how do you write like you’re running out of time

reasons i haven’t been blogging this term:

1) science one term 2 research project
2) totem park presents “legally blonde: the musical”
3) mental health dragging me along for a roller coaster ride

reasons i’m blogging now:

1) i don’t want to study
2) i want to write

leading logically into

3) i need to write about studying.

i’ve written two of my four exams so far, with my next two coming up this week. what i’ve realized is somewhere between missing lecture and struggling to keep my head above water is that my normal study habits? for when i’ve been keeping up with the semester? don’t work when you haven’t been to class.

what i’ve been doing to make up for this (aka the megan study system, uni edition):

  • making very detailed checklists of exactly what i need to do to feel prepared for the exam. just thinking about how to study and what to study really focuses me. Should have done it for my first final, but it really helped for the second. I have my checklist for physics next to me now, ready to start at 10am sharp.
biology checklist. didn't get all the way through this one, oops.

biology checklist. didn’t get all the way through this one, oops.

checklist for physics

checklist for physics

  • get out of my room. I live in res, so i’ve been making a huge effort to get out of res and out of my usual study spaces in irving (which honestly SMELLS SO BAD by day three of finals anyway) so I can focus. there are some really nice lecture theaters that are not being used for exams to study in around campus if you look. I quite like Swing, Hebb, and ESB.
  • breaking up my studying with other productive work, like studying for the final after the next one and writing blog posts (though the productivity of that one may be. debatable).
  • POMODORO STUDYING. listen. i love pomodoro. its not so good for assignments during the year but it does WONDERS for me during exams. google it. i’m adding to the blog post during the break times.
  • Move Forward. I do not talk about exams after they’re over. all thats going to do is stress me out. my math prof handed out the answers to the exam literally as we walked out the door. i haven’t looked at it yet. got to keep Moving Forward.

what study techniques work for you? i’m always looking for new things to try. good luck with finals y’all!

Self-Care Tips from a Blanket Burrito

Howdy,

 

This blog post is coming to you from a ill first year, currently hiding from the world in her room because everything is pain.

I hate how the term ‘self-care’ gets thrown around. There is a huge disconnect between an instagram post of froyo captioned #selfcare after a midterm and what self-care looks like in action for me, a mentally ill kid who has missed 3 classes this week due to chronic anxiety-driven paralysis. Self-care isn’t the same as #treatyoself (which I one hundred percent endorse and do, possibly too often). Treating myself is a reward for functioning, however poorly. Self care is so I CAN function.

I am living by myself for the first time, in a country that I haven’t fully become accustomed to, while studying in a challenging program at a top tier university. And I am mentally ill. So this is just a real fun time. All the time.

I know I’m not the only one who’s struggling with this. UBC has a huge set of mental health resources, but all the resources in the world can’t help you if you don’t go to them, and that requires at least a little bit of functioning. Here’s what I do:

1. SHOWER. I feel so much better when I am clean. Even just getting in the water is so. damn. nice. The trick is to shower before succumbing to the inertia of your room. If I lie down before I shower. That’s it. The End. (I also do not wake up early enough to morning shower. this is another problem)

2. SCENTS. my room smells like sweaty socks and old food. I hate these smells. they make me feel icky and smothered. I got myself some scented candles and lighting those is super helpful to me- my room smells better, the light is comforting.

3. TEA. tea is nice.

4. MAKE YOUR BED. the lump on top is easier when you go to class in the morning, but i find sleeping in a made bed makes it easier to get going the next day. Getting going is the hardest part for me. I don’t have my family to force me into my car and out the door to class anymore, and when u feel worthless its hard to see the worth of going to class. but getting out of my room is 95% of the battle.

5. ENLIST HELP. I have friends who are early risers call me in the morning if they notice I’m not in class x minutes before. Speaking to another human being? Super helpful. Living alone makes it easier to go with bad habits.

5. SLEEP EARLY. yeah so maybe everyone studies until 1 am. I do not function well living that way, so i sleep before tomorrow when I can. It makes the next set of hours easier if your well rested.

6. EAT NICE THINGS. Things that make ur body feel good and you find tasty. My go to is oranges and other fruits.

7. DO NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP. I am my own worst enemy. I stick with things in when I am zero percent okay and shouldn’t be upright let alone running around campus. It’s ok to not be on top of everything. Its ok to need help.

 

I’m back to bed. Later y’all.

to prospective uni students

Howdy,

 

The last post I made here was back in October. This was definitely not the plan. I was planning on posting quite a bit more regularly. Like most of my plans this semester, that got drastically changed.

 

In high school I was told over and over again that university was going to be tough. I thought I understood what that meant. After all, I graduated in the top ten percent of my class at a high school in the top one percent of schools in the States. Whatever challenges were ahead I was sure I could manage on my own.

 

Spoiler alert: I was dead wrong.

 

Not only did I underestimate the stress of moving to a new country and being on my own, I underestimated the sheer amount of work university requires of you. This is not what university looks like in the movies. There, students don’t seem to ever go to class/worry about money/have panic attacks about their marks. None of that is glamorous enough for the big screen, I guess. Frankly, the struggle between student and university is not an interesting story. There isn’t any rising action, plot twists, big reveals and satisfying endings. There is just work and frustration and joy and highs and lows and way too many late nights in Irving K Barber.

 

Is it worth it? I don’t know yet. I can’t see where the arc of my not-a-story is taking me yet. But I love it here. Despite all the tears, when I look at how much I’ve grown these last four months and all the new connections I’ve made with Vancouver, UBC, and Canada, I’m happy. Derailed, yes, but happy.

 

Stay tuned next for my last final (WHY AREN’T I DONE YET) and hopefully more regular blogging in term 2.

free food glorious food

Howdy y’all! Happy Thanksgiving! I didn’t celebrate, but I’m under the impression everyone else is stuffed with turkey right now because, obviously, when given turkey dinner you eat with your eyes and not your stomach.

My relationship with food is… not as great as it could be. At any given time I’m either overstuffed or super hungry with no in between. I think I have a pretty good grasp on food options on campus so far though, and I’ve been taking friends from my classes to places for cheap food, free food, and food that takes Meal Dollars. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

  • Trek Food Court: I call this place the Sauder Food Court most of the time, as its attached to the Sauder School of Business and the only place it says “Trek Food Court” is on the hours sign. They have Triple-Os, Qoola, Tim Hortons, and Bento Sushi inside. I usually get something from Bento and follow it with Qoola yogurt or coffee, and maybe Triple-Os fries if I feel like I need more grease in my life. Every place in Trek takes the residence meal plan (not Flex Dollars, the basic meal dollars that the cafeterias in residence take!) and it’s really close to all my classes. Check out Trek Tuesdays for $3.69 Qoola and half off on a burger at Triple-Os. Tim Hortons only has donuts and coffee, no sandwiches or bagels, so thats sad.
  • Food Trucks: UBC Food Services operate all the food trucks on campus and all of them take residence meal plan. I haven’t been to all of them yet, but I’m working on it. I like It’s About Thai’s Green Curry bowl and the Roaming Bowl’s Teriyaki bowl. School of Fish is also super good!
  • Hillel Hot Lunch: So this one isn’t run by UBC food services but its such a good deal I can’t help but mention it. The Hillel House on campus has a hot lunch every Wednesday from 12-2 for $6, $5 if you bring your own plate or tupperware. I’ve gone twice and each time I got enough food for my lunch the next day. It was so good. Guys. It was all kosher and vegetarian and delicious.
  • Tim Hortons in Forestry: This is a secret gem unless you are in Forestry, I think. Its Tim Hortons! Its on your meal plan! It’s super close to Totem Park, Rits, and Thunderbird! It’s cheap! I eat breakfast there every day, I love it.
  • International Food Court: This is over by the infamous 24 hour McDonalds in University Village and has all sorts of food – Greek, Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese – on the cheap. Nothing there costs more than maybe 10 dollars, and you get SO MUCH food for your money. I love the Vietnamese place- for 8 dollars I get two meals worth of noodles, which is LOADS better than the caf.
  • Ike’s Cafe: This isn’t as cheap as some of the other places but it’s super convenient if you are ever in Irving K Barber library. The pasta and samosas are pretty good, they have food for all meals and snacks, and they’re open until 10. I regularly am in IKB for long hours so I am a fan.
  • Events: Listen. Clubs know that we are always on the hunt for free food and they plan events accordingly. Especially if you’re on res, keep your eyes open for events going on! Often there is free food, and maybe you’ll find something you really enjoy! I went to a dinner run by Sci Team and got free food and got to talk to some really cool faculty members.

Thats all for now folks! Eat more turkey!

Cheers,

Megan

checking in to check it out

howdy y’all,

Your favorite Texan is back in action. The last (only) time I wrote was on Imagine Day, also late at night/early in the morning, but it is 4 am now and I need to be up 6 anyway so we’re just going to take this moment to catch up on some of the stuff from the last three weeks.

 

First of all, Happy New Year!

Don’t know what I’m talking about? That’s ok. September 13 marked the beginning of the year 5776 on the Jewish calendar. September 13th and 14th, Rosh Hashanah, are two of the holiest days in the entire year, so I didn’t go to class the first Monday and Tuesday (eep!). My profs were all really accommodating of my absences, but it was still strange going back into class that Wednesday after two days of celebration to… well, class. I missed some lectures I was really interested in, plus its always hard being behind at the beginning of the year.

I don’t regret my choice though. One of the reasons I came to Vancouver and to UBC was to be myself, in all facets, safely and proudly. Being Jewish is an important part of that.

 

Another important part is being queer. I come from a place that is not so accepting of any differences, be it religion, ethnicity, or sexuality. UBC is so much more open and welcoming, and I’m taking advantage of that. I went to Pride UBC’s retreat at the Global Lounge the first Saturday of school and had an absolute blast. It’s important to me that Pride UBC is a resource group and not a club. It anchors it more the to institution or to the student body than the LGBTQ clubs tend to at other institutions (like my high school). Its a cool place with cool people, and whether you fall under the LGBTQAIP+ alphabet soup umbrella or not you should check it out.

 

I haven’t joined as many clubs as I would have liked. I get emails from lots of people, but right now I think I’ll be mostly in Common Energy UBC and/or CiTR. Common Energy I haven’t gone to a meeting yet, but I really support what they’re doing and I want to check it out more. And CiTR…

Guys. CiTR is SO COOL.

Ok I also haven’t been to a meeting for this one yet, but I love public and community media, I love working in all sorts of creative media, from writing on this blog to video editing to radio. I’m really looking forward to working with them.

 

But I still wish I could be even more involved. But apparently at university you have to sleep, eat, and go to class, which takes up a lot of club time. I’m doing the Science One program, which is super demanding! Its a huge adjustment from high school to this level of work. I think I can do it though, I’ll keep you posted.

this turned into a diary entry but hey, this is the scoop, this is whats happening on the ground right now, this is live, this is the sitch- yeah. its 4 am. I should sleep.

 

Next time: campus food! where it’s cheap, where it’s good, and most importantly for us on res, where it takes our meal plan.

And sometime before or after that: Bamfield!

 

later y’all,

megan

imagine failure

I moved into Totem Park on August 18th. 18 days later, out on the curbs of Salish and Haida House, wearing a blue residence shirt and a big yellow button, I helped my peers move into a new life.

It’s weird to be a first year moving in other first years. I’ve only been here a few weeks but my peers kept assuming I was at least a second year (Thank you Jump Start for that extra prep time!).

Impressing people makes me happier than I think I should. I’ve been looking forward to university for years because it’s a fresh start, a chance to know nothing again and not feel judged for it. But I am still terrified of not knowing the right answer. I’m terrified of being less than perfect, of messing up, of being mediocre or saying the wrong thing (which, incidentally, is why this post is going up ON Imagine Day, instead of two days ago like I originally planned).

I’ve spent most of the last 18 years in total fear of failure. Below an 90 on a test was embarrassing, below an 80 was unacceptable. Answer wrong out loud in class and I would spend the rest of the day hiding in shame from the teacher. If a joke isn’t funny, exit the conversation immediately. Spill a drink? Walk away quickly before anyone notices.

Living like this just gives me an upset stomach and no ability to function in the real world. People mess up all the time in the real world! Public figures mess up! My friends mess up! How am I so willing to literally forget their mistakes and not mine? Psychology majors, please comment with your answers, I actually want to know.

Knowing these things about myself, here’s my personal challenge for Imagine UBC and the rest of this year: imagine not being perfect.

I invite everyone who reads this to do it with me. Imagine not being perfect. Instead of being afraid to give the wrong answer, speak up louder. If you’re wrong, you’ve learned something new. Hiding in the back of the classroom doesn’t free you from failure, it just hides you, and hiding does nothing to help you learn and grow.

Tuum est: it is yours. My time at university is mine and mine alone, and I will use it to become the woman I know I can be, if I just stop hiding from failure.

Happy Imagine Day, UBC.