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. 

huron and harbord intersection

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...".

Self-Care Queen at U of T

It's only a month into school and midterms are hitting us already. In my agenda, there is this backlog of assignments and all the due dates happen to fall within the same week. It happens every year and I'm always looking for more tips on how to stay positive during this time.
this is me at 2 years old and ice-cream is still the only thing that makes me completely stress-free!
this is me at 2 years old and ice-cream is still the only thing that makes me completely stress-free!

Old Habits Really Do Die Hard

Do you ever catch yourself doing something that you 100% know you shouldn’t be doing? Yup… That’s me right now. Before you ask questions, let me explain.
A picture of me wearing a onesie, watching shows on my bed.
This is usually how I watch shows/movies (when I shouldn't be watching)
This August, I had to present a business pitch to an entrepreneurial community. However, the night before the presentation, I decided to watch a movie. And then another one. Then suddenly, the unusual brightness of my room caught my attention. It was the sun. It was 6am and I had to leave my house within the next hour in order to make it to the presentation in time. It quickly dawned on me that I accidentally pulled an all-nighter before my presentation – and in that moment, all I could do was silently mouth “help me” at the sky, hoping that the universe would give me a break. That day, a very sleep deprived Slesha learned the consequences of staying up too late. After recognizing the importance of a good night’s sleep, I took a vow to sleep earlier this school year – no later than 1am! Little did I know that “taking a vow” meant nothing without setting appropriate behaviour changing strategies in place. So I should not have been surprised when things didn’t go as I had vowed. Right now, it’s 3am as I’m writing this blog post… and I know I should have gone to sleep two hours ago. So, what went wrong?

(Barely) Imparting Senior Student Wisdom

Hello new semester! Don’t you just love the buzz around campus this time of year? You know, its that time in the semester where midterms haven’t taken over life yet, the weather is still amazing and you have a whole new batch of stationary to play with. Okay, that last one only applies to me and a handful of very cool people. It’s also that time of year where I usually make tons of new goals and try extra hard to get this whole studying thing right.  

It’s “Back-to-School” Season, NOT “Back-to-Stress” Season

A picture of UC in the fall. Hey everyone – welcome back to school! Whether this is your first year at university or you are a returning UofT student, this year is bound to bring many wonderful changes. You’ll inevitably learn new information, meet new people, and experience new adventures you haven’t even thought about yet! Before I continue, allow me to formally introduce myself – I am Slesha, your new Academic Success and Equity blogger. I’m currently in my third year of computer engineering studies. I love photography, naps, and drinking tea. Also puppies … I love puppies! But you know what I really don’t love? Stressing about school.

Money on my Mind

When you’re in university, you’re out thousands of dollars from the first day so it’s almost as if every little expense you make during your time here is basically putting you further in the red. This post is not meant to scare you; it’s just meant to bring to your attention a very important part of school life that students can often overlook. Huell from Breaking bad laying down on a stack of money

Making my way downtown…

Summer is fun; the sun is shining, birds are singing and people on bicycles are ruling the streets in all of their shiny-helmeted glory. I remember looking at the bicyclists of Toronto with envy, noting the wind in their hair, the flushness of their face and their wonderfully sculpted legs. Every time a car-driver cut off a bicyclist in front of me, I would scoff and shrug my shoulders, giving the bicyclist an understanding shake of the head in solidarity (as if I knew all the struggles). I adored them and I wanted to be them! Unfortunately, as you all well understand the struggle of being a broke student, I never ended up saving enough money to actually buy a bike. It just never happened. My dream of being one of the cool biker kids never came true. Until recently. ENTER BIKECHAIN. The front entrance of Bike Chain

‘So Long, Winter!’ (or, ‘Later, Midterms!’)

“English summer eating up the atmosphere Day-time bathers sleep in the shade Clouds crawl over dampening our attitudes People run for shelter from the pouring rain” - ‘English Summer’, by The Moons
Well, we did it. Mild or not, our first winter here in Toronto has come to pass, and we're in one piece! With one final flurry of tests, I’ve wrapped up midterm season, too. It’s a peculiar feeling - one on hand, having so many evaluations has made time pass by awfully slowly. On the flip side, it feels like freshman year has passed me by entirely too quickly.