The majority of people I have met so far believe that a Job is the final destination after University. I don’t think so, even if that’s where I will end up ( I hope not). I think that in these three or four years of University, instead of thinking about getting a job, a student should think about his/her life. These are the best years of your life, the ones where you have a lot of spare time, the ones where you can meet as many people as possible and the ones where you can actually enjoy life.

That’s why I believe that University is about knowing ourselves, who we are, what we believe and what we want to give to our modern society. It can not be always about getting the best grades and the best job. It can not be always about getting a good salary, living for sixty years and then die (that’s a little bit depressing). It’s also about enjoying what you are doing, finding new things, discovering stuff you didn’t know and stuff you would like to know.

This is what Manchester has to offer, even if there are a lot of people thinking about their future job (why?), there are so many things you can do while studying, which can help you to differentiate yourself from the crowd. In my personal experience, I have been part of the swimming club here at the Acquatics Center ( one of the best pools I have ever seen). Even if I had never done competitive, I decided to give it a try and in the long term now I can say that I see results coming. I am still not at the level of the best guys and maybe I will never be, but I am improving, knowing different people, doing something else apart from studying and I am also getting fit (Oh yeah).

Before coming here I have applied to several top University in the Uk and even one in the US, but this University impressed me for the community that was built around it. With the biggest Student Union in the Uk, there are plenty of activities which you can do and there are plenty of sports. University is about enjoying the best years of your lives and that’s what I mean, studying is not everything, understanding people and learning how to interact with them is even more important.

Next year, I will also be the Operations Director at the Society of Accounting and Business(SOFAB), why? Simply because it is different from what I am doing. Remember, the first rule is to differentiate you from the crowd. Be different, think different and don’t do what the other Computer Scientists do.  Another practical reason can be found in the simple fact that with that role you can know a lot of people who are not in your circles of interest, which means having more connections spread on different fields of interest, which means “valuable connections” that can help you at any moment.

I hope you will come to our SOFAB meetings next year, just to see a different point of view, a different perspective and different people. Life is like an Entrepreneurial journey and yes, I am not going to sit on a chair for the next sixty years, even if I will be over paid by a corporation.

The final destination is not a job, but it is happiness.

ps: The best is yet to come…