By: Erica Baker

Here’s a good story about my first day of classes.

Things were going well. I had successfully found all of my classes throughout the day without any prep beforehand. Hebb was a little bit difficult of a building to track down, but I did it all on time and with big smiles. That was until my last class of the day, Poli Sci 101, came along.

I couldn’t find Poli Sci 101 and I only had the ten minutes in between French in Buchanan and Poli Sci somewhere in the Chemistry building to find it. I started to ask random students walking by if they knew where my class was. I chose to ask guys that were in flannel (trustworthy survival skills at work) or had nice orange haired beards. None of them could help me find my class and just giggled. I didn’t mind, they looked cool as always.

It was now a half hour into my class. All I wanted to do was learn about the Canadian government and I couldn’t even find the classroom to do so. I couldn’t argue with anyone about policy or Harper, at minimum to say it was very depressing. I stood on the corner of University and East Mall, across from the Bookstore, and called my mother back in Ontario weeping that I’d never learn about the Canadian Government and that I was a major fail. It was actually a very hilarious event now that I look back on it.

I eventually found the class a few minutes after it ended. Turns out, I was looking for a classroom number that didn’t exist but I had the right building. I just had to double check my schedule (good one, Erica). I found the class as it was being let out and found this really cool prof in shiny silver Nike sneakers talking to students as they left. I tried not to show that I had been crying but when I approached the prof he just smiled and handed me the syllabus as he understood that I was a first year distraught with fear of failure. Turns out that Poli Sci 101 was my favorite class of first year and I had my highest mark in Professor Baier’s class.

Now, I’m at the end of my fourth year. It’s all gone by so fast. Sometimes, I walk up the stairs behind MacMillan and am reminded by the first time I walked that way through campus with my new friends from my residence floor. Sometimes I think of the bouncy bushes that used to be, the old UPASS cards that had your photograph on them, and a time when the AMS wrote a human rights letter to the UN.

Things at UBC change so quickly. In the time you will be here for your degree, multiple buildings will disappear without a trace and new ones will pop up in their spot. Soon, most of the core of campus will be unrecognizable and the UPASS, again, will change its look. I wish I could relive the whole experience again. UBC has been the greatest experience of my life and the special thing about great experiences is that they can only happen once, so don’t forget to appreciate every bit of it.

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By: Sep Rahmani

I am sure we are all grinding through studying for exams, so I thought I would post about what I like to look forward to at the end of a long day of studying. I am personally studying for an exam I have spent a huge amount of energy studying for, and nothing helps me unwind better after a long day like watching a good TV show. Below I will list my current 3 favourite TV shows, and hopefully if you have never heard of them, you can enjoy them as well.

Breaking Bad:

This is currently my favourite show. I would strongly advise you to start watching this show when you know you have spare time because I promise you that you will be watching entire seasons in one night. The story follows, Walter, an extremely overqualified high school chemistry teacher who works two jobs to support his struggling family. He finds out he has untreatable lung cancer and quickly figures that he must do something drastic to leave his family with enough money to live comfortably. Through certain brushes with fate, he runs into a previous high school dropout, whom he taught, and together they begin making methamphetamine. It turns out that Walter makes the most chemically pure meth ever and from there the story takes off. This show has been critically acclaimed and ranked as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. It has also won several Emmy Awards, including 3 consecutive Best Actor and 2 consecutive Best Supporting Actor awards.

Game of Thrones:

Based on George R.R. Martin’s novels, is an amazing medieval fantasy TV series. If you had ANY interest in that genre, you will absolutely love this show. I will say though, it has very unique aspects and characters that, in my opinion, make this series a much more entertaining and engaging series than any of the Lord of the Rings movies ever were. The story follows several intertwining plots that keep you wanting more after each episode. I highly recommend this show.

The Shark Tank:

Look no further if you want a reality show that doesn’t involve Honey Boo Boo, pawn shops, storage wars, bachelors, fake telepaths, or fist pumps. The Shark Tank is a show where upcoming entrepreneurs, businesses, or inventors come to get an investment in their business from the “Sharks”. These “Sharks” are five extremely successful business moguls that are worth multi millions and billions of dollars that can choose to use their personal money to buy equity in someone’s new business idea. It is especially entertaining to watch some of these huge ego’s compete to buy a share in an upcoming company, and it is even more entertaining to watch them shutdown some of the terrible ideas that are presented in the show.

Good luck on your exams, and remember to take some down time.

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By: Karan D’Souza

Okay, so I am a 21-year-old advisor; what qualifies me to talk about this? Well I have had experience from both ends, I have done interviews for internships, jobs, volunteer jobs, and scholarships but I have also led some interviews. I don’t claim to know a lot, but here are just a few tips that might help you out.

1. Know the company and job that you are applying too. There is NOTHING and I mean nothing more embarrassing than showing up not knowing how to answer the company-related questions. And yes, they are almost guaranteed to ask questions about why you chose their company? Or how you are going to fit into their “family” of employees.
2. Dress to impress. Business casual does NOT involve jeans (yes, even if they are dark black and almost look like dress pants. The answer is no). But really, the interviewer automatically makes a judgment of you as soon as they see your outfit. Here are my greatest tips. Guys = shave and do not wear white socks even if you think no one will see. Girls = I’m sure you spent hours shaving your legs… but too much leg sends the wrong message.
3. Look at your resume before you go in. Remember all they know about you before you enter is what you said on your resume. Study it; think about possible questions, how are you going to incorporate your experiences into those answers. ALSO – just in case, bring an extra copy of the resume to the interview.
4. If you didn’t understand the question, ask them to repeat it. TRUST me, it is way worse to start talking and then realize mid-way that you forgot what the question was. And spend sometime thinking about your answer before you verbally vomit on the interviewer. Keep your answers to 1-2 minutes… too short and they probably didn’t even register what you just said; too long (like this article) and they will lose interest.
5. Lastly (and this is a personal pet peeve) be prepared to talk about your strengths AND your weaknesses. I URGE you very strongly to think about this. And no, working too hard is not a weakness… caring too much is also not a weakness. Don’t worry about looking weak to the interviewer, just remember to talk about how you plan on working on it, or even better how the job is going to help you make that weakness into a strength. End it on a positive note.

Okay, I am done with my tips. Good luck, and remember, be yourself. And yes your probably thinking… “well who else am I going to be”. But seriously, don’t be afraid to show who you really are, and don’t go into the interview doubting yourself, if you don’t think you are going to get the job, what makes you think the interviewer will want to.

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By: Alima Hassam

During April all of us are studying constantly; however, it is important to take study breaks in order to ensure that we are retaining all that information we are trying to memorize.

Here are some study breaks to help keep us sane during exams time:

1. Go for a walk– now that the weather is nice, the sun may brighten up your mood.
2. Hang out with, Skype, or Call friends and family– social and emotional support from friends and family is especially important during stressful times
3. Cook a meal– it’s important to eat right when trying to study
4. Go to the gym, yoga, swimming or any other type of exercise- exercising will clear your head and relieve any build up of stress.
5. Turn on your favorite music and clean your place- sometimes having a messy place can add to your stress.

Best of luck with all your exams!

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By: Mashael Mawji

Beaches, vacations, summer jobs and deciding what programs to apply for  fill our summer schedules and to do lists. As this academic year comes to an end, and most of us try to concentrate on our last exams, our summer to do lists are slowly growing. What are some of the cool things you plan to do? Whether you are staying in Vancouver, or travelling abroad be sure to wring out your sponge. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I will tell you. Our brain is the sponge; from September until April we fill it, only giving it a bit of a squeeze in December. By the end of April, our sponge is so full of water, it creates more of a mess than it cleans. Be sure to give your brain the ultimate squeeze before you start your summer adventures. For some of you, this might mean hours of brainless T.V., for others it might mean a new exercise regimen, and for others it might mean tons of sleep. Make sure you take this time for yourself so that you can have a great summer, and feel completely fresh. Good luck to all on your exams, and whatever your summer plans, make sure you take some time to “wring out your sponge!”

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By: Kacper Wardynski

It would be an understatement to say that Vancouver is a rainy city, this winter has just begun and it hasn’t been too bad yet, however if there’s one thing Vancouver is known for, it’s ridiculous amounts of perpetual precipitation.  With that comes the need for umbrellas, and with umbrellas come people who have absolutely no spatial awareness or regard for the Umbrella Code.  They walk, with the brims of their umbrellas just below their eyes, poking faces, ripping other umbrellas and spraying everyone as they twirl their colorful rainguards; where better to find them than on campus?  As soon as the skies get grey, University Boulevard and Main Mall get overcrowded with umbrellas, like giant walking mushrooms bumping into each other, jostling, bustling and pushing through the crowds on their way to class.  Every now and then you’ll pass someone who knows the Umbrella Code, who will lift their umbrella over yours if you’re shorter, or dip theirs under yours if you’re taller, they go out of their way to make sure the points of their umbrellas don’t make their way into your eyes, and it’s nice to know that somewhere out there, there are a few who are bound by this common courtesy.

Next time it rains, please don’t be that guy or gal who hits everyone with your umbrella between classes, please avoid my eyes with the poky ends and please look out from under that brim so you stop walking into me.  I know, that with the right amount of public awareness, we can combat this obstacle that blocks us from getting to our classes safely.

Join the fight at www.umbrellaawareness.org

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By: Ekjot Brar

“When it rains, it pours.” It seems like this was a running theme in my life last year. Health issues, crazy midterms, missed midterms, big fat ‘W’s on my transcript, and don’t forget that side order of family drama. I’d dealt with stress before, but never had I broken down so badly. I was away from school and residence life for weeks and was spending a lot of time back home in recovery from some painful medical issues I’d been experiencing. Throughout these medical issues, not only did my body feel out of sync, but my mind was also constantly oscillating between being depressed, and being stressed out to extremes. I didn’t understand why, despite getting copious amounts of rest, antibiotics, and painkillers, I wasn’t feeling any better. And then I finally had to come to the realization that the problem was that too much of my recovery time was being spent wallowing in my own pity. My body felt out of sync because I wasn’t letting myself get better mentally and emotionally. Instead of identifying what was stressing me out and dealing with it, I was just trying to push it all away in hopes that it would somehow disappear.

How do you get out of a slump? The first move in dealing with any stress is often just taking a step back and determining the actual roots of where your stress is coming from. It can often be a build-up of several things that is making you feel stressed, maybe something more than what you initially thought it was on the surface. For me, feeling unwell was not my sole stressor – I was also anxious about missing a substantial amount of school this semester and how it would affect my degree and goals for the next few years.  Not confronting what is stressing you out is only going to cause the situation to escalate.

Once you’ve been able to find the source of your stress, you’re ready to slay your dragon. One of the worst things you can do when dealing with stress is not letting it out. You need to get out of your head. Don’t try to distract yourself with movies or TV (trust me, I tried), and don’t let the pressure build up until there’s steam blowing out of your ears. Think about the support system that surrounds your life. Whether you’re stressing out over an exam, your health, or something else that is majorly altering your life, there are always people you can turn to when you feel like it’s too much. I leaned on my family, and also turned to my academic advisors and professors for advice. I always thought that I would just be a number to them, and that in classes of hundreds, I was one person they probably didn’t care about. Don’t make this mistake. My professors and advisors were not only understanding of everything that I was going through, but they genuinely did everything they could to accommodate me in my studies while I was in recovery. Talk to a family member, a friend, a counselor, or even your friendly neighbourhood residence advisor – whoever you feel comfortable confiding in.

These next two steps, I personally think are the most important. Change your attitude/outlook and face the facts that there are some things that you just can’t prevent. Sometimes it’s hard to stay positive when you’re feeling overwhelmed with everything that is going on in your life, but try to incorporate some optimism anytime you feel like this. If you’re in a positive frame of mind, everything will come so much easier. This may sound like a complete cliché, but I stand by it 100%. Not everything is within your control, so sometimes you need to buck up and look at the big picture. Thinking long term helped me put my present life in perspective. Sure my time away meant that I missed a substantial amount of my schoolwork, but maybe dropping a few courses isn’t giving up, maybe it’s re-assessing. Maybe it’s exactly what I needed to be able to focus and prioritize.  It might take me an extra year to graduate, but I can use that year to my advantage and grow from it. These are the thoughts I kept circulating through my mind now, and anytime I start to pity myself I think about how I could have it so much worse and just keep moving.

To sum everything up, when you feel like everything is falling apart and you you’re letting your stress eat away at you, “it’s a matter of looking chaos in the eye, and telling it to F-off” (The Ugly Truth, 2009).

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Looking for tips and recipes for cooking on a student budget?

Check out The Starving Student Eats on Amazon.ca, and available from the Kindle store for download to a Kindle device, or other Kindle application. Here is the full link:

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Starving-Student-Eats-ebook/dp/B00C4NCM7U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364872592&sr=1-1

The best news? It’s only $1!

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By: Yara Alcheikh

5. Start the day with a morning run down to Spanish Banks. Going through the trails full of tall trees feels absolutely refreshing, where every breath of air feels so pure. I try to let go of any stress or negative thoughts and attempt to direct my attention to my surroundings.

4. Sit outside at a cafe and read a book.

3. Have a picnic at Kitsilano Beach. I recently went with some friends and had a really nice time, ate light snacks and enjoyed the sounds of the waves. It’s a really mesmerizing view of Vancouver city centre behind the water from here. Everyone likes to be outside when it’s sunny, especially dogs! They walk by after splashing in the water and they brighten my day even more.

2. Play soccer or ultimate on the field!

1. Go roller-blading around the Seawall. I find rollerblading so much fun! I always forget how cold it can get with the wind against me, so my hint is to dress just a little bit warmer than usual; you can always take off an extra layer and put it in your bag if you bring one. Rentals are everywhere around Stanley Park for bikes or rollerblading, so take your pick and enjoy the ride!

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