When I was just a wee high school student **hazy flashback scene**, I had no idea about what I was going to do after I left school.  I was enjoying life in year 12, though working pretty hard, and found it difficult to think about what was going to happen the following year and beyond.

When it came down to putting my preferences into UAC, it was a truly boring, practical decision for me:  What would give me the best opportunity to be earning a respectable living, and what would give it to me the fastest!  The last thing I would have imagined was to be VOLUNTARILY spending two additional years at university.

After starting at uni, however, I began to contemplate the best aspects of university. University should be about expanding your mind, having new experiences, and learning how to think. Honours for me, was the embodiment of those aspects.  

The Honours year is an additional, voluntary year at the end of the Bachelor degree that could be somewhat likened to doing Masters.  I felt that after the double degree, I wasn¹t really able to form my own opinions on economic issues, and with the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) just starting to kick in, I wanted to part of this exciting area of study.  This year is giving me a chance to learn cutting-edge theory, critically analyse what you have been learning, and to research something completely unique.

In my Honours class, there are about ten guys and one unlucky girl, and we spend much of the week together – philosophising about the meaning of value, why people do the things they do, debating the definition of “Economics”, learning modern economic theory and researching.  Though at times it seems that it might not be possible to make it through to the end of semester, to have a group of friends in the same boat makes it a much more enjoyable journey.

For those students stressing about what they are going to do next year, I have changed my mind so many times during my time here that I can guarantee you that when you figure out what your passion is, you will be able to pursue it! For those who think that Honours might be for them, I can say from my experience so far that it will be one of the most rewarding educational experiences you will ever have.

Study songs of the month:

Damien Rice - The animals were gone

Ryan Adams - Elizabeth, you were born to play that part 

Filed under: study by Tom