AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

That's right. That is how I am feeling right now. Overwhelmed. Frustrated. Stressed. That's just a few words to describe how this month is going. Who knew that the end of a semester could bring so much stress? Oh yeah, every other student out there.

    The holiday season draws near, which can only mean one thing; papers and exams! There's so much work to do and barely any time to do it. It's a scary feeling, knowing that there's only two weeks of school, when you have five major assignments to do as well as exams to study for. Which brings me to the whole point of this, as the semester draws to a close, I'm feeling more stressed than ever. Feeling all this stress has made me wonder if other people feel this way too. Am I the only one freaking out about this? Probably not. Which brings me to another question (yes I'm full of questions). How bad can stress actually be? I mean, most students are probably feeling stressed as the final weeks of class approach and it's not the greatest feeling in the world. Sometimes, stress can help people work under pressure to meet deadlines, but most times, stress just causes overwhelming feelings of anxiety.

    What's the best way to beat stress one may ask. Well, here are a few things that I do to try and be as stress-free as possible.

    1) Make a schedule of deadlines: Having so many assignments can really cause a lot of panic. The best way to avoid this is to make a schedule of when everything is due. This helps because you can clearly see which assignments you need to work on first and which ones you might be able to do at a later date.

    2) Make sure to take breaks while doing homework: Now, I don't mean do a little work, and break for the rest of the day. It's best to work for a bit, then take a short, say 20-30 minute break. Then get back to work. This helps because you're not overloading your brain with too much information. Give your brain a rest.

    3) Find a hobby or something you can do that you enjoy to take your mind off things: When feeling stressed, it can be good to take a break and do something you enjoy for a bit. This will make you feel better and will get rid of some stress.

Now, while going to school, stress is a very likely thing for many people, just make sure you deal with it accordingly to how it affects you.

Security Issues at the Riz?

    It has come to my attention that there are a lot of security issues at universities that the schools don't like people knowing. On Thanksgiving weekend, my residence building had the back door smashed. The glass door was broken, but nobody came in (thankfully). Now, I had gone home already, but there were some people still in the building. Thankfully it was noticed right away and somebody was called in to fix it.

 

    However, this got me thinking. What really happens at universities? Are there security issues that we don't know about? I feel that as students living in residence, we should always be told about the issues that happen around campus. It is our right to know and be aware of what's going on that way we can go about being safer. I just found out that a few students were beaten up this week as well. The only way I found out about it was because it happened to 'a friend of a friend of mine'; otherwise I'd have never known. Wouldn't we all be safer if we were aware of what happens in our city? Sometimes I don't feel safe at all. Anyways, as I learn more about what goes on at my school, I'll keep you updated.

 

Until next time,

Let it be.

It's time to clear the air...

Since this blog is an assignment for my writing and reporting class, I'm going to revise what I write about. My blog, A Day in the Life is going to be an update of student life. There are going to be two different types of blogs that I will be posting. First, I’m going to talk about activities that happen on and off campus, as well as what living in residence is actually like. My own experiences are going to be used to explain student life. This is a topic that I am familiar with and there is a never ending supply of topics that I will be able to write about. Student life is not only something that I can relate to, but a lot of others can relate to it as well.

The second aspect of my blog will be focused on more controversial topics regarding student life. These topics will discuss some of the negative things that happen on campus. For these topics, I will have to do some research. These issues will not include a lot of my own opinions. I’m going to discuss topics such as eating disorders, date rape, and student poverty. These are topics that not a lot of people are aware of. Everybody focuses on the positive aspects of going to university, but there are some deeper issues that are often overshadowed.

Until next time,
Let it be.

Happiness, more or less

    Hello hello. It's Thursday night and I'm very bored. I've done all my assignments for this week and next and even started on some other ones. I have no more class readings since I did those as well. This weekend I have my newspaper orientation and it's, wait for it, HOMECOMING!!! I'm so excited for homecoming. I've stocked up on my school colours and I'm ready to jam.

    I'm sitting in the living room, the TV's on, but nobody's really watching, I have my laptop so I can write on here, and I have my phone so I can text one of my friends, yet I'm still bored out of my mind. I'm trying to think of things to do, and all I came up with was watching videos on Youtube. Then I realised, I missed this week's episode of Glee so I could watch that...and I did. Let me just say, Glee has easily become my favourite show (and the only one I'm watching faithfully every week) and I was devastated that I missed it. Luckily, I can watch it online. So I proceeded to watch Glee on my laptop, only to bawl during the last few minutes while the Glee club sang their last song for the episode. It was a really touching and really emotional song, and I often cry when I see other people crying (so sue me). What can I say? I'm a very sensitive person. Anyways, I digress. The point of this was to say how awesome the show was and how bored I am now that I'm all caught up. I have a meeting tonight at 10, but that's not for a while, so until then, what should I do?

    Well, I'm off to watch more videos of Youtube, specifically SNL Digital Shorts.

Until next time,

Let it be.

Back to School I Go...

    Well, it's Monday October 12^th, and I'm back at school. Thanksgiving is over and I've had to leave my family and my house (sad day). As much as I love being here, I really enjoyed the weekend and I just got used to being home again.

    It's been a while since I've written on here, since I've been oh so busy. Let me brief you on what's been going on. I joined the Journalism Guild at my school (a club for all J students) and I've also made it onto the school's newspaper as a writer. I was really excited to make it and even had my first article published on Wednesday October 7^th. Tomorrow I have an interview for the school's yearbook, so I'm pretty nervous for that.

    This weekend was Thanksgiving, as most of you know. I went home on Thursday night (thanks Dad for picking me up at 7:30 after work) and got settled in. It was nice to finally see my family after being away for so long. Friday was spent visiting my Yearbook teacher and class at my old high school with my best friend B. Then I went home and did homework until I went shopping with my Mum, Dad, and big sis M. It was a lot of fun and I finally found a leather bomber jacket. Luckily for me, I was allowed to pick dinner, hello Pizza Hut, and we went home to watch Ghost Whisperer, Medium, and Flashpoint. Again, it was really nice to be able to just relax and watch television with my family like old times. On Sunday, we went to my Grandparents' house along with all my family on my Mum's side (it was great to see my two favourite cousins K and R). I had a very nice time and took loads of photos. Unfortunately, as quickly as Thanksgiving came, it ended and I had to go back to school.

    That's where I am now. This Saturday is homecoming at my school and I'm pretty excited. It's going to be a busy weekend, since my midterms are next week (:O).

Until next time,

Let it be.

This is what I do

    Technically, it's Sunday morning, but it still feels like Saturday night. Saturday was spent sleeping in, lots of homework, and hanging out with friends. After working all afternoon, I went across the street to JT's residence and hung out with some people there. It was nice to catch up with JT. Even though we live across the street, we don't see each other a lot, since we're both busy with school and only have one class together. Anyways, at about 7 p.m. I came back to my room to meet up with A and S. We went to Little Caesar's and ordered a pizza after going to blockbuster and renting "Fighting" starring Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard, and "Hannah Montana The Movie" (not my choice).

    It was really nice spending a Saturday night hanging out with the roomies and watching movies (albeit, I didn't actually watch Hannah Montana). After the movies, I turned the TV on and started watching "Saturday Night Live" which is one of my favourite shows. The best part of the show, they brought back my favourite sketch, "Deep House Dish." It has to be the funniest thing in the world. I also really love the SNL Digital Shorts. Andy Samberg has got to be one of the funniest guys on the show. I love when he sings. It makes me laugh so hard. It's a great way to spend a Saturday night in residence.

    So, I just saw an ad. for "Zombieland" and it reminded me just how much I want to go to the movies. There are so many that I want to see. Maybe I'll go at Thanksgiving. Speaking of Thanksgiving, there are only 5 more days until I get to go home and I'm so excited. It's going to be amazing.

    Anyways, this was just a short little update on what's been going on.

Until next time,

Let it be.

Home is behind, the world ahead

Waking up this morning, my first thought was "two weeks." Two weeks until I get to go home for Thanksgiving. Two weeks until I get to sleep in my own bed. Two weeks until I get to watch the TV shows that I like. But most importantly, two weeks until I get to see my whole family. I'm so excited.

I didn't really realise how much I missed home until Friday. My dad came up on Friday to visit me and bring me some groceries. We did some shopping and then went out to dinner. When my dad left, it finally clicked that I miss home. I miss my city, my house, my friends, and mainly, my family. Before university, the longest I'd been away from home was four days. Until this weekend, I never really had time to think about home. I mean, Orientation week kept me busy meeting new people, playing games, and having fun. Then came the first week of classes, then the second, and finally a visit from dad. Thankfully my cell phone has an awesome plan, allowing me to call home whenever I want (and trust me, I do).

I'm excited to have a weekend at home with my family (and some nice meals cooked by Mum).

Until next time,
let it be.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Hello there everyone. I’ve had a lot to do over the past few days, but I’m finally taking some time to write a new post. As a new decision, I’m only going to refer to my friends and roommates by a letter. There’s my roommates, A, S, J, D (that’s me), and my best friend JT.

Where did I leave off last? Oh right, what life is like living in a residence apartment. As it is now Wednesday, I have a lot to update you on, seeing as I’ve been very busy. On Monday, I had to be at class at 8:30 in the morning for my media class. Now, let me tell you this, a three hour lecture at 8:30 in the morning is very tiring. Luckily, we get a ten minute break in between. I only have two classes on a Monday, so it wasn’t too bad. Between classes, I took a few minutes to find the Journalism house and hand in my application for the newspaper. After my classes finished for the day, I went to a meeting for the Journalism Guild, a club I have decided to join. It was a great meeting and I can’t wait to see what we do next. Afterwards, I proceeded to walk home, getting stopped by very creepy guys asking for change for coffee (luckily I wasn’t walking alone), and started on my work. Monday night ended with the new episode of “Gossip Girl.”


Tuesday one of my roommates, who we’ll call A, was celebrating her 18th birthday. The apartment was decorated, cake was made, and the celebrating began. We all had classes on Tuesday, with J and me finishing at 5:20. We all had a nice dinner together, and even took the bus (the first time ever for me) and went on an adventure. Now that is what I call roommate bonding. It was a nice night with the girls.

Today hasn’t been that much of an eventful day. The best part was when I received an email telling me that I have an interview with the newspaper on Monday (fingers crossed please). After going to class all morning, with only ten minutes between class, I came home and rested for a bit. Resting consisted of watching two episodes of “Glee” on my computer. I found an awesome website that allows me to watch full episodes of some of my favourites shows for free. The site is www.globaltv.com. It only has shows that air on Global TV, but there are some really good ones, like “Glee,” “House,” and “90210.”

Anyways, we have a residence meeting tonight at 10:00 p.m. and I have a yearbook meeting tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

Until next time,
Let it be.

What’s Residence Really Like?

Before I get into my discussion, I would like to take a moment to say that my Internet has been down since early this morning. It just started working again, so I figured I could write my next post.

Alright, now, living in residence can be an amazing experience, but it can also be very difficult. Waking up in the morning to a jazz festival set-up at 8am on a Saturday is not the most fun experience in the world. Luckily for me, I was already awake and doing my laundry (thanks for the help Mom). For the last week, I have woken up at about 4am or 5am to the sound of construction. Again, this is not a fun way to wake up, especially with an 8:30 am class on a Monday. That’s just the difficult mornings. Imagine living on the first floor of an apartment building with a loud group of students on the floor above you. That’s right, every time somebody walks, runs, or jumps, we can hear it. It gets hard when trying to study or even just trying to relax with the roommates and watch a movie. It gets especially hard when it happens all hours of the day and night.

Now, that is just the noise factor of living in residence. There’s also the idea of looking after yourself, going to class, doing the homework, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, sleeping, etc. It tends to get tiring, but you just have to deal with it. However, one of the hardest things that I have found has been showering. In my apartment, there are four girls and two bathrooms (so two people per bathroom). Unfortunately, the showers are not that big and I have a slight case of claustrophobia. I do not enjoy showering in an area so small, that there’s barely enough room to bend and shave my legs. Well, I’m going to have to get used to it, so wish me luck.

Until next time,
Let it be.

Friday Night: What to Do?

It’s a Friday night and I’m sitting in my room trying to decide how to spend the evening. The laundry’s piling up, but who wants to do that on a Friday night? Maybe I’ll put it off until Saturday morning. Who knows (Mum, if you’re reading this, don’t worry, it will get done eventually)? It might actually be easier to do early on a Saturday morning before the rest of my residence building is awake. I’ll have the place to myself and I can quietly study. Now that I think about it that does sound like a good idea.

Now what? Well, I could always stay in my room and do some reading. I do plan on reading a bit tonight, but I keep getting distracted by the random people walking in the alley outside my window. For instance, a guy just walked by carrying a tree. If you ask me, that’s pretty random. I think I’m going to prop up my pillows and read for a bit, before going over to my friend’s dorm. She lives right across the street, so it’s very convenient (it would have been more convenient if we were roomed together, however).

Now, you’re probably thinking, why should you care how I spend my Friday night, but I know you do. Don’t worry, I won’t get carried away. I’ll most likely have a movie night with friends. It’s simple, yet always fun.


Today, I only had one class from 11:20-12:50. I spent the afternoon doing a bit of reading, then heading over to my friend’s to watch “She’s the Man.” Before you ask, yes, my friend and I watch a lot of movies. It’s a great way to pass the time and stay out of trouble.

Anyways, I’m off to read some textbooks.
Until next time,
Let it be.

Say No To The Freshman Fifteen

Greetings. As many people know, there are many myths about going away to school, such as the dreaded Freshman Fifteen. Well, I have decided that I am going to do everything I can to stop from gaining fifteen pounds. There are a few simple ways that I plan on succeeding in my plan.

Perhaps the easiest step is walking to and from class. Not only is this convenient and healthy, but in my case, I don’t have many other options. Without a car, it’s pretty much the only way to get around. Walking to class is a very easy way to stay somewhat in shape. However, simply walking to class every day will not keep off the pounds.

Eating healthy is a very important step in battling the freshman fifteen. I don’t mean only fruits and vegetables and absolutely no junk food. What I mean is, cook proper meals, such as two chicken strips and a small bowl of chow mein noodles (make sure you buy noodles with little or no sodium). This is what I had for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Snacks should be foods such as apples, crackers, or granola bars. If you do want to indulge in a little bit of junk food, only have a small portion, such as one cookie.

Now, as healthy as you eat, you still need to exercise. Having a gym at school really helps with working out. Going to the gym may not be the most exciting part of your week, but you should plan a gym day in your schedule. This way, you are more obliged to actually go to the gym. If it makes it easier, plan to go to the gym with a friend. It may make your work out just a little better.

Well, this is my three step plan to keeping off the freshman fifteen. For those of you in college or university, I wish you luck.

Goodnight, and until next time,
Let it be.

Quick Update

Alright, so, for those of you who don't know, I moved into university on Monday September 7th. I had a two hour drive from my home town to my new school, my home-away-from-home. Once I made it to school, I had to wait in line to pick up my keys and my orientation week kit. Then, I had to find a parking spot and start moving in.

My residence building is an apartment, meaning, I have my own bedroom, but I have three roommates. We share a living room, kitchen, and two full bathrooms. The first day was full of unpacking, organizing and goodbyes. Once my family left, my building had a residence meeting, followed by a few orientation activities.

Orientation week was amazing. It was full of fun activities and lots of cheers. I kind of felt like I was at cheer camp. My team was the Green Zombies. Though we didn't win, we still had a great time.

Now, classes have started, meaning less time to relax and more time spent doing work.
Until next time,
Let it be.

Welcome

Hello. I'm Danielle and I'm a first year student in University. I am currently studying to become a journalist. My dream job is to work at a famous music magazine, such as Rolling Stone. My favourite band in the entire world is The Beatles. They have been a major inspiration in my life. I live my life by a quote from my favourite song, "and when the broken hearted people, living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be."
For those of you who know me, and even those who don't, I love relaxing and having a good time. I spend my days going to class, reading, watching movies and hanging out with friends. I've only been living away from home for about a week, but I'm having a great time. Stay tuned for updates about how my life's going living in a city two hours away from home.