This is my last article on CNM Types.

After writing my first piece in 2021, I find myself now writing my last in 2025. I’m graduating this semester! I can’t believe that there will be no more lectures, no more tutorials and no more assignment submissions or exams to take. (Ironically, this article was delayed because I had an assignment due.)

As I reflect on these four years, I think back to when I, fresh out of junior college, had been apprehensive and honestly unsure how university would turn out for me. I wasn’t a top student—since secondary school, I’d been a constant presence in makeup tutorials and remedials. Still, I made it into university. I remember coming into my first lecture of NM1101E wondering if I was going to continue struggling in classes, but as the semesters went by, I found that I enjoyed what I was studying: Communications and New Media (CNM).

I consider myself lucky to have chosen CNM as my major from the beginning. It’s not easy to know what you want to do at 18 or 19. I picked CNM partially because I had some interest in social media, and partly because I thought, “Well, every company needs to communicate, right?”

It helped that I’d ruled out other options—I didn’t do well in science or math, and wasn’t deeply drawn to other humanities subjects like literature. So, it was also by process of elimination that I ended up here. However, I’m thankful that eliminating the “wrong” things led me to the right one, because I thoroughly enjoy CNM’s curriculum. That interest kept me motivated and helped me perform better in school, as it didn’t feel like a chore to study as it had been with some subjects before. Notwithstanding the fact that it also capitalized on one of my strengths, essay writing.

During my time learning, I also discovered unexpected strengths and interests. Through the compulsory common core course GEI1001, I found out that I had a knack for Excel VBA, and was adept at logical reasoning to derive solutions to problems. Who would’ve thought? With a weak background in mathematics, GEI1001 was a course I dreaded, but it turned out to be interesting and I even scored well for it eventually. Therefore, university taught me that sometimes, our own assumptions about what we can or can’t do aren’t always accurate.

My university experience was also shaped by the fulfilling experiences I had outside of academics. I entered NUS during the pandemic and stayed in Temasek Hall—my first taste of independent living. Though I missed out on the full force of hall culture, those days staying on campus were still memorable and special. Fittingly, my very first article on this blog was about hall life.

Particularly during my first two years, I also dove headfirst into co-curricular activities (CCAs). Devoting my time to learning something new, organizing events and taking on leadership roles brought me purpose and joy. It further introduced me to communities of people who shared the same passions and I’m so grateful for the friendships that grew from there.

Beyond the campus, some of my most cherished memories came from overseas experiences with NUS. My first experience was when I joined a week-long trip to Thailand to visit companies and network. It was also my first time there, and that experience eventually led me to intern in Bangkok over the summer. Working abroad definitely taught me more about myself and my capabilities. Not only did I learn to navigate a foreign environment and adapt quickly, I also achieved effective collaboration with my colleagues, many of whom I still keep in touch with today.

Then came exchange. Studying overseas was more than what I had hoped for. I got to enrol in courses I could not otherwise have taken back home, meet people with vastly different backgrounds, and create memories which I will continue to treasure years down the road. Such experiences also deepened my love for travel and exploring new cultures—something I hope to keep doing even after I enter the workforce.

Of course, not everything was smooth sailing. I didn’t do as well in some courses and missed out on a few opportunities I desired to take. I lost contact with some close friends. Through difficult conversations and challenges in my CCAs, I slowly learnt how to be a better communicator. Being in Communications and graduating with a degree in it doesn’t mean I’m perfect at it, but I will continue trying and learning from mistakes.

In these last weeks of school, I toured NUS as though I had not been here for 4 years. I found food spots I’d never even known of, explored the other faculties, and ate all my favourite meals one last time.

Besides the affordable food, I think what I’ll miss most about being in school is the simple happiness of bumping into familiar faces. In my final semester, I somehow ran into more friends than ever—people from past university classes, junior college, even secondary and primary school. It’s something so mundane but special when you realize you’ll no longer get to do spontaneous catch-ups at bus stops or outside lecture halls, and it’s something I know I won’t get to experience quite the same way again.

As for what comes next—I’m still figuring that out. While I have a general sense of what I enjoy and what I’m good at (or not so good at), I’m still not sure what my career path will look like. I don’t have a clear, defined occupation I intend to work towards. If you asked me what my ten-year plan was? I couldn’t give you a detailed answer. It’s not easy to figure out a direction, especially when what you’re looking at is something as broad as what you want in life. Honestly, I don’t think I’m alone in that and I’m sure this sentiment is echoed by many of my graduating friends.

Last year, I set a goal to land an offer I’d be excited about by the end of the semester. That hasn’t happened yet. Compounded by the fact that this final semester felt even busier than the last, I hadn’t been able to apply for new jobs as regularly as I would have liked to.

Maybe the timing just isn’t right yet.

Now that I'm about to lose my student status, I won’t pretend I’m not feeling the pressure of making big decisions. Leaving student life behind is scary. However, I know that decisions I make now won’t define me forever. If there’s one thing university taught me, it’s that things change constantly. You adapt. You pivot. You move forward. I’ve been trying my best to make the best choices I can with the information I have at each point—and that’s what I’ll keep doing.

So, to you who are reading this—I hope you’ll find your own path too, despite any uncertainty. I hope you give yourself due credit even when things don’t go to plan. And I hope, like me, even if you walk out of university without all the answers, you will leave with a better understanding of who you are and the confidence that you’ll figure the rest out in time.

Lastly, to all the Year 4s, happy graduation! Thank you to the friends who have walked these years with me.