My Takeaways from This Year

Attending university during a pandemic has been difficult, but when the hybrid learning stage came, I found that it became even more challenging. I had to figure out how to balance my in-person and online classes while having a life outside of school. This learning experience was exactly what I needed to grow as a person, so I’d like to share some of my takeaways from this past year.

If you’ve ever been behind in school, you know how much of a struggle it is catching up. In the past, I've spent countless nights studying away, missing out on sleep. Since I had some in person classes this year, I knew I couldn’t continue this habit. Instead, I made sure to finish assignments and watch lectures a couple days before the deadlines. This allowed me to get the right amount of sleep I needed, and this made me happy.

My goal at the beginning of the year was to get a research position. I never fully submerged myself into the process until this year, and boy, was it a lot of work! I spent so much time applying for positions, writing cover letters and sending emails. But, there was never a time I wanted to give up because I knew I’d put in any amount of effort to achieve this goal. Mid January, I heard back from a psychiatrist working at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and he wanted me to get involved in his research. This proves that good things take time and hard work, so the moral of the story is to never give up. 

My first year of being a transfer student at this university was spent at home. The pandemic made it so I wasn’t even able to visit campus! Now with things slowly getting back to “normal”, I make sure to say “yes” to new experiences whenever I can take them on. One of my favourite things I said “yes” to this semester was when one of my fellow student ambassadors, Jeremy, asked me to go to an engineering event called the “Big Push”. It was a fundraiser event where students would push a car around for 24 hours to raise money for Sick Kids. Since I don’t come from an engineering background, I was a little nervous, but I decided to put myself out there, and it ended up being one of the best experiences I’ve had on campus. 

This past year’s journey was something I can truly learn and grow from. I hope my key takeaways can help you in one way or another. I’m excited to see what’s in store for me next year because you can never do too much growing. Until next time!

“See” you soon!

- Nishka