“It's such a cold, cold world (hello cold world) And it's got me down, but I'll get right back up, as long as its spins around Hello cold world” - ‘Hello Cold World’, by Paramore The winter blahs are still…
I am in my final year of undergrad and scheduled to graduate this June (by some terrible twist of fate, I graduate on the date of my birthday thereby having to spend my 22nd year of life in CON HALL). These past four years have been spent strolling around King's College Circle, cramming at Robarts during unspeakable hours, and attending every puppy therapy event U of T has to offer. The fact that I may not be coming back next year has only recently hit me. As much as I tried to prepare for (see also: dread) the future, it actually did not occur to me that I'd soon be done my Bachelor's. It's a bittersweet feeling.
I embarked on a HONY-esque quest across campus to hunt down fellow fourth-years and ask them about their plans. Are you graduating? Taking a fifth year? Taking some time off? What have you learned here? What's been a memorable U of T experience? Please share intimate details of your life with this random, unnaturally peppy stranger!
From my mini adventure I have concluded that 1) Apparently no upper years go to school because it proved quite difficult trying to find fourth years on campus and 2) Apparently all upper years are in the same boat of worry, anticipation, and excitement for their futures. So fear not, fourth year friends! Here are just some of the lovely students that attend our school, starting with the loveliest of all (me):
Nancy, Neuroscience:
I'm graduating this year! I want to do an MSc in neuroscience research. I'm also looking into professional programs in public policy and global health. The biggest takeaways from my time here is to go after what you want, enjoy yourself, and that the best person to compete with is yourself. I'm super grateful for all the people I've met and friends I've made!
I recently finished my very last stage production at UofT. It was a play called “Rope,” which is about two university students who kill one of their friends for “philosophical reasons” and put his body in a chest. They host…
I walked into my first circus silks class at the Athletic Centre last Friday pretty confident (largely due to the fact that I found my way from the AC change rooms to the Lower Gym in the Benson building on the first try).
Essentially the layout of the Athletic Centre and, of course, University College. Good luck. Background Source: watchervault.com
I wasn’t arrogant — I know I know nothing about aerial silks, but the instructor asked if I had done anything similar or notable and I mentioned that I’ve been coaching gymnastics for over five and a half years and used to do aerial yoga.
This is aerial yoga. 10/10 would recommend. Even if just for the awesome Instagram photos you’ll get out of it. Source: yearningforyoga.wordpress.com
Thursday, January 28th, 2016 was just one of Those Days.
We all know Those Days. We’ve all had them.
We all know what it's like when the day takes a completely different turn and leaves you feeling like a powerless passenger instead of firmly planted in the driver’s seat. I was made quite familiar with the feeling on that particular Thursday- thanks to a series of (unfortunate) events: a laptop charger forgotten at home, multiple transit delays, some overambitious weather estimating (I thought it would actually be six degrees outside) a very ungraceful fall in Queen’s Park and to top it all off- an interview! which meant nerves nerves nerves.
There are 44 UofT libraries, spanning UofT's three campuses. There are libraries of all shapes and sizes, all styles and atmospheres. You would think this would be enough for me. You would be wrong.Recently, I have been cheating on UofT. Maybe I took #TryItUofT too far; you be the judge. Consider this my confession:Dear Robarts,We have had a long and beautiful love affair. Just over three and a half years ago, I first decided to overlook your imposing and intimidating exterior and give you a chance. I grew to love you.We have had some wonderful times together, haven’t we? Do you remember meeting my friends? We used to hang out and study together all the time. They grew to love you, too. We presented a united front during many a finals season. I came to see your beauty more and more as I got to know you better and better—your blossoming cherry trees in the summer, your amazing Toronto views, your Rare Book Library. I will never forget all that you have given me; you were always there to provide me with research materials and unlimited free WiFi. You have been my rock. I regret nothing. Please remember that.We had our good times, yes, but after three and a half years of dogged commitment on my part, I have become more sensitive to your stone-hearted habits. Three and a half years of endless Starbucks lines, freezing my hands off in study rooms, and red-walled cages—I mean, elevators. I’m tired, Robarts. I can’t do it anymore. Things have changed.I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m seeing someone else.
Like most U of T students, I’m proud to be one. People like to call us pretentious and I like to argue there’s a big difference between being pretentious and being justifiably proud. We boast top 20 spots on lists of the world’s best universities and I’m “sorry I’m not sorry” that gives me the warm fuzzies.
While we excel as an institution overall, according to UniversityHub.ca (contributor to the Huffington Post), our sports and recreation programs are less well known.
Clearly something’s wrong here. We have a wealth of sport and recreational facilities, services, activities — there’s a lot going on here! We have FOUR athletic centres (if you count Varsity Centre), FOURTY-FOUR men’s and women’s varsity teams, the ONLY Olympic-sized pool in the city, a wide variety of registered and free classes, drop-in recreation, a FANTASTIC, SUPER-AFFORDABLE sports clinic open to students, more playing fields than I’m aware of and SO, SO MUCH MORE.
Last week I wrote about some personal strides I’ve been hoping to make academically. Another thing I want to do this semester, though, is to become more involved in the U of T community. Seeing as how it is still #TryItUofT month, I thought now would be a perfect time to change things up.
As a Life Sciences student, I understand the pressure and trepidation you feel when someone in class goes “So in my research lab…” Meanwhile, you’re screaming internally about how you can barely fold laundry properly let alone have your life so put together as to be in a research lab.
(Source: memegenerator.net)
Whether you plan on pursuing a career in healthcare or science research itself, having research experience on your CV and learning lab skills are a bonus when you apply to professional or graduate programs. But where does one even start? It’s daunting trying to maneuver the Interwebs to find viable and worthwhile positions. I’ve compiled a list of possible scientific/medical research opportunities by the year you might think of applying. But first, a few preliminary questions to ask yourself:
As I was walking down St. George the other day, I heard snippets from other peoples’ conversations. I promise, I wasn’t eavesdropping; I just forgot my headphones and I was bored. Anyways, these are the kinds of things I heard:“Blah blah blah blah stressed blah blah blah failure blah blah forget blah tired blah blah I can't blah blah blah..."UofT, it seems we are in a sorry state of affairs at present. Of course, it’s to be expected at this time of year. We’re all just trying to put in that final hustle and make it to winter break.As I mentioned in my last post, I’m actively trying to face my final assignments with a more positive outlook; I’m trying to use my stress as a motivator. I want to appreciate every moment that I have as an undergrad student. However, I want to make something very clear:None of that makes the work easy, and it certainly doesn’t make it go by any faster.
