First Year Experience Series Part Two: Eva - MacInsiders - Student-run McMaster University Help Forum

Alvand · 07-07-2008 at 06:59 PM

First Year Experience Series Part Two: Eva

By EVA CHAN, MACINSIDERS

The Likes.
The best part about being in university is the feeling and freedom of living on your own. This is the time to grow and experience things that you would not have at home. There are so many opportunities out there, so I suggest you seize these opportunities! Just make sure you talk to people and check out what there is to offer. Another great advantage of university is the ability to meet so many different people with so many stories to hear. During welcome week, I met a few people and are now very close friends with them.

The Dislikes.
One of the greatest dislikes I had was that a majority of the first year classes were in huge lecture halls with so many other people. It is a new experience at first. It takes initiative to go and talk to your professors. I found it frustrating at times when there are long line ups that would take forever to end. Another dislike I had was the fact that my schedule was so random and I did not have time for regular meals. It was definitely hard to adjust having dinner at 10:00p.m one day and 4:00p.m. the next day. I guess it takes time to get use to and having good planning is important. Another dislike I have to say is that it is hard to maintin close contacts with some of your high school friends. University can be so hectic and time flies by really fast with assignments and tests coming at you all the time. Just remember to try and spend some time and stay in touch with your old friends too and see what they are up to.

Challenges.
The biggest challenge I had was the fear of university and not having the initiative and motivation I had in high school. I was one of the leaders of my highschool, joining every club there possibly was! However, once going in to university, everything was different. I was so frighten from all the upper year students’ stories about getting lower grades and how hard university was. Because of this, I did not join many extracurricular activities. I wanted to concentrate on studying and doing well. If I would have done it again, I would have changed what I did. Although university can be scary at first and your grades may going down, it is fine. You should still make the most out of your experience. It is things like joining clubs and being involved where you will meet people that you can share your fears and stories with. Once you talk to other people, you will realize that you are not alone! Just do what makes you happy. Be involved, go to class, study, and just manage your time wisely.

My New Home.
Once I found out I was accepted to Les Prince Hall double room with washroom, I was overwhelmed with excitement. This was a brand new building and I would be the first one to live in my new room. Unlike a lot of other first year students, I was rooming with my friend from high school. This decision has its advantages and disadvantages, but I am still glad I was able to experience it with my close friend. Les Prince is a new building, with your own washroom, nice study rooms, and comfortable common rooms. However, I would say that it is definitely harder to make friends than in other more traditional residence. Therefore, if you get assigned to Les Prince, you need to step it up and take extra initiative to meet other people in your building! I would say the same to other first year residants of Mary E. Keyes and Bates Hall. Overall, Les Prince was an awesome residence and gave me a good exercise for having to walk so much more for being so far from everything.

Free time.
DC++!!! It has so many movies/shows. You can never be bored. However, I have to warn you, this is definitely one of the major distractions you can have. Learn to time management and set a time that you will relax and watch shows, and when you need to study. This is extremely important!! DC++ can either make your life less boring or kill it. Be careful! If you realise you have having problems with school and spend too much time on it, delete it! (until your grades and everything goes back up again of course!)

During the rest of my free time, I would study hard and TRY to keep up with all the reading and course work. I have found that keeping up with all the work is hard, no matter how hard you try sometimes. You just have to let it go sometimes and not get too frustrated when you fall behind. Its not healthy to stress all the time! Something I am still working on. Just stay positive and keep studying when you can. Aside from that, I would hang out with friends in their residences, play some video games, napping, and if time permits I would go off campus. To try and stay healthy, I also played badminton with my friends every Sunday night for a few hours.

Over all.
First year is one of the biggest changes so far in my life, but it’s the stepping stone to a wonderful experience for the next few years. I learned a lot throughout the entire year and am beginning to learn so much more about myself. Stay positive!