UoB 125: 50 years on- a letter to my undergraduate self
Written by Student Content Shaper Robin
Dear Robin,
For me, it’s 2025 and our life has taken an unexpected turn: I’m now a postgraduate doctoral research student at the University of Birmingham. For you, the year is 1975 — and you are just about to start uni.
I remember you well, my undergraduate self: smiley, kind-hearted, optimistic and ready to take on the world. You were a bit naïve and opinionated. You would learn to listen (eventually) — but not before life had knocked big chunks out of your self-confidence. The path ahead of you will be a rough one. I know. I was there.
I think of you often, my undergraduate self. You will be typing your essays, I guess, on that little orange typewriter which always smudged the letter ‘o’. I smile as I remember the battles we had with that machine. Back in 1975, a single mistake meant retyping the whole page. It won’t be until 1983 that you will be able to buy your first personal computer, with its ‘astounding’ 64 KB of memory. Students today laugh when I tell them we ran a full-featured word-processor program on that! They gasp when I tell them you’d have to wait ten more years before you could buy your first mobile phone.
A lot has changed during our lifetime. In 1975 you still have to use a card index if you want to find a book on the library shelves: today, I can download a whole book to my phone from anywhere in the world. In 1975 you have to read and summarise all the books on the reading list. Today, clever software can do all of that in seconds: it could even write my essays for me. In 2025, we have to submit all our assignments via software which checks that it’s actually been written by a human. Progress, eh?!
Some aspects of uni life never change: students today still have to queue (like we did) to use the washing machines and tumble driers — and I guess there are some downsides to being a student in 2025. For example, I think we’re gradually losing our ability to study without the help of technology. Because we want instant answers, we’re forgetting how to analyse texts critically; how to assess ideas and spot discrepancies. We’re forgetting how to think independently. The online search engines I use today to find books and articles are really efficient — but, behind the scenes, sophisticated algorithms guarantee that I will only find what others want me to see. The more I rely upon online tools to help me study, the narrower my field of vision actually becomes — and I become less able to ask those awkward questions for which you and I are well known. You and I will always ask questions that other people prefer to ignore — and that trait will come at a price. However, this same fearless critical thinking will become one of our most cherished assets.
So, what one piece of advice can I give you from 50 years on? Stay kind. Your heart will be broken many times during the years ahead. You will be misunderstood and misrepresented. Your trust in other people will be tested to the limit. But through all of this, I know that you will survive. You will choose to let the knocks and put-downs shape you into a more caring, more loving, more generous-hearted person. And did I mention that you never stop learning? You will go back to Uni 50 years after you first started — to research a doctorate in an area you haven’t even heard of yet.
Thank you, my undergraduate self. My postgraduate student life at UoB wouldn’t be so fulfilling, so rich, if it hadn’t have been for you — 50 years ago.
With love and affection,
Robin.
Help us celebrate our 125th anniversary by sharing your story! Whether it's a cherished memory, a favourite spot, or a moment that makes this University special to you, pitch your idea to studentcommunications@contacts.bham.ac.uk.