Archives: September 2012

TOMORROW IS MY FIRST CHEM LAB AND I MAY OR MAY NOT BE FREAKING OUT.

One friend is telling me, “Don’t worry you’ll be totally okay!” while also saying “Oh my gosh one girl totally messed up halfway through the lab.”

This is probably the scariest first experience ever. …And it hasn’t even happened yet!!

There’s like that giant air-bubble of anxiety in my tummy area right now. It’s making want to run around. Actually… run anywhere but the direction of my lab.

I have to remember so many things. Tie hair back. Close-toe shoes. Long pants. Goggles. Lab coat. Lab Manual. Design form. Calculator.

I got this.

No.

Yes.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Well. I will definitely blog about it when it’s over.

If your friends are all chill about the lab while you’re spazzing out, don’t even worry. …Because I’m spazzing out too.

AHHHHHH.

Email, RSS Follow
Read 6 CommentsAdd a comment

Sense of Community

When I first found out about the Coordinated Science Program (CSP), I was seriously against it. My older sister did it and I was really sick of doing what she did. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it might actually be helpful. (Plus I may or may not have been too lazy to choose my own schedule…)

What I realize now is just HOW helpful CSP really is.

Socially, I’ve met so many new people and have gotten at least 10 new numbers on my phone and at least more than a dozen new facebook friends. Everyone’s all smiles in CSP and it’s so much easier to adjust to university life. 

Academically, I’ve received help for classes by some of the smartest people I’ve met. I learn in class from the questions my fellow CSP-ers ask. And all the new numbers and facebook friends will definitely come in handy when I want to get a study group going.

I talked with a friend of mine who is in general science and she’s telling me how hard it is for her to make friends and meet people, how it isn’t easy because everyone in her class is different and sometimes she’s too shy to introduce herself.

The root of my advice here is to find a way to be involved in a community. Right now for me it’s CSP and Blog Squad. Just knowing that there are people out there I have things in common with is a comfort. Whether it’s a club or a sport or even a study group, that sense of community and friendship makes the transition a lot easier.

However, don’t stuff your plate too full of extra-curriculars if you’re taking 5 courses (like I am). It’ll make things more difficult than easy. Just join one thing at a time until you have a definite idea on how you can handle your school work (after all, above everything, that’s what you’re paying to go to UBC for). Take things one day at a time and keep your head up! …Don’t get behind on readings either!

(Now I’m just cramming all the advice I can into one post)

If you didn’t get into a program like CSP, there are LOADS of opportunities for community and new friendship. I’ll link the club site…. HERE. 

IN FACT, Clubs Days are coming up! They’re on September 19th, 20th, and 21st in the Student Union Building (SUB). Go wander about the clubs, find what you’re interested in and join it!

Knowing you aren’t alone makes getting up and going to school a lot easier. Just like in high school, we all like school because of our friends. So go make some!

WAIT ONE MORE THING.

Definitely don’t be afraid to introduce yourself. Anyone who acts rude after you introduce yourself with a friendly smile don’t deserve your friendship! You never know they might be just as shy and need someone else to make the first move but if you don’t then everyone’s running around the same circle. So… BE A MAN AND DO THE RIGHT THING. … Or woman. …Just say hi.

Email, RSS Follow
No commentsAdd a comment

First Week: VICTORY

Kim Go – 1
First year anxiety/stress/fear – 0

First week is probably the scariest thing in the world to anyone new to UBC. Hell, first anything is a scary thought. But as I’ve said before: take it one day at a time. Look where we are now? First week accomplished! And that’s a lot to any first year who had to face overwhelming factors of new faces, new environments, new transport, new everything!

Let’s recap the week! 😀

Tuesday: IMAGINE DAY
Imagine was crazy for me. That pep rally blew my mind. There were so many people and it was so loud and it just wow. I made friends and got to know the campus. I had a meet with an older student to buy old textbooks that didn’t work out, but all in all a good day.

  • Don’t skip out on Imagine Day. It really is fun! And you get lots of free things! And everyone’s really nice and welcoming. Put those fears away that you’re at the bottom of the food chain again. (Well, you are, but people in university are a lot nicer about it than people in high school)
  • Double, Triple, Quadruple check the used textbooks you’re buying. I wanted a 7th edition textbook and found one at a really good price. After asking and checking more than 3 times, when we met up it turns out that the seller was selling at 6th edition. Don’t do what I did and buy it anyway. (Don’t worry, I gathered enough courage to call her back and ask for my money back, she was really nice about it!) You should know what you want to buy and you should make sure it’s the right book! You buy used books to save money, not be scammed out of it.

Wednesday: First Official Day of Classes
First day of classes was a little intimidating. Lots of people and meeting all the profs. I honestly was mentally preparing myself the whole bus ride to school. I got this. I can do this. These were things I constantly kept telling myself while taking deep breaths. Yeah… I was that weirdo on the bus.

  • Don’t stress out about your books. Don’t freak out if you don’t have them all for first week. Seriously. If you read the “required” list for your courses and for example, bought a used biology textbook and realized you don’t have the MasteringBiology code and go buy it… You’re out of luck (and money!) when you find out first day of class that your MasteringBiology code isn’t needed. Wait for the first class before buying books, because sometimes you don’t even need them! Or they tell you certain used books are just as good.
  • Wait before labelling everything. I labelled all my notebooks for my classes and it turns out that for two of them, I don’t even need notebooks. It’s an easy thing to fix… but still! Like I said, wait for that first class. The professors will tell you everything you need. And if you have questions, you can always ask. They seriously don’t bite. They’re quite friendly.

Thursday
On Thursday I had a 3 hour break, from 11 to 2. I had a physics class in the morning and a math class in the afternoon. I ate some lunch with friends, and we chilled out on a bench and enjoyed the weather, getting to know each other.

  • Learn how to read the schedule times. The UBC timetable is in 24 hour clock AND it’s a little hard to get used to. I didn’t really learn how to properly read my schedule and ended up going to a class I thought was at 9, when it was at 9:30. Oh it’s just half an hour, Kim! NO. I could have slept in an extra 10 minutes. THAT’S A GOOD CHUNK OF SLEEP.
  • Math Class… So you know how in high school, the first day of classes usually means course introductions, ice-breakers and all the jazz? … Except for math? The same applies in university. Seriously. All the other courses spent the entire class talking about course outlines and class expectations. Math class? “Oh I emailed you the website with the course outline! Let’s begin with tangent lines and velocity/time graphs.” …Be prepared to actually begin course material first class in math!
  • Don’t be afraid to look stupid!! This is a weird one. But in all honesty, don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if people laugh at you at least you get the right answer. In math class on Thursday, our prof asked us if this looked familiar, which it did, and if any one had never seen it before. People were too scared to raise their hands so he said, “Then let’s skip the whole explanation and go straight into the problem.” Long story short, be honest about whether or not you know things. Otherwise you will regret it
Friday
Just a repeat of Wednesday. Try having a salted caramel mocha frappunchino in the morning. I know it made me happy!

 

Saturday: SCIENCE FROOOOOOOSHHH
The strangest thing happened! An old high school friend of mine ended up in the same Frosh group as me. What a weird coincidence right?! Anyways, Frosh was fun! Games and lots of energy and meeting new people! Imagine Day let me meet friends in CSP but Frosh let me meet friends in all of science! Safe to say, there was a lot of “I’ll add you on facebook!” and “What’s your number?!” It was a good day! I would put some tips for Frosh but it might be different next year so my only tip is: Be yourself! Because you don’t want to end up being friends with people who don’t really know you. It’s super constricting. Be yourself and don’t be afraid to say hi to other people. They are all in the same boat as you!

 

Email, RSS Follow
No commentsAdd a comment