Why I Do Not Join Debate In University?

Hi guys. Welcome back to another sharing about my involvement in debate. After few months I left this sharing session, finally I'm here. In previous entry (click here to read), I mentioned that I did not register for debate club in university. Why? This entry will tell you the answer. So, make sure you that you read until the last sentence of this entry😂.

I'm not sure whether you still remember or not that I mentioned about a good teammates can make someone continue debating and joining competitions. I left so it means that I cannot find suitable teammates in university. Finding teammates is not just by simply pick anyone nearby you or someone that want to be with you but it is about choosing someone who you want to be with and someone who want you to be with them. Bear in mind that debate is a group work. The only way for it to work well is when all the members in the team can cooperate and work together to win in the competitions. It is not a one day event. I will keep going to competitions with the same people. Therefore, chemistry among teammates is really crucial.

School and university are not same. In school, most of us are from the same area and we understand better about each other. We know about the culture and lifestyle. However, in university, it does not happen. Students come from different parts of Malaysia and even from other countries. Since I am from minority group, other students do not really know about my culture and lifestyle. It is difficult for them to understand and accept my lifestyle and ways. In my opinion, changing myself just to suit with others' lifestyle is not a good choice. I should find teammates that can accept me and I also can accept them. I do not want to change myself and sacrifice my life principle just to be accepted. This is because this kind of relationship will not last long.

Besides, adapting to new place and lifestyle is not easy. In university, the learning environment and style are not same with school. The lecturers give lesser guide compare to the teachers in school. Apart from studying, you also have many other commitments. You need to do everything on your own. That is why I scare that I cannot manage my time properly between study and debate. If I go to a debate competition, I may need to skip classes. It means that I have to learn on my own. For lecture, it is still okay because I can read lecture slides but not for lab. I will miss a lot of practical which is not a good thing. Honestly, practical part especially for programming subject is not easy.  I will really struggle to complete my lab report if I skip the class.

Debate is my passion but as a student, study is my first priority. I am a scholar and only scholars know the pressure to maintain a good result every semester so that we can still continue our study until graduate. There is no way to fail or get CGPA that is below the threshold. No second chance for any mistakes.

People always say that university is not a place for you to study only but it is a place that you should gain as much experience as you can. Do join events, become committee in clubs/societies, charity and so on. I agree with this because university is going to prepare you for work in the future. However, you have to remember that no matter where you go only yourself will be with you. People can come and go in your life. Do not too busy with events until you neglect your study. Although skills are important, but the first thing that employer will see is your CGPA. Some companies even set certain CGPA value need to be achieved before students are eligible to apply for internship in their companies.

I have experienced of almost failed one of the subjects during secondary school. Why? This is because I am busy with competitions and I only have time to study when I was on the way back from the competition. I took the examination but the result was the worst result that I ever get. I admitted my mistake as I follow what people thing what is best for me than what I think is best for me. People keep saying that all my As is not enough to help myself in the future without involvement in co-curricular activities. So, I actively joined competitions after that. However, when my result was affected and there was another student with better result than me, the people that actively gave advice before this gone.

I hope that my sharing would not affect your decision to join debate in university. This entry is just about what I think and it may not be applicable to everyone. If you really love debate, just proceed. Some of you might think that I give up before I ever try but it's okay. Everyone has their own opinion. For me, debate is very special and I really love it. So, I do not want it to be a bad experience in my life. I know my limit and capability. I rather stop now than I proceed but involve in trouble in the future. At the end of the day, I am the one who going to face all the consequences of my decision so I think this is the best decision for my involvement in debate.  Trust me, when you are on the top, people have a lot of advice to give you. Once you fall down, you do not know where all those people go. Therefore, the most important thing is to do something that you think is the best for yourself.

That's all for this entry. Thank you for reading my sharing. If you have any opinion or anything to share, please drop your comment down below. Have a nice day😊.