The Freshmen 100

Despite my growing and insatiable desire for Spongebob popsicles, the 100 I’m referring to here is not pounds or kilograms its the number of days I’ve been at UBC. While I’d like to say that they flew by like a cool autumn breeze, it was more like trudging through 100 tons of molasses. Despite the hardships I faced, I have managed to overlook them and focus on the sweeter parts (get it like molasses…ok maybe that was a stretch). Luckily enough I did not face all of my hardships alone. I had my new found friendships with people who were going through the same struggles as I was. As a result these last 100 days helped me feel more like part of a community than just another number at a university with 50,000+ students.

As mid-October came around I began to miss home. While my home is only 1761 miles (2834 km) away in Chicago the fact that so much was happening made me miss it much more. As a lifelong Cubs fan, watching playoff games and then for them to make it to the World Series was and still is indescribable. Watching them go down 3-1 in the World Series to then come back and win in game 7 in extra innings is one of those moments I will never forget. I was just sitting in the lounge people walking past from time to time wondering why I was shaking so much or chugging cups upon cups of water. And then the moment they won I still don’t quite know how to feel about. In the moment it was almost all shock and denial as I made multiple calls home to friends and family to celebrate, but now looking back it was almost fitting in both the way they won and how I feel now.

One thing that has never wavered is my trust not only in the Cubs but in myself. It is the drive and that desire to achieve that has allowed me to push through my struggles so far this semester: allowed me to push through the soul-crushing feeling that was the night of November 8th: to push through my midterms: push me forward instead of questioning the past. All of this trust has also led to hope. Hope that math 184 won’t crush my soul. Hope that I will post on my blog more than once every 100. Hope that my country will rise up rather than crumble like my twitter followers. Hope that everything is was and will be ok. But most of all hope that there is still a chance for each and every person on this campus to find something that they truly believe in, are passionate about, and convince others that it’s a worthwhile cause.

Thank you for taking the time to read my word vomit! As a reward here is a fun fact about me. I once performed on national television with The Band Perry (by with them I definitely mean that I was part of a group of background singers and my face was on screen for less than a second, but hey let me have this one)

 

In the beginning…

After waking up at 3 AM, going through two full body patdowns, and a four-hour flight I finally landed in Vancouver. Was I tired? Yes. Was I quite disappointed that no food was served on the flight? Yes. However, as soon as I walked off of the jetway towards customs it felt as though I had entered a new stage in my life. A stage where I would have to figure out what I wanted to do and how to do it. This feeling lasted with me for longer than most because it seemed as though customs was quite literally 1.6 km away.

My first challenge of this new stage was an unexpected one, to say the least. How was I going to carry three suitcases, a duffel bag, and a backpack all the way to campus? As I waited in line for immigration, then for my bags, and finally my study permit I soon realized that my economical option of taking public transportation would have to be replaced with the realistic one of spending 40 dollars on a taxi.

As the taxi moved through many unfamiliar sounds and sights I couldn’t help but continuously look outside the window. Growing up in Chicago I didn’t really get to experience many hills or forests so I was instantly hypnotized by the mountains and trees that seemed to be everywhere. After a few construction and traffic related detours, I had finally arrived at UBC.

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