Category Archives: campus

04Dec / 2013

study tips from a seasoned student

hi friends.

Caitlin here. time to dole out my wisdom on the topic of exams. As this is now my 4th year, and 8th exam period, I’ve learned a few things by trial and error. lemme share my findings with you. are you ready? ohk. here we go.

1. sleep: don’t not sleep. there’s really nothing worse you can do for yourself. The day before the day before your exam (so if your exam is Wednesday, we’re talking about Monday) get a solid night sleep and wake up early, say 7am. spend the day on your review session and doing number 4 and 2. then go to bed when you’re tired (probably around 10:43pm if you’re me) and wake up at a time that will give you plenty of time for my day-of check list (at least 1.5 hrs)

2. aaaand BREAK!: yup. this is a common one people forget, or eliminate first when they think they have too much studying to do. this is paramount. take breaks during the day. Sometimes they’re going to be involving number 4, and sometimes they’re going to include writing cards, going shopping, making some treats, knitting (have you caught on that I love to knit yet?), or my favourite option: drinking tea and watching Napoleon Dynamite for the 539th time.

you knock those pins down, Kip. Mmm.

3. but still study: students are usually an either/or between 2 and 3. I try to be a both/and. [note: try is the key word in that sentence]
create a tangible and realistic study goal for each day. Remember to include breaks and social times. also, the day before your exam, plan for that day to be a review day. realistically, something might happen during one of the other days that shifts your studying schedule a bit. it’s all good – as long as you have that review day!
Example: I’m going to read all of Infinite Jest on Dec. 5th. Change it to: I’m going to read pg 1-25o of Infinite Jest on Dec 5th. This will allow for you to have breakfast or coffee with a friend, go for a good walk and won’t make you worry that you’re going to run out of time.

This is what my study plan calendars look like. homemade is best 😉

 

Swing those hips, Richard!

4. sweat like you’re Richard Simmons: don’t forget to sweat. I like to run and do yoga. some like to bike, walk, play a sport, pilates, kick box, swim, go bowling. whatever you’re doing, do it as long as you’re sweating, getting your heart rate nice and elevated and taking time away from studying!

5. don’t touch notes on the day of your exam: while this may be a strange one for you to believe, this can be super detrimental. when you study something, your brain needs some time to properly work through it. it does that when you’re sleeping (hence number 1). Another reason for this nugget of wisdom is that when you study the day of your exam, a problem that happens is that when you begin to look at the exam questions, all you can think about are the last few notes you looked at – the rest of the studying you’ve done is below all the fresh information. you’re already having to write an exam; don’t make it harder on yourself by having to search too hard for info.

 

Now here’s my day-of-exam checklist:

1. did I get enough sleep? (number 1)

2. do I have a healthy and not loud snack? (I like strawberries with a bit of sugar on them, cucumbers, and a small package of sour patch kids with a bottle of water)

3. do I have enough writing utensils? (meaning, more than 2) Do I have my UBC Card with me?

4. do I have time to be active? (i will either go for a short run or go to a yoga class. The classes are best for when I have a later exam)

5. have I eaten anything today? If not, try some oatmeal, eggs with toast, quinoa salad – something filled with nutrients and that will keep you full so you’re not distracted during your exam.

6. have I arrived at my exam room with at least 10 minutes to spare? good, cuz I’ll need to pick a seat where I can see the clock and won’t be distracted by that cute guy/gal sitting in front of me.

7. did i read through the whole exam before starting to answer questions? good thing I didn’t study this morning, or else I’d have to really dig deep to answer half of this exam.

[note: truly there are so many great reasons to read over your whole exam before starting to write. a) sometimes profs will answer a question with a question two pages later. heck yes. b) if you aren’t sure what the question is even saying, you have time to process it while you’re answering other questions. c) if you don’t know how to answer the question on first reading, your brain will start digging around to find out the answer you know is in there d) you know what’s coming next. if you see 6 pages, you may think you have plenty of time on each page. but once you read through the questions, you find out that the last two pages have quite complicated long-answer questions. if you hadn’t read over the whole exam before, you’d get to page 5 with only 40 minutes left. 40 minutes for the hardest part. yikes.]

8. did I read over the exam once i’m done to make sure: a. I didn’t start writing in Greek half way through and b: I answered all the questions?

9. did I thank my prof when I handed in my exam and congratulate myself when i got out by getting a vanilla latte from Great Dane? heck yes i did.

 

Well, good luck on exams. I wish you joy and happiness and love and lots of hair on your head
(cuz you didn’t pull it out… get it?)

love from me and my alter-ego.

Permalink 5 Comments

15Oct / 2013

Tuesday Tracks: Motivation Edition

Today is the day. Today, I will start being a good great stellar student. I’ll do this by starting to study. I’ve been reading all the books I’ve supposed to (except for French. sorry, friend). I’ve been totally in love with all my English classes

It’s almost like I chose what I wanted to study or something… I love being grown up growing up.

But with growing up comes the reality that you no longer have to do anything if you don’t want to. You may have to deal with some pretty crummy consequences, but that’s up to you now.

so, here’s to my new vigour – this decision to work hard. As my wise friend Raff says, there’s only 1.5 months left until exams. that’s nothing… right?

Tune here –> Do Your Thing [Jaxx Club Mix]: Basement Jaxx

Permalink Leave a comment

10Sep / 2013

It Starts

I’m not sure if you were all old enough, but I loved the Lion King video game. At the beginning of each level, Timon would say “It starts” while raising his hands in the air. (like this) Now, as a 24-year-old adult, I see a lot more in this motion. I see someone realizing that it’s beginning, whether that’s what they had planned or not. Timon is admitting “whateves, folks. I guess we’re starting now”. I’m not going to lie – my heart kind of felt that at the beginning of this term. But less of a “whateves” and more of a “WTF MATE?!”

are we *ever* emotionally ready?

This summer was so busy! I was working 50-60 hrs a week between my 2 jobs. I spent the rest of my time stuffing my entire calendar with pink bubbles (pink is for personal things, like coffees and lunches and shopping trips and yoga classes and half-marathons and concerts and SASQUATCH! and Portland-love). I managed to have a pretty busy summer, filled with joyous times, with some hard times and some amazing people. Then all of a sudden school started.

What I felt like after the summer.

I’m one of those people who lives for stationary. I love Staedtler pens (they’re so pretty! and they make my notes pretty and colour-coded!). I love buying new paper. I love making the little paper for each course that goes into the dividers in my new UBC 3″ binder. I take joy out of organizing my notes and re-writing them (if I have time… but lets be real. ain’t nobody got time for that). but this year… school really snuck up on me. I didn’t get any of my supplies (or books!) until the 2nd day of class.

All summer, I’ve been working on the Collegia Program. I’m so insanely proud of it. You have no idea (or maybe you do. I sure hope you do) how amazing it feels to have that thing you’ve been working so hard on just come to fruition. It’s been difficult – it wasn’t always the easiest, but it helped me to grow as a student, as a person and as an professional (can I use that word yet?). I got to meet a lot of the registered members at the Main Event (that this epic woman named Meghan Lamont planned) on Imagine Day – not going to lie; they made my day. The reminded me what I’d been working so hard for all summer. They are the reason I do this. (you hear me, members? you’re awesome!)

Now school has started. Life has gone back to social times, beer at Calhoun’s while reading a book (heck yes, English Honours!), drinking tea each morning and meeting some pretty cool new people.

Thanks, September. Thanks for bringing schedules, moderation, organization, new pens, and pretty friend. Love you long time <3

Permalink Leave a comment

22Jul / 2013

judgement.

today, i got off the bus and started walking to work. i was walking a bit far behind this guy who was wearing these funky sandals that were extremely intricate. they seems like they’d be a lot of work to put on, and they really didn’t look that comfy. the sole was super flat, and probably had no arch support. he also had those plugs that kinda freak me out (i feel like a hole puncher is used in some way). i was walking a little bit faster than him, so i began to gain on him. i noticed a tattoo on the back of his neck, just with a bit showing above his tshirt. when i saw it, i noticed that it was a folded-out box…. it looks sorta like this:

When i saw it, my heart felt heavy. one of my favourite people, Betty Yan, has two amazing tattoos that she loves for others to interpret. So, I started interpreting this man’s tattoo. to me, it says “stop putting me in a box. the box is no longer. i’ve defeated it by taking it apart. i do not fit into a box. so just stop trying. if you try to put me there, i’ll just take it apart. and that’s ohk. i can. but please – just stop.”

I was a residence advisor in my 2nd and 3rd year here at UBC. at my first advisor orientation, I sat down at a table for lunch with a group of mostly males. I began to talk with them, and realized that they were all gay. i’d never been around that many gay people before, and it was amazing. i became very self-aware in that moment. i began to sit back and listen; to observe. not solely them, but mainly myself. what was I thinking… what was i feeling? what did those feelings mean? why did I have those thoughts?

UBC is a place where so many different people come together. People probably look at me and my extremely loud pants and think “that girl is cray. how does she think she looks good in bright-pink skinny cords?” but others look at me and think “damn girl, you rock those pants!” either way, that’s ohk. people are free to their opinions, as long as they remember that they’re just that: opinions. I was wrong to judge that guy by his sandals and pulled-out lobes. i was wrong. i know that now. because as humans, we don’t fit into a box, nor should we. we should be free to do what we please, to not worry about the judgement of others, especially by those that call us a loved one, a peer, a friend.

thanks to my new-found love for Modern Family (I started watching it on a all-alone-Caitlin-morning), i give you this.

Mitchell doing the Gaga dance

remember to be you. remember that you don’t fit into a box. remember that you can dance like lady gaga when you need to. remember to not judge others: don’t judge – just love.

Permalink 1 Comment

03Jul / 2013

Colleger-what?

This summer I get to do something I’ve never done before. I get to work out of the CSI+C around some amazing people doing something I love (because it challenges me daily). I get to help set up and organize a place that’s going to be a home away from home – a place to be, not a place to do.

This place is called the collegium.

My bestie was a Collegia Assistant at TWU for her last year at uni, and she absolutely loved it. We would always talk about our roles when I was a Residence Advisor and how similar they are. When I heard about UBC-V starting a Collegia Program, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved, however they’d let me.

This summer, I’m working to set up all the fun things (like board games and kitchen supplies!) and all the not-so-fun things (like figuring out what data we need)  the collegium will need to function. Recently, I was able to help plan a hard hat tour for some of the student leaders and profesh staff at UBC. Was it ever a blast! Here’s a picture Houston White, one of the stellar people took the tour with us, took for us. This is the view of the kitchen from where the fireplace will be.

 

beautiful, right? just some floor-to-ceiling windows and an awesome view. No big 😉

I’m honestly jealous that I didn’t have one of these to go to in my first year. I was commuting from Langley, so approx 5hrs a day was spent commuting – not cool, man. I didn’t get involved in my first year. I spent all my time on the bus, doing homeworking and working at Olive Garden (heck yes, the breadsticks are delish). I’m hoping this collegium will be able to encourage students to take charge of their own learning with the help from the cool people staffing it and the cool people who are members.

Permalink 1 Comment

Spam prevention powered by Akismet