The year when I was a frosh! Photo courtesy of University College Literary and Athletic Society
It’s been one heck of a summer. I feel like I’ve really grown as a person, whether it growing comfortable with my faults and recognizing insecurities as insecurities, or whether it being more confident in who I want to be. As September rolls in and new students start planning their move-ins or their commuting schedules, I find myself comparing freshman me to now; freshman me being not too confident, a little unsure, and a whole lot of nervous. One thing though that helped me get on the right foot was Orientation, which I did with University College. And particularly, my orientation leaders who helped me stumble out of my shell and transition to a new chapter in my life. Fast forward a couple years, and I’m now a frosh head leader for this upcoming University College Orientation, but one feeling from the past still holds strong.
Once again, I’m super nervous – though the reason has changed. I’ve got the pre-Orientation leader jitters.
This week has been like swimming through a tank full of jellyfish 🙁
This week has been a tough week for me. A lot has happened and a lot still remains to be going on. The majority of it has simply been personal, but sometimes personal obstacles are the ones that seem the most difficult. And in my opinion, rightly so, because to me personal battles are actually opportunities to grow in disguise.
In times of personal struggles, I have found that creativity and art are two things that ground me. Writing in a journal for instance, or even doodling in sketch pad. But sometimes inspiration to be creative doesn’t come easily when faced with a mountain that needs to be overcome. In these times, I enjoy finding inspiration in the more traditional way: that is surrounding myself with art. And what better way to do this than by taking advantage of Hart House’s free monthly Art Tour?
I am a firm believer in taking breaks from the hustle and bustle of the city. As someone who works downtown and is already following a packed schedule for school, the hustle becomes routine. Sometimes city life becomes too repetitive: the buzz of peoples’ conversations become deafening, the frustrated chorus of honks and road rage from drivers become tiring, and even the scampering of U of T squirrels lose their cute charm and become annoying. Particularly with the latter: when the squirrels start losing their fear of people and boldly walk alongside you as you try to cross through a quad, those squirrels might as well be paying taxes, too.
A foggy view of the beach by Cape Croker Park
Luckily, I had an opportunity to take a break from Toronto a couple weeks ago when my friends invited me camping for a weekend. Though, there was one tiny issue: I am not the greatest camper, meaning not that I’m bad at setting up tents or starting fires (though the latter is definitely not one of my strong suits), but that it takes a while for me to get used to the idea of “roughing it”.
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.
I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t ridiculously obsessed with Pokemon GO. I’d also be lying if I told you I wasn’t extremely disappointed that my last 10 km egg hatched me a dang Jynx! But what do any of these pokenanigans have to do with finding Automated Teller Machines in and around campus to prevent paying a service fee? Everything and barely anything all at the same time.
*Employer in Adele voice* Hello. It’s me. I was wondering if after all these emails you sent to me, can I call you, before you come in?
(Did you try to sing that in tune with the song? I did about 10 times)
A view from a subway corridor. This is probably the only thing spooky about commuting.
The other day, I was talking with my future roommates in our Facebook group chat about when we would move into the apartment for September. The chat was a mix of finalizing plans and cracking jokes, but it also signalled to me that my summertime commuting for work, volunteer commitments, and social plans was coming to an end. You would think that this realization would immediately bring relief (I mean, commuting wastes so many hours in a day), but strangely, I have mixed feelings about living downtown again.
A summer sunset view.
With August comes the stark realization that summer is almost over.
Alright, there. I’ve said it. There’s no turning back now. How did it breeze by so fast?
I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t ridiculously obsessed with Pokemon GO. I’d also be lying if I told you I wasn’t extremely disappointed that my last 10 km egg hatched me a dang Jynx! But what do any of these pokenanigans have to do with finding Automated Teller Machines in and around campus to prevent paying a service fee? Everything and barely anything all at the same time.
