At Oxford, and maybe also elsewhere, I am weird. I am a mature, international student, which means my Oxford experience is quite different from the 18-year-old, ‘classic Oxford experience’ – I am probably missing out on many house parties and the vibe of Atik on a Wednesday, but coming to Oxford later I can better experience the joy of university life.
Before coming to Oxford I worked as a research analyst for four years, both as part of my mandatory national service and at a private think tank. These experiences showed me what some at university may refer to as ‘the real world’, and let me tell you, that world is not pretty.
I started my first grown-up office job at 19 years old, and, as I’m sure many still do, I imagined office life entirely wrong. Hopeful thinking and sitcoms led me to believe an office would be entertaining, full of friends, nice, and even fun. Of course, it can be all of that if you’re lucky, but I quickly learned it usually isn’t. I found myself in a social setting I had never experienced before, and that was neither nice nor fun.
By now I have worked as an analyst at four different places that are quite different from one another. Unfortunately, however, the things which are common to all are not positive. For instance, coming from uni or school, one may expect a workplace to be full of young people who are eager to inject some fun into their day and even make some new friends. Instead, you are likely to make small talk and hear about what your co-workers’ children are doing in middle school. Additionally, you will find that even the best bosses often assign irrelevant work and are reluctant to change their minds.
You may be thinking that work isn’t supposed to be fun, and an older person may complain about my ‘Gen-Z work ethic’. Both could be true, but both also miss the point. The reason I am telling you about my office experience is not to complain, but to explain what keeps me going today as an Oxford student. We all know studying at Oxford is hard and tiring – to be honest, Oxford is more demanding than any of my former employers. But at every late library session or rainy walk back to college, I think back to my days in fluorescent-lit, outdated offices. I think of riding a busy bus, an hour each way. I think of pointless, drawn-out meetings. And I think of all the time I wasted for no good reason.
These memories turn Oxford’s grey sky and gothic buildings positively refreshing; too-long reading lists useful; libraries homey; and tutorials meaningful. Of course, Oxford has its shortcomings, but they pale in the face of ‘the real world’.
So, aside from coffee, what gets me up every morning and keeps me going is remembering office life and knowing it awaits me the day after finals. Faced with this reality, Oxford is a breath of fresh air that I will cherish my whole life and an ideal I will strive to recreate down the road.
If at any point you find yourself sick of Oxford and anxious to ‘get on with life’, come talk to me. I have endless stories about what it’s like working at a boring office, and they will be sure to send you running to apply for a DPhil. If you don’t know me, I recommend watching the show The Office; in my experience it is, sadly, pretty accurate. Enjoy your time at Oxford – I promise you’ll look back at it from your office chair and think it was magical.
