blog by zahra

Today was one of the busiest days I’ve had in a while.  I started off by waking up at 5:30am and commuting to UBC.  Sat in class for 1.5 hours, tutored a student for an hour, then jumped on the bus again to travel to BC Children’s Hospital, where I volunteer.  I had one of the best shifts ever at BCCH today, because I got to cuddle an infant and rock him back and forth, which is something I’ve been wanting to do since I started volunteering.  After 3 hours, I hopped onto the bus again, traveled back to UBC, and got ready to right my MICB 202 midterm at 7pm.

In total, I commuted using 6 buses and 1 Canada Line train.  But what fascinates me more about my day was my stress level the throughout all my activities (or lack thereof, should I say).  Despite having a midterm worth 33% in the evening, I wasn’t the slightest bit hesitant to attend my volunteering shift, nor was I frazzled by the number of hours I “wasted” in transit.  Today, I realized the true essence of studying ahead of time and truly being prepared for an exam.

Since the weekend, I had planned my studying in such a way that I could cater for my busy schedule.  I promised myself that I would not leave any studying (except for some review) for today, Tuesday, because I didn’t expect to have any time to cram.  Combining all this with my fascination for the immunology section that we were being tested on, I was able to maintain minimal stress levels.  I didn’t know that it was possible to juggle my exam schedule with my other commitments…I usually cancel all my appointments and volunteering shifts during exam time.  I always pride myself with having superb time-management skills, but I think I just upgraded myself to the next level!

P.s. Might I add that I also managed to find time to write this blog post at the end of my busy day!  Where there is a will, there is a way! 🙂