{"id":25031,"date":"2015-08-19T09:21:25","date_gmt":"2015-08-19T13:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=25031"},"modified":"2015-08-18T13:21:39","modified_gmt":"2015-08-18T17:21:39","slug":"how-im-planning-to-startuoft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/08\/19\/how-im-planning-to-startuoft\/","title":{"rendered":"How I\u2019m planning to #startUofT"},"content":{"rendered":"We\u2019re halfway through August, which, to me at least, feels like the end of the summer. But happily, it\u2019s not the end, especially since classes start mid-September for most students this year!\r\n\r\nEven though we\u2019re not quite there yet, there\u2019s lots you can do now to get ready for the start of the year. These are some of the things on my #startUofT to do list before the grind begins.\r\n\r\n
\"A<\/a>
Oh, hello! Didn't see you there! Share your hello selfie on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #startUofT!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nStart reading.<\/strong> Fear not, I haven\u2019t started doing reading right off my syllabi just yet, and for a lot of classes, you can\u2019t get up-to-date syllabi until the first day of lecture. To gear up for the semester and start getting back into the academia state of mind, I\u2019ve started reading a book recommended by a professor at a welcome session in June. (Tip: if you\u2019re looking to do some preliminary reading to get ready for a class, check out a past syllabus for core literature or send an email to your prof or TA.)\r\n\r\nTreat myself (to school supplies).<\/strong> My favourite part of starting up a new school year is getting new school supplies! While I mostly use my laptop, keeping a physical agenda has always been an important ritual for me to stay organized and relaxed, and I always like to carry around a notebook and some thin markers and pens just in case. (Another tip! Bring a paper and pen to your first classes at least, in case your computer dies or the professor asks students not to use electronic devices during class discussions, which sometimes happens during seminars particularly.)\r\n\r\n
\"Moleskin<\/a>
As Jay Z once rapped: all I need in this life of sin, is me and my moleskins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nMake a plan to stay healthy.<\/strong> It\u2019s hard to keep on top of packing meals and getting exercise during the busy academic year, so I try to schedule regular times during the week for working out, getting groceries, and preparing food in advance. It\u2019s not always possible to keep on top of these as things come up, but I know I\u2019m more likely to get them done if they\u2019re in my planner in advance rather than figuring them out on an ad hoc basis each week.\r\n\r\nConnect with my mentor.<\/strong> I applied for a mentorship program for my Master\u2019s, so I\u2019ll be connected with a mentor from the year above me. We\u2019ve connected over email and we\u2019re planning to get coffee before orientation starts so she can answer some of my more burning questions and I\u2019ll know someone around the faculty.\r\n\r\nApply for a work-study position.<\/strong> The work-study life is the life for me! There are tons of positions up on the Career Learning Network<\/a> that offer flexible hours that let you make a little money and get some work experience, while still prioritizing your studies.\r\n\r\nAnd\u00a0unofficially, the last item on my list is to relax like it's my full-time job! I'll also spend the next few weeks eating lots of ice cream, spending time with family and friends, hanging out in the sun, and eating lots of ice cream. Yes, I'm listing ice cream twice, because that's how much of it I plan to eat.\r\n\r\n
\"A<\/a>
Don't worry, I've already started work on the ice cream eating task. This is from the Big Chill where, when you are inevitably asked whether you would like whipped cream and a mini oreo atop your order, the correct answer is always \"yes.\"<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nFor more essentials for starting up at U of T, watch our Get Started Checklist playlist on Youtube<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n\r\nYou can also follow us on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a> and follow along with the #CrewCountdown, where we\u2019re posting all kinds of tips and tricks for getting started at U of T up until the first day of classes.<\/em>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nWe\u2019re halfway through August, which, to me at least, feels like the end of the summer. But happily, it\u2019s not the end, especially since classes start mid-September for most students this year! Even though we\u2019re not quite there yet, there\u2019s…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “How I\u2019m planning to #startUofT”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
Continue reading “How I\u2019m planning to #startUofT”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25031"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25031"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25039,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25031\/revisions\/25039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}