UNSW // Changes

Went to UNSW open day today!

It was heaps great. I enjoyed it more than USYD's open day, actually.

Woke up at 6:30 in the morning to cold weather and pouring rain, and public-transported myself for 1.5 hours all the way to the city.

My friends were late, so I had to stand in the pouring rain with a piddling-little umbrella waiting for them. (I blame JG). Needless to say, I got very wet.

Accidentally walked into a huge puddle because I was too busy google-mapping on my phone.

Eventually made it there, though!

Made it (JUST IN TIME) for the medicine lecture at 9:30 in the morning, and I thought it was pretty decent. Learnt a lot about how the UNSW medicine degree works, and definitely would recommend going. It was worth the morning wake-up call.

Also hung out at the end to talk to Dr Elizabeth Tancred, who's a neuroanatomist. It changed a lot about what I thought about my future, but that's going to be for later discussion at the end of this post.

It was a really great day.

Highlight would have to be spotting the UNSW Lion, and getting really decent free vouchers! A REGULAR BURRITO AT GUZMAN Y GOMEZ.

(Also regular share tea and soft drink)

Also got these free lollies (which I am currently consuming)

So much value! Legit that was our lunch. My friends and I just feasted on $10.90 worth of burritoes and quesadillas, and chugged free lipton tea.

We then also went to Share Tea, claimed our free drinks, shot a few pearls using straws, and also feasted at Max Brenners (sharing 3 tutti-frutti waffles between 6 people).

It. Was. Great.

Also did learn a lot about other courses, though I mainly looked at biology related ones. Or, at the least, science related.

So. Many. Pamphlets.

The little activities at each were really great, though! And the students there presenting were all very outgoing and welcoming, and made it really easy to talk to them. They also weren't clingy, which was also really good.

And can I just add that I really like the UNSW campus. Initially, I was a sucker for the traditional look of USYD, but I have to say that UNSW is a close competitor.

But yeah, mainly considered the possible Science degrees that I could do, if I don't make medicine.

Time to read this baby.

I'm not sure if it's because I was more tired last Saturday, or whether it's because I just had less motivation/effort/determination, or perhaps it was just the quality of the open day, but I felt like I learned a lot more at UNSW than at USYD.

I think it's probably my fault, since I've been to USYD's before, and it was raining, and I had places to go, and I just was so unbelievably tired.

I wish I had gotten more information at USYD though, because it's likely I'll go there if I don't make medicine in Australia. But, who knows, things change. (more on this at the bottom of the post)

Also got a cute little Periodic Table!

Also got really cool free socks and fairy floss from the UNSW Business School Building (no photo, sorry!). Very cool socks. Definitely didn't expect to get socks at a University Open Day. (Unfortunately they're a bit big for me, but that's okay. They were free. Also, I don't actually like fairy floss that much. But it was free.)

Afterwards, my friends and I headed off to the city to play some pool, which is becoming a regular tradition now.

We didn't exactly play as good as we usually did (who am I kidding, we played terrible), and being surrounded by really talented and skilled pool players on either side of us was pretty intimidating.

Usually we bet McFlurries between the teams, but this time, we all played so badly that we didn't even bet any.

Also, afterwards, I tried to find catch a bus home from QVB, but I've never done that before (usually I train it). Needless to say, I got lost. Very lost.

I walked down the same street several times, holding my google maps in my hand, and only on the third time did I realise where I had to be. It was also raining. (That's right, pity me.)

Only kidding. Overall, it was a super great day. Enjoyed it thoroughly, learned a lot, bumped into a lot of people and caught up briefly, met a few new faces, and got free burritoes. What is there to complain about?! (Even the rain was worth it).

Okay, down to business.

I suddenly decided that I'm going to withdraw my whole journey to apply to the United States.

For several reasons. That may not be appropriate for displaying on a public blog.
But let's just say I decided that it just wasn't the right path for me.

I can definitely see myself doing it, but I just don't think it's worth the effort and the things that I'd have to sacrifice. I wouldn't mind staying here, despite what I said before.

Perhaps UNSW changed my view. UNSW showed me how great the University experience can be. And the day out with friends (who made the day exceedingly enjoyable) also helped convince me.

I'm not sure when, but sometime today I just suddenly thought to myself and decided that I was going to bail from the USA journey.

But, let's not go into the nitty-gritty details.

Just an update and casual blog post about my day.