Study tumblr blogs (“studyblrs”) feature a lot of school tips, including back-to-school preparation tips. A piece of advice that I read a few weeks ago, prior to school starting, was to sleep in the day before classes start (albeit having slept early the night before, of course). This year, that was not possible for me.

I actually had a very hectic week leading up to the first day of classes, loaded with preparations for back to school, orientations, and meeting up with friends who would be leaving for their out-of-province schools.

I had a mediocre Imagine Day during my first year, which is not to say anything against my Orientation Leader, who was very sweet and a wonderful resource regarding the best places for food on campus. However, it was pouring rain, and as a rule, I cannot maintain a good mood in such conditions. Luckily, this year, it was quite pleasant out.

I find that the events that the university puts on for orientations and first year (like Destination) are put on to remind you where you are. This is UBC! This is the most beautiful campus in the world, home to some of the brightest minds and diverse stories on the planet! As a first year and a second year, I buy into the hype–I mean, I’m borrowing thousands of dollars to buy into that hype, because it’s true.

There were a few highlights of being an Imagine Day Orientations Leader. We’ll start with the end: my group called me “super cool”/”mega awesome”. I’m really very proud of that. But I’m also glad that my group became a group. Although individually the members of my own Imagine Day group last year were quite pleasant people, we didn’t quite “glom” onto each other–but I suppose kindred spirits are preordained.

Thankfully, quite a few of the first years in my undergraduate group were very kindred spirits. In addition to enthusiastic inclusivity, I heard strange conversations throughout the day–between strangers who you would think had known each other forever.

Imagine Day is all about orientating, yes, but another way I’m thinking of it as is situating. Although there is a literal campus tour, there is also a constant reminder–especially on the centennial of our university–that we are somewhere special. This was illustrated in a number of ways by a number of different people, but this year, it stands out to me that the University of British Columbia is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.

Although unintentionally so, I registered for Canadian literature and Indigenous literature in the same semester. This proved to be a happy coincidence. Two classes in a row, I was reminded that being Canadian is very real and something to be proud of, but–as Professor Kevin McNeilly articulated brilliantly–being a Canadian citizen is not an uncomplicated citizenship.

I see myself as Canadian, and if I were abroad and somebody asked me where I was from and who I was, I would know the tl;dr answer I would give them. But, as a Canadian and as much more, it is not an uncomplicated answer. I am excited for the opportunity to learn more about the answers to those questions, by exploring what I’m becoming more and more sure that I love (the study of English literature) and seeing just what I’m capable of in other areas.

Here’s to a great great year!