Veerle Meulenaar
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Oh so you know my star sign? Am I a moon rising? Jokes like that would often be made when answering the question “what do you study?”. After the difference between astrology and astronomy has been established, I often describe astronomy as the mathematics and physics of the universe (plus loads of programming). Many things interest me. So until the last moment I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to study. But now that I am here, I enjoy every bit of it. Lots of people around me had their 5-year plan for their future set out and knew what they wanted to study for years... I encourage you to choose something you really like and are willing to work hard for. That moment when you have been working on something for a bit and suddenly grasp it, it clicks, and you fully start to understand something, is the most amazing feeling. Whether that is in a lecture, a tutorial, or working at home, really starting to understand these remarkable subjects is what I like the most. Which isn’t that surprising since the only reason I chose to study astronomy is because I find it highly interesting. There is so much to discover and so many unexplored wonders are lying in the silent dark space soup. Even though the study has a lot of contact hours, with good time management I am still able to do other activities next to my studies; I play the cello, do competitive rowing, am the chair of the faculty council, and lastly I am part of the astronomy team. For anyone that is considering studying astronomy: the study is objectively hard. It consists of a lot of programming, mathematics, and physics. It’s not a romantic image of stargazing and looking through a telescope, sadly enough.
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