Academia Tides | Academia Beyond the Classroom
Hello Everyone,
I hope all is well! Today’s episode is introducing the: Learning Without Walls: My Semester Outside the Classroom.
This spring, life took an unexpected turn. I found myself stepping away from the familiar grind of syllabi, lecture halls, and structured coursework. While I won’t get into the details just yet, I will say this: my academic journey didn’t pause—it transformed.
Rather than let this semester slip into silence, I chose to reimagine what learning could look like beyond the four walls of a classroom. And honestly? It taught me more than any textbook could have.
Reclaiming My Education
When I realized I wouldn’t be continuing my enrollment in formal classes this spring, I immediately went searching for resources that would nourish both my intellect and my spirit. Thanks to my university’s pre-health office, I found a free Mandarin course offered through a partnered institution. I enrolled without hesitation. Through that course, I not only picked up the basics of the language but also gained a penpal from China who became a cultural mirror, helping me understand the world through a completely different lens.
Through that same office, I also applied to (and was later accepted into) an undergraduate pre-medical program at Yale University—a transformative experience I’ll explore in a separate blog post and YouTube video.
Meanwhile, I enrolled in a business course that aligned with my entrepreneurial goals—because growth isn’t just about knowledge, it’s about application. That course has helped me think more critically about the startup I’m building and the kind of impact I want to create.
Learning in Real Time
In place of formal lectures, I turned to YouTube deep dives on current trends, global issues, and philosophy. I explored news outlets and Substack newsletters for nuanced takes on politics, culture, and the shifting dynamics of our world. I read more. I reflected more. I paid attention to what interested me and leaned all the way in.
I started watching tutorials on practical skills: how to edit videos, how to structure pitch decks, how to grow a sustainable online brand. These weren’t random rabbit holes—they were intentional lessons disguised as curiosity.
But perhaps most importantly, I gave myself permission to return to the parts of me I had sidelined for so long. I picked up my guitar that has been collecting dust and began to learn. I started blogging, painting my own nails, making my mom and I wax each other, sketching fashion illustrations, and even experimenting with DJ-ing and music production. For years, I had shelved my creative pursuits in service of my academic ambitions—and in doing so, I had begun to lose touch with my sense of purpose — my sense of self.
Relearning meant more than absorbing information. It meant remembering who I was before I started trying to fit into every mold. And then reclaiming her.
The Realest Education
There’s something liberating about choosing what and how to learn. It made me a better student of life. This experience reminds me that academia is not a place—it’s a mindset. It can happen at a kitchen table, through a WeChat conversation with someone on the other side of the world, or while taking notes on a podcast.
What I learned these Spring and Summer semesters can’t be graded, but it counts. It’s changing how I think, how I move, how I prepare for what’s next.
🎥 Coming Soon: Watch My "Academia Tides" Journey on YouTube
This story continues through video, where I document these moments of unconventional learning: sharing insights from my Mandarin class, behind-the-scenes of my business prep, and the real discussions that sparked it all.
📖 Final Thoughts
Have you ever had to take your education into your own hands? Share your story in the comments—because learning doesn’t always wait for a classroom to begin.
