{"id":42016,"date":"2020-08-13T07:48:01","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T11:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=42016"},"modified":"2020-08-12T07:58:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T11:58:19","slug":"3-lessons-ive-learned-from-3-years-of-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2020\/08\/13\/3-lessons-ive-learned-from-3-years-of-university\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Lessons I\u2019ve Learned from 3 Years of University"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I can\u2019t believe that in less than a month, I\u2019ll be starting my fourth and final year of my undergraduate degree! Looking back on my degree, it\u2019s been quite a wild ride to get here. I thought it would be interesting to reflect on the major lesson I\u2019ve learned from each year of university, in hope that some of these lessons may help others out in their university journeys.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_0505-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of the UofT Campus\" class=\"wp-image-42018\" width=\"400\" height=\"384\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>Get involved in everything!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s cliche advice, but it rings true\u2014get involved! Whether this be in clubs, classes, or any other dimension of student life, I learned in first year how enriching my university experience could be if I got involved in everything around me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This didn\u2019t just include university; though I was pretty involved in campus life during first year, I barely left my physical bubble of the university campus. Looking back on first year, I realize how many missed opportunities I had to explore the city, join groups off-campus, or even travel outside the city and explore the province.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I could redo my first year, I\u2019d spend time off I had from classes joining more clubs, going to events, and exploring the city. After all, I found later years to become more academically difficult, so I wish I\u2019d taken first year to really get acquainted with my surroundings and the people around me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_0776-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of the Toronto skyline\" class=\"wp-image-42023\" width=\"400\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_0776-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_0776-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_0776-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_0776-1536x1151.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_0776-2048x1535.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Take time to care for yourself<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In second year, I spent so much time pulling all-nighters, balancing commitments I couldn\u2019t handle, and dealing with stressful social situations. Looking back, I wish I'd realized the importance of self care and looking after my body. Thankfully, I learned these skills pretty soon after, and I'm now a huge proponent of getting 8 hours of sleep\/night and always putting my health and happiness before school.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What I didn\u2019t realize in second year was that putting my health and happiness before school would actually make me better at learning. When I started getting enough sleep and relaxing more, school felt so much easier than it did before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_2639-2-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of a cat lying on a bed\" class=\"wp-image-42022\" width=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_2639-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_2639-2-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_2639-2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_2639-2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_2639-2-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>Dave and I are both passionate about self care!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Understand your academic passions<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In third year, I spent a lot of time engaging in classes and really exploring what I was interested in academically, like finding topics that I wanted to explore in <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2020\/07\/16\/3-reasons-why-i-decided-to-take-an-independent-study\/\">Independent Studies<\/a> or thesis seminars in my fourth year of university.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m so glad I did this because for the first time, university doesn\u2019t feel like a chore at all. I\u2019m so excited to go into my fourth year loving what I study, and I think that understanding my academic passions really helped me love university, fully engage in it, and find direction and purpose.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_9778-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of the book &quot;As We Have Always Done&quot; by Leanne Simpson\" class=\"wp-image-42021\" width=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_9778-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_9778-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_9778-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_9778-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2020\/08\/IMG_9778-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>Finding books in subjects I'm passionate about!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>What are the biggest lessons you\u2019ve learned in your university journey? Let me know in the comments below!&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nI can\u2019t believe that in less than a month, I\u2019ll be starting my fourth and final year of my undergraduate degree! Looking back on my degree, it\u2019s been quite a wild ride to get here. I thought it would be&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2020\/08\/13\/3-lessons-ive-learned-from-3-years-of-university\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;3 Lessons I\u2019ve Learned from 3 Years of University&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2020\/08\/13\/3-lessons-ive-learned-from-3-years-of-university\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;3 Lessons I\u2019ve Learned from 3 Years of University&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":374,"featured_media":42018,"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":[7204,6669,59,62,65,1,70,58,66,82,68],"tags":[10898,127,284,10773,1980,11053,6795,35519,1804],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42016"}],"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\/374"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42016"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42026,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42016\/revisions\/42026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}