An Insider's View on Life as a University Student

My biggest dream was always to go to university. Going to university was a big deal as neither of my two parents got their post-secondary education and I was the oldest child. I remember the level of excitement I felt the day I accepted my offer from the University of Ottawa; all my hard work had paid-off and my dream was becoming a reality. I began preparing for my first-year of university; picking my residence, buying all new decorations for my dorm room, attending orientations, and reaching out to my new floor-mates. Before I knew it, my family was on a 6-hour drive to my new home in Ottawa.

First Year 

First-year university is a rocky-road of experiences. It’s the first time away from your parents, university classes are completely different from high school, and you have an entire new group of friends. The hardest adjustment I had to make was the lifestyle of residence. I lived in an older style residence, there were two bathrooms for the entire floor (one for girls and one for guys), I shared a very small room with another girl with one bed and one desk each, and there was a very small common room and kitchen for about 25 people. Personally, this was very overwhelming for me as I like my personal space, but in the end, these living conditions taught me how to be adaptable and resulted in a group of friends that would stick with me throughout the next three years. One of the most important parts of first year is getting involved and making friends, as you will later find these people will become your support system through your entire university career. I made the mistake of putting too much pressure on getting involved in school, which resulted in taking away time from my schooling. That being said, I am a strong believer in finding a healthy balance between your school work and your social life. Being involved in clubs and associations as well as making new friends is critical, but these will mean nothing if your grades are too low to be in school. First year will teach you how to manage your school work, how to survive on your own, and how to balance your social life; it is all about finding limits.

Second Year 

Second year university pushes your limits even further. Myself and four of the girls from my residence decided to get an apartment together. At the time, this seemed like a great idea, but we quickly learned that this would be the first limit pushed. Coordinating five friends in a fairly small apartment does not work. In second year, your classes will only get harder and that means everyone’s schedules get that much harder to coordinate; when one roommate has nothing due and wants to party, another has multiple assignments due. Personally, this brought on a lot of conflict between my roommates and a lot more stress. I quickly learned combining social life and personal life is not healthy for your friendships or for your personal health. I would highly recommend not living with your best friends or if you do live in a large space where you won’t be in each other’s space. One way I was able to find a new balance between school and social life was getting a job at a restaurant. I found working in a restaurant still gave me the social aspects I craved as a young adult, but also forced me to practice my organizational skills and time management skills. Working resulted in no longer feeling a need to go out with friends every weekend, forcing me to get out of the tiny apartment, and forming new friendships outside of school, all while gaining important work experience. Overall, second year created structure in my schedule and my school experience improved drastically.

Third and Fourth Year 

By my third year of university I felt like I had figure out my school routine. There had been large improvements in my grades since my first year, I was now only living with one roommate with no conflict, and I was successfully balancing my work life with school. I decided that it was now time I focused on improving my health. It is easy to forget about the importance of health when you are overwhelmed by other major life events, such as the ones occurring in first year and second year of university. Healthy living is an essential part of being successful as it keeps your body and mind performing at an optimal level. Two ways of integrating health into any lifestyle are through eating habits and physical activity. Now that routine had settled in my life, I was able to dedicate time for physical activity in my schedule and focus on healthier eating habits. For my physical activity, I turned to yoga, which not only helped in improving my health but also in managing the stresses of school. I would highly recommend yoga to anyone who is having a hard time in school, as it is a great way to unwind while simultaneously improving your physical health. As for healthy eating, there are lots of simple recipes online for students. One website I often used was Fit Foodie Finds. They have lots of tasty recipes that are super easy to make. Once I had worked healthy living into my routine, I felt I had accomplished my ideal routine and found the perfect school-work-life balance. I successfully continued this routine into my fourth year of university, where I know await my graduation date. 

Overall, there were a lot of ups and downs in my university agree, but I do not regret any experience I had. No matter what life throws at you, it is important to always stay positive, work through it, and learn from the experience. University has formed who I am today by teaching me how to work hard, to stay motivated, and to never give up. If you want to learn more about my university experience you can message me through my contact page.