Orange leaves begin to litter the path up UC Hill as the smell of coffee invades the halls of residence. Students pace through the halls bleary eyed and in sweatpants. It’s that time of year. It’s midterm season.
Since Western began incorporating a class schedule into Orientation Week, students have remarked that the transition has become a lot less defined. The first few days on campus feel like summer camp. Bubbly sophs in what can only be described as thrift store Halloween costumes pound on the door each morning and drag you out of bed. The day is jam packed with activities, and there isn’t a second to think before you crash on your bed at the end of the day. In the midst of all this excitement, you begin your first day of university.
First lecture.
First time running across campus to get a good seat in your physics class. First time you drop a couple hundred dollars on textbooks. The transition comes ever so slowly that you might not even feel it.
Until midterms.
Suddenly, everything feels so new. 30% of your mark now rides on a series of multiple-choice questions the professor poses to hundreds of students. The pressure is unlike anything I’ve felt in my past. For the first time, everything feels so different.
University is a huge change in your life. Whether you’re living at home, on residence, or off campus, this is the most independence you’ve probably had in your past 18 years. Sometimes it doesn’t even hit you until you’re a month in and have stopped being fazed by the half-hour long Tim Hortons lines. However, this overwhelming feeling will pass. Although you may believe you have already adjusted to university life, around every corner is a new experience. Learning how to balance your extra-curriculars with your academics to learning how to not burn your grilled cheese in a toaster oven, you constantly get bombarded with something new. So if one day it all hits you like a ton of bricks, just know that everything will work out. Some things will take longer to transition than others, and that’s okay. It’s important to be prepared for failure, but also be prepared to pick yourself right back up. Although the end of your educational career might be eminent in just a few short years, you never stop learning in life.
And on that note…I have a midterm to study for.