Ah, April at U of T: The pitter-patter of rain on the windows, those beautiful spring days in between that dreaded April snow, and of course, the low murmur of thousands of students who are currently reviewing a semester’s worth of notes for finals. This year, the exam gods have blessed me with one final exam (don't hate me, please) albeit on almost the last day of finals.
After what I like to refer to as “The Week That Tested My Commitment To My Entire Undergraduate Degree,” I came out on the other side feeling pretty good! I completed a high quality of work, while letting out my stress in healthy ways. Since some of my other commitments have been winding down as well, I have something that I haven’t experienced in a while: Free time.Google searches I never thought I'd need to make.
I wanted to relax, but I realized that I DON’T KNOW HOW. Unfortunately the Wiki-How article Google directed me to did not help either. Now don’t get me wrong, all the work I’ve committed to this year hasn’t been a chore at all. I have fun and I’m always learning, but it’s not relaxing. So I took this rare opportunity as a challenge and decided to find some activities to relax with:
Friend time – Trying to have friend time when you’re the only one who isn’t frantically studying for exams is a tricky task. I coped by offering moral support when needed, and slyly using “study dates” as a guise to socialize with my friends *evil laughter*
Taking a selfie with a lap top in it counts as studying right?Spring cleaning –Before you scoff, HEAR ME OUT. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the transformation from messy to clean in my room or on my desk. Maybe I’m also a little strange because I like to clean things to relieve stress, but that’s just me.
Food. Always food - I finally got a chance to get back on the foodie trail and return to some of my favourite restaurants. Happy tears all around.
Relaxation featuring brunch at Starving Artist!SLEEP <3 - Honestly, I get more than anybody that it’s hard to get everything done on time without sacrificing some sleep. So the number one thing I did to relax was catch up on some well-deserved sleep.
What are your suggestions on how to chill U of T? Let me know down in the comments or on Twitter at @Api_UofT!
Hi,
I love your blog and I love learning about u of t through it. I recently gained admission into u of t and I was really excited, until I got online and read things people had to say about the school. Apparently it is really difficult, students are depressed, the student body lacks diversity and no matter how hard you work you always get low/bad grades. One person even said that if you come to u of t you will most likely drop out halfway or graduate with such low grades that you will not be able to attend grad school?? Please help me, is it true? Do you love u of t or is it a ‘nightmare’
Hey Mandy! First of all, congrats on getting accepted to U of T! Welcome to the family!
Second of all, I can honestly say that I really love U of T!
I heard a lot of rumours about U of T too and its easy to get wound up in them sometimes. The truth is that no matter what university you go to, you will need to work hard for your grades, and the material can be complex, abstract and difficult to grasp sometimes. But that doesn’t mean that your hard work won’t pay off! Plenty of students here do well (I personally know people who have done their undergrad degree here and got into grad school, so I can dispel that rumour for you haha) and if you don’t quite reach the grades that you want, there are countless resources to help you succeed. The academic success centre, the writing centre, professors’ office hours, study-specific aid centres and more are all there to help you do as well as you possibly can. We have students from all over Canada, and all over the world, and you’ll be able to meet people with such diverse cultural, academic and experiential backgrounds. There are also a vast network of Health and Wellness campaigns and programs that are there to help students and support our physical and mental health.
I hope this kind of helps ease your nervousness, but remember that it’s just that: nerves. Everyone is different in how they adjust, but know that you have a network of programs, campaigns and people whose purpose it is to help you succeed! 🙂
Hi,
I love your blog and I love learning about u of t through it. I recently gained admission into u of t and I was really excited, until I got online and read things people had to say about the school. Apparently it is really difficult, students are depressed, the student body lacks diversity and no matter how hard you work you always get low/bad grades. One person even said that if you come to u of t you will most likely drop out halfway or graduate with such low grades that you will not be able to attend grad school?? Please help me, is it true? Do you love u of t or is it a ‘nightmare’
Hey Mandy! First of all, congrats on getting accepted to U of T! Welcome to the family!
Second of all, I can honestly say that I really love U of T!
I heard a lot of rumours about U of T too and its easy to get wound up in them sometimes. The truth is that no matter what university you go to, you will need to work hard for your grades, and the material can be complex, abstract and difficult to grasp sometimes. But that doesn’t mean that your hard work won’t pay off! Plenty of students here do well (I personally know people who have done their undergrad degree here and got into grad school, so I can dispel that rumour for you haha) and if you don’t quite reach the grades that you want, there are countless resources to help you succeed. The academic success centre, the writing centre, professors’ office hours, study-specific aid centres and more are all there to help you do as well as you possibly can. We have students from all over Canada, and all over the world, and you’ll be able to meet people with such diverse cultural, academic and experiential backgrounds. There are also a vast network of Health and Wellness campaigns and programs that are there to help students and support our physical and mental health.
I hope this kind of helps ease your nervousness, but remember that it’s just that: nerves. Everyone is different in how they adjust, but know that you have a network of programs, campaigns and people whose purpose it is to help you succeed! 🙂