Classes – Page 33 – Life @ U of T

Drop-In Skating and Exam Prep (Already?!)

I’ve been feeling a little-more-than-a-little subpar recently. I’m not sure if it’s the weather or a change in routine due to injury or just everyday stressors, but I don’t like to hang out in ruts like that. Last Friday served as a nice little pick me up, thankfully. I finally made it out to drop-in skating at the Varsity Centre! I regret that I didn’t take pictures, I was consumed by how good it felt to be using my legs after making my arms so terribly sore at aerial silks. I’ve been less active recently and I think that might be contributing to my lousy mood. Skating with a good friend helped! I went on Friday from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon and it served as a nice study break. Skate rentals are available for only $3.39 (debit/credit only) and entry is free with your T-Card of course! It wasn’t very populated, which I really appreciated. I definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you’re looking for some space to make some mistakes (I sure am!).

Happy Nutrition Month!

The month of March brings with it many things:

Midterms
Papers
Movie releases (London Has Fallen comes out tomorrow (sequel to Olympus Has Fallen), I’m excited but also skeptical… then again, how bad can a Gerard Butler-starring film really be?)
Warmer weather (hopefully!) AND
Nutrition Month!

Registered Dietitians of Canada celebrate Nutrition Month every March. This year, they’re encouraging Canadians to take a 100-meal journey over the course of March, focusing each week on a new goal such as making quality food decisions and being aware of portion sizes.

Meaningful Mindfulness

Hi there! Last week I wrote about being ill, and I speculated that (in addition to cold weather and a nasty cough virus circulating in the air) my sickness was due to being out of touch with my body. It happens every once in a while when we get so busy that it can be a challenge to keep tabs on how we are (really) feeling and what our body (really) needs. I mentioned to a friend in passing this week that I sometimes attend Mindful Moments sessions on campus to get better connected with my body. He giggled, and said that he imagines me sitting cross-legged with my eyes closed, deeply concentrating on foretelling the future. I think at some point my friend was misinformed—mindfulness, meditation, tai chi, or yoga are not activities done to prophesize about the future. Quite oppositely, the goal is to bring more awareness to the present moment, to the body, and the breath.

Well, That Was a Lot Harder Than it Looked: Circus Silks @ U of T

I walked into my first circus silks class at the Athletic Centre last Friday pretty confident (largely due to the fact that I found my way from the AC change rooms to the Lower Gym in the Benson building on the first try).

Essentially the layout of the Athletic Centre and, of course, University College. Good luck. Background Source: watchervault.com — Essentially the layout of the Athletic Centre and, of course, University College. Good luck.
Background Source: watchervault.com

I wasn’t arrogant — I know I know nothing about aerial silks, but the instructor asked if I had done anything similar or notable and I mentioned that I’ve been coaching gymnastics for over five and a half years and used to do aerial yoga.

This is aerial yoga. 10/10 would recommend. Even if just for the awesome Instagram photos you’ll get out of it. Source: yearningforyoga.wordpress.com — This is aerial yoga. 10/10 would recommend. Even if just for the awesome Instagram photos you’ll get out of it.
Source: yearningforyoga.wordpress.com

(Comic)ally Good Notes

Computer. Tablet. Notebook. Photographic memory. Regardless of how you do it, we all take notes in some way or another. Some of us may take notes a little less frequently than we should, while others take notes with the frantic detail of a court stenographer. Personal note-taking preferences seem to depend on a couple things: how much of the course is based upon lecture material, how much sleep you got the night before, how neat your handwriting is and if you charged your laptop today. Taking notes are a huge part of attending lecture and the quality of your notes can sometimes determine how well you will do in a course. The goal is finding that perfect balance between understanding most of the course material as it’s taught and jotting the most pertinent information down before your brain moves onto the next genius thing your prof says. Unfortunately, not all of us are lucky enough to have found that balance. Here are some of the types of note-takers you might know. The Doodler This sort of note-taker is miraculously talented enough to somehow ‘doodle’ penciled creations you couldn’t dream of and write down all of the prof’s main points. Which, now that you think about it, are really all you needed anyways. You squint to see what you thought was a doodle of a dog, only to realize this guy has done his own rendition of the Mona Lisa. Inspired, you attempt to make a doodle of your own. ...No. Scratch that. Handwritten notes in cursive are about as creative as your margins are going to get. Pros: The Doodler’s notes are one of two things: Heartbreakingly hipster or total pinterest aesthetic. Cons: In the time they spent doodling, you applied to four summer jobs. #$$$

Healthy Campus 101

Hi all! Sometimes, it can feel as if being a student is a barrier to living a healthy lifestyle. It's easy to get caught up in a mindset that eating instant ramen daily, experiencing irregular sleep patterns, and becoming caffeine-dependent are inevitable consequences of being a proper university student (sometimes I think these things myself). But, really, with all the resources we have at the St. George campus to better our health, is it possible that this mentality is simply an illusion? I have a sneaking suspicion that the student gig does not necessarily need to include attending random clubs’ AGMs for the free pizza. In preparation for this week’s Design For Change conference, I decided to brainstorm a list of ways that UofT is a Healthy Campus in line with some of the themes of the roundtable discussions at the event. On Thursday, student and staff will get together at Hart House to discuss designing a shared vision for a healthier University at the first annual Design for Change conference, and we (students) are all invited! That sounds pretty super to me.

A Literary Mille-feuille: The Recipe for an Essay

Franz Liszt, Justin Bieber. Gordon Ramsay, you. What do these pairs have in common? Well, Liszt and Bieber are popular musicians and idols among their audience, though during different time periods. And Gordon Ramsay and you are—or can be—revered chefs of mille-feuilles, though of different types of mille-feuilles. While Gordon Ramsay may have nailed his raspberry mille-feuille, you can nail that literary mille-feuille, a.k.a. That Essay You Should Have Started Already. Here are some tips that will hopefully prove helpful in creating your literary mille-feuille, which, though Gordon Ramsay may not appreciate, your profs will.

Three chocolate imitations of mille-feuille. — And here you’ll notice a very unusual kind of mille-feuille. The kind that’s 100% chocolate, disguised as 100% mille-feuille, yet still 1000% delicious.

#HowDoUMove: the DPA of UNI

If you grew up in an Ontarian elementary school, you probably remember the Daily Physical Activity (DPA) program, which required teachers to facilitate a minimum of half an hour of physical activity per school day. It was a commendable initiative, but it fell short for me as my school's idea of physical activity was to get us to run around the neighbourhood boulevard right after we arrived at school. For me, this was not ideal as I was the kind of kid who more-so preferred long, slow, chatty walks in the morning, and not running in my low-rise Garage jeans being chased around by my homeroom teacher.

It wasn’t until my intermediate grades that I got into running, and stuck with it on the high school cross country team. Now as a full-time university student, I recognize that it can be challenging to find the same time and energy resources to be active. That said, I am able to achieve my prescribed half an hour of physical activity on most days.

New Year, New Me!

“Woke up this morning I was laid out flat on the dark side With the moon and the room on the wrong side I took a needle, sewed myself right back at the seams I saw my universal gleam” - 'Flick of the Finger', by Beady Eye

Liam Gallagher might not have the same vocals he did back in Oasis’ heyday, but his last effort to bring back the glory days with his (now disbanded) Beady Eye did bring back some of the open lyrical interpretation the band was known for instigating - but I digress. Nevertheless, it makes for a great quote that can relate to the idea of starting the new year with resolutions. It’s a time of year when - for whatever reason - you can see your errors more clearly, and when you decide to pick up the metaphorical needle and attempt to sew yourself back together again. I’m not typically one to fall into the societal norm of setting resolutions specifically to ring in the new year - but given that this will be my first full year as a university student, I decided to give it a shot.

Category: Classes (page 33)

Top 189 types of Instagram posts using the #UofT hashtag

Drop-In Skating and Exam Prep (Already?!)

Happy Nutrition Month!

Meaningful Mindfulness

Well, That Was a Lot Harder Than it Looked: Circus Silks @ U of T

(Comic)ally Good Notes

Healthy Campus 101

A Literary Mille-feuille: The Recipe for an Essay

#HowDoUMove: the DPA of UNI

New Year, New Me!