Third Year, Psychology and Linguistics
“What advice would you give to other UTM students?”
“Ask questions, use the resources around you. Everyone’s here to help, it’s up to you if you want to help yourself. People are willing so just do your part and don’t be afraid.”
I’m gonna pull back the curtain a little bit and let you all know that I…am a third-year student at UTM. I know, I know, so old. But I prefer wise, my friends. And yes, you may ask, “What do you mean by wise, Leah? What are you so wise about?”
Embarrassment.
Third Year, Accounting Specialist and Economics Major
“I have a jewelry line, its called modabodydecor. It’s body jewelry…Modabodydecor is actually inspired by my friends, they were the one who kept telling me ‘you should start it off’ because I know how to do it and its hard to find body jewelry, like body chains, its difficult to find them online and they are expensive.”
Second Year, CCIT and Professional Writing and Communication
“How is your program in general? Do you like or is it stressful?”
“… It has its ups and downs. I’m sure a lot of programs do.”
“So how do you cope with it?”
“I guess… talking to my friends and family… Self motivation sometimes, just trying to get through the day… Sometimes, music itself is a motivator… Making sure you’re healthy is a motivation itself—if you don’t have that then you don’t have anything.”
Kimberly Johnson
I had a conversation with an adult recently that just got on my nerves. If I’m honest, I wasn’t mad at him – I was mad that I couldn’t answer him. This was his question:
“Oh, you’re an English major. What do you want to do with that?”
I responded with something like:
“Oh, uh…I’m not too sure yet.”
And I was pissed… and pretty disappointed. See, I actually want to be a writer – a novelist specifically – but I am crap out of my mind scared to mention that to “practical minded adults with real jobs.”
I feel like as a culture, we tell others:
“Do what you love!”
When what we really mean is:
“Do what you love as long as you make some serious money. Otherwise, do other things.”
This worries me. I don’t ever want to work a dead end job. I really (call me juvenile) want to be one of those people that actually love what they do. I just don’t want to be stuck. Now I realize as I write this, it’s not like people wanted their dead end jobs…actually the term ‘dead end’ is pretty judgmental.
I am saying this though: I want to do something with my life that makes me happy. I just don’t want to wake up thirty years from now, dissatisfied with life.
So what’s my point? I guess I’m honestly saying, my future makes me nervous… And I don’t know how to be cool about that, but maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be. If I’m looking for some kind of lesson out of this feeling, it’s this: the first step is to unapologetically say what you want out of life. So…
Dear man at the beginning of this post,
Hi! My name is Kim. I want to be a writer…novelist specifically. I want to write something that matters someday to someone. That’s pretty risky financially – I get that – but I want a crack at it. Why? Because I want more out of my life than stability.
Let me start off by saying I don’t want to paint an excessively rosy picture. There are inevitably going to be some downers to the exchange experience.
You must be prepared…
In high school, when life was simpler, I knew kids whose parents didn’t allow them to even think about getting jobs. They feared their kids would lose precious study time, and it would lead to bad grades and rejection letters from universities. Thing is, now that we’re accepted and have been forced into the new world of tough marking and teachers who could care less about whether you did well or not (and rightfully so!), many of us are getting jobs to help pay for our tuition. Some of us are also getting jobs so we can fell free and independent, especially those who are now living alone without the influence of overbearing parents.
Fourth Year, Architecture
“I would like to be an architect, and eventually have my own firm.”
“What’s going to be the hardest part about being an architect?”
“I don’t know because I’m not an architect yet. But the hardest part of being an architect student is trying to balance what you want to do against what your professors want you to do, finding your own flavour I guess, and making it stand true to your designs and your philosophies while at the same time trying to get a good mark.”
“Are you going to change your philosophy if your clients want you to change?”
“Yes, I wish I could say no, but yes. I mean at the end of the day, an architect’s job is to design for somebody. I would change my work for somebody in the name of money.”
Third Year, Economics Major
“I’m thinking to change my program to accounting because I think it’s easier for me to get a job in Canada.”
Third Year, Major in CCIT, Professional Writing; Minor in French
“How do you like Toronto?”
“My biggest complaint about Toronto is the weather, I can’t stand the cold and I don’t like the wind either. For me, Toronto is where all my friends are, well, minus the really good high school friends. Toronto is where I established the maturity of my identity; it is where I really grew as an adult. This is the place where I learned a lot. Toronto, for me, is going to be a place that I will always remember.”