Why I left university.

A few weeks ago I quit my studies.

It had been 5 and a half years across two different degrees, and I wasn’t far from graduating to become a high school teacher.

I realised it wasn’t for me when I did my teaching prac. Part of the course required us to complete a few weeks of full time, supervised work at a nearby high school. I honestly enjoyed the teaching part - standing up in front of 32 kids as a character named ‘Mr. Quan’, whose formal clothing and well-groomed hair made him appear as an all-knowing mathematical professor 10 years older than he really was.

Most of the time it was energising. There was something about turning a mundane topic, such as 3D shapes, into a lively lesson that hyped up the kids all because I mentioned I was a Minecraft fanatic.

However, what I didn’t handle well was the workload I had outside of school. I would come home and spend several more hours planning, learning and gathering resources to prepare for the next day. During the weekend, I would spend a huge chunk marking or writing up tests. Finding the time and effort to maintain my musical passions became very difficult.

It was fun to imagine the day I would graduate and make my parents proud, especially being so close to graduating. However, I knew deep down that teaching wasn’t the career for me.

On the bright side, it’s full steam ahead chasing the path of music!