Anticipation. Excitement. Nervousness. Those are just a few of the emotions that I have been feeling leading up to my first year at university. Gradually, I have come to the realization that I will not be attending the same school anymore. I will not be seeing the same familiar faces that I used to pass by and greet in my secondary school hallways. I will not be taking part in the same class routine that I have grown accustomed to for the past five years.
Instead, I will be entering a whole new school community of not a thousand people, but over fifty-thousand people. I will be beginning a new chapter in life where I am immersed in a sea of opportunities and challenges. I’ll be travelling from one building to another, meeting and seeing new faces every day, trying to stay on top of all the course material, and transitioning into greater independence. For many first-year students, myself included, it feels like there are numerous thoughts, questions, and feelings circling through our minds before we step onto new ground. Will I make new friends? Will I thrive in this environment? Will I find my passion? Will I reach my goals? Having various factors thrown at someone all at once can almost reach a point where it feels overwhelming.
As each day passed during the summer, especially near the end of August, I felt my emotions intensifying as the first day of the next chapter in my life was approaching. However, what helped my mind become more at ease was attending first-year university events in the late summer and joining the MHAC community. Having met new people who are going through the same circumstances, I could relate and gain insight on the experience. Each person that I have met in MHAC and at these events not only assisted me with the beginning of my transition from high school to university, but motivated me to continue to get involved, work hard, and nurture my own personal growth. Through socializing, taking part in team activities, and beginning to embrace my own confidence at these events, I realized that putting myself out there would help me connect to the vast yet welcoming community that is UBC.
What I have learnt over the years is that stressing over a situation will not make it better. Alternatively, I plan to enter university with an open mind – to engage in initiatives that I have strong interests in, along with doing my best in academics. It is no surprise that there will be numerous obstacles that would possibly take a toll on myself, both mentally and physically. I know that I will be having difficulty with some lessons, finding that I have less and less free time, and overall, feeling a greater sense of responsibility that I will need to deal with. However, I do hope to adapt over time, but also take the action needed to balance my own lifestyle as well. I have to remind myself that taking care of my own health comes first – that means taking regular breaks, eating healthy meals and snacks, and remember to use some time to take part in my other interests also. Although it might not seem like it at first, university will fly by, so it is best to live in the moment and enjoy it, through the good and bad times.
Hello, university life; let’s get started.
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So here it is, my fourth year at UBC. I can’t believe I made it this far!
In the past, I always felt like I learned something new about being a better student. I would keep that thought in mind and try to apply it for the next year, and it got me really excited to start anew.
The truth is, I never really applied any of the things I learned. I can say that I tried, and failed, and tried and failed over and over again. I needed something to keep me going: I had to get through 13 weeks of material with a LOT of hard work. There was no magic spell to keep me grinding day after day; I just had to do it. It was so insane at times that I felt bad for sleeping instead of completing my work.
As I progressed through the college years, I learned that sitting down and relaxing was just as important as working my butt off. If you’re new to university, just keep that in mind.
Finding balance in my everyday life was the biggest lesson. I couldn’t work too much, or relax too much. My day had to have a little bit of both. The problem is, I didn’t know how to relax; I thought it meant partying or doing something that was loads of fun, but it turned out to be much simpler than that. Maybe you, dear reader, find partying to be a relaxing activity, which is great. However, if you don’t enjoy parties as much and are interested in exploring ways to relax and calm your mind, I suggest meditating for five to ten minutes daily at least thirty days in a row. See if you experience any improvements!
Setting those ten minutes every morning to just sit and breathe saved my academic year from being too crazy of a ride. It also helped me with other aspects of my life. I’m just a much calmer person nowadays.
None of us has or will ever have complete control over our lives. Sometimes things just happen, and sometimes they are not so pretty. The only thing we can try to control is our reaction to life’s inevitable changes.
Learning to be mindful through consistent meditation has helped me get through some of those not so pretty situations and made me realize that it is possible to pursue my different interests, whether they were school related or not. I used the phrase “I have no time” way too many times in the past. Believe it or not, learning to be mindful, aka “in the present moment,” showed me that all we really have is time, so we might as well enjoy it and use it wisely.
A lot of people can find meditation to be quite frustrating, or more honestly, to be completely useless when they first try it. And that is a completely normal reaction. But it has been scientifically proven that with consistent practice, meditation makes us feel better. Not only are we relaxing more, but meditation actually changes the brain structure by increasing the density of the grey-matter in the hippocampus. The grey-matter, which contains most of our neuronal cells, includes regions in the brain important for learning memory, self-control, emotions, decision making, compassion, introspection, and more (McGreevey, 2011).
This discovery completely fascinated me. I can’t help but wonder: if more people started doing this regularly, is it possible that we can all be more self-aware and, as a result, have a more compassionate world?
At the end, all of the above is a mere suggestion. It may or may not turn out to be your favorite way to relax, but give it a try, especially if you feel that your other ways of calming down are no longer effective. The most important advice I have is to be sure you DO relax and have breathers from school, regardless of your course load and/or program.
To all of my fellow UBC students and staff, I hope you have a wonderful academic year ahead.
Written by Michelle Huynh and Maryam Assadeq
Sources:
McGreevey, Sue. “Eight Weeks to a Better Brain.” Harvard Gazette 11 Jan. 2011.