Tales From The Land of Tigers

Uni Life

So far, I've spent 3 weeks living as a Uni student. That means you gotta take care of yourself, and make sure you...well.....survive. Of course, there's your deen you gotta hold fast to. I'm sure it's the same at other Universities too, but here in Dengkil, I've heard stories of "going to clubs late at night" or "taking weed with your friends", and all sorts of stuff. 

Alhamdullilah, the students here have been good thus far. Let's see...what are some of the highlights...

You see, this is my first time being in an asrama-type condition, so I guess setakat nak pergi makan sendiri, atau iron baju sendiri tu biase lah for a lot of other students. Oh one awesome thing is that Pusat Islam, which is the masjid of UiTM Dengkil selalu dapat kehadiran pelajar ramai. And selalu time solat terawih pon, students yang lead the prayers, dua, zikir, azan, etc. Very meriah.

Occasionally, you do feel a bit homesick. I mean, you can't really sit down in the afternoon to eat goreng pisang and drink teh tarik with your family, or play the PS4 with your siblings. Here, you have to be socially active. I don't mean like selalu gi lepak ngan member 24/7, (although people do that waaaay past 12AM here). I mean kene rajin bertegur sapa, make small talk, and for Allah's sake, smile la! There's been a lot of people here yang buat muka masam je, but then once you tegur them, diorang baik je sebenarnya :)

It does force you a bit out of your comfort zone, especially for me, a guy with who's like Level 2  in Social Skills. But that's one of the reasons I took Law, so I can gain the proper confidence and knowledge to speak publicly for good, truthful causes! (please picture a giant, waving Jalur Gemilang behind me right now). It's also why I kicked myself into taking English Debate out of all the clubs they had. Punya lah susah nak cari senarai club, so when I was registering, I took some pics of em all. If you wanna check em out, I made a specific post for it for ease of checking. (click here for the list)

Studies and Classes

First thing's first. Girls outnumber guys here. When I say 'outnumber' I mean, one class has approximately 20 girls, and 5 guys. I've got 6 guys in mine (me included) , and 22 girls. Lecturer asyik gelak cakap "Haaa nanti saya nak guys dengan girls dalam satu group ye, muahahahha". I don't have anything against girls. It's just you gotta make sure you're always equipped with the proper class etiquette y'know. You should treat and respect each other as allies, and not just potential aweks or pakwes *shudders*. If you're not sure what I mean, then I'm saying that niat tu kene check every now and then aite? 

Segan tu memang ada, buuuut that's something natural when you enter a new class. Heck I've changed schools like 7 times now, and I still feel apprehensive in new classes. Tapi classes definitely more relaxed than High School ones la. Tapi, every class punyalah sejuk macam hidup kat negera Eskimo. Oddly enough, they separate the Law (KPTM) students with the Law (UiTM) ones, even though we take the same subjects:

PART	COURSE CODE	COURSE DESCRIPTION	CREDIT HOURS
1	ELC080	English For Foundation Studies 1	3
	ELC091	Critical Reading and Reasoning For Foundation Studies	3
	CSC 134	Computers & Information Processing	3
	LAW038	Legal Research & Information Processing Skills	4
	LAW012	Introduction to Law I	4
	LAW016	Introduction to Malaysian System of Government & Politics	4
	CITU085/IDA085	Tasawwur Islam /Agama dan Manusia	2

I've managed to get a rough idea on what I'll be mainly studying. As for the ELC (english) subjects, they're focused more on ensuring you ace your MUET exams, so we specifically study Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. Now for the Law subjects, it seems like we're leaning more towards the philosophical aspect of Law. I'm talking theories, scholarly opinions, and critical questions like "why do we really need Law?"

In LAW016, you study some Form 5 Sejarah in English, and about governments. Lengthy, and a bit boring for those who aren't a fan of History. I'll admit though, it felt amazing to finally be able to see Malaysia's government structure in your head. As for LAW038, you learn about libraries...IN.DEPTH. You go way in-depth man, like seriously. The main one, LAW012, is where you get a taste of what it's like to study Law furreals. Long story short, you gotta think. A lot.


I'll talk about each subject in future posts, InsyaAllah. We study in modern looking classrooms, but mix with another class at a Lecture Hall for Law Subjects. Besides, the English Subjects and Tasawwur, our classes are divided into lectures and tutorials. Lectures are lecturers, while tutorials are supposed to be a more "hands-on" kind of class. 

I say 'supposed' because for the past 3 weeks, tak buat apa apa pon sangat xD. Semua sibuk hal Raya, so takpe lah. I take it as a preview for what's to come. 

Responsibility

positive aura or a negative aura. Words like ice-cream, bowling, laughter evoke a positive aura. Words like study, discipline, and of course, responsibility bring out the latter. However we need to change our perspective on it all, especially as a University Student. 

Here, you can basically do anything you want. Study, don't study, sleep, or don't sleep at all, it's up to you. Even if you do avoid doing the bad stuff, the good stuff's not gonna come flying at ya either. Attending every lecture, and tutorial won't cut it. Instead, you gotta make sure you're studying, and not just that mind you. But you need to make sure you're studying, in your personal way (more on that here), and be resourceful. 

Nak complain sikit ni, but I've seen so many people who ask so many questions that could simply be answered through Sheikh Google. Is it wrong to ask? No. In fact it's good. As long as you don't completely depend on others to get your job done for ya. If you feel you need slides, then print some. If you feel you need some personal time with a lecturer, contact him/her. 

"yang bulat tidak datang bergolek yang pipih tidak datang melayang"

Ha ambik kau, aku bagi peribahasa terus nih. Lastly, make sure you help your friends or classmates to the best of your abilities. Knowledge has berkat, and Allah swt is The All-Knowing. So whatever knowledge He has bestowed upon us, we should use it in the right way and not be stingy. 

But of course, my knowledge is still very limited. It's only been 3 weeks. I've said all these things based on experience and observation. What the future will bring, I cannot say. InsyaAllah, it will be good. Until next time, dear reader. Peace!