University: Living in the incubator of dreams
‘The more I get to live this life, the more I realize this is what I’ve been destined to do’
I’ve always envisioned that university is a place where people thrive and reach their potential, but not until I graduated from the chaotic environment of high school and entered the realm of post-secondary did I realize: University is even more than that.
In high school, the purpose of me opening a textbook or doing my homework was only to get good grades and not get raged at by my parents. However, in university, I naturally developed an internal motivation instead of being forced by an external entity such as parents or teachers.
Never in a million years would I imagine myself going to class early because I liked it so much.
At the moment, I’m currently attending McMaster University, located at the very beginning of Hamilton. Besides the fact that my parents wanted me to attend a reputable university and McMaster happens to be the 77th in the list of Top 100 Universities, I chose McMaster because I wanted to move away to somewhere that’s resourceful enough for me to be able to truly explore myself as I was struggling to figure out who I am.
The more I get to live and experience this new university life, the more I realize this is what I’ve been destined to do.
Born and raised in Vietnam until I was 17, I’ve always been obsessed with the Western world through a small plasma TV screen. As a kid, I would watch Mr. Bean and Disney shows just to have the simplest idea of what it looks like on the other half of the globe. And I would wish that one day I had the opportunity to go across the sea to this new horizon. Fast forward to 10 years later, here I am, living my childhood fantasy to its realest.
It’s the most surreal experience I’ve ever had.
The more I observe the changes in myself, the more I realize that university has been allowing me to absorb so much more inspiration.
It’s the excitement to learn new things that push me through every lecture and tutorial. I start seeing the connection between the classes. It’s exhilarating finally seeing the purpose of chugging down chunks and chunks of knowledge.
It’s the little things I get to learn from the like-minded people around me so I can improve myself. From my roommate to the friends I made in classes, everyone that I come in contact with leaves me, if not a lesson, something to think about and reflect on myself. That’s how I learn to set out goals, plans and fight for what I want. Like Chaplain Ronnie Melancon used to say:
“Show me your friends and I will show you your future.”
It’s the energy and support that I get from the professors that keep me from feeling insecure, unconfident and on the path that I’ve chosen. Take the example of my “Film and Television” class’ professor — Harris Goldberg, who has been inspiring me every day, even when I’m not at his lecture.
Before coming back to The Hammer to teach at the school he graduated from, Professor Goldberg was a director and writer in the famous Hollywood, California. With his down-to-earth story of coming from Hamilton and making it to Hollywood, I can relate myself with his past and have a better idea of how I can try and break into one of the most competitive industries.
Most of the time in all of my classes, I would receive help and explanation from the professors whenever I have a question or an obstacle on the way. I was fed with encouragement and confidence, enough to believe in myself while still maintaining an unfabricated and realistic point of view.
University is the first place that I get to build a real connection with real people with experiences from different fields and industries. To help visualize this easier, it feels like meeting with Batman or Thor when you were a 10-year-old kid. You look up to them and wonder if you’d be that badass one day. It feels real, meaningful, and contextual.
For once in my life, I have an idea of what I want to become.
With all this being said, I dare to say that university is the place for you to explore, experience, and experiment. If you put in enough passion and consciousness of what you’re doing, university should be able to help you navigate and find the right path.
With what I’ve experienced, observed, and learned, I highly suggest people ask themselves who they want to be and start pursuing their desires because university is the incubator of dreams.
Travis Nguyen came to Hamilton from Vietnam to study at McMaster University