After a full year of first-year biology and chemistry labs (major ptsd right now) and a semester in second-year biology labs , I’ve learned a couple of tips about how to be successful in these labs and general tricks to…
3 Hacks on Surviving 9 am Classes
It’s no surprise that 9:00 am classes are my least favourite. The commute is slower, the weather is gloomy and cold, and everyone is drained of energy. To make matters worse, my commute to campus is around an hour and…
How We Do It: Staying Active As Students
I interrogate (I mean, interview) some fellow first-years about how they're staying active while staying on top of academics.
Life Over Stress, Part 1
This past week I attended one of U of T’s stress management workshops. If any of you have time I definitely suggest going to the workshops offered by Academic Success—and for those of you who can’t, have no fear because…
Physical Activity and the Awareness-Action Gap
In the past week I have conducted an (informal) survey of first-year undergraduate students. Shout out to everyone who answered my umpteen questions, despite being generally overwhelmed with work! You have made possible the pursuit of truth. Two broad categories…
Being Restful and Productive During Reading Week
Congratulations everyone! We have finally made it to Reading Week! These last two weeks have been extremely stressful, and I found myself in an endless cycle of waking up, attending lectures, and then going home and immediately start studying. Last…
Affirmations for those with Anxiety
For me, a lot of my symptoms revolve around unnecessary fear and discomfort. As an example, I randomly and suddenly feel incredibly on-edge when there are sudden loud noises in places, or if I feel trapped when I am on…
PMS as a student
It's a common experience, but it's also a taboo: pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) and it is important to talk about it. PMS symptoms and degree differ between girls. For myself, I become irritable and stressed. I also experience insomnia, loneliness, an…
Movement breaks for managing the madness of midterm season
For most of us, the days leading up to an exam are very much like those of a ship caught in a tempest: All hands on deck! Trim the mast! Check that the vessel hasn’t sprung a leak! (Alright, so…
Bouncing Back from Midterms
As a university student, I’m sure everyone has gotten a grade back and wasn’t exactly happy about it. I’ve been there before, and it can be really hard to take in… especially in first year. In my experience, dwelling on…