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| The rear entrance to the main building. |
And so it has begun: my final year of pre-university education. The thought is both an extremely exciting, as well as an absolutely terrifying one! I just got back from visiting ETH university again, and I do like the university a lot, and Zurich is an absolutely astounding city. Especially flying back to London, I now realise that fact even more. I don't really want to go into too much detail, but Zurich is certainly a favourite city of mine. Many thanks to my granddad, who came down to Zurich from Vienna for the two days to take me around the city and explore the niches with me, areas that I may not have known existed.
The university itself is as I had expected. I took the time to explore the course I am intending on applying to - electrical and electronic engineering - go on a few tours and attend a few lectures. The lectures were interesting as I leaned a great deal about software systems, but they were presented in German! The reason why I attended these was to see whether the language would be a huge barrier to my learning and I can say with complete confidence that it will not be!
One thing that did get me though was that ETH lacked that feeling of awe that I felt at Stanford. Now, the problem is that I tend to remember things better than they actually are, combined with the fact that I was at Stanford for 3 whole weeks, interacting with funny, intelligent and kind people. I didn't have that opportunity at ETH. In addition, imagining life in Zurich is hard for me, as I have only experienced campus university settings in the US and UK, which are very different to Europe, seeing as each university and city in Europe is so different! So I have to be very careful when I compare my university options.
Regardless, school has started, and university application deadlines are fast approaching! Cambridge wants the UCAS in by October, most US unis, sometime in December and Zurich's application opens in November. On top of that, I have the regular A2 subjects, and I am doing the most subjects possible with as few free periods possible, so this year is going to be great fun again!
And that was not sarcastic. My personal life has taken a very sudden turn for the better! I care not to elaborate much more on the open internet, but I can just say that several - or maybe one - things - or thing - have/has made me a very happy individual!
With that, let us take on the next challenges that await, and start the year with the same optimism that we did the last one, with the same poem:
It Couldn’t Be Done
By Edgar Albert Guest
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
Until next time.
