{"id":33159,"date":"2017-12-12T09:06:16","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T14:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=33159"},"modified":"2017-12-12T09:06:16","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T14:06:16","slug":"newyearnowwhat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2017\/12\/12\/newyearnowwhat\/","title":{"rendered":"#NewYearNowWhat?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Another resolution: take more artsy photos because this is from 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Let the record show that I expected this semester to go very differently than it actually did. I thought I would be more put together. I thought I wouldn\u2019t miss deadlines. I thought I would remain more involved in certain campus publications. I thought I wouldn\u2019t miss class as much. I thought I would keep up with assignments and midterms. I thought I had my mental health in check. And, on top of all of that, I was convinced that I was going to have my first relationship. Well, that didn\u2019t work out. Who\u2019s surprised, really? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

As much as I will lament about my personal shortcomings and failures this semester, I can\u2019t deny that it has been a time in which I have grown the most. I guess I could easily wallow in the fact that, if I plan to spend five years in my undergrad, I\u2019m currently in the midway point of my time at U of T and I haven\u2019t exactly achieved everything that I wanted to achieve. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

But maybe there\u2019s a silver lining. Recently, I\u2019ve been asked, \u201cWould you rather good things happened, or interesting things?\u201d (and yes, to all of you who have clued in, this question came from the popular dating app OKCupid).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After a moment of hesitation, I admitted that I would rather have interesting things happen. The universal truth about all writers is that we want to have experiences; especially interesting ones that we can draw from. Where would Joan Didion be if she hadn\u2019t experienced that year of grief? Or J.D. Salinger without experiencing the Second World War? Or David Sedaris without experiencing OCD?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Once, when I was upset over a guy who pursued me and then moved onto someone else within the span of minutes, my friend comforted me by saying, \u201cAdversity sells.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Adversity sells. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

I fumbled with those words for a bit, analyzed them to death, and came up with a dozen follow-up questions. But in the end, it\u2019s true. We often take our bad experiences and grow from them and, if you\u2019re a writer, those experiences are the ones that fuel your stories.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This could have been a post about my perfect semester, in which I attended every class punctually, did well on all my assignments, was elected to every position I ran for, and I did all of this in between spending time with my perfect boyfriend who I'm in a healthy long-term monogamous relationship with. But (a) that wouldn\u2019t be very relatable; and (b) that wouldn\u2019t be very interesting, would it?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I\u2019m exactly the type of person who would reflect upon a year come December, and think about what I\u2019m going to do differently in the next year. Last year, I had a very specific request to better myself in almost every way imaginable. This year, I have gained the right amount of realism (and cynicism) to know that it might not be the case. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

I just hope that in the next year, I become more comfortable with my shortcomings and failures, and learn to grow from them instead of wallowing in despair. Of course I hope I do better<\/i> in the next semester, it would be ridiculous if I didn\u2019t, but I need to be more understanding of my limits.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For those of you who have been on this journey with me: thank you for reading. I look forward to documenting how things go next semester. <\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\nLet the record show that I expected this semester to go very differently than it actually did. I thought I would be more put together. I thought I wouldn\u2019t miss deadlines. I thought I would remain more involved in certain…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “#NewYearNowWhat?”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
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