{"id":22456,"date":"2014-11-21T15:47:27","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T20:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=22456"},"modified":"2014-11-21T15:47:28","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T20:47:28","slug":"gearing-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2014\/11\/21\/gearing-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Gearing Up"},"content":{"rendered":"Brace yourselves: exams are coming. Don\u2019t forget about essays and assignments due soon. I know how daunting these tasks can be, especially in first year. But we\u2019re all in this together!\r\n\r\n
\"Street-level<\/a>
In this crazy huge community, we have to stick together to make it through the hard winters (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s all in the way you think about working. When I feel overwhelmed, I tell myself to breathe,<\/em> not to worry and that there are many hours between me and the tests or due dates. When you see how many hours you have, your subconscious can adjust to the overwhelming to-do list and plan how to use that time. The power of the mind is limitless!\r\n\r\nI also try to look forward to the holidays. For my holiday, it means flying home to snowy, frigid Alberta for some serious chillaxation<\/em>. Winter is a great time. It\u2019s a time of rest, peace, and reflection. We just have to get through the fall semester, our peak mentally focused time, reel in those marks and get those jobs done. Then we\u2019re home-free.\r\n\r\nFamily support is key. I know too many students who don\u2019t have strong enough family connectivity and it\u2019s heart-breaking. Everybody needs a hand sometimes and everybody (including young people like us working hard on our studies) deserves<\/em> a hand.\r\n\r\nI\u2019m a lucky, lucky guy. My parents and I are best pals and our little family stays connected no matter what. My Dad stayed with me last summer and my Mom came to visit me right at the time that I started this blog post! She and I always have a great time together in Toronto and perhaps we can share some of that fun with you too!\r\n\r\n
\"A<\/a>
My Mom and I thought the holiday display at Yonge-Dundas Square was pretty cool (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nOnce she was settled in my apartment after the long flight, my Mom gave me some amazing gifts from the Tsuu T\u2019ina peoples who live just west of Calgary to liven up my place. We also reorganized and redecorated my bachelor-pad. I can\u2019t take all the credit for my home layout; I\u2019ve had an excellent interior designer helping me.\r\n\r\n
\"A<\/a>
A new Tsuu T'ina dream-catcher, chosen special for me by my parents! (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"Four<\/a>
My Mom also gave me these beautiful Tsuu T'ina coasters, among many other little items (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nYou don\u2019t need family to do this, and if you\u2019re lonely, a change is as good as a rest. Even the little things can make a world of difference. Little <\/em>things, like moving some furniture, sorting, and redecorating, can have a big<\/em> impact.\r\n\r\n
\"Fancy<\/a>
Some new interior design mastery atop my TV stand (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"One<\/a>
Shifting this shelf 90 degrees may seem like no big deal, but for a guy who's used to it the other way, this is life-changing (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s a lot of wintertime fun downtown. While we were window shopping on Bloor Street in the Yorkville ritzy area (my Mom loves the awesome window displays; you can\u2019t get those back home!) we even caught a glimpse of a big holiday parade.\r\n\r\n
\"A<\/a>
Eaton Centre has these giant holiday reindeer to terrify us into shopping faster (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nBut there\u2019s even more to this winter wonderland. We toured all over snowy downtown. We even made it to the Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes special exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It was massive! Each piece of artwork had a powerful story attached to it and each was more moving than the last. I can\u2019t describe the beauty. You have to see them yourself.\r\n\r\n
\"The<\/a>
Snowy day at the AGO (photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"The<\/a>
Now we know what that crazy glass part of the AGO looks like from the inside (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"Giant<\/a>
This giant sign is on the wall in...you guessed it...the gift shop (Photo by Zachary Biech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re entering a time of celebration. Even if you\u2019re on your own, remember: celebrate your home, celebrate what you\u2019re working towards.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n
\nBrace yourselves: exams are coming. Don\u2019t forget about essays and assignments due soon. I know how daunting these tasks can be, especially in first year. But we\u2019re all in this together! It\u2019s all in the way you think about working.…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Gearing Up”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Gearing Up”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":238,"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":[63,7204,62,1,66,82],"tags":[78,9307,176,138,286],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22456"}],"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\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22467,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22456\/revisions\/22467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}