U of T is known for a lot of things, good and bad, however, some things that often go by unnoticed are the little things - things like public art. They have a way of just blending into our world…
Touring Soldier’s Tower
Soldiers’ tower was built in 1924 to honour the 1,185 U of T students and faculty who lost their lives in the two World Wars. With its beautiful archways and impressive form, Soldiers’ Tower is probably one of the most…
The Courage to Have Courage
Earlier this week, while browsing through my Facebook page, I stumbled on a captivating U of T event: “Omar Khadr’s Defence Lawyer: The Rule of Law in an Age of Fear”. Growing up outside of Canada, I was shocked to…
My (Somewhat Balanced) Life Moves Pretty Fast
"Goodbye." That's always a difficult thing to say, but sadly, this is my last post for Life @ U of T. Being the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI) blogger this year has been the opportunity of a lifetime…
Getting Involved: Hart House Standing Committees
During my first year I signed up for more clubs and groups’ newsletters than I ever had intention of actually joining (or really even cared about). Aside from that new-kid-desperately-wanting-to-make-friends feeling that I’m sure everyone who’s ever been a first…
Getting Crafty for Self-Care
As a kid, I always loved arts and crafts: origami, painting rocks, making fake flowers from tissue paper. Once, for Christmas, I gave my parents two full boxes of homemade cards, because I couldn't settle on making just one card.…
Finding a Zen Moment on Campus
U of T has no shortage of picturesque spots around campus that are perfect places for you to take a moment for yourself to do some contemplation or meditation. But as it starts to get colder I realise that most…
The Magic of Drop-In Fitness Classes
As a U of T student, we have access to numerous fantastic resources, scholarships, and world-famous libraries. However, personally, my favourite perk of being at U of T is our Hart House membership, or generally, our access to daily free drop-in fitness classes.…
The not-so-sweet truth about sugar: Healthy habits at Hart House
This week, I dropped into the Healthy Habits program that runs every Monday in the Hart House Reading Room from 12 to 1 p.m. Healthy Habits is a laid-back discussion about nutrition and tips for eating well and is led by a holistic nutritionist.
What I really liked about the event was that it was informal and thereby unintimidating. We all sat in the corner of the Reading Room on the couches and, in essence, had a chat. The topic varies week to week and you’re welcome to attend just one session or as many as you like, whenever you can. This past Monday, we talked about sugar – very timely if you ask me, given that Monday was also 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:
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)