learning – Page 14 – Life @ U of T

Catching Up on Readings

Now that the storm of mid-term season is done for me and the Fall Break is upon us, my mind turns to my neglected readings and upcoming essays. This year, I had the unfortunate luck of having a bunch of mid-terms one after another. By the end, I felt completely drained and ready for relaxation. But after a bit of relaxation time, I realized that I was two weeks behind on readings in all of my classes. Oops. In my majors of English and Book & Media Studies, I have a lot of readings that range from novels to textbooks. When I looked at everything I had missed out on over two weeks, I noticed that I was behind on over 500 pages of readings total (granted, that total included a 250 page novel). I've started the process of catching up on those readings and trust me, it's important to do so. Every year, my profs have emphasized two key aspects to success: attending class and doing the readings. They know what they're talking about, so take their advice! So far, I've learned a few things about this process.

Identity bubble map. Some branches include "third culture kid" and "hobbies/passions"

Developing Those Intercultural Skills: An Introduction

I’d like to think of myself as pretty “internationally-minded” (whatever that means) and I suspect a lot of Torontonians would too, seeing as we live in such a diverse and multicultural city. Apart from that, I lived in a few countries growing up and am still sometimes in conflict with my own cultural identity and what or how I choose to identify myself to others. For me, the question of “Where are you from?” can evoke different responses depending on the situation (and how interested I think the other person is in hearing my entire life story). Since I chose not to pursue a major that deals directly with issues of multiculturalism I’m always looking for ways to learn about intercultural topics in more formal settings, especially as I’m equally fascinated by the theory part of all this as well.

Balancing School and Self-Care (Part One)

The most difficult part of my university experience so far has been learning how to balance. Every September, I am thrown off my feet by my new schedule, and just when I feel like I have a routine set up, midterms hit. As the type of person who insists on combing through every single reading, I often find myself overwhelmed by schoolwork and unsure how to fit in any much-needed self-care activities. However, spending 8-hour blocks on studying or writing has never worked for me either. I lose focus after a few hours at most, and often end the day cranky and tense from so much studying at once. Last winter semester, during a particularly difficult academic period, I went to see my college's learning strategist for help. Here are some memorable tips that I learned from her, as well as some personal ones that work for me.

"Midterms" carved into pumpkin — Source: Rusaba Alam

Tutorials 101 or How I Went From a Skeptic to a Believer

I didn't know if I was going to like tutorials when I came to U of T. I've been notoriously known for not participating in class and it was never for any reason except for the fact that I preferred to listen rather than input my thoughts. When I received those syllabi for the first time, my heart dropped. How could participation in tutorials be worth 15% of my final grade? I dreaded going to that first tutorial because I had so many questions. What was a tutorial? What was a TA? How would I participate? What if I said something ridiculous? Never fear, I have the answers here (Ha, I rhymed).

Picture of University College — I once had a tutorial in the basement of UC, which was difficult to find. Can anyone relate? (Source: uc.utoronto.ca)

My Dates with Myself

I'm think I am an introvert, I probably always have been. I try not to shy away from it anymore because I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Also, I think a lot of people misunderstand what introversion means. It can mean "a shy person" but I like to think that the psychological definition of introversion is much more relevant:

"a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings"

This makes a lot more sense to me; I'm not a quite person because I have nothing to say or I'm scared to say it but more so because I'm taking everyone's inputs in and assessing my own thoughts first. I'm the kind of person who doesn't need to have other people around in order to feel happy, energized or active. I'm perfectly content spending a weekend with myself, just going about daily life and reading a book or two (or 10). I like listening to my music and staring into space (or simply staring into space).

View of Huron Street from Sid Smith Lounge — Chilling in the Sid Smith Lounge and "people-watching" (a fancy term for staring into space)

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.

(Unfortunate) Member of the Procrastination Nation

Hi, my name's Liana and...I'm a member of the Procrastination Nation. It's a magical nation where I go to avoid all of life's responsibilities and PROCRASTINATE. I discovered the Procrastination Nation fatefully in the 9th grade when I said to a friend, "There's a whole group of us that procrastinate. It's like we're in our own world," and thus, the Procrastination Nation was born.

Picture of Liana covering her face with her hand — Me when I see that I have too many things to do...

In all seriousness, it was just a silly term that I used to describe moments when I was procrastinating school work and was off to the "Procrastination Nation", meaning that I would do anything to avoid actually working. But the funny thing is...I'm a "planned" procrastinator. I know what you're thinking, "Liana, please stop throwing all these random, weird terms you've come up with at me." Okay, okay, I promise I'm done. But really, I'm a planned procrastinator which means I actually PLAN when and how I'm going to procrastinate, instead of doing what I actually need to do.

The world doesn’t revolve around me?

One of the things about being a university student is that you start to say, "OH SO I'm NOT the only one who...". When I was in high school, I felt like I was the only one around who cared about the environment or that I was the only one who enjoyed classical music. With a group only 800 students in the whole school and around 200 in my grade, it really was difficult to see diversity. Not to mention, everyone in my grade came from the same neighbourhood and likely grew up there their whole lives so we tended to focus on the similarities between us and our peers while ignoring the parts of us that make us different.

When I started at U of T, one of the largest and most renowned schools in Canada, and lived in the city, I truly saw the world from a diverse lens for the first time. Concepts like accessibility, citizenship status, equity and intersectionality were either not in my vocabulary radar or I hadn't thought about them on a larger scale whatsoever; I had a pretty narrow view of the world which was shaped by what was immediately around me. I also didn't use the Internet in order to keep up my grades for university. After coming to university, I started realizing my own privilege and found the ways that I could make a difference in the community using that privilege but most importantly, I found communities that eliminated any misconception I had had about being "the only one who...".

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.

In which learning is great

ALT="The 11th floor of Robarts and the study view" — One of the places where I learn

A long time ago, back in grade 12 when I was young, impressionable and unburdened by readings on readings, I was deliberating between which university offers to accept. The websites, while useful in terms of information, were not very much help when I was trying to decide which university I would be happy at. Naturally, I decided to visit the campuses of the universities that had accepted me. While the story obviously ends with me choosing U of T, there were so many factors why I ultimately went with it. Sure, I loved the history and architecture and how U of T is both isolated from downtown Toronto yet just a quick 10 minute walk away from the core. However, what cinched it for me was something I’d like to call the ‘atmosphere of learning’ that was prevalent everywhere I visited – from the lecture halls to the greenspace to the lineup at Tim Hortons – there was an infectious hum in the air. And every year after summer vacation ends and the first month flies by, I am always still in awe of that atmosphere.

Tag: learning (page 14)