When I applied to the University of Helsinki, I had very definite plans for the course of my studies. I would major in English and then take Korean as my minor. I would also not study a single course more of literature than I had to. When I had that little talk with my HOPS advisor, I laughed at the idea that I would need to rethink anything about my plans. I mean I was already 28, so I felt like did not have time to waste. Well, as usual in life, nothing went according to those plans.  

Early on I found out a) I’d have to take one too many literature courses for my liking and b) that it is quite difficult to get into the Korean program. I’m a Taurus, so uncertainty is not really my jam. So, I needed a back-up plan. I found it near impossible to find information on everything available to study (take note University) but this time I was served a brand-new plan on a silver platter. I was most likely sitting in class on a perfectly bland Wednesday in November, so fully engrossed in whatever we were learning, that I probably startled a bit when my phone notified me of a new email. That little email changed my life.  

A tad bit dramatic maybe, but that’s me, deal with it, a little embellishment never hurt nobody. Anyways, this email. Oh, it was from the Department of Cultural Studies – specifically from North American Studies. I didn’t know we could study that! All the courses seemed super interesting, but I managed to settle for just one. I had, after all, promised myself that I could take one course per semester that I was just really interested in. For motivation’s sake, you know how it is. It was a single period, twice a week course. Which started at 8.15 in the morning. Insanity took over and I enrolled to that course.  

I was the second person in the classroom on that faithful morning in January of my first academic year. I got my laptop ready and nervously sat there sipping my coffee as other students, and finally the lecturer, rolled in. Like I also mentioned, I’m prone to embellishment but let me tell you, that class was like the first breath of fresh air after a long time. It was so exciting and so different and so wonderful. Naturally, a new plan was already forming in my mind while I was furiously taking notes. I would minor in Cultural Studies, and specifically in North American Studies.  

Even though I was dead set on this new plan of mine, I had this itch to just try to enroll to the Korean courses. And I got in. There I was, in agony, as I had to decide what to do about the North American Studies, to study or not to study. In the end, I decided to back to my original plan. Plain and simple. But rest easy my reader, my love affair with the North American Studies is far from over. In the dark alleyways of our University, we still whisper sweet nothings to each other’s ears at least once a semester.  

I also mentioned in the beginning of this article that I was adamant on not studying literature any more than our department would force me to. Naturally, now that I’m starting my last year of bachelor studies, I’m going to write my thesis on literature. Honestly, I almost feel like a cliché at this point. I still don’t like to read on command (I like my own pace, thank you very much), but everything I have read so far for the courses has been eye opening in one way or another. But no matter how engaging or interesting the lectures were, mostly this change of heart about literature was due to my friends. Being able to analyze the texts we read after class (thank god for voice memos in these covid times when post-lecture cup of tea has not been an option) and then in turn using those tools to analyze other media around us had the biggest impact on me. But then again this, most probably, has also made me even more intolerable movie company.    

What about extracurricular activities in University then? Well, I hadn’t written a thing before starting University – the first short story I published here is pretty much the first piece I’ve written (aside from a couple of poems, but for that I recommend checking out my piece on my relationship with poetry). You truly never know what you might find when you stumble into the world of academia. So here is my advice (take it or leave it, I don’t care): whether you’ve been studying for what feels like ages or you’re just taking your first look at what all is for offer, do not fear. Look into the hidden nooks and corners, test the waters, do a test run. You might end up changing your minor, thesis idea, or even your major. These things happen, you never know what you might find and how much that new wonderful thing will give you. It might even produce a secret dalliance that’ll take your breath away. After all, plans are like water off a duck’s back – creating new riverbends wherever necessary.