Sunset upon me

Wow. Just like that, my whole first semester has reached its final pit stop.

I started sometime on February(I think), and the clock ticked to the first of June about 2 hours ago as I'm typing this sentence.

My university application hasn't been all straightforward and direct. Nor has it been an easy choice or an obvious one. It was all complicated until I finally put pen onto paper (more like submitting my deposit, actually), and tada! I'm enrolled into the Bachelor of Communication, Semester 1 2007.

I'm not gonna go into the usual "wah time passed damn fast man" but "wow. time really passes fast."

Ok the reasons for the complications surrounding my university submission.

Firstly, the whole "eeee alex is taking communication thing". I mean, no disrespect to other ppl who may be taking this very course but there's this whole very 'judgemental' thing from the environment I grew up in. Friends and family alike.
Yea, dont deny. So I pretty much got confused and don't wanna be sorta 'looked down'?

That's all I think. It's stupid I know. I think too much, I know. But it's just me.

And my experiences of trying to convince people I'm doing communications and NOT mass comm!!!

So many times when I told people I'm doing Communication, they will immediately think of Mass Comm! Ok so my course has a little Mass-Comm stuff in it but it is really different la! Mass Comm, if i'm not wrong, focuses more specifically on like ways to advertise a product, ways to be a good PR, ways of etc, etc... and I don't really do that.

If i were to be theoretical, I would say that Mass Communications focuses on the American Empirical approach. This approach's sociopolitical stance is said to be liberal or pluralistic and its form of knowledge is taken from controlled and measurable occurences, like in a lab experiment.

On the other hand, the communication course which is what I'm studying now, is more macro in scope and its sociopolitical stance is 'critical of the society as it exists'. Influenced by the Marxist tradition.

If that is not convincing enough to prove that Mass Comm and Comm is different, I don't know what else is.

(ah, nothing like a few seconds to show off with complex terms and analogies. bwahaha)

OK ANYWAY,
After roughly about 4-5 months, I begun to notice who this course actually attracts! *besides the usual bimbos and .. guys*

*

1) 'Lost' people like me who realised during their Pre-U year that they really just cannot do science and have no where else to go. So with what they think, their slightly above-average english, they enrolled into this course thinking that they can cope with the english level and (hopefully) do well.

2) Artsy-Fartsy people. People who what I like to call, has an 'anti-establishment stance' or against the norms of the society. More specifically, don't wanna just be a typical behind-the-desk worker or do some business or some IT technical stuff.

In other words, aspiring musicians, poets, film-makers, performing artists, creative artists, etc.

3) People who thought that Communication = Mass Communication. Sorry.

4) People with &*^E$%^#$%@# SUPERDUPEREXTRAFABULOUSFERGIELICIOUSGLAMOROUSSHAKESPEARE english. What they heck are they doing here intimidating their coursemates, making them feeling inferior all they long?! Go speak with your accent and usage of complex vocabulary somewhere else.

5) Good speakers. and I mean GOOD. (Different from number 4.), people who love talking but hates law.

6) People who genuinely love studying about the theoretical aspects behind the media and communications field. :|

7) People who love Monash University in Malaysia and cannot do anything else but Communications. Damn.

8) Lain-lain.

*

So goodbye my first semester!
It has been great, albeit pretty tedious(YES GOT WORK ONE OK?!), but I still enjoyed most of it.

Exams coming soon and I really want to do well and have a great start to the course.
Wish me luck, my pals.



-alexeO-