A Day in the Life of a Creative Industries Student
In case you’re new to the blog, hello! My name is Jenna, your student ambassador and a fourth-year Creative Industries student here at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). One of the things I love about university is that depending on your classes and work schedule, each day might look different. My schedule changes every day, but typically contains classes, work and a little bit of fun! Here is what a typical Monday this semester looks like for me!
7 a.m.
Wake up
I love to sleep in, so waking up early (especially on a Monday!) is not my favourite thing to do. Nonetheless, I get out of bed and get ready for the day ahead. This typically includes packing a bag with everything I need for my class, making some tea and listening to the news while trying to not wake up my roommate.
8 a.m.
Class time!
My first class of the day (and week!) starts bright and early at 8 a.m. The class is ENG 624: 20C Literature and Culture, which focuses on different social and artistic movements of the 20th century and how they affected literary outputs of the time. This class is an open elective, and I’m using it as the final class towards my English minor!
My large mug of tea is a very important part of my 8 a.m. lecture experience.
11 a.m.
Upload notes, work, exercise, lunch and more
I have a few spare hours between my Monday classes, and I use this time to get some random tasks off of my plate. Since I’m a peer notetaker for my 8 a.m. class, I’ll use this time to upload my notes. I’ll also organize myself for the week or do some work for my role as Vice President, Communications for the Creative Industries Course Union (external link, opens in new window) (CICU). This could be writing social media or email copy or planning out content.
I also like to go to the cardio room in my apartment building and do the 10:3:30 workout on a treadmill to get exercise and time away from a screen.
I always feel good after getting some exercise for the day!
After taking a shower, I’ll usually eat some lunch and continue knocking tasks off of my to-do list.
1:30 p.m.
CICU Meeting
On this particular Monday, I had a meeting with the Vice President, Equity and Vice President, Marketing to discuss some social media ideas for Black History Month for the CICU Instagram (external link, opens in new window) .
2 p.m.
Work meeting
On a typical Monday at 2 p.m., I’ll meet with my Career Boost supervisor, Emily, to go over my blog ideas for the week and discuss any other projects and assignments for me to complete. This is when most of my ideas for the Future Student Blog come to life!
3 p.m.
Class time (again)
Each Monday at 3 p.m., I head over to my CRI 810: Creative Collaboration class. This is one of my favourite classes this semester, and not just because we usually have snacks — although that definitely helps. My professor makes the class fun and engaging, and we usually have time to work on our group project at the end of class, which is to facilitate a design-thinking workshop for an external company. For me, it’s the perfect mix of theory and practice.
My view for my second class of the day.
6 p.m.
Freedom!
My class ends around 6 p.m. and it is the beginning of my evening. All of my work and school commitments are done for the day, and I have the rest of the evening to myself.
6:30 p.m.
Dinner and chill time
Once I get home from class, I’ll eat some dinner either by myself or with a friend. If I don’t have any plans, I’ll relax in front of the TV with my dinner and then get a start on some blog writing for the week. On this particular Monday I went to see the new movie Knock at the Cabin (external link, opens in new window) after dinner because I had gotten so many social media ads for it. I guess they worked!
The movie poster from my Monday movie night out.
If I don’t have plans, my roommate and I will watch whatever show we’re currently into. We just recently finished Wednesday (external link, opens in new window) on Netflix!
10:30 p.m.
Unwind and bedtime!
Since my days start early on Mondays, I pretty much look forward to going to bed all day. I like to be in bed by 10:30 p.m., cuddled up with my book (right now it’s Conversations With Friends (external link, opens in new window) by Sally Rooney) and asleep by 11:30 p.m. Depending on how good my book is, this may or may not happen!
Like I said, each day looks different for me as a university student, although it is usually an iteration of something like this. I will certainly miss my university schedule when I’m done school in the spring, except the 8 a.m. lectures — those will not be missed!
Until next time,
Jenna