For this week I wanted to write a little bit on what it’s like to change your major, especially because there’s always so many people who are considering doing this! In first year, I remember someone telling me that the…
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…
Community Engagement and Mental Health: Striking a Balance
I've been having a bit of a rough couple of weeks and I wanted to reflect on how I can potentially balance my mental and physical health, academics, extracurriculars, and community engagement activities moving forward. The first step is understanding…
The Power of a Growth Mindset
Things you might hear after a first year midterm: “That didn't go as planned.” “I failed.” “How will this impact by GPA?” "I'm not cut out for this." U of T grading rubrics can be unforgiving. After the first tests…
Taking Care of Yourself During Midterms
It’s that time of year where it seems as if I am catching up with my classes right before a midterm, while falling behind in others. This constant loop of work can be stressful and draining. Whether you have midterms,…
Lowering Stress: Journaling & Gratitude
I hope everyone had a relaxing long weekend! Now that midterm season is upon us I thought it would a good time to share my experience with keeping a journal, as well as a gratitude journal (a week after Thanksgiving…
Balancing school, family, and friends: Family visits from far
Whenever my family asks me if I want to hang out with them, I immediately say yes. When my family visits me all the way from South America, and only stays for a week, I have to be careful when…
Overcoming Cynicism
I’ve noticed a cynicism among people, and it’s usually coupled with an ironic humour that’s often funny and relatable when you’re constantly stressed and sleep-deprived (like most students are). However, I’ve been asking myself more recently if we sometimes go…
Nuit Blanche: A Night of Giving
Happy Thanksgiving! In the spirit of gratitude and reflection, this week, instead of reviewing a workshop on facilitation strategies, I wanted to share a cool experience I had with Art Starts on Nuit Blanche (October 5, 2019) that culminated in…
Finding the Balance Between my School Life and Social Life
As we put an emphasis on mental health this month, I decided to write about my struggles in trying to find a balance between my social/family life and school life. Last Sunday, my dad had a rare day off of work…