Tag Archives: The Nest

Random conversations with strangers

Posted on by
Completely unrelated. But, it's Cookie Monster!

        Unrelated GIF. COOKIE MONSTER!

It’s too late to apologize…it’s too laaate, hey, hey, hey!

Ok well, I hope it’s not too late to say sorry for not posting for two weeks. Life gets busy when you’re working four jobs and doing that thing called being a student. And, as a cash-strapped student living in an expensive town – as many of us are – money and career comes first. It feels good to be done with a big contract job though and to reward myself with my birthday fun and blogging!

My previous post was a blog celebrating getting involved on campus and joining a club. This post has been throwing mighty writer’s block at me. So I decided to just start writing and see where it took my mind. And it took me to a conversation.

On Friday, I was covering an event at the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre for the UBC Botanical Garden – I’m a Marketing & Communications Assistant there through the UBC Work Learn program. I had arrived a little early so I could have time to wander in The Nest, get some cash out. I came upon the new grocery store, Grocery Checkout in The Nest that was “softly” open. I wandered around impressed with the range of healthy foods, the deli meals made fresh in store, the whiteboards that invited suggestions for what products they should carry, and curious to see how they would keep it affordable. I was staring up at the second floor when a friendly employee asked me how I was doing. We talked about their opening, mission, values, and products. I talked about how busy and long my day and week had been, sighing with fatigued happiness but also just fatigue.

“Being busy is good though,” he said to me.

“That’s what people tell me.”

“Yeah, it’s good because it helps you prioritize your time and value it.”

Lightbulb! I never thought of being busy as a vehicle for prioritizing your time, something that gave you the opportunity to understand what matters to you. I am grateful for my busy life because everything I do, I love. That’s a privileged place to be that not many people experience, and it’s taken me a long, winding, arduous road to get to myself.

Random conversation is one of our greatest tools to learn and grow. I love how it can happen in so many unexpected places and ways on campus. UBC brings together tens of thousands of people with tens of thousands of experiences and lessons to share. Today, I’m grateful for this one and I look forward to many more.

 

Top 5 Reasons You Should Join A Club

Posted on by

It's Club Days!

I’m so excited, I just can’t hide it!

It’s Club Days in just over a day and I’m Wiig-ing out. Did you know UBC boasts over 300 student-run clubs? Like plants? There’s a UBC Botany Enthusiasts Club for that (my botany-, Carl Linnaeus-obsessed 8-year-old self is all over that). Live to eat? The UBC Food Society organizes dine-outs, tasting events, and hands-on workshops for the foodie living on a student budget. Whatever you want to do, whoever you want to meet, and however you want to do it, Club Days gives you the best opportunity to connect and get clubbin’.

As an undergrad, I was involved. This year, my last as a UBC student, I aim to take that several steps higher. Because going to school shouldn’t just be about studying, forgetting to eat, and living on Starbucks in the library. School should and needs to be about learning outside the classroom, exploring your passions and hobbies in a non-academic way, and meeting people with similar obsessions as yours.

In honour of Club Days, I’m giving you my totally non-authoritative top 5 reasons for why you should join a club. I will be, will you?

  1. Meet new people. Clubs vary in size surely, but the whole point is to do stuff together as a crew. And have fun doing it! Who knows, your new BFF might be waiting to meet you in the UBC Pottery Club. And if you don’t join and awaken your inner artist, you’ll never know!
  1. Face your fears. Joining a club is an awesome way to get so close to your fears you can smell their gross morning breath and laugh at it. Maybe you’re afraid of deep water, but scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef is on your bucket list. Face your Jaws-inspired fear (one of mine) with the Aquatic Society of the AMS, for example.
  1. Cheap fun. Most clubs have very nominal fees. We’re talking $5 or $10. And the returns are huge. For the cash-strapped student (a lot of us), what other reason do you need?
  1. Beef up that CV. Pursuing an education or career in accounting? Join the UBC Accounting Club and get involved in organizing events or running for club leadership. You could learn valuable professional lessons and, most importantly, make valuable professional connections. Because it’s who you know and how you value and build those relationships that will get your foot in the door so you can smash it down.
  1. Have fun! You have to engage in self-care as a student and non-academic fulfillment is essential. No matter what club you join, how serious or not, you’re giving yourself the opportunity to make new friends, de-stress, and learn something new.

2015 Club Days will be taking over The Nest on September 23-25 from 10am-3pm.

What are your favourite clubs at UBC? Share with me on Twitter or Instagram!

Why You Should Find a Sanctuary On Campus

Posted on by

Nitobe

On Friday after class, I made the short trip from sleepy Buchanan E to my special place on campus. A slice of verdant greens, carpets of moss, jade coloured water, and cool quiet breezes. Nitobe Memorial Garden. For the uninitiated, it’s right next to Vanier rez and the Asian Library. The traffic sounds are the only intrusive influence here and even their composition is muted and altered; as if the garden has a gentle but impenetrable hand up 24/7 saying, Nothing but peace and joy shall enter here.

Nitobe Garden is a sanctuary that was there for me during 5 years of undergrad, the first year of my masters degree, and now what will be my last year of “higher education”. And every student needs a sanctuary. For introspection, for a healthy break between classes, for an escape from extreme levels of stress, for artistic inspiration, for a pep talk, or for a private moment between friends or loved ones. Find yours and take advantage of what our gorgeous, expansive campus has to offer.

Nitobe Memorial Garden is one, but there are so many others. The Rose Garden with its supernatural views and the UBC Botanical Garden’s winding quiet paths under canopies of towering conifers come to mind. But it doesn’t have to be a sanctuary grounded in nature. It could be under one of The Nest’s protective awnings, or the warm cocoon of the Aquatic Centre, especially soothing during the damp Novembers and Februaries.

Take this opportunity before classes get serious and you sign up for all your clubs and activities to find your sanctuary. Explore the campus and don’t ever let the rain stop you. Being alone in your sanctuary, dry from the rain or wet yet protected in your rain gear, is a blessing:  just you being with you.

Find me on Instagram where I wax poetic on Nitobe Memorial Garden and other special places on and off campus (like garage sales).

Spam prevention powered by Akismet