu trips and weekends away. There is a lot of freedom to enjoy!
A lot of my students work part-time and often find it very challenging to balance their studies with work. A lot of them work in the evenings (generally in restaurants or bars) or at weekends (generally in retail). Sometimes they get the balance wrong and find that work cuts into their studying time which means that they do less well than they could have done in assessments. Adding a bird - who needs at least two to three hours out of cage time and your company - to this mix will only make it harder to find that balance.
The next decade or two of your life is going to involve lots of changes, many of which you may not be able to predict. You've got to think about what's fair on both you and a potential bird. It's not fair on a bird if you're unable to spend time with it or can't afford vet treatment. Equally, it's not fair on you to miss out on rewarding, enjoyable and/or valuable things or potential careers because you're responsible for a being with toddler level needs.
Universities also offer a lot of extracurricular activities. Mine offers everything from sports to tending the on-site vegetable garden. Typically, a university will offer sports teams, clubs for different hobbies and interests, and groups learning new skills or with common interests. You are (hopefully!) going to make friends and will want to socialise with them in the evenings. You may want to take inpromptu trips and weekends away. There is a lot of freedom to enjoy!
A lot of my students work part-time and often find it very challenging to balance their studies with work. A lot of them work in the evenings (generally in restaurants or bars) or at weekends (generally in retail). Sometimes they get the balance wrong and find that work cuts into their studying time which means that they do less well than they could have done in assessments. Adding a bird - who needs at least two to three hours out of cage time and your company - to this mix will only make it harder to find that balance.
The next decade or two of your life is going to involve lots of changes, many of which you may not be able to predict. You've got to think about what's fair on both you and a potential bird. It's not fair on a bird if you're unable to spend time with it or can't afford vet treatment. Equally, it's not fair on you to miss out on rewarding, enjoyable and/or valuable things or potential careers because you're responsible for a being with toddler level needs.
