Sorry, the title was misleading, I'm actually a History and Politics student. I'm now three weeks into the first year and three days past the deadline for changing modules/course, so when I realised that I really didn't want to be doing Politics as a degree subject anymore.  ​  Looking at the options, Japanese seems the best for me, if they'll even accept me - though they say no prior knowledge is fine, I have already missed out on three weeks' work - but obviously I can work my arse off to catch up. I'd been meaning to learn it for a while, before I just realised that I was doing History and Politics and going to pay for separate Japanese lessons, but only really wanted to study History and Japanese and this could actually be very simply resolved by just cutting Politics out. But, yes, though I think if I put in enough work I should be alright, there is always the chance that I'll actually be totally shit... whereas I could actually be alright on Politics.


Japanese would actually be practical, though, and being a language and all should be a well-looked-upon degree... except it's 'Japanese Studies', and what with the rumours of everything ending with 'Studies' (UK system btw) being worthless, like Media Studies (our equivalent of Communications, from what Steel's [fantastic] article said, everyone does it for a job in telly and it's worth fuck all), this is... slightly worrying...  and I pretty much have to choose fairly soon, as time is of the essence, the deadline having already passed and so forth (not a firm deadline by the sounds of it, if I get a move on).


Sorry for talking so long about myself, but I just wanted to put this in some kind of context... would you really stick with a fairly safe bet you disliked (ugh some of the people that Politics appeals to as well, they're just the worst), or, not to go all 'follow your heart', but go with something that may or may not be as sound, but that at least you really wanted to do? And let you play import games?

I don't want to waste all the time and money of university on something I don't enjoy, but I also don't want to waste it on something which may not be worth as much, or that I may not be able to achieve as highly on... but I'm having a really tough time.  I guess I'd just like to hear some people's opinions, heh.

wait, so you're saying that just as long as i know russian (i do) i can just get a job with no qualifications whatsoever? really? hypothetically if i were to do this, how would i go about it?

Yeah, it's a bit different in the UK. And, this course is 4 years, the third of which is in Japan... it seems like a good course. And to be fair I didn't really intend to specifically go into a job in political or Japanese environments, or as a historian... there's an element of just 'CV item' in there, so I guess I might as well do what I enjoy and want to learn... especially if I can spend another year not having to get a real job on my course. Argh, I have to decide soon though, and I can't do straight History as a degree, because it's full. 

Well, I'm talking to some people tomorrow, I may actually Follow My HeartTM and try for this Japanese thing... can't look any worse than Politics, not that either are completely awful subjects, really... haha, I just hope they'll take me on, I guess, I have a fair bit of catching up to do. 

But yeah, most other languages are out of the question, I'm not sure I'd have the motivation to sustain the study for years... has anyone else here tried to learn Japanese, or even better, studied it? Or, tried to learn a new language from scratch for college/uni?


EDIT: Hah, oh yeah, and I also meant that Politics was kind of a safer bet in that I'm not sure how good I'd be at Japanese... not necessarily referring to their prestige, I guess. But yeah, I think if you put in enough work most things like this should be fine... the question remains of how much work that actually is... 

Oh, and...

whoa someone with less than 30 posts read something i wrote cool.

Heh, I don't post very often at all, but I read here a lot... (and not meaning to bring the mood down but yeah I never could think of a good way to phrase 'hello you don't know me but good luck with the cancer', but yeah... I thought it instead.  ​)

Urgh, alright, there's been a... development... apparently I can't catch up with three weeks' worth of Japanese ever at all ever, so if I want to I'm going to have to leave and come back in a year.  I... I don't wanna leave uni... this Follow Your Heart just got serious... bah. Politics definitely gets dropped, and there's only a slim chance they can take me on on full History. If I want to do something I actually enjoy, I'm... going to have to go home for a year... and that'll be such a boring and depressing year... seeing as I've made friends here already and go out most nights (as opposed to literally once every couple of months at home)... damn it. This is bad. If I have to do this, maybe I'll see if there's any cheap student accommodation here, so that I can still live here, and just get a job stacking shelves or something...

Yeah... this is really helpful, it does seem like a good choice to just man up and actually do the course I signed up for... I'm sure I could make it work.

But then, I plan to learn Japanese on the side anyway, and possibly pay for private lessons. I'll just always have this thought in the back of my mind that it would have been better if I'd done the one I was interested in... argh I just don't want to look back on my choice as a huge mistake and either go "I wish I'd done the one I really wanted to do", or "Why did I ditch the safe Politics for Japanese?! I'm crap at it"... 

Alright, this is the probably the last update short of the actual decision, just to see what people think of my only real choices, assuming they won't let me on to straight history this year... my choices are:

• Go home for a year, get a job and have no friends at home and have lost my friends at uni, short of MSN, which really isn't as good as being there. At all. I've already settled into uni, and it'll be a depressing year, but at least I'll spend all the hard work side of the course on something I genuinely want to do and am interested in...
• Hope Politics gets better, and stay with the course. I get to keep my friends and the lifestyle that I enjoy, the whole experience being a major part of the 'university/degree' thing. I don't have to spend a shit year at home, but there's a good chance the course will not be what I would have liked to study.

Heh, I doubt these reiterated arguments will sway real_jamicus' opinion, which has been duly noted, but I'd just like to see what anyone else thinks... course you enjoy with a horrible year before and with perhaps nowhere near as good friends as I've made? (seriously, they have all my exact interests and everything, and I really don't want to be a year behind them. I know I'll make new friends, but... I don't wanna.) ​, or lifestyle you enjoy, but with a degree that there's a pretty high chance will be unenjoyable?

EDIT: And these are actually the two only real options, seeing as I've just found out that no, I can't come into straight history...

Political Science... *shudders*. I took an elective in it last year when I was doing a psychology major. Seriously, it was the worst time of my life.