Feelings not mutual?
How to move on from your toxic relationship with university.
We’ve all been there. You give your heart and soul to someone who promises the world, only to find out they couldn’t care less about your well-being. No, I’m not talking about your ex this time. It’s UTM, your university, your supposed academic partner for life. For many students, UTM is the end-all, be-all of our future. We talk about our hopes, dreams, and aspirations — all tied tightly to your degree program — only for it to feel like an unreciprocated situationship. But let’s face it: the feelings aren’t mutual.
Course enrolment at UTM feels like being stuck in a one-sided situationship. You pour your heart into planning the perfect schedule, only to be ghosted by the system. The courses you need to graduate are full, and you’re left scrambling, wondering why you even tried. It’s a harsh reminder that, no matter how much you care, UTM doesn’t always care back. Instead, you’re left on delivered, hoping for a response that never comes, piecing together a relationship — I mean semester — that was never meant to be.
Submitting a petition at UTM is like being in a rocky relationship where you spill your heart out, hoping for a response. By the time the answer fully arrives after an agonizingly long wait, the damage is done, you’ve spent so long in limbo that it hurts even more than the initial uncertainty.
So, what do you do when the one you’ve been counting on doesn’t care? It’s time to take the advice we’ve all heard post-breakup: get over it. UTM might not be as invested in your future as you are, and that’s a tough pill to swallow. But, like my therapist says: it’s time to focus on you. Take hold of your own academic destiny, lean on your peers, and embrace the fact that sometimes, it’s better to be your own hero.
After all, if UTM can ghost us on our academic journey, we can certainly learn to live without its half-hearted love. So, here’s to self-reliance, resilience, and getting over that nonchalant ex you can’t seem to get of your mind.
