First Year Experience Series Part Four: Samantha

BY SAMANTHA ASARE; MACINSIDERS

My first year at McMaster has been nothing more than a roller coaster ride. From acceptance, to my first midterm exams,I have learned not only a lot about myself, but a lot about the world in general. My experience was definitely a unique one, being the eldest child of immigrants and having practically no one to guide me through my first year journey.

HEDDEN POWER! For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I lived in Hedden Hall on the 3rd floor. Seriously, this residence was and always will be one of the most top notch residences around. Ignoring the fact that I was frequently annoyed by some people living around me on my floor, I really felt the physical amenities of Hedden overcame the majority of my sometimes irritating neighbours. The huge rooms, the numerous individual and BIG washrooms and just the general location made this residence just fantastic.

I think the thing I liked most about first year was the freedom. I have never had so much freedom in my life! Of course too much freedom can go to one's head and you need to realize, you come to university to learn and gain some valuable life experiences. And I don’t mean life experiences such as drinking until the Campus Security beats you with one of their batons or arrests you (believe it or not, I did see that happen numerous times). Calling them "Campus Security" is really an understatement. Think of them as your friendly neighbourhood policemen and women, there for you during an emergency (that's what those red poles with blue lights are for). They have really every right to approach you if they feel that you are endangering the safety of yourself and others on the campus. But really, as long as you follow the Student Code of Conduct (for everyone) and the Residence Code of Conduct (obviously geared more towards those living in res), you will never need to deal with heafty fines, majors, minors and all that great stuff that comes along when you break the law at McMaster.


Too much freedom comes with a consequence. This school does not "baby" around its students. There are tens of thousands of students that attend McMaster; they cannot monitor every student’s progress (or lack of). Essentially what I'm trying to say is, if you feel like you're not doing as well as you could be or you're just unsure of something, ASK. Please please ASK. This is not about you having a huge ego and being too stubborn to ask for help. Getting a tutor or just talking to a T.A can go a long way.

Ahh free time... so little of it I truly had. Free Time mostly consisted of downloading movies and TV shows off DC++ (The greatest thing EVER). Quarters is fun.. if you're 18+. My birthday is December 20th 1989, so you can imagine how often I went to Quarters, HA (If you didn’t understand that joke, I basically meant that I barely ever went). Overall, free time really depended on my mood. Sometimes my usual "free time" would turn into "study for Computer Science test" time. It also depends on the time of year, of course; beginning of term, unless you're nuts/a keener, most of your time will be spent wandering around campus, hanging out with friends, etc. Near exams, HOPEFULLY, you're studying!

I made a point about this above but, WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE DOING POORLY OR YOU'RE JUST UNCERTAIN ABOUT SOMETHING, ASK FOR HELP. I did not go in to get help for Math 1M03 (also known as Calculus from Hell) and alas, I did very poorly in the end. I would like everyone coming into school after me, no matter what school you attend, to please avoid this mistake. I was (and still am, in some ways) very stubborn, which resulted in me struggling through some of my courses.

All in all, it was an okay year. My average went down roughly 15-20% from what it was in high school, sometimes felt I was in the wrong program, I took some classes that I hated and I had to sometimes deal with some stubborn and irritating people. But in the end, it was totally worth it. I’m happy I chose McMaster for my undergraduate degree and the rest of you should too!

Great article!

Was Maggie also your CA, she's gonna be in WHIDDEN this year

Originally Posted by samantha__

WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE DOING POORLY OR YOU'RE JUST UNCERTAIN ABOUT SOMETHING, ASK FOR HELP

Very good advice!

Great article samantha

Yeppers Nicole, Maggie was one of my CAs! I loved her, so nice Thanks btw.

And yeah Ken, I hope truly do get the message about that, hence why I put it in caps lol. From now on, if I dont get the smallest thing, Im gonna ask for help.. it doesnt hurt right? No question is a stupid one.

Oh wow, never thought I'd see that photo somewhere else!