Dude, let me give you some advice. I've walked a mile in your shoes. It's taken me since 2006 to get to where I am now. Honestly, if you want it bad enough, you keep going. I've been doing this for 6 years now, and at this point, it doesn't bother me anymore how long it took me to get here. I hope you get to where you want to be
The story is in my signature
Straight after high school I went to tafe for 2 years, then went to UTS. Found university to be overwhelming as well, and I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was + it was a course which didn't end up giving me what I wanted. Was there for 2 years, then I want back to tafe to get another diploma, that's another year. At this point I had been studying for 5 years and still wasn't where I wanted to be, and was feeling like crap almost all the time. Last year I did a program via newcastle uni to basically kick start my studies, and now I'm where I want to be. I'm 24. At least I've got 2 tafe diplomas to pad out the resume as well xD
It's only been the past year that I've fully realised that just because I didn't come out of high school and straight into uni, doesn't mean that I should be constantly depressed, second guessing myself and feeling like I'm on borrowed time. Last year I was convincing myself daily that, at my age, everything was riding on this "one last chance" - which is absolutely stupid. I cannot imagine how much time I wasted thinking those shitty thoughts. I hope that with time you come to the same realisation that I did
It's only natural that you'll feel a little overwhelmed. It's a new style of learning, with a hell of a lot more people around you, so of course you'll feel different. Mathematics is notoriously difficult for newcomers to university who've been away from the game for quite some time. I'm the same way with chemistry. I find it to be the most stressful subject I've ever had to do, at tafe AND at uni. When uni starts, try to find yourself some peer tutoring groups, or make some study groups with people in your tutorials. Don't feel embarassed to ask if there's tutoring.
It's tough being a 'mature age' student, and it's probably more stressful than most school leavers realise. We feel like we're on borrowed time for some shitty reason (we're seeing our friends start their careers/professional lives whilst we're still working towards ours), they feel like their life is just beginning. Hit me a pm if you ever wanna chat about it all, I pretty much know the ins and outs, the 'backdoors' etc so maybe I can help in someway, or around if you need a stranger to vent to
What course are you doing if you don't mind me asking and what are you working towards?
