Free Food

(1)

It's less than a month into my first year at University and I'm starting to get very busy. I have lots of reading in English, which isn't the most interesting thing. I have some calculus questions and economics assignments. Needless to say it is much different from high school. You really have to be independent and make sure you keep track of everything; organization skills will be your best friend in university.

8:00 am class also sucks. I didn't think it would be that bad, but it is. Makes for a long day. Luckily I was able to change my schedule for next term so I start at either 9:00 or 9:30 am, yay!!

(2)

As extracurricular activities are important in university I'm planning on going to the Environmental and Conservation Sciences Association's (ECSA) first meeting. I'm excited because it will be a great way to meet people who are actually taking what I'm taking! Plus, free dinner is always a bonus. There are so many clubs one can join, and if there isn’t one that interests you, you can just make one!! They are an awesome way to meet people with similar interests, and there are perks, including free food!

(3)

Only a few weeks in, I have my first statistics lab and my first Biology lab due. Then I have a Calculus assignment and an Economics assignment due, not to mention a Biology essay due next week and an English presentation!! Why does it seem that everything needs to be done at the same time?! I’m busy every week but this one is extra busy. I have my economics "term test" tomorrow at 5-6 pm, which is not a very convenient time but we don't have economics class tomorrow, so that's a plus.

(4)

I went to the Energy Club's first meeting. It seems like a really cool club and I'm excited about all the things they do. I was one of the three non-engineers -- I'm sure that will change once I recruit people!! On the weekend I went to Rez Fest. On Friday people from residence and their guests went to the water park at the huge Mall in the `burbs, which was reserved just for us. It was a fun time splashing around and soaking in the hot tub. Then Saturday night they had an outdoor stage with different bands playing and beer gardens. These events allow you to met so many more people and get to meet people you wouldn’t normally meet. Overall it was a really fun time and glad I went.

(5)

I'm a little scared for my first midterm, not going to lie, but I do have a reasonable amount of hope that everything goes well. I also have a big biology lab report due. Who knew labs could take so long? High school definitely doesn't prepare you very well. What a huge step it is between high school and university, I don't think people realize how huge until they experience it.

(6)

You can definitely tell it's midterm time here. Everyone is reading their notes on their breaks and before classes.

My statistics exam was okay, more questions than I could finish, so some guessing was involved...yikes. The calculus one went pretty well; I knew how to do the majority of it. I find out the marks tomorrow so that will be the true test! Finally, I have one more midterm left!!!!! Biology: I have a feeling this one won't be too easy, as my professor is known to have hard exams, and honestly evolution is not really my thing.

I also have to write an essay for English 123, which I'm not looking forward to since I don't like essays. The class is really fun though since we have lots of discussions and we are watching the movie "Waltz with Bashir" right now; fascinating. Then I have a term test next week for econ 101.

(7)

My best experience yet has to be volunteering at the University`s Open House. I stood at the Energy Club`s booth and talked to perspective students and their parents, and answered lots of questions they had. It was awesome to see people interested in the program -- it reminded me of myself. I helped some people understand our faculty and program better, but also the whole university life, so that was nice to see. I met people that are in my faculty and my program, which was good; everyone was very nice. I met some professors as well so I'm glad I went! I hope this event recruited some more people to our faculty, because I told everyone I talked to how awesome it is.

After reading our view book and talking to some of the professors and prospective students, I once again am so happy I'm in this Faculty. I really think this is the best there is, and I know I will have an awesome time here!

(8)

I got back my marks for the stats and calculus midterms. Stats, not so good, calc I was happy with. I had my bio midterm on Monday which was okay; it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, but my prof is known to have exams with tricks in them, so who knows how well I really did?

Most of the marks I'm getting are definitely different from what I got in high school, which is a big shock, but for some reason it doesn't seem to matter as much how smart you are or what mark you got. Maybe I'm living in some dream world, but it's not this big competition of who can get the highest mark. That is probably due to the fact that there are up to 400 students in a class, so it`s impossible to keep up with how well you`re doing compared with everyone else. However, I do sometimes have the fear jag: not doing well enough, or even failing one of my classes.

Just another reason to keep on top of my work and study hard, and consequently have no social life.

(9)

Our faculty had a free BBQ today. They had some delicious veggie burgers, which were very popular. It was the best free BBQ I've seen yet. They even had chips and vegetables! I also looked at the "Go Abroad Fair" in the atrium. I was always thinking of studying abroad, mainly in Sweden, because I heard it was awesome and there is a program specifically for my degree. Talking with a girl who went there definitely reinforced how awesome it is there. Now I'm really excited to go, so I think I'll do that in my 3rd year!

My parents are coming up this weekend and also some of my friends from home, so I'm very excited to see everyone! But now I need to do my math assignment before I get too excited about the long weekend!!

(10)

Well I had a fairly good weekend. My parents came up from home, and I stayed with them in their hotel for most of it. Different food and different scene from the cafeteria! I got to go out with my two friends from home on Saturday night. It was really nice to see some familiar faces again, and I also had some good talks. However it seems at the time, Facebook is not the same as face-to-face with a beer. It makes me miss home a little, but I do really enjoy being here.

(11)

Aside from university-related activities, there is a lot of partying when you are here, especially living in residence. You become so close to the people who you live with that they become your family so it’s always fun going out with them, or just watching a movie. Most weekends there is a party going on, and some weeknights too! Sorry mom and dad!

The major party weekend so far is Halloween, and that means a bunch of university kids dressing up like they are children and going out! I'm going on a pub crawl with my friends. I'm either going to be a tree or a recycling bin -- fitting for my degree, I know. I have no idea how to create either with what I have, so a Value Village run may be in store. University also teaches you to be crafty and creative. Like creating something out of nothing, and of course as cheaply as possible. There are so many things to do while in university, that you just can’t do them all, but in the long run those are the things that will make the experience that much memoriable and rewarding.

(12)

I am going to be busy this week! I have my economics "term test" tomorrow at 5-6 pm -- not a very convenient time, but we don't have econ class tomorrow so that's a plus. I'm finding that I think about everything in terms of economics now, like thinking what are the marginal costs and benefits of going out instead of doing homework. A bit frightening!

And another huge bio lab, and calculus questions, and ... wait, where's my schedule? How some people can do without one, I just don't know. Truth to tell though, there are people who just forget to do something, and only find out when everyone else starts to talk at the beginning of a class about how long it took. Then they either have to accept the loss of marks, or go scurrying up to the Prof's office trying to think of an excuse.

(13)

Great news!!!

So I couldn't wait till my next entry to share this exciting news. I just received two scholarships that I applied for! Thank you to the Faculty for making it so easy for students to apply for scholarships. So with the one scholarship I already had, and these two, my tuition for the whole year is paid! Yay!!!! It seriously pays to apply for as many scholarships as you can, because lots of times no one applies.

Also I've discovered I'm a true university student now. I waited in a huge line to get a free hotdog for lunch ... how university changes you! I got a free dinner tonight for going to ECSA's meeting. Then tomorrow night I get another free dinner because I'm going to the Institute of Agrologists bbq because with my degree I'll be eligible to become a Professional Agrologist! Agrologist, not Astrologist!

I'm definitely liking this whole university experience ... well minus the homework. I need to do some serious studying now though, so talk to you later.