Monthly Archives: November 2012

Adventure Time!

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A key part of succeeding in university is taking the time to de-stress! The best part about living in Vancouver and being on-campus at UBC are all of the opportunities available for you to do this in so many different ways.  There really are activities on and off campus that can cater to many different interests. As for me, I consider myself an explorer! I love to be handed a map and just learn my way around so I did just that this past weekend and had a great time! Myself and two of my friends ventured to the Robson Street area down town and just went exploring – learning street names, finding shops and restaurants we’ve never heard of, and just fell in love with the great diversity of our surroundings.

After venturing about, my friends and I visited a local piercing shop called NEXT! on Granville Street. I highly recommend this place if you’re looking to get anything pierced – All of the staff are super friendly, approachable, and detailed when answering any questions you may have. They were very reassuring and sure to inform my friends and I all about the safety measures and precautions they take when they do piercings and they gave thorough instructions on aftercare. It was a little painful, but I got my tragus and my cartilage pierced that day and I’m very satisfied with the results. I’ve been to this same piercing shop before to get my nose pierced as well and the service has consistently been great and safe. After getting our piercings and doing some more exploring, my friends and I decided to have brunch at a Café Crepe restaurant. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS! Anything with nutella is pretty delicious and I’d recommend a lot of the menu items since my friends and I chose different items and shared all of our different selections. After lunch we did manage to get lost, only briefly, but found our way to the Cineplex Odeon which is a theater in a Mall. After some shopping and enjoying some pretty good sushi from the food court we saw Wreck It Ralph. Who says university students can’t see kid’s movies?! Laugh all you want, it was a really great movie with lots of jokes even us “older kids” can enjoy.

After a long day out and about, my friends and I decided we’d had enough exploring for the day. But, every adventure wouldn’t be an adventure without a mishap! In case you haven’t ventured down town yet or anywhere where there’s a busy road, you should know that there are a lot of pedestrians and road safety is CRITICAL. It sounds juvenile, but make sure you’re are very careful when crossing the street. It pays to be extra cautious because even though my friends and I were obeying the traffic light which was indicating it was safe for us to cross the street; my friend was hit by a car attempting to turn right at a red light. Thankfully, there was no serious damage and the driver was extremely apologetic, but it’s obvious it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.

Thankfully most of us made it home after our adventure bruise free. So, lessons for the day:

  1. Take time to do what makes you happy and clear your mind! De-stressing is critical in such a hectic time like university. You’ve worked your butt off to get here and to stay here, so reward yourself once in a while!
  2. Traffic safety is critical! Look both ways before you cross the street and obey traffic signs and lights – only walk across when it’s safe!

So, I hope you have a great week and maybe give yourself something to look forward to by planning something you know you’ll enjoy for the weekend. Best of luck in your studies! Feel free to share some of your awesome adventure/exploring places.

Inspired

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Like every other young adult I’ve found myself wondering what my purpose is. What am I going to do with my life? Who and what am I going to be when I “grow up”? It seems I’ve been catapulted in to adulthood and I find myself unsure of how to answer any of these questions! Initially, I was pretty worried, maybe a little scared, but after a few months of university I felt something way better – INSPIRED.

In high school I knew what I was good at subject wise but, I didn’t know what I liked. University classes have opened my eyes to the very large world I’ve been missing out on! It has been great to not only read perspectives from across the globe but also hear them first hand from my class mates. Issues I’ve never thought of have been brought to light and I’ve realized what gets me excited – human rights and activism. Now, I have no idea if I will or can make a career out of this interest, but I’m slowly finding what I’m passionate about and it is one of the best feelings. I get excited to go to class because I am frequently inspired by not only what I find in the classroom but outside on campus as well.

So, I still don’t have my life all together. A few months ago I would be pulling my hair out over this fact, but now I’ve learned to just enjoy the marvelous learning journey that is university. This awesome time is all about finding myself and what I stand for as a person and it’s been great learning about who I am. I know what I enjoy now and by learning what my interests are I know I’ll be able to not only pick a major that’s right for me but a career that I’m passionate about. If you’re anything like I was – panicking over your future – RELAX.  This time is all about learning about yourself, it’s a process that takes time, but can ultimately be enjoyable once you find what type of work gets you excited!