As university students, we pay for our education: the lecture halls, the study space, the go-to food places, and especially the professors. Without the profs, we would have no education—there would be no experienced people in our fields of choice to teach us the ropes.
Ever feel like getting away from life? But can’t afford a plane ticket?
We all have a place we go to when life gets overwhelming and if you haven’t discovered that place, I hope you find it. For me personally, when I’m overwhelmed, tired, and discouraged, I try to read something to distract myself. However, not just any book—I read a book about another world, another life, where chivalry still exists but women are strong and independent; a book where the characters are so human you believe they exist and are living amongst us. I try to think about the character’s life, the character’s difficulties, and understand how they overcome their troubles. As odd as this must sound, my sanctuary in books is not for escapist reasons but for relation, perspective, and wisdom. I’ve learned through books that even the villain has a story, that every character has some sort of difficulty—it makes me think of my life and the problems I must overcome. Sometimes, we are so consumed in our problems and our lives that we forget that a world of people exist around us, a world where other people may be experiencing the exact same troubles we are. Whoa, I know that was some deep stuff. What can I say? I like books.
*shoulder shrug*
A book that I hold close to my heart—or rather, a book series—is the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. This book changed my life—I know that’s epic, but it was written so beautifully, so genuinely; I believed that I was the main character and in some aspects we were quite similar.
“I spent my life folded between the pages of books.
In the absence of human relationships, I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me
In high school, I found it difficult to form strong ties with people—I felt odd and out of place and often felt like no one understood me. I pushed people away, like my family members, and pushed pieces of myself to the far corners of my mind. It wasn’t a great place to be. So one day I found this book and the main character was this broken, isolated girl that was scared of who she might be and who she would become. I was terrified of who I may become and if I would make it to university, so I read to look for relation, for some sort of understanding, for myself through Juliette’s eyes. I found that I should stop worrying and stop pushing people away to accept my life and myself. To be a little odd because I was a book nerd, and oddness surrounds us like oxygen. I learned that I should wake up, to “ignite”, to start living life with vigor and hope and strength. I accepted who I was after this book series, and until this day, my favourite word is ignite.
When I’m feeling sluggish and discouraged, I tell myself to ignite, to spark a wild flame, to open my closed eyes, to breathe in, to wake up, to live my life because life is so short, and I must make the most out of my time on earth. I love, love, love this book and have worn out the pages with my continuous reading of it.
Anyway, that is my sanctuary, and what I love most about it is that once I crawl out of my hobbit hole and face my life, I can admit where I have gone wrong and apologize for my sour behaviour. I have a moment of clarity of understanding and responsibility. I try to change myself after taking that needed break from life—I try to be better somehow, some way.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons
Being a weirdo in front of your crush… Let’s just be honest, we’ve all been there. It happens, all right? Ahhh! Let’s just accept it and go from there.
So, you have a crush… Now what? Well, first you gotta convince the poor sucker you’re not an absolute weirdo, which is easier said than done.
Name: Christine Sharma
Age: 20
Body Type: I’m going to say standard.
This is not another article on how you should love your body no matter what size or shape you are.
This is about how all of our bodies are standard body types. You don’t have to define yourself as a “size” or a “shape”. You are not fat and you are not skinny, because using words like “fat”, “skinny”, “tall”, and “short” attempts to define what a “normal” body type is in terms of how much you deviate from the norm. But if everybody has different body types, aren’t we all normal? Can we not all have standard bodies?
I hate group projects.
Apparently, group projects are supposed to “lessen your load” and give you “teamwork experience” and help you “learn from each other”.
But when you’re dealing with other group mates, that’s not always the case. There will be someone who is completely unresponsive, doesn’t do any work, and doesn’t show up for group meetings, and still gets their name on the assignment. Next, there’s the person who tries to take charge entirely and do everything on their own, and sometimes the group will let this person do all of the work. And then there’s that one person whom you kind of feel bad for because they try to contribute, but most of their work is wrong.
Or maybe I’m just a control freak.
Gadzooks! If you’re not already a fan of the Marvel Cinematic universe, there’s no better time than now to become one! Last week, Avengers: Age of Ultron leaked in all of its glory, showcasing the despair and hardship that faces our favourite team of cinematic heroes. Personally, the shot of Iron Man and the Hulk facing off was all it took for me to say, “Marvel, just take my ______ money!” (Feel free to use your imagination there). Seriously, if you haven’t checked it out, go do it now! As if the hype weren’t huge enough already for fans, Marvel announced on Tuesday the full lineup of their next phase of movies… and it’s a doozy! If you don’t know who Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and the Inhumans are now, you will in the next five years! Geeks everywhere are surely having “nerdgasms” right now, and I’m no exception. Witnessing Benedict Cumberbatch monologue and cast spells as Doctor Strange in 2016…awesome!
There’s a phrase for university students: “I’ll sleep when I graduate”, and it is an ironic joke—mostly because, sadly, it’s true. We tell ourselves it’s a few more minutes, you’ll make up the time later, but when you finish your work you realize an hour or more has passed. By morning, if it’s an all-nighter, you’re tired and you have to get over it and attend class. You may find yourself falling asleep halfway through, which disrupts your learning process. You don’t take notes, you’re too tired to focus, and you miss the lecture.
We are sitting next to you in lecture. We are in line behind you at the Blind Duck. We are ordering coffee at the cash next to you at Tims. We are studying near you in the library until our last bus leaves campus.
We are commuters. We have #commuterproblems. And we are all over campus.
Allow me to make a general statement: UTM is informally known as a commuter campus. The majority of students on campus seem to commute—that is, take some form of public transport to and from school.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard of some faraway lands that our peers commute from: Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Markham, Woodbridge, Toronto, Scarborough, Milton—a whole bunch of places in and around the GTA. Think about it: the person sitting next to you in lecture might’ve woken up three or more hours ago to commute.
It’s a little weird, but when I was a kid, September meant something different to me. September meant everything that I loved—my freedom, my lack of math homework, and my hours of Anastasia marathons—were suddenly coming to a grinding end. September meant homework. September meant bedtime at a reasonable hour, and September meant a juggernaut of newness. September, now that I think of it, was the first time I realized I hated change.
What’s strange, though, is that university is somehow different. Now I don’t know if that was just because I was working and doing summer school, but when September came around, I couldn’t wait to get back to school. I actually liked school, and I, especially now (as this is one of my last “first months”), like the first month of school.
It happens to all of us. Missed alarms, hectic schedules, chasing buses, slow people in the hallway, and that coveted cup of coffee are just a few things that have led us to this epidemic. When you walk into class late, there is a good chance the room is pretty much filled, so there are a few people who will stare at you as you make your way to an empty seat. Well, I’m here to let you know, this doesn’t have to be the case.
You don’t have to be a dishevelled, tired, zombie student. Own the room. Become memorable in the best way possible. In order to do that, let’s identify the type of late comer you are.
Are you the:
I’m sure we’d all like to aim for the adjusted student, but that isn’t always possible.
Recently, I was five minutes late as a white van in front of my express bus decided to have a leisurely ride at 8:55 am. Three cars behind the van switched to the left lane to keep their sanity and the express bus was stuck behind the van. When the bus turned in to UTM, it was 8:59 and my class happened to be in IB and of course, the room was full. Luckily, I saw an empty seat and dashed to it as soon as I walked into the room.
This brings up the first tip when walking late into a classroom: Scan the room for seats. Look around to see if there are any empty spaces.
Second: Fast walk—don’t run or jog—but fast walk. It’s like you’re slowly rushing to your seat. It’s quick and graceful.
Third: For the students who have one class after another in another building, pack up five minutes before the class ends. You aren’t going to be late and you probably haven’t missed anything important from the previous lecture.
Tips:
For the jugglers: Carry something small and no less than three things. Make sure it’s not a laptop, unless that’s the only thing you’re going to carry. Rushing to class when you’re late is already a tough task. Make it easier on yourself by carrying less items.
Now, for the late-comers in general, here’s what you do: Take five minutes to get yourself together. Fix your hair, take deep breath, have a drink of water, and relax before walking into class. When you walk in, all eyes may or may not be on you, but walk in with confidence. Instead of scurrying to the nearest seat, scan the room and look for a place to sit. And if you catch a glimpse of the professor, quickly apologize for coming late. You can mouth the words or apologize after class and briefly explain your situation. An email is good enough too.
We can’t always help if we’re late, but we can make the best of the situation and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
What are some tips you have? Share them below!