Dear Reader,
Welcome to my open letter reflecting on my first year of university—the fastest, most challenging school year of my life. It was a whirlwind. Everything I knew about university was from my sister, but I was still unaware of how it would feel to learn and remember important skills and information, juggle expectations, and advance toward a career.
In university, there is no hierarchy. Fifty-year-olds are in first year, third year students sit in Introductory courses to fulfill a credit they have yet to obtain, and some people take a gap between high school and post-secondary.
I have heard people say “university is lonely” but with my perfect plans, I did not believe that could be me. But all of a sudden, it was, and the transition is jarring. Changes in my personal life—losing my routine, friends, and adjusting expectations made me try to find my footing again without roadblocks or eggshells. I knew things changed sometimes, but what I never accounted for is that it may take a long time before knowing whether it was for the better. In my case, even though university is a fresh start, I was still the same girl from a couple of months ago, so it is important not to abandon your old self, but instead, hold their hand when going through these new experiences.
Befriend others, and if you’re in a major you have passion for, you might have some luck there. In my case, they were rounded up in a Dillion Hall-shaped corral. I remember when “Papa’s Pizzeria Enthusiast” first saw the books I had downloaded onto my phone. For some reason, I was shocked to realize that an English major might enjoy reading just like me.
Another surreal part of my year has been getting to know other writers. I won’t forget when “Chipped Nail Polish” asked me for help editing his poem. I was beyond honoured, and I did not feel alone in the pursuit of my dreams and the way I perceive and process the world around me.
Conversations with “Ribbon Girl” felt easy, as if our dialogue were scripted. Her brain, our conversations, writing, and discourse about the world have inspired my writing and pushed me to grow creatively and personally on many levels. She helped me break the one-track-mindedness I had about writing by impressing me with all the dynamic ways things can be expressed. Also, up until this year, I have been unable to retain information when studying with another person, but “Ribbon Girl” is an exception. Some of my fondest memories, photos and academic results come from café-hopping to study with her.
When I remember the doubts I had about what I would major in, I laugh. I realize that you may as well do something you enjoy because all majors are hard and a little boring—I reason that it is school after all. And of course, different people excel at different things. Once, when I was at a café with “Chromebook Warrior”, who is in Engineering, she peered over at my scholarly article while I stared at the equations in her notebook. “I could never do that,” I told her. She exclaimed, “I was just going to say that that looks disgusting.”
First year was busy, and I always felt like if I was not working on the next assignment, it meant I was behind, but writing articles for Her Campus presented a reason to reflect and research topics I wanted to explore. It also gave me a place to put my special interests in writing instead of talking anyone’s ear off. With these articles, I have been able to practice my non-fiction writing, hone my voice, and write fun entertainment journalism.
Another club I joined this year is the English Undergraduate Student Association (EUSA), as a social media member and a writer for the “Generations: Reborn” chapbook. With the support from “Ribbon Girl” and members of the club, I had the courage to read my writing in an open mic at the release event, which felt like a big step.
A special acknowledgement to Outlook for informing me about UWindsor’s 2024 Writer in Residence where writers can get feedback on their work. The only people who read my work have been my close friends, who granted me unequivocal praise that built up my confidence, but it is constructive to have it torn apart too. Not only was I given great advice, but the writer offered their help any time I had a piece I wanted reviewed. The world we live in runs on connections; my advice is to make them where you can—so just put yourself out there even if it’s just for the plot.
Speaking of connections, some of my greatest conversations this year have been with my professors. It may seem impossible to be personal with them as they are addressed as Dr., and they essentially talk at you for however many hours, but stopping by during office hours or chatting after class has never felt wasted. University professors are not a ‘one size fits all’, nor are they expected to be. One of my English professors expected nothing short of MLA 9 perfection for papers, but my other professor did not even want his name or the date, because “he knows his name and the day he made the due date”. Instead, he asks for your name and student number. Professors, most notably in the English department, have stories and advice to offer with personalities like the characters they teach about, yes, you Dr. Pender…
Also, if your friends are in different disciplines, sit in on their lectures! I went to most of “Ribbon Girl’s” Psychology lectures to hang out and learn a thing or two—because did you know Sigmund Freud’s daughter is a lesbian?
Here’s another thing, choose your battles for the time you put into each course, and find resources that can help. Notion is great for keeping your calendar, to-do lists, and lecture notes in one place—as long as you do not get caught in the trappings of the aesthetic, it is useful. But if I needed to advertise a platform, it would be Quizlet. When exam schedules came out, I confused the month for the day and wrote the wrong date on my calendar. i found out 22 hours before the final. Quizlet helped me cram all the information and finish the course with an 89%, (seriously just let me tell this story on a YouTube ad).
That being said, you have the power to shape your university experience. With the AI that is eating the world, it makes it easy to cheat your way through formal education, but reliance on these things is tricky, and the second I understood that nothing would be forced on me in post secondary, I started doing my readings, and lived out my best dark academia life and encountered poetry that sounded like Victorian Era Wattpad. As Dr. Pender once said, “if you think you created it, you did not—nothing is new. Before the birds and the bees, there was the flea.”
You also have power in the resources offered. Go to Academic Advising to keep you on course with your studies, take advantage of the therapy offered, and use the public transit to explore. Join clubs, if only to meet more people. Don’t look lost in the Engineering building, ask someone cute to Presotea in Leddy, or to kill time in the parking lot beside it.
In some ways, starting university made me feel like I was a kindergartener again, putting together building blocks, constructing schemas and learning about the environment around me. Speaking of grade school, it was those teachers I remember telling me that I would thrive in the university setting…and I suppose they were correct.