{"id":21825,"date":"2014-10-16T13:59:47","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T17:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=21825"},"modified":"2014-10-16T13:59:47","modified_gmt":"2014-10-16T17:59:47","slug":"freestuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2014\/10\/16\/freestuff\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s all about the free stuff: some resources to keep you going"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you've been tuning in this week, you'll know that UofT has dedicated October to Mental Wellness Month<\/a>, and\u00a0we here at the Life@UofT blog are taking part by talking about our own experiences with stress and mental health. The hope being, that you can learn from our experiences and mistakes<\/span>.<\/p>\r\n

In my first few years, I thought I had to deal with things all on my own; and to a degree, I still feel that way\u2014even though I know better.\u00a0It's not easy to ask for help, and sometimes you have to engage in some self-care. For some, that might just be sitting down with some soothing tea<\/a> and watching television, get a massage<\/a>, listen to some calming\u00a0music<\/a>, or even pop some balloons<\/a>\u00a0or some bubble wrap<\/a>. For me, it's always been a combination of these, but also a matter of learning to use\u00a0the resources available to me.<\/p>\r\n

It's easy to think that resources are meant for other people: people who need them more. It's just as easy to forget that sometimes we are the ones who need them. So here: let me lend a hand, and even if you think you don't need it, please read on. Here are seven\u00a0of the free resources that I use to keep on top of things during the school year:<\/p>\r\n\"Vintage\r\n\r\n1. Free Past Tests & Past Exams<\/strong>\r\nI often have problems with my memory, so when it comes to midterms and exams, I can stress out a lot. Papers I can handle, but tests... tests are something else. Fortunately, the Arts and Sciences Students Union<\/a> (ASSU) has filing cabinets full of past tests: literally. Just walk in with a T-Card and you can take a free peek\u00a0at one of their many past tests, donated by students (find them in SS1068). (They also sell test packages around midterms). And, when it comes time for exams, you can always look at the past exam repository<\/a>, to help you get a clue.\r\n\r\n

\"Photo<\/a>
From A(CT240) to Z(OO362), ASSU has you covered.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

2. Free Essay Clinics<\/strong>\r\nEssay clinics are run by professions, free of cost to you: professionals will look at drafts of your paper, and tell you how to make it better, and generally how to improve your writing, for free. And why not? You can only get better. Each college has a writing centre, and so do some departments. Find one\u00a0to book\u00a0a free appointment here<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

3. Free Massages\r\n<\/strong>Free massages, every Monday at Hart House. Enough said: click here for more details<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

4. The Free Seed Library\r\n<\/strong>It's nice to take a break from studying every now and then, and I find planting<\/a> relaxing (and science does say <\/a>plants make you more creative). DG\u00a0Ivey Library<\/a> at New College has a seed library, part of the Toronto Seed Library<\/a>. The idea is simple: you \"check out\" seeds, plant them, and when your produce is ready to harvest, you take some seeds from your yield and return them to the library for the next person to use. A nice, free way to relax and go green.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Photo
The New College Seed Library at Ivey Library<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

5. Free\u00a0Math, Chemistry, Stats, & Eco help<\/strong>\r\nJust like the writing centres: why not get free help from professionals? Get free tutoring in math<\/a>, chemistry<\/a>, stats<\/a>, or economics<\/a>. The resources are there for you!<\/p>\r\n

6. Pop some Free Virtual Bubble Wrap\r\n<\/strong>Okay, so this one isn't provided by the university, but who can resist? Start popping here<\/a>. (Also, you can get bubble wrap super cheap at Dollarama: just so you know).<\/p>\r\n

7. Free Professor Office Hours<\/strong>\r\nNobody knows how to help you succeed in a class like the people running that class. Talk to your profs and your teaching assistants! They get pretty lonely when nobody comes by, and they'd love to chat and help you get through assignments and material. It's also a great way to make friends (profs are people too!).<\/p>\r\n

8. What about you?<\/strong>\r\nI could go on and on with the other resources on campus I use, but I only get so many words per post, so why not help me out? So what resources do you use: do you have any tips or tricks to help you get through your year? Help me out\u00a0and\u00a0let me know in the comments<\/a>!<\/p>\r\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\nIf you've been tuning in this week, you'll know that UofT has dedicated October to Mental Wellness Month, and\u00a0we here at the Life@UofT blog are taking part by talking about our own experiences with stress and mental health. The hope…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “It’s all about the free stuff: some resources to keep you going”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
Continue reading “It’s all about the free stuff: some resources to keep you going”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":241,"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":[7204,6669,61,1,68],"tags":[78,474,193,111,103,89,54],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21825"}],"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\/241"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21825"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21888,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21825\/revisions\/21888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}