Life Lesson Learned

Namely, do not try to have someone to come install your home internet the week before school starts and expect them to be available by the end of the week.

To clarify, I’m getting back to Vancouver on Friday and thought hmm, I’d better get the internet put back in my apartment before the weekend or I’ll have to wait until Tuesday! Then it turned out that they won’t be coming til Thursday. I’ll have a fun week without internet… (Isn’t it amazing how dependent we are on internet? Seriously though first week comes with so many emails!)

Probably I’ll become an annoying patron of Save On Foods, hanging out in their restauranty area using their free wifi. Any blog posts from next week will probably be coming from there. And I will have so much to blog about! My first time as a MUG leader, and -hopefully- an interview for a Work Study position.

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On Entering Third Year

In case you haven’t been looking at your calendar recently, OH MY GOSH THERE ARE ONLY TWO WEEKS UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS. Part of me is crazy excited for Imagine Day and all the cool stuff I get to do this year and seeing my friends again and being back in Vancouver and the other part is taken aback by how fast four months went by and sad that I’ll have to leave my friends, family, and boyfriend for several months once again.

In the midst of this swirling muck of emotion I thought I’d write down a few thoughts about entering my third year of my degree.

  • Where the heck did the time go? I feel like I just moved into first year residence. Now you’re telling me I’m halfway done?
  • I’m halfway done?!?! This means I only have two more years left before entering the real world and leaving behind this campus and the friends I made here?? So not ready for that. Not ready to think about it. Moving on to the next point.
  • I’m excited to be doing more courses that I’m enthusiastic about taking. At this point in my degree, I get to focus on playing my instrument and taking electives that interest me.
  • I feel kind of like a grown-up mentor person. Then again I don’t really have that many people to mentor so that also feels kind of irrelevant.
  • I’m feeling more responsible. I plan to take on a lot more extra-curricular activities this year (including being a club executive!) so I’ll have to step up and make sure I handle them all!
  • I’m excited to take advantages one of the best opportunities UBC has to offer: Go Global. If everything goes according to plan, next February I’ll be on a plane to Belgium!
  • I feel like I really need to experience everything at UBC before I leave. In first year I felt like I had tons of time, but now here I am two years later, and although I’ve already done a lot, I still feel like there’s a ton I want to do! Time to make a UBC and Vancouver to-do list and cross those experiences off.

Goodness, before you know it, I’ll be graduating. Wait, I’m not thinking about that. Not thinking about it.

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Belgium, Here I Come!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’m finally getting my Go Global experience! If you are a regular to my blog you may recall that first I really really wanted to go on exchange, then found out that it wasn’t going to fit into my degree, and then was really disappointed when everyone else got their acceptances for their magical exchanges in far off lands while I was stuck at home. And while UBC is totally amazing and everything, I was still very disappointed.

But then, about a month ago, I received an email from the school of music saying that a research project involving gesture-tracking software was looking for third and fourth year musicians to participate, and that the project will be going to Belgium for two weeks to collaborate with students at another university there. I was so excited! This would be my chance to go experience another country as part of my UBC education.

At the moment, I’m not 100% clear on what exactly the research is going to entail, but I’m very excited to find out. Also, I haven’t technically received the Participation Agreement yet, but I have been accepted into the program, so I feel like it isn’t too early to celebrate. If it is, well, whatever. But for now I’ll be daydreaming of Belgium!

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An Open Letter to My First Year Dorm Room

Dear dorm room,

It’s been more than a year since I last saw you, but every now and then I miss you. You were an island of familiarity in an ocean of uncertainties. You were walls I could hide behind when I needed to cry, and you were the place I could blast my music (at reasonable volumes, of course) and dance around and get pumped up. You were my study space, my dining room, my movie theatre and my Sunday sleep-in. You were cozy and warm when it rained and let the sun in when it showed its face.

I unfolded my personality all over your walls, and filled the drawers with little bits of memories – and soon I was bringing in momentos of new experiences, too. You were filled up with “me,” and you were my home base so that I could venture out and start building my own life.

I have to say, I have greatly enjoyed moving on to my own apartment, but I still think of you and smile. You were a place I could always come back to, and you were like a friend in a place where I knew no one.

I certainly wasn’t the first friend you ever knew, and I wasn’t the last, either. It’s good to know you’ll be there to be a little piece of home for excited and anxious first years in the future.

Sincerely,

A former bewildered first year.

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Things I Wish I Knew Before UBC

Looking back on my first year, I remember it well; how it felt, what I did, mistakes I made. Perhaps I can impart a little of my wisdom to those coming to UBC for the first time this fall. Here are some things I wish I knew before coming to UBC.

  • Put yourself out there. I am a shy person; I’ve said it many times. The mistake I made was always shutting myself up in my dorm room, studying for long hours (which is a good thing, I suppose) and keeping my door shut where I was beyond the reach of other humans. You’ve probably heard a million times all the reasons you should keep your dorm room door open; however I would take it a step further and say get out of your room in general more. I needed to learn how to just hang out, how to just show up at a friend’s room and just chill in there so I wasn’t always alone.
  • Stop competing. You’re entering university. It is guaranteed that there will be people who are smarter than you or better than you at some things. That doesn’t matter, so stop comparing yourself! What’s important is your own personal journey – so only race against yourself. Need more convincing? Click here.
  • Don’t blow all your money on stuff you don’t need. Although I’m generally a very frugal person, I am guilty of occasionally spending on stuff I don’t need. Ask yourself if this is something that you genuinely do need to spend your money on (like textbooks, or rain boots), or something that is just a want (like Starbucks – do you know how much you spend if you buy coffee every day?!)
  • Explore the city more. If you’re coming to UBC from outside the lower mainland, it could be that after your time at UBC is up – and time goes by fast, believe me – you won’t get to come back to Vancouver much. Campus is a big place and definitely needs to be explored, but make the trek to the bus loop and get a feel for the city as well.

Got more suggestions? Got questions? Leave them in the comments!

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A Creative Year

As a third year performance major, not only do I feel kind of old, but I also don’t have to take very many classes besides my ensembles and private lessons. Believe me, ensembles and private lessons take enough time and effort on their own. So all I still need to complete my degree besides those are music and non-music electives!

First term I’ll be taking a Creative Writing course and Instrumentation (which, to my understanding, is arranging music for different instruments and ensembles). That’s actually all the “lecture courses,” as I call them, I’ll be taking first term. Hello, one-class-per-day and class-free Fridays. Excluding ensembles and lessons.

Second term I’ll be taking my final music theory course dealing with post-tonal music (not really looking forward that one…) and more German. I’ve missed German a lot since I took it in first year! So for that I’m super stoked. And, second term I will have no classes on Tuesdays and Thursday. I know, you’re jealous of my totally awesome schedule.

Another exciting possibility for this year is that I might go on a Group Study to Belgium! Those of you who follow my blog will remember that I was extremely disappointed when I discovered I couldn’t really go on an exchange. But this year a MUSIC Group Study Project was created which I’ve applied for, and if I get selected I could be going to Belgium for two weeks! If I actually get accepted for it I’ll write more about it when I actually understand the research project better.

As well, because of the way I was able to arrange my schedule, I may apply to be an usher for the School of Music Wednesday Noon Hour Concerts. It would only be a few hours per week, but it would be nice to have a bit of extra cash in my pocket. Plus my job would pretty much be to sit in on professional concerts. Not bad, eh?

Overall it’s looking like it will be a very creative year! Although I think I may get a bit overwhelmed with all the music I have to learn this year – I’ll be putting on a 45-minute recital in April – I’m really excited for third year. The only bad thing about it is that I’ll be so much closer to being done my time at UBC! I just won’t think about that. Instead I’ll dream about my trip to Belgium! :P

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My Plan

I thought I’d take a bit of time and talk about some of the dreams I have for the future; hopefully that’s of interest to someone. This may end up being a long post; I have a lot dreams and plans for the future.

What can one do with a degree in harp performance? Usually people assume that I want to play in an orchestra, but although I’m not totally closed to the idea, I really don’t see myself doing that as a career. Before I actually played in an orchestra I thought that that was what I wanted to do, but I discovered in the last two years that I find playing solo music in performance and in my own home more rewarding than playing in orchestra. Plus, I want to live in Winnipeg (since my family, many of my friends, and my long-term boyfriend live there), and being set on orchestra playing would mean I’d most likely have to move somewhere else. So basically, if the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra had a spot, I might try out for it, but that’s about it for orchestra.

Once I graduate, I hope to go to Chicago for a year to the Lyon & Healy harp factory and do an apprenticeship to learn how to do harp maintenance. That way, I can maintain my own harps, fix other peoples’ for money (there isn’t anyone in Winnipeg or the prairies that I know of that does maintenance), and potentially travel to Vancouver to service the many harps in the city and visit my UBC friends at the same time.

That won’t be a lot of income though, so I plan on doing a lot of gigging; that is, playing at weddings and private events, etc. That means I get to play fun music. I get to pick the songs I play (for the most part, anyway). And the appreciation people give for your playing in those situations is just so gratifying and it makes it incredibly meaningful. And in case you were wondering, there is actually quite a lot of this type of work for harpists, and since there aren’t too many of us it shouldn’t be too hard to get hired!

I also see myself doing a lot of teaching. I’ve loved the teaching I’ve done in the past, I love connecting with students, and I loved the idea of being my own boss. I have this dream of buying up used harps and renting them out to people – many of whom could be my students. The harp is an expensive instrument, so renting them will make it more accessible to those who want to learn, thereby drawing in more students, and also bringing in revenue for me without trying too hard.

One other thing I’ve been doing is making harp arrangements and posting videos of them on Youtube. I’ve started to get a bit of a following, so I’m excited to see where this takes me in the future as I continue to make more videos and (hopefully) improve as I go along. Once I garner enough arrangements, maybe I’ll publish a book of them! Or a book of my own compositions, or a teaching book! Or maybe I’ll be able to record an album and sell it on iTunes, or go on tour! There are so many possibilities and it’s so exciting!

So no, playing in an orchestra is not the only thing you can do as a musician. That’s my plan and dream for the fear-inducing “after graduation” that everyone seems to dread. Except that for me, I’m really quite excited.

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Second Year in Review

It’s hard to believe I’m already done the second year of my university degree. Heck, it’s hard to believe that it’s nearly June!

Looking back on the past year, I can see that I have grown immensely in many ways. I feel like first year was for dipping my feet and testing the waters and trying to get comfortable in a totally new environment, whereas this year has been about exploring and expanding in my now-familiar community in Vancouver.

I have become a much better harpist and musician this year; pieces that would have given me headaches trying to learn before I can pick up in a few weeks! I learned a lot about how to practice properly and how not to become sabotaged by stage fright. I successfully played an opera (and the maestro said we were the best student harpists he’d ever worked with!) and greatly improved my ensemble playing skills. I was also able to join the Gamelan Ensemble and experience the music of another country while learning from of the best gamelan players in the world.

Academically, I learned a lot about the various subjects I studied and kept my grades high, and also about myself. For example, I realized that I  absolutely detest writing papers. I would rather go learn Wagner’s Magic Fire Music with a bazillion pedal changes than write another paper! I rejoice at the fact that I don’t actually have to write any more for the rest of the degree! (This is also a reason why I feel that pursuing a Masters degree might not be for me…)

This year I also gained a lot of responsibility and maturity while living on my own. I can buy my own groceries, cook, clean, pay my hydro bill, set up home internet, and unclog the toilet all on my own, while also balancing school and my social life! I’m quite proud of myself for this, actually. I really enjoyed having that kind of control over my daily life, and it feels a bit weird being at home where most of that control is in my parents’ hands. Not bad, exactly, just kind of strange.

The friends I made in first year became even closer friends this year. It was slightly more effort to see each other since I had to hop on a bus to see most of them instead of walking down the hall, but we made it work. My friends and I also started playing Dungeons and Dragons in second term (because yes, we are nerds, although I prefer the term “awesome”) and it was a blast – it’s like playing pretend for grownups and it meant that we got together regularly to hang out!

One of the best things I did for myself this year was take Mindfulness classes through counselling services in Brock Hall. It helped me a lot in how I deal with stressful situations (no more meltdowns!) and has actually improved my general outlook in my day-to-day life.

In terms of involvement, I feel like I slacked a little. I was part of the Knitting and Sewing Club and I also joined the Yoga Club (which has helped my fitness in no small way), I took part in some promotional photo shoots, and attend the Student Leadership Conference, but I feel like I could have done more. I didn’t feel quite as connected, so next year I plan to try to find another involvement activity that will make me feel more of a part of the UBC community.

Overall, this year was amazing. It passed in a blur that simultaneously felt like an incredibly long time and just a few weeks.  It was not without challenges, but when we are challenged is when we grow the most and realize how strong we actually are. This year was rewarding and special, and I can’t believe I only get two more of them.

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Switching Syndrome

Apparently I like making up fake disease names, but Switching Syndrome is the name I gave to the feeling I get whenever I switch locations. I have a solid community in both Vancouver and Winnipeg, and each has different strengths and weaknesses. Whenever I go to school in the fall, or back home in the summer, it takes a bit of time to adjust to the new place and social setting.

Even though I’m always excited to see friends I haven’t seen in months, I also feel sad because I’m leaving people behind. It dampens my excitement and in general I get a wash of emotions that are a bit confusing.

I thought I’d be extremely happy to be back in my parents’ house and not have to cook anymore, but I’m finding that I don’t always like the way they cook (they really need to use more green vegetables!), and when I try to cook my mom hovers over me and tells me I’m doing it wrong. I also miss having the control of living on my own, not having to ask permission to go out, and having a clean space. My family is redoing the flooring in the kitchen, so the house is full of kitchen boxes everywhere, and my parents also moved their computer into my room so their clutter has moved into my room. So much clutter makes me feel like I can’t relax, and not even being able to do anything about it since it isn’t my stuff makes me miss my tidy room in Vancouver!

There are good bits to being home, obviously. I have a summer job lined up since the store I worked at last summer wanted me back, so there’s money. Transit isn’t as efficient as Vancouver, but it’s cheaper, and I have access to a car here. I also don’t have to pay for groceries, internet, or electricity. My lever harp is in Winnipeg, so I can go busking (street performing) on nice days. Not to mention my boyfriend is here :P That’s the biggest plus.

I’m more or less adjusted at this point, but I still miss my Vancouver friends. I’m sure that when I go back in the fall I’ll have conflicting feelings again, but that’s the way it is! Just don’t ask me to think about what it’ll be like once I graduate!

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Living With a Room Mate

Having successfully survived the year without killing my room mate (or being killed by her :P), I feel like now would be a good time to reflect upon what it’s like to live with a room mate.

I think it’s important to say that Christie and I don’t share a room, so I can’t comment on what it’s like to have that kind of room mate, but we do share a kitchen, living room, and bathroom.

Christie and I have gotten along very well over the past eight months, which I attribute to two main factors: a) we were good friends before moving in together, and b) we have similar personalities.

Both of us are pretty quiet people, so noise has never been an issue. She likes to shower in the morning, I like to shower at night. We’re both good at having open lines of communication so that things which could potentially turn into problems are dealt with before it gets to that point.

Living with another person has also made me learn about myself: I never new how neat I was until I was sharing a space with another person. Christie is… not as neat as I am, but she’s been doing a really good job of being as neat as she can manage, and I’m doing a good job of letting it go if things aren’t always as pristine as they could be. Originally, we had a cleaning policy of “clean up the mess right after you make it,” but that didn’t always happen, so we made up a simple cleaning schedule, which meant one of us cleaned the counters and the other cleaned the floors on alternating weeks. We both found that a schedule was a good motivator for cleaning.

One thing I loved about having a good friend for a room mate was that if I ever wanted to talk to someone, I could just stick my head out my bedroom door, and then I could go back to studying. I loved the impromptu trips to Menchie’s or outings for Mexican food, evenings spent baking, and afternoons spent lying around and talking. I loved having a place that actually felt like home (the dorms never quite did that for me), and I loved having someone who was waiting for me to get home and caring where I was.

Overall, it’s been a great year and I’m very excited for the next one!

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