{"id":13848,"date":"2012-10-04T13:55:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-04T17:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=13848"},"modified":"2014-09-09T10:02:52","modified_gmt":"2014-09-09T14:02:52","slug":"the-squirrels-of-u-of-t","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2012\/10\/04\/the-squirrels-of-u-of-t\/","title":{"rendered":"The Squirrels of U of T"},"content":{"rendered":"My first blog post! On a blog that I know people actually read!\r\n\r\nHello everyone,\r\n\r\nMy name is Ishita and I\u2019m going to be a blogger for Life @ U of T this year (like you couldn\u2019t figure that out for yourself). I look forward to sharing the goings-on in my life at U of T!\u00a0 My blog topics aim to be broad and inclusive and also mindful of equity and diversity elements in life at U of T.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Squirrel.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13850\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Squirrel.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of a squirrel\" width=\"349\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Squirrel.jpg 349w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Squirrel-300x238.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 349px) 100vw, 349px\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nThe other day as I was walking home from class, I noticed a squirrel scurry down a tree trunk to grab a nut from the ground. Have\r\nyou ever watched a squirrel nibble on food? It\u2019s the cutest thing I\u2019ve ever seen. As I stared, another squirrel peeked through the bushes, eyeing the nut in my squirrel\u2019s paws. Both of them stood motionless for a moment. And then my squirrel bounced over and offered the nut to his friend. I wish I\u2019d taken a picture.\r\n\r\nSharing is caring, isn\u2019t it? The concept is drilled into our heads over and over again by the adults around us in a well-intentioned attempt to engrain it into our lifestyles. And eventually, it becomes as natural to us as breathing, doesn\u2019t it?\r\n\r\nBut sometimes, we forget the importance of sharing. The cutthroat environment of U of T has unconsciously forced some of us (myself included!) to adopt an \u201call-for-one-and-none-for-all\u201d philosophy. Perhaps we need to take a minute to relearn an important life lesson from the squirrels of U of T and remind ourselves that there is value in sharing.\r\n\r\n<strong>1)\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Share your umbrella.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Umbrella.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13851\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Umbrella.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"299\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nBack in first year after I attended one of my <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">optional<\/span> tutorials (I know, don\u2019t laugh), a small group of students herded out of the classroom. It was pouring cats and dogs and I prepared for the speed walk of my life. It took me a minute to realize that the rain wasn\u2019t feeling very wet. Turns out a girl in my class had noticed I was umbrella-less and had rushed to catch up so she could share hers. Her casual gesture has become the yard stick by which I measure almost every act of kindness. Although I haven\u2019t spoken to her since, I hope she continues to offer her umbrella to the umbrella-less. And I hope you consider starting.\r\n\r\n<strong>2)\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Share your ideas.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWe go to the University of Toronto, an institution that recently cracked Top 20 in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">world<\/span> rankings (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/news\/national\/university-of-toronto-cracks-top-20-in-global-rankings\/article556094\/\">http:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/news\/national\/university-of-toronto-cracks-top-20-in-global-rankings\/article556094\/<\/a>). Bragging rights FTW! UofT is the birthplace of insulin, stem cell research, and multi-touch technology (without which our smartphones wouldn\u2019t be as smart as they are). Breakthroughs at this university have been the result of one person thinking \u201cwhat if.\u201d Don\u2019t hesitate to be that person. Sharing your idea could spark a revolution.\r\n\r\n<strong>3)\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Share your problems.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re supposed to be super smart, super focused UofT students. But if we did all the things we were supposed to do, we wouldn\u2019t be human. You <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">will <\/span>run into roadblocks. Sharing your problems with friends, family, or trained professionals on campus will help you realize that you\u2019re not alone. Exploit the services that the university offers (<a href=\"http:\/\/life.utoronto.ca\/get-info\/a-z-list-of-student-services\/\">http:\/\/life.utoronto.ca\/get-info\/a-z-list-of-student-services\/<\/a>) and you\u2019ll feel better in no time.\r\n\r\n<strong>4)\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Share your passion.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nSchool is important. If it wasn\u2019t, we wouldn\u2019t be spending bucket loads of money on our education. That doesn\u2019t mean, however, that you have to let it consume your life. UofT has over 400 clubs and student organizations. After graduation, you probably won\u2019t remember the lectures you sat in or the all-nighters you pulled but you will remember the friends you made doing the things you loved (<a href=\"https:\/\/ulife.utoronto.ca\/organizations\">https:\/\/ulife.utoronto.ca\/organizations<\/a>).\r\n\r\nWe all get stressed. It comes with the territory. But I hope the next time you see a squirrel on campus, you remember to share.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Acorn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13852\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/10\/Acorn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"117\" height=\"117\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nTill next week,\r\n\r\nIshita","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nMy first blog post! On a blog that I know people actually read! Hello everyone, My name is Ishita and I\u2019m going to be a blogger for Life @ U of T this year (like you couldn\u2019t figure that out&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2012\/10\/04\/the-squirrels-of-u-of-t\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;The Squirrels of U of T&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2012\/10\/04\/the-squirrels-of-u-of-t\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;The Squirrels of U of T&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":10,"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":[59,1,67],"tags":[460,1981,479],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13848"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13848"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13858,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13848\/revisions\/13858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}