I have been thinking about this entry for quite a while, but the busy schedule has always put me off.

Finally I got a free weekend and here I am sitting in this cosy reading room of the college, with some unknown classical music in the background, pondering about the title.

My new neighbour Bahig, is a medical student from Egypt. In our first chat, I learnt that his journey into cambridge wasn't really that smooth-sailing, or indeed rather bumpy.

He knew from the beginning that he wanted to do medicine. After finishing A-level in 2004, he started applying for medicine in UK. However, none of the schools that he applied for gave him an interview, despite his straight-As results. He took a gap year and applied again, the outcome was the same. After the failure, he went back to Egypt and started a medical course at the Hospital of Alexander. Undeterred by the failure, he applied for medicine again two years later and finally Cambridge gave him an interview as well as a place.

Mike is an old gentleman that I have always met in the reading room. Every morning at around 7 to 8 o'clock, he will be there studying, doing example sheets. One will be surprised to know that at the age of 60, he is actually a second year mathematics undergraduate student. After working in Philip and many other MNC for nearly 40 years, he decided that there was something more important in life. So he enrolled in a regional college in Cambridge to redo his A-level.

He said he has always wanted to do mathematics and physics since young. However, a scholarship offered by Philip changed his mind after A-level at 18. He went on to study “triple E” in Imperial college. Over the years, many things happened to and around him made him to reflect on things that are important in life. Hence after retirement, he chose to go back to school and sit with the teenagers in the class to do something that he has always wanted to do. Since he is really passionate about math and physics, he passed all the exams with flying colour and here he is, a Cambridge undergraduate mathematic student.

There are a few more, all matured students and all have some very interesting story to tell.

Being in a matured college allows me to look at education in a wider and more profound perspective.

It is always inspiring to hear about such stories, especially when they are around you.

Bahig tells a story of how determination could help one get to his dream.

Mike makes me think that studying is probably not JUST a means to an end.