As a student you have to manage a lot of things, getting good grades, meeting your friends, being a good boy/girlfriend, working your side job, etc. You are probably also thinking about what you want to do in the future, and you have to try managing it all. It can be overwhelming sometimes. If only there were people that already went through what we are going through and could give us advice… Well, there are! Who better to ask than our teachers? You will even get to know your teacher a little bit better and maybe we can learn something from them. Let's see what they have to say:

Say Yes! Take advantage of opportunities.

Life goes by fast, and it can be easy to say no and not do things. This because you think you will have other opportunities later on, have no time, you are too tired, or that it will not be worth the effort. Maybe even that you think nothing good will come out of it. Don’t make that mistake! As Nike says, “Just Do It!”. When I was in college at Northern Arizona University, there was a casting call for extras in a movie. They were looking for people with long scruffy hair which me and my friends all had. The casting call was early on a Saturday morning and instead of waking up and going, we decided to just sleep in. Well, it turned out the movie was Forest Gump and they wanted extras for the scenes where he was running across the country. I could have been in the iconic movie Forest Gump but instead, I was lazy and slept in. You never know what opportunities will present themselves if you just show up, work hard and say yes!

Charlie Hicks – Creative business

Find a topic you want to dive into!

I thought I had a great student life. I had nice friends, was setting up a student’s union, did sports, and went on exchanges in several countries. But I wish I had found a challenging topic to focus on earlier in my career, to become a real specialist in. To be honest, I liked every course I followed. This made me a generalist in my studies. It turned out to be handy in my future career because I could get different jobs in different industries. At the end of my studies during my graduation phase, I was at the top of my curiosity and productivity. I felt great! For six months I had to dive into one specific topic. That was the difference between national media policies (television) in four different countries. I read everything about this topic. Also, I interviewed experts in four different countries and worked for hours in the library. I often forgot the time and the concierge had to kick me out at the closing time. During that time, it felt like I was in a “flow”, a state of mind I wished I had earlier. Because then studying becomes satisfying instead of mandatory. After that I appreciated and enjoyed partying, sleeping in, falling in love, etc. even more. So, find that SPECIFIC topic that keeps you alive and curious during those studying years.

Peter Jonkergauw – Event management

Practice self-care

I was always so busy helping my boyfriend and friends with their schoolwork or problems. To the point that I neglected to take care of myself. My grades suffered because of it. I had to learn over time there is a difference between being selfish and “self-care”. Once I started taking care of myself first, I became more confident in setting my limits with others.

Brigitte van Pelt – Creative business

Making mistakes is excellent – as long as you learn from them

In the – hopefully not too distant future – with a lot of nerves and full of excitement, you will start your career at your first job. Optimistic as you are, you are probably afraid to make mistakes and want to make sure you do really well. After all, now you feel the responsibility for your actions. And let’s be honest – you get paid for it, so you need to do well ; ). However, sometimes working life allows you to make mistakes and experiment. But sometimes you are treated rather harshly, and you end up losing your job or opportunity for one small mistake. Luckily, there is a fantastic way to prepare for this and that is called your study! Maybe you don’t realize it, but the education system is set up in such a sense that you can fail and try again and again. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and most importantly – ask questions. Keep asking questions. You now have the opportunity to explore what you can and can’t do, so take full advantage of that. The most important thing is to not stop questioning. You don’t have to be good or excellent at everything, you just need to be good at learning.

Mathijs van der Kroft – Marketing

Say YES to the unknown and challenge yourself!

I remember my years as a student so well. Focussing on passing all courses. Thinking about a future career but in the meantime also enjoying student life to the max. My whole studies I was unsure what my future career would look like. It made me anxious since I wanted to make the ‘right’ choices. Looking back, my career is nothing like how I envisioned it when I was in my twenties. If I could go back in time and do it all over, I would say YES to everything. There have been many times where I said no to things because I was afraid of the unknown. I felt that I had to focus on my studies, or I was worried about what others would think of me. I now realize that you have to live your own life, make your own decisions, and not care too much about what other people think. Do what you like to do and don’t think too far ahead!

Lieke Mensink - lecturer Professional Development, Creative Business

So, in summary, take every opportunity you get. Find something that is interesting for you, make sure to take care of yourself, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Don’t think too far ahead because everyone ends up in the right place. I hope our teachers’ advice will save you time, money and maybe some pain. That we can learn from their mistakes so we will not repeat it. Maybe in ten or twenty years, you will look back at when you were twenty and you will want to share your own life lessons with your kids or students. Or you will realize that your teachers were actually right.