End of an Era

And so it drew to an end, my days at Uni.

'Twas a bit of an anti-climax actually, not at all how I imagined my last day to be. From day one I always thought it'd be a loud fanfare, filled with familiar faces and an overflow of rowdy cheers all round, going out with a big bang...

This last semester began interestingly but fairly low-key. Doing the solitary subject I only had four contact hours at Uni, and being a first year arts subject it hardly matched the camaraderie of the typical Comm/IS subject. Not only was it devoid of people I knew through friends of friends, but Arts kids (especially Cinema Studies majors) are definitely a different breed. Nonetheless, I got along well with my fellow classmates and the stage was set for a cruisy final semester.

Halfway through the subject however I began to get bogged down with extra-curricular activities and Uni took a backseat. I guess doing one subject really distorts the view that it's important and I began to see Uni as just another extra-curricular activity rather than it being the bane of my existence.

So last week, Week 12 in Melbourne University terms, it all wound up with a flurry of activity on my part. I had chosen this last week as my presentation week and lucky me, I got to facilitate the tutorial discussion on Taxi Driver (1976) which is at least a movie you would be able to hire from the local video store.

Appropriately, I drew parallels with De Niro's character from the movie while trudging into Uni on a chilly Melbourne evening. Dark and overcast like most of the film depicting mean New York streets, I cast a lone figure, hands in pockets going over the discussion points in my head for my last ever tutorial,
"Travis Bickle was lonely."
"True loneliness can only be achieved in crowded places."

Much like university, Taxi Driver began promisingly, with Travis finding Betsy, the girl of his dreams but things turned sour and he began hating the world. I remember having so much hope during O-Week in first year, but then life happened and I grew up. I then disliked the routine and never-ending nature of it all. In the end, Travis chose the lesser of two evils and became a hero. Likewise I decided to grow up, loaded with plenty of experiences both good and bad to equip me for the future, or the 'real world' as the pale, pasty academics like to label it. The difference with Travis and I is that despite the ups and downs, I'll still look back at my time in university with fond memories and stern lessons, whereas at the end of the film Travis looked back in his rear-view mirror and with a hint of madness in his eyes, saw his own reflection and all the demons that accompany it.

Vale university life 2006.