This new project, spearheaded by the MSA Activities department, focuses on life outside of lectures, and offers a vision beyond that elusive horizon of assignments which seem to have no end….
Before I Graduate is an exercise in living for today. Based on the international phenomenon created by the ‘Before I Die’ wall, this interactive art-installation will be erected on the outside of the Campus Centre as a kick-start to Survival Week. Since the original wall, which began as an experiment on the streets of New Orleans back in 2011, the concept has grown organically, reaching streets, neighbourhoods, schools, parks and buildings all over the world. Now at Monash University Clayton, it’s your turn to make your mark on the big blackboard of dreams.
Carpe diem, YOLO, ‘don’t count the days, make the days count’, however you chose to say it, the message remains the same: we only have one precious, outrageous, crazy mess of a life – so you’d better make the most of it. As university students, it is often easy to think that we are here only for the world that awaits after graduation. But why? With all the strength, vitality and hope of youth (the ability to survive O-Week, MESS camp, first week of uni and back it up with Science Camp most certainly requires super-human powers) we have both energy and experience enough to really make our actions count. It seems such a waste to think that we must wait for the nod of the academic marking our final exam paper for our lives to finally, truly, begin.
We all came to Monash in search of something. Whether it’s a qualification or simply a sense of validation and achievement – most of us are basically looking to have someone tell us: “Yes, young padawan, you prove yourself worthy. You now have the credentials to undertake that long and windy road of life.” But do we really need to wait until after uni to known that we’re good enough to face our own lives? There are so many options, so many directions; what a shame to leave all the opportunities, the experiences – to leave life – until after the next assignment’s due date. Life’s deadline is unknown, and there are no extensions.
So, Monash, what will your decision be? What is your one wish that you want to see accomplished before you leave university? Right now, what is it that you want to do most in the world? What is it that really matters to YOU?
Come. Write it on the wall. Make it real, and make it happen.
