For most of us, the days leading up to an exam are very much like those of a ship caught in a tempest: All hands on deck! Trim the mast! Check that the vessel hasn’t sprung a leak! (Alright, so…
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…
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…
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…
3 Ways to De-Stress During Midterm Season
Halloween isn’t the only scary thing in October… what scares university students the most: midterms. In the midst of midterms, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed. What feels like endless readings and review questions, I sometimes feel like no there’s…
Time Management Takes Time
Time Management Takes Time, Part 1 So, we are into our third week of school (second full week) and who is already drowning in school work? You too? Okay, good. Same. The lead-up to school is always fun. The first…
Overcoming Perfectionism- Life as a Perfectionist at U of T (PART II)
In my last blog post, I wrote about what I’ve learned as a perfectionist at U of T. I mentioned how being a perfectionist wasn’t ideal when I’m on a time crunch, since I don’t have time to make everything…
Note taking: Handwritten vs Typed Notes
There’s nothing I love more than having aesthetic notes… or so I thought. For as long as I have been a student, I've always written my notes by hand; this didn't change when I entered my first year at U…
Surviving Exam Season: Japan Edition
On January 28th at 10:00 PM JST, I jumped for joy and started playing “Freedom! ‘90” on full blast. At this moment, I submitted the final assignment of my first semester at the University of Tokyo. Due to the different…
It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Finals
It's that time a year again! No, not Christmas... Finals! *cheers* I'm stressed out about my first exam coming up so I thought I'd make my own rendition of a Christmas song to lighten the mood! I wish you a…