Events – Page 23 – Life @ U of T

The time I slept through all the fun holidays

My entire blog post can be summed up into this:

*makes elaborate plans for Halloween*

*realizes Diwali falls on the same weekend*

*has to finish all assignments before that weekend*

*is overwhelmed with stress and feels guilty for cancelling plans with friends*

*cancels everything anyway and sleeps through Halloween*

Halloween, Harry Potter, and Me

Right off the bat, let me just say that I've never been a huge fan of Halloween. I'm not particularly fond of dressing up or anything of the spooky and scary variety, but I will tell you: I LOVE candy and all things magical/fantastical. That's why, for the past couple years, including this year I've been professing my love for Harry Potter on Halloween. I've been a fan of the Harry Potter series for a very long time and it doesn't hurt that U of T is basically an architectural twin of the magical universe. For Halloween, I recommend watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets because it is one of the most classic, spooky films in the series (before the darker and scarier themes are set in the later films). In celebration of Halloween and all things spooky (including those remaining midterms), here's the rundown on the two most Hogwarts-like buildings on campus. Whether you choose to visit for studying or dreaming about Hogwarts is your choice, but personally, I usually choose the latter. Also, because I mentioned that I love candy (love it, I really do), these buildings are rated on a scale of being most like Hogwarts to least like Hogwarts:

Picture of chocolate frog, wizard trading card, and box — (Source: shop.wbstudiotour.co.uk)

1 Chocolate Frog=not like Hogwarts at all and just reminds you of doing school work (bleh) 5 Chocolate Frogs=just like being at Hogwarts so much so that you've wondered where your wand has gone (yay)

Planning for Uncertainty

A picture of different ice cream flavours: strawberry, mango, bubble gum, cotton candy — I didn't plan to have ice cream today. But sometimes uncertainty can be a good thing.

When I signed up for the Career Centre’s Planning Your Career workshop, I was ready to plan. And planning I did. I plotted out my career goals for the next three years with the help of a nifty linear diagram. My plan even had a pretty good end goal: landing my dream job after university. This was all fine and dandy (I’ve been making colourful five year plans for the past ten years), until I remembered an underlying theme of the Planning Your Career workshop: it’s almost impossible to see the end goal of your career, since a lot of jobs are found through chance. In other words, plans are a good way to explore your career options and help develop your goals, but they don’t factor in all the unpredictable elements that go along with actually landing a job.

Lessons in Career Exploration

A picture of a clipboard with a piece of lined paper on top, in the foreground of an empty room filled with chairs — Calm before the storm: getting ready for b2B

I recently attended one of the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Backpack to Briefcase events, Humanities/Languages Speed Networking. University of Toronto alumni were invited to talk to students about their career pathways, and how they managed to navigate the workplace after graduation. The first half of the event consisted of discussions with a pair of alumni in small groups, and the other half involved an informal mingling period with peers and alumni. We got to ask alumni about their experiences and main takeaways from their time at U of T, their career pathways, and what relevant skills and experiences they needed to get their jobs. From listening to the various stories and opinions of the alumni, I managed to pick up these four lessons about career exploration.

Getting Some Good Reminders at Mindfest 2016

Taking care of your mental health can be a bit of a chore if that's not something you're already mindful (ha ha) of. To be honest, taking care of your health in general can sometimes be a chore. I think it's hard to self-discipline yourself when you don't feel the immediate consequences of your actions. It just doesn't feel like not sleeping well or not eating healthy is going to affect you right. now. and so it's easier to just give in sometimes. So it's nice to have reminders every once in a while to keep yourself on track, especially during times when things are going relatively well and you think you don't actually need those reminders. This past Wednesday was Mindfest, a "festival to create awareness and gain appreciation for mental health." I had missed out on Mindfest last year (check out Madelin's blog from last year if you missed out as well), and so I was glad I had a chance to go this year.

Hart House, U of T — Most of the day events and presentations were hosted at Hart House.

Navigating My Skills with Navigating the Workplace

When I signed up for Navigating the Workplace, a workshop offered by the Career Centre, I didn’t know what to expect. This was the first Career Centre event I had ever attended, and the event description only vaguely spoke about building goals, understanding workplace expectations, and learning effective communication skills. However, at the end of the event, I gained insight into how to effectively communicate my qualities, and about the different ways to approach career exploration.

Calling All Book Lovers!

I mentioned this in my introductory post, but I double major in English and Book & Media Studies, which essentially means that I LOVE literature, and I do. I really do. Reading and writing from an early age has led me to a life long love of literature and the title of a self-professed bibliophile (throwback to past blogger Amie's post on the Victoria College book sale, who is also a bibliophile!). So what could be more appropriate for me, as an avid book lover, than to visit the Victoria College Book Sale this past week! The book sale took place on the 1st and 2nd floors of Old Vic from September 22 to 26 and this year, they celebrated their 25th anniversary. Old Vic is the building on the Victoria College grounds that sort of looks like a whimsical gingerbread castle (to me, anyways). I entered the building and was excited to see the sheer number of incredible book lovers huddling over interesting books.

Weekend Schooling: Taking advantage of Writing Centre’s Writing Plus Workshop

a photo of hart house soldier tower looking up from its base against a blue sky.

Maybe it was the unusual way my Saturday began, but the brisk morning air stood out significantly in my memory. It was a stark reminder that the summer days were getting shorter and that autumn would soon be in full swing. The arrival of autumn was something I needed to brace myself for, something that required preparation. And much like the arrival of that cool season, I needed to brace myself for when my classes got into their full swing, I needed to prepare.

Hello September: Play Day and early goal setting

Welcome back everyone! It’s hard to believe it’s September again. My name is Annette and I’m excited to be a returning contributor to the Life@UofT blog this year. I’ll be continuing to cover all things physical activity and fitness with a weekly post you can expect to be published every Friday. If you’re new to the blog, hello and welcome! If you like what you find, you can check out the archive to catch up on all the fun we had last year. A bit about me: I’m a fourth-year student double majoring in Physiology and Biochemistry and minoring in German Studies. I’m absolutely wired right now on account of impending doom (read as: LSAT), but I’m doing my best to be excited about all that will follow for the rest of the year. I’m a peculiar person – half of the time I’m a bit of a grandma who likes to go to sleep early and sleep lots, drink tea under a fuzzy blanket – that sort of thing. The other half of the time, however, I’m curtain climbing and training to be a ninja – I just don’t know an in between.

Annette is seen hanging upside down from a set of aerial silks. — (I spend a lot of time upside down...)

September is a big month, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. Between moving in and out of apartments/residences, shopping for textbooks, starting classes and trying to override a very “Hakuna Matata” lifestyle and/or sleep pattern, there’s a LOT going on. You should see my calendar, it’s absolutely BONKERS.

Halfway Through..Now What?

Hello U of T! I'm Liana and I'm writing for the Community Crew this year as the CTSI (Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation) Blogger. I'm a born and raised Torontonian, a first generation student, and in my third year double majoring in English and Book & Media Studies. You'll come to learn throughout the year that I really love writing and reading..if that weren't obvious from my choice of majors.

A photograph of Liana posing in front of a ferris wheel — Me on a trip to Seattle last year!

Category: Events (page 23)