4 Years and A Degree Later

If there is one day that I HAVE to post something, it’s on my “bloggeversary”, June 26th. 4 years ago I was sitting in the computer room of my house “studying” (studying = stalking everything UBC because that’s how stoked I was) for my grade 12 provincial exams, anticipating starting my first year at UBC in the following September. Whoa, THAT was a lifetime ago. Now I am currently on my computer, writing a blog post while I’m anticipating about an exciting opportunity that has come up in my life, woo. Once you graduate from high school, things just keep changing. You go into first year university (assuming you took this route) and you can say that you can anticipate (my new favourite word apparently) where you will be until you finish your degree, or maybe not, lots of people realize university isn’t their thing and they choose to follow a different path. Some people go into a Science degree in order to fulfill their lifelong desire to become a doctor, and after four years, they graduate with a Fine Arts degree because they took that one Visual Art elective in first year and they realized Science wasn’t for them – you may think that this is an exaggeration, but really, it’s not, it happens. UBC was a time of finding myself, a time to follow various paths until the signs along the road became clearer and I started following a path that seemed to have a clearer destination than when I first set foot on it. If you’re someone that thinks they know where they will be in four years, then great! If you’re someone that doesn’t know where they will be in four years, even better, create your path from scratch! Mind you, it always is nice to have some direction, but do it for you, don’t do it for someone else. I would go back to first year in a heartbeat, would I change the way I did some things, or would I keep it the same? That’s a tough question. I feel like all the things that happened along the way got me to where I am today – the people I met, friendships gained and friendships lost, the experiences I experienced, my involvement, academic difficulties, all of it. If those things hadn’t happened, I would not be who I am today or where I am today. So really, pave your destination, but there are no guarantees that it will get paved in one go.

And because I’m feeling so throwbacky…here’s an irrelevant music video from forever ago…because I heard the song today. I am pretty sure I loved this song between the ages of 9-13, and I think I still enjoy it to the same extent. I can’t get over the level of corny in music videos from the early 2000s, like what?

Ode To Undergrad, Call Me Alumni

I am still alive, actually. And I graduated with an expensive piece of paper. What. Four years goes by super fast folks!

I know I haven’t been very active here in my fourth year, or at least as active as I had anticipated — to be honest, one of my reasons for the lack of blogging especially in my second term of fourth year was because one of my classes required us to use WordPress for blogging, and I always kept that logged in and was too lazy to continuously switch accounts.
But now that it’s time for the new class of 2019…? to join UBC, I’ll be more active on here to answer everyone’s questions as I’ve noticed my blog has been peaking with traffic. So yes, as an alumni(how weird to say), I am willing to help you all get through what I was experiencing four years ago. :O
As per always, I will experience the excitement vicariously through all of you new to UBC kiddos!

On a side note, another reason for my activity here will probably be because I’ve realized how liberating it is to have a blog and have a place to write your thoughts. And on that note, I highly encourage everyone to start a blog as they’re going into UBC (or any university, or whatever new chapter you are starting in your life), it’s amazing to be able to go back and reflect on 4 years of your life, especially when it’s at the stage where you’re going through SO many changes — coming out of UBC, I am definitely not the same person that went in.
Anywho, cheerio! 🙂

Ode To September

Happy last day of September. This is the point in the term where I start to feel….sad….. except I don’t have time to be sad. I always like to cherish September to its fullest, since it’s such a  “fresh” month (new courses, new year, new start, new commitments, new schedule, new EVERRRYYTHIIINGGG !). I also had my first midterm of my fourth year, which didn’t exactly go as intended…..but that’s okay, it’s still September, summer mode is still waning away. But not to worry, I have a couple more midterms this week, time for redemption? Maybe. I tried so hard to not fall behind in my readings this year, although this year I have A LOT of readings (probably because my courses this term reflect me being 60% Science-y and 40% Arts-y, as opposed to the usual 80-100% Science and 0-20% Arts). But yes, as I tried not to fall behind in my readings, I realized I was only caught up in my readings for one class….oops. I’m also taking this one course(oh degree requirements), which I took the pre-req of last year, I’m just so uninterested in it that it’s mentally and physically exhausting to actually pick up the textbook and read it – so therefore I neglect it, just like I did last year, except that posed to be an issue for the midterms, oops. So yes, I have just started to get into the routine of things, it was definitely a struggle for the first 2-3 weeks of classes, but I think I’m picking up the pieces and figuring out how to juggle my schedule. LET ME TELL YOU, the busier you keep yourself, the more efficiently you learn to do things in a timely manner – #learningexperiencez  First and second year me had so much idle time(or at least I perceived to have enough time) to just casually scroll through my Facebook newsfeed every 5 minutes, now, not so much. I used to talk to people on Facebook chat and have conversations with them for hours…. I don’t think I’ve done that in MONTHS. I remember thinking it was old people(because at the time, in my mind, you would only be busy if you were old) that didn’t have time for Facebook….I have become that old person, at the ripe old age of 21, YIPPEE. 

I Really Do Try…

…to keep up with posts on this blog. But that’s not working out very well. Ultimately, I want to try to blog as much as possible in my fourth, and final year of my undergrad (EEEEEEEKKK!). Anyway, while we’re at it….I’ve been thinking about life, the future, etc. consistently for the past couple months. To be honest, it’s scary. High school used to be that “safe” place once upon a time…then university became that new “safe” place….and once you’re in the “real world” where’s your “safe” place? We keep getting introduced to these little portions of time that we come to define as our “safe” places…but they never seem to be constant. New experiences can be scary, and so many things can seem uncertain until you establish yourself within your goals and dreams.
I wanted the summer to go by as slow as possible…that’s  not working out in my favour…July is almost over. I’ve lost all concept of time…because time just keeps fast forwarding. I know August will be a month of craziness and I’m not sure if I’m QUITE ready for that. It feels like just yesterday that I was a 17 year-old anxiously anticipating her residence assignment for her first year of university…and now look at me…I’m ‘dreading'(I could have used a better word) the start of my last year of undergrad. Although time has gone by fast, I’ve changed as a person and matured and experienced things I never knew I would. I’ve fought against getting consumed by the world and its desires, I’ve gotten lost in my own goals and dreams, and I’ve also tried to live the dreams of others while trying to find myself. It’s been a mixture of struggles and successes, sandwiched between emotions and memories. It’s a lot less scarier when you have the right people standing by your side, while you both experience similar roller coasters of experiences and emotions. There will always be uncertainties as you face the future, but you have to emphasize your life on what is certain and then slowly step into uncertainties as they slowly become stabilized certainties. Regardless of how alone you might feel when it comes to facing the future, you’re never alone and you need to have that fact solidified in your head – you and thousands….millions…billions… of others are in it together. In it to face life, one step at a time. I just need to keep reminding myself of that instead of getting so caught up about what’s going to happen 6 months from now. BREATHE. Think about the present. Living in the present allows you to prepare yourself for the future.  

Three Years Later, Now We Here.

Yes. Exactly three years ago, to the hour, I was going through random UBC blogs(UBC Blog Squad blogs as well as regular WordPress blogs of UBC students) and came across Carly Wong’s first blog – how many blogs does a girl need? (but go check out this one while you’re at it.. http://carlywongv2.wordpress.com/ ) …because what other method of procrastination did a soon to be first year UBC student have? Especially when they should have been studying for their Biology 12 Provincial Exam? And to procrastinate even more, that 12th grader decided to start her OWN blog – whoa. Then this happened. 
I know I haven’t been blogging very much, but regardless of that, I’ve been getting lots of questions on here from soon to be first years and I’m extremely happy that I am able to pass on my knowledge to you all! 🙂 It’s like reliving my pre-first year excitement. Which makes me move onto my next point….I’m going into fourth year. HA HA ha…ha..wait what. That’s some scary stuff right there, so I refuse to delve deeper into that topic, I’m still a bit touchy about it, so I have nothing more to say about that at this current moment.

As per always(is that even a proper phrase? I don’t know, but we’ll go with it), I do have the intention of blogging more frequently, it just isn’t happening apparently…..but the busyness that is life has died down a tad bit as of today, so maybe I will get back onto that…..so, peace.

Third Year Overview, When I Grow Up.

Now that it’s summer, I figured I should probably make a post on here….since last month was completely hectic. One may think that they have an excellent exam schedule….until they realize how much time they’ve wasted, resulting in very little time to study, hence the solution is to cram and study like you’ve never studied before. BUT, sometimes, that cramming thing actually works because you’re so determined and desperate to do well on your finals. And sometimes, you think you know nothing, but apparently all that cramming you did transferred useful information into your head, which translated in actually knowing things for your finals. Check please.  My week of finals in a nutshell = a drunk blur (substituting alcohol with academic knowledge stuff). I don’t remember much except for pages and pages of notes and countless hours spent in pseudo-solitude…because it got to a point where all my friends were done with their exams and I was still going…(that was slightly depressing). 

ENOUGH of that. 
It’s summer, and I’m enjoying every minute of doing nothing related to school – although that won’t be lasting for too long since I’m doing summer school, because I just LOVE school that much and CANNOT get enough of it. *mylife* 
I’m more excited than one would expect me to be, about the World Cup – yes, I actually watch soccer, be surprised. 

SO.
I can’t believe that I’m actually done third year…this is mind blowing. Who knew I would make it this far, not me. It’s weird to me to think  that just 3 years ago, I was still in grade 12….’ready’ to graduate from high school and ready to enter a new chapter of my life that would be called UBC. Now in approximately one year, I will be graduating from UBC – WWHHHAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!? I’m not even ready to talk about that. Be warned all you future first years, your undergrad goes by at the speed of light.
I can hands down say that this was probably one of the best years of my undergrad(apart from first year…really wasn’t too fond of second year, it was okay). This year was a year of learning and independence. This year gave me a sense of  purpose I hadn’t felt before and shaped me as a person through experiences and the people I chose to surround myself with. Second term of this year was probably my favourite, I got closer to a lot of people and met lots of new people that I was really able to connect with on many levels – people that would be with me as I progressed. I think I matured a lot this past year, and well, maturing is a great thing in life – makes you feel old, but it’s real. As a result, my way of thinking has evolved and the way I approach situations and circumstances has also changed. It has allowed me to gain a broader perspective on life(actually), and actually apply the knowledge I’ve gained through various interactions. I hate to say this, but I almost feel like an adult…it’s weird. Looking back since I graduated high school when I was basically a ‘kid’, it boggles me how much I’ve changed as a person. Seventeen year old me and twenty year old me are NOT the same. We may ‘look’ the same, but we do not ‘think’ the same  – experience changes people, and it’s weird, but in a cool way. Experience allows you to let go of people that probably shouldn’t stay in your life, and hold on to the ones that do belong by your side.

I thought I should…

It took quite the disciplined process to start writing this post. 
A week ago, I figured that I should probably write a post, because like I said, I have quite a few ideas planned out for posts……..but then that didn’t happen. So yesterday, I decided “this is going to be the day that I finally write another post” ….that also didn’t happen. Alas, this evening, I said “this WILL be the day that I finally write another post”…and to ensure that I would write one, at approximately 10:23 pm I set my phone alarm to go off at 11:35 pm. My original plan was to buckle down and study as I had set the alarm, but of course, just as you’re about to do something relatively responsible and important, the world turns against you(i.e., you get hungry, so you eat something salty….and then all of a sudden you get really thirsty……then just as you quench your thirst, your bladder wants all the attention turned to its needs…aannndd…you get the gist of it) – and then at approximately 11:31 pm(after watching more than a few clips from The Ellen Show)..I decided to turn off my alarm, brush my teeth, and get this blogging going. Productive? Exactly. 

So it’s that time of year again….where UBC starts harassing you with Course Evaluation surveys(which by the way you really should take the time to genuinely and sincerely fill out!)……which ties in with this being the last full week of classes. OHMYGOLLYSHISHKEBABS. My finals don’t start for another few weeks…BUT….this is wrapping up my third year. It’s getting real yo. Half a year from now, I’ll be busily juggling school, commitments, and grad school applications………..wait, WHAT??!?! Scary stuff. First year and second year are ‘easy’ breezy beautiful as you breeze through life…then third year hits you and you’re all “hmm..the real world is probably going to come slap me in the face soon..” …and yeah. Breathe. Take it all in. And release. So that’s my life. I’m taking this last full week, slowly and steadily….taking it all in…each and every second. So apart form that, how’s school going? It’s going…..there’s one course that I absolutely despise against, and it’s the course I’m the most worried for…so it’s causing a ‘little’ anxiety whenever I think about the final. Other than that, I just finished my last midterm of the term last week, and now I just have a couple papers due, and then it’s time for that finals grind. #librarylockdowntime 
And, how’s life going? It’s going well. I’m happy, and hopefully you’re happy too(if you’re not, you should be), so that makes us all happy.
I should probably go to bed now so that I’m awake and energized to take in the beauuutiful day that is tomorrow (it comes with sunshine too!) 
With that, I leave you this lovely lovely song(which you probably should already know of) that will send shivers down your back, because that’s how beautiful it is. 

 

life do wop.

*Be prepared for a rambling vomit of words and thoughts that have a low chance of flowing together in any sensical manner*

Hehe, hey. It’s been a while. Well the past month has been very interesting and busy and crazy, hence the lack of posts, oopsies. But, it’s been great! Just one more month until classes are OVER! CRAZY. I try to avoid thinking about that….*whoosh goes third year*  Approximately 3 years ago, I was on the same boat that many grade 12 students are on right now, anxiously waiting for university acceptances, trying to figure out what to do with my life. WEELLLL, let me tell you, the years go by fast, but best of luck to all of you! 
I was hoping to be productive this weekend…but one course just took over my entire weekend because it’s so dense and there’s so much content!  It’s 6:00 pm right now and it’s incredibly bright outside, one point for daylight savings…minus the fact that I slept in for an extra hour to catch up for that “lost” sleep, but now my day just seems shorter. I feel as though my timeline for the past month seems completely messed up, two weeks ago was the weekend ending Reading Break….which was when we had that random Winter Wonderland,  I don’t ever complain about snow! It was great, and UBC’s campus wide snowball fight, that was equally great. Vancouver rarely gets snow like that, 24 hours straight of snowfall….when has that ever happened around here?! Uh, like, never. And now I look out the window and it’s blue skies and sunny brightness and ~13 degrees. Not too shabby….except I’m stuck inside studying/writing this post.  I actually have so many things to blog about in future posts that I’ve been putting off for way too long, but unfortunately I have to continue putting it off just a little bit longer so that I can get back to studying..oops. 

The song that has been taking over my life for the past week. Pitbull, you always do this to me. I predict that this will be a Summer 2014 anthem song because it’s definitely not popular enough yet. 

February Frenzies.

A lot has been happening, back to that crazy life with midterms and other things, but on the bright side, it’s reading break next week, YAY! We were also in for some crazy weather(inclusive of snow), but I think that warning has been lifted to a lighter weather system hitting Vancouver. And don’t get me started on the weather we’ve had for the past week or so…..below freezing temperatures with blue sky and sun to deceive you from bundling up, weeeooo – but I’m not complaining, it didn’t rain. 
What’s been happening in February? Neknoms and Flappy Bird.
In my opinion, I think that this whole neknom drinking thing is completely out of hand and just stupid. Why would you post a video of yourself careless indulging in alcohol, to Facebook/Youtube/social media in general? What part of that seems any bit professional? If your future employer were to get their hands on that, I’m sure you’d get a job IMMEDIATELY. Not only that, but some people aren’t aware of what their limits are, and the consequences are dangerous, even fatal. A better series of ‘neknoms’ would be to do something that has purpose and would benefit other people, something like a ‘pay it forward’ act. If drinking alcohol can spread, why can’t good deeds also spread like wildfire? I’m sure you’d feel better doing something that would benefit another person rather than chugging 4 cans of beer in front of a camera(which isn’t benefitting your liver). Plus, drowning yourself in alcohol while sitting in front of a camera really isn’t that attractive.
 
Flappy Bird – R.I.P. 
Who knew that a bird with wings(as opposed to birds without wings….?) flying through pipes could be so addicting? But if you got rid of the game due to rage, sadly, that’s the end of that. 

Crazies.

It’s strange to think that January is almost over…this month is going by way too fast and I’m really struggling to keep up with school and life. :S But it’s okay! Reading break is only like three weeks away…and then before you know it, term two will be over. It’s gonna happen and you know it. This whole being in third year thing is really rather frightening to me…sure I’ve been a third year for like 5 months now, but as it’s slowly reaching my year of graduation(2015), I feel like there’s SO much to do in such a short period of time, hello crunch time. I had debated on taking an extra year….but then I wasn’t sure if it was worth it to take an extra year or half a year just to do electives(that would be cool to do, and relaxing, buuuut…I feel like I should probably carry on with my future goals relating to academia without ‘wasting’ time – disclaimer: I don’t think education is ever a ‘waste’.). I’ve also decided to take a much needed ‘Facebook break’….meaning I’ll only check Facebook as needed and not have it open on my tabs 24/7 with a burning urge to check it whenever I see a notification – because that’s the reality of it. Now that I’m in third year, I don’t have any course groups on Facebook that I feel the need to constantly check (what a life that was in first and second year, Facebook groups saved me, thank you to all the intelligent people that always monitored the groups better than TAs on Vista/Connect discussion boards.). And whatever else I have groups for on Facebook don’t need to be constantly monitored, yay. Facebook breaks really do do wonders for you..it’s refreshing.  So that’s where it’s at now, and hopefully I start feeling better about everything.