Looking back in…
Shao Liew S.
Monkeying with coursemates (2002) ▶
The Lessons
Doing a BA in Communication at Monash was
nothing like what I expected. It was a lot more
philosophy, social/cultural studies than a lot of similar
communication degrees in the country. It was so
much better than expected, really. It was where one
fell in love with critical thinking and analysis, learnt to
decipher extra long sentences (the trick by the way,
was to disregard the first half, as the author usually
made his point in the second), and ponder the really
important things in life… like what was the symbolism
of a razor in that advertisement? We learnt that
everything meant something, and that something
was different from person to person – very useful
when working in a multicultural environment,
or dealing with obtuse family members.
We learnt that leading theorists and academics in the
field can have downright fanciful names, like Foucault,
Heidegger, Deleuze and Guattari. And some less so
(sorry Stuart Hall, Judith Butler). Their theories have
been long forgotten, unless one was a continuing
academic. Luckily, your lecturers remained, some
frozen in time, but still there whenever you had one
of those dreams about being back in university again
(preferably with clothes on).
The Friends
Ah, university mates. University was the time of
intense friendships, where one was at the peak of
peer influence susceptibility and experimentation,
where saying “yes” was more fun than “no”, and when
parental absence meant greater freedom to hang out
with friends (even if you still lived with parents, there
was no better excuse than “study group”). It was also
an age of interesting herd immunity, where being with
your mates licensed one to be carefree, a little reckless,
even mildly stupid, all in the name of a good time:
aking long walks while pulling all-nighters for
1. T
assignments. Something we occasionally still do,
unfortunately, although time management has
improved, together with the ability to say no.
2. P
ulling all-nighters for other purposes. Sometimes
for no purpose at all. Need I say more.
3. D
oing stupid stuff with friends. What those dumb
things are, you will create your own. Friends are not
a requirement, but they help a lot.
4. S
tumbling to class late and having people drop you
knowing looks. Usually as a result of 1 to 3.
alking. Lots of talking. Of what one would not
5. T
remember. Only that they were (somewhat) important.
Treasure those friendships now as not all will stand
the test of endurance and longevity. But do not worry
about losing them as one does not know what the
future will bring (more friends, hopefully). Every person
in your life came in with a valuable life lesson. Letting
some of them go is part of it.
23
We learnt that
everything
meant
something,
and that
something
was different
from person
to person.
A trip down memory lane, is not where I want to be.
At the moment, living in the present and now is
important to me. But the past makes a person.
We are all simultaneously the process and the
outcome of discourses unique to us, be they cultural,
historical, political, economic, environmental or social
(or so they teach us in university, right?). So for this,
I will do my best.