Welcome! Everything is Fine!

Welcome! Everything is Fine!

Did ya get that? That sneaky little Good Place reference? No? Well that’s ok because there are plenty more where that came from.

HI. HELLO. HILO.
I’m Jess.
I’m a Bachelor of Music Student and probably one of the most awkward humans on the planet. It’s true.
I’ve got more awkward stories than parents have embarrassing stories of their children.
Im constantly tripping over non-existent objects, mixing the order of my words (e.g I’m teeling fired) and there may have been an instant where I accidentally shook someone’s arm instead of their hand because I misjudged the distance. That’s enough proof of that for now. Trust me when I say I’ll have a whole list to share with you by the end of the year!

SO, Bachelor of Music Student. We get bad rep. sometimes for being lazy, but we’re (surprisingly) not. We play hard and we practice hard. We’re also not all classical music nerds, and while that is definitely by no means a bad thing (I’m always impressed by people who know so much about classical music), I don’t really fit into that category. And a lot of other people probably don’t either. For all you know, there are some total rap gods in the Bachelor of Music degree that you didn’t know about. Crazy, right?

One thing y’all should know about me is that I live and breathe weird. Between my clumsiness and total ridiculousness as a human, I think Crocs can make an outfit, and that everything tastes better microwaved. It’s a truth to live by. Day-old pizza tastes MUCH better than fresh pizza is all I’m saying.

In all this weirdness, through my time as a first-year blogger I’ll be here to tell you about all my problems and mistakes I make so that you don’t have to make them!
I have a whole bunch of things to talk about that I wanted answered before I came to Uni, ranging from what beginning language classes is like (especially if you’ve never been good at them *stares pointedly at self*), the best food on campus, and what to do when you’ve got hours to kill before your next class.
I’ve got ya covered!

May we meet again! (⋆ʾ ꆚ ʿ⋆)۶⁾⁾⿻

Jess out ヽ( ˘з˘ )ゝ

Arriving in Melbourne: my POV + feeling isolated

No preparation could lead me to the big city life, especially not for a small-town girl. I was wedged in the middle, being neither an international student nor an Aussie one, but a Kiwi.

My arrival

“No expectations”, I said, “They inevitably lead to disappointment.”
Yet, subconsciously, I presumed the arrivals area of the Melbourne airport would be spacious and inviting like the Auckland one had been. Pulling my suitcase along the hard floor, I entered a vivacious yet cramped arrivals area. People sat on benches texting, waiting for their loved-ones, chauffeurs were pacing the perimeter, asking people whether they knew the person written on their plain pieces of placard, and the others, like me, waited in line to purchase one-way tickets to the city.

Alone in Melbourne

Upon arrival into Melbourne, the sight and sheer concentration of people present became abnormally ochlophobic. Imagine you’re standing in a room full of people, but you feel empty. A deep sinking feeling evades your stomach, and you feel truly alone. It’s almost like the feeling you have before you start breaking down and crying. In the first couple of weeks, these fleeting thoughts of isolation were frequent. It happened when I walked the voluminous streets of Melbourne, and when I sat home alone. These feelings stemmed from being on my own, not knowing anybody and hating what I was learning and where I was living. This inevitably lead me to hating everything, making me feel like an outlier in the big city.

Why should I feel alone when I’m alone? I shouldn’t. It was strange because I would describe myself as someone who’s introverted, and who enjoys alone time.

Timeout

Fast-track to after the mid-semester break, isolation – for the most part – is a non-issue. Easter break exponentially reduced my stress levels and spending time alone, once again, is enjoyable. An activity that really helped was visiting family friends; they helped remind me, unbeknownst to them, of what it felt like to belong and be part of a loving community. I’ve sort of adjusted to my course, but may transfer next semester, and Melbourne has gradually become more like home.

Tips and tricks

After seven weeks in Melbourne, these are my best tips and tricks that helped me combat those initial feelings of isolation:

Acting friendly and talking to people. O-Week was the prime time to do so because that’s when everyone isn’t piled with work, and is still amiable for a chat. It can be as simple as asking someone if they’re lost or if they’re going to the same event as you.
Going to the pit-stop consultations to motivate yourself to learn more and to make study buddies.
Exploring the city, and making it familiar enough to call home.
Joining clubs that suit your interests and chatting about things you like.

Go out there and do something you’ll feel good about! Drowning in misery won’t help.

—

Even snow won’t stop flowers from blooming.

Thanks for listening 🙂

Grace xo

Greetings!

Hi everyone out there!

I’m EragusTrenzalore (that is an amalgamation of names in two of my favourite book/ TV show, guess which ones they are) and I am a first year Bachelor of Biomedicine student. It’s a pleasure to have joined the FirstYear@Unimelb Team and write for you this year.

For those of you entwined in the intricacies of VCE or final year high school studies, I hate to break this to you, but it does not get easier in Biomed. Given that you are in a cohort of the top students in the country, you will need to work hard especially if your aim is Medicine (as is the case with most first year Biomed students). However, as you progress through the course, you will come to appreciate that there are many other pathways to careers in health that the Biomedicine degree offers.

After the first few weeks of that is the honeymoon period where you enjoy and appreciate what Uni life has to offer, from the plethora of clubs and societies catering to almost any niche (e.g. there is a Cheese Club), to the great variety of camps and social events welcoming first years, you will realise that this is the calm before the storm. The storm that comes after Week 5 comes in the form of assignments and tests (known as Mid-Semester Tests) that one must study and complete. Luckily, we as Biomed students huddle together in support of each other through these terrible times…..

Now that I have completely scared you off from choosing Biomed, when you could choose Science instead, I will just say that compared to your high school years, there will be much more work in Uni, but it is different in that you have much more time and are now responsible for managing your own studies. For some, it may be difficult moving from the structure environment of high school, where what you do is dictated by the bell, to the freedom of University life and balancing what you need to do with what you want to do (a common thread that will run into adult life as well). This certainly was an issue for me initially, as I had trouble balancing study and participation in clubs and societies; I would have to make study work around long rehearsals with the Biomedicine Symphony Orchestra, but in the end, you find what works. Use this opportunity in first year to find out the best ways you study and how to manage your time; there is plenty of support from the University regarding this, especially with Stop 1, so if you find you have any troubles at all, drop by and discuss it with Stop 1. This can also be expanded generally to any issue at University, if you have trouble with anything whether you are confused about something in lecture or need help with choosing what subjects you want to take, always ask! The support is always there at University and will help you only if you ask.

All in all, Biomedicine is a lot of fun if you’re interested in health and do work hard. It is the perfect time to learn what you are interested in and participate in the countless opportunities available. Don’t be afraid to try anything you’re interested in as you never know where it may lead you.

Be good and Study Hard!

Image result for books

First Term the Worst? That’s Fine.

Let’s just say my name is Momo. Not Japanese for “peach,” momo 桃 // but an English nickname for a nickname “Elmo.” Momo.

I’m a Fine, fine young lady–jks I’m a Bachelor of Fine Arts student.
Not to be confused with “Finance” spoken quickly with a British accent
Or “Fine Ants” spoken quickly with excessive nasal tones and twang
Or a Bachelor of Arts Student (please, stahp ( ; n ; )// it’s not the same)

Basically for an Asian that means I half-hearted VCE and got a 85.25 ATAR ha ha ha(equivalent to a D- in China) and ended up choosing perhaps the least economically promising field. I will explain this in a little more detail actually. Now.

Well, for starters, many galleries have shut-down; sell-out exhibitions aren’t as common anymore. Consumers of Gallery art have been decreasing for a while. I blame this partially on technological advancement. Less people feel the need to experience things in person. There’s a good chance whoever you are reading this right now, you’ve never bought an art-work or a print and a chance you never will. (But Art is SO necessary to humanity, I’m definitely going to splurge in a later Blog about that). There’s also a wider spread of art, and A LOT more competition. And because “Art” isn’t strictly essential to the immediate practical functions of society, it’s a luxury to get funding and a golden gift to have consumers. And I think this sort of situation runs parallel to many other fields.
But what I’ve realised/interpreted more-so in my first few weeks here, is that the Contemporary culture of Art doesn’t want to make money. They have a “that’s not what it’s about,” sort of attitude. Self-expression is a privilege already, and it wouldn’t be true Art if you were seeking money. That mindset perhaps contributes to the prior. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily, and it makes a lot of sense, but it’s intrinsically dangerous from where I’m standing as a 19 year old. This is where ‘do what you love’ becomes risky. This is why all my friends who were in a similar position to myself graduating year 12 have opted for STEM.

But that’s okay because I’m here instead of a Bachelor of Science degree at Monash.

I think I’ll definitely mention more on this in the future; it’s apart of a very big internal conflict I have and I think discordant worldviews between a student and the perceived culture of a department is a very legitimate thing.

NOTE: These are my views and interpretations of my surrounding environment and do not necessarily reflect upon any of my peers, the staff or the department. #responsibleblogger

And while we’re at it. I have depression. *waves enthusiastically* #tooserioustoosoon #confessionsofdepression #rhymes
Because it’s so common, it shouldn’t be an uncomfortable thing to mention. It shouldn’t be idolised either, and I’m not “proud” to have depression, it’s definitely a progeny, but it makes the uni experience harder, and I want anyone who gets my feels to gain some strength from witnessing my uni-life. #allinthistogether #highschoolmusical #hushhhh

I spent the first two weeks of my course wanting to cry constantly. There was a day I sat at my studio crying non-stop for an hour. I’m not an extrovert and my basket of social-skills are sort of empty. I’ve filled it up with Easter eggs over the mid-semester break instead :L
This is sort of the moment I realised that getting my crap together is now fully my responsibility. My artwork, art form, and art-styles I love were also subtly shat on recently, and my need to think in every direction to appeal to the course environment kept me fiddling my thumbs in one-spot. I also expect too much from myself too soon, which never helps. And just other things like, reading week 2’s timetable instead of week1’s and thinking I arrived an hour early to a class as I sat on a bench and illegally fed pigeons when I was in the wrong location the whole time; thinking I knew the way to the lecture and ending up in side streets navigating on a low-battery phone. Living life on the edge. #specialkindofstupid

But the first step to solving a problem is realising you have one.

Depression and just having a bad start isn’t something I can dictate steps to solve. It’s a very brain thing: Give yourself a lot of breaks #haveabreakhaveaKitKat. Force yourself to finish an artwork as ugly as blob-fish, just to make a start. And to those of you, who like me, didn’t plan to physically make it to University (being alive has been thoroughly confusing), please stay. Please join the Taekwondo and/or Debating club and/or the Choir or any club, and comment that you’ve joined so I’ll finally force myself to tram from Southbank to Parkville to join those clubs too. I’m lazy. That also doesn’t help.

But now I’m trying to remember what I loved about my Art. Not just the things I create, but what I envisioned Art to be. And I’m going to have to fight to remember that. And remember, especially the fine-arts kids (maybe even the design kids):

Criticism is advice you don’t have to take on. But understanding where it comes from makes you wiser.

So if like me, you’ve just been confused and baffled and questioning everything. That’s alright. First term the worst. Second the Best. Let’s make that happen together.

Also, my next post will be short and sweeter, with A LOT of cats. Don’t you worry ;D

Momo~ > u <

Greetings from Grace

Hi everyone. This is your new blogger Grace speaking xD

When I was in high school, I had SO many questions about uni ngl, and it would’ve made life easier if someone answered all of them. I’m delighted to be able to share my experiences at Unimelb with you, and hope the ways I deal with difficult situations can help you out in some way. Stay tuned for more, and feel free to ask any questions you have about uni, finding accommodation or just life in general.

For starters, I’m from a rather small city in New Zealand, so heading to big ol’ Melbourne was an adventure of its own. The population of Melbourne is about the same as the whole of New Zealand. Can you imagine that? 4.8 million people squished into one big city. Needless to say, I got lost. The campus is HUGE. Google Maps saved my life on multiple occasions.

On the flip side, I only decided I would be a Unimelb student about a month before I arrived (talk about leaving things to the last minute). Shock horror: there were hurried preparations, but somehow, I’m here. It’s 5 weeks into Semester 1, and I’m finding that being a Commerce student isn’t that bad. Although if you feel the struggle, welcome to the club. Uni aside, my interests include learning languages (particularly Japanese), doing calisthenics and reading. I also enjoy listening to good stories, so if you’ve got a good story, I’d like to hear it.

Anyways, thanks for reading my first post, and stay curious like this cute puppy 🙂

For the Love of Writing: Employee of the Year! Who Me ...

Best,

Grace 😊

My first post. HEY!!

Hey everyone, I’m Francisco! I’m extremely excited to be a part of the UniMelb first year bloggers team and to share my first year experience with you guys! I’m 19 years old and I come all the way from Lima, Peru! I’m a Bachelor of Arts student, majoring in Psychology and Media & Communications.

Just like many of you, I arrived at Melbourne for the first time two months ago, which means I’m still learning about what it’s like to be a student here, so I hope my experience can be useful for your own first year UniMelb experience!

A little bit more about myself… My biggest interests are soccer, psychology and playing the guitar (for all you guitar nerds out there (you know who you are), I own 8 guitars and my favourite one right now is an American Standard Fender Strat!). In terms of music, my favourite artists are John Mayer and Tash Sultana, and my favourite band is Kings of Leon, however, don’t hesitate about letting me know of any other cool artists, I would love to hear about them!

Being an international student, staying at a residential college has made my transition from Lima to Melbourne incredibly smooth and fun, so if you haven’t considered living in one, I definitely recommend! I’m very happy that I made the choice of staying at a residential college, because within a week, I met so many new and amazing people, and now I get to share and spend time with them on a daily basis, which has made it easier to be so far away from home! I will make a more detailed post about colleges soon, so stay tuned for that!

We’re now on Easter break, and I can’t believe how fast time has passed since I said goodbye to my friends and family back home! I really hope you’ve been having an awesome time so far, and even if you’ve struggled at times, know that I have too, but with a positive attitude and a bit of effort, you will always figure it out and continue having the time of your life. Because uni at UniMelb WILL be the best time of your life!

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read our posts, it has been a pleasure talking to you guys! And by the way, any comments or suggestions are totally welcome. Know that this blog is for you!

Best wishes,

Francisco 🙂

Hello from the newest member <3

Hii! Super excited to tell you everything about myself. Sooo where do we start?

Umm.. I’m Yazmin! basically from Myanmar and went all the way to Sydney to attend high school and yea came all the way from Sydney to Melbourne for UNI! It has always been a dream to study a course which fascinates me and thanks to Uni Melb, I got into Bachelor of Design(Majoring in Architecture of course.. haha)! I’m a fresher to both the Uni and the city.. omg I know it sounds scary but it is adventurous. (andd guess who loves adventures) *Drumrolls* ME! Umm.. things that I like? CHOCOLATE. what I don’t like? drawing (haha.. I know its a contradiction as I’m doing an architecture course but I’ll end up loving it soon anyways).. Gotta be positive you know! anddd if you already haven’t figured it out. I am an optimistic person! Always willing to make new friends <3 and share thoughts. (So comment Hi maybe?)

Soo let me share with you my first ever thoughts about Uni Melb >.<

Uni: OMG ITS SO HUGE (it is legit hugeeeee! If you don’t know your shortcuts.. I prefer Nike for walking shoes)

MSD: WHATS MSD?? (everyone around me was annoyingly mumbling msd..msd..msd.. I had no idea what it was even tho I basically had all my classes in)

*MSD = Melbourne school of Design* (I know.. that was so simple to figure out but excitement gets u sometime )

OOHH! There’s one more! So there is this room in MSD…. (until next time!)

First_Year@UniMelb wants you!

Love to write?

Want to help current & future students understand what uni is all about?

We’re looking for first year students commencing at the University of Melbourne in semester 1 2018 to blog for First_Year@UniMelb in 2018.

Sound like you? Click here to apply: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/academicskills/undergrads/first_year_at_unimelb

The Winter Not-So Blues (Kat)

If you’re a first year like me, when you think of fresh starts, you probably think of flipping the calendar to February; where a ‘first day back’ filled with whispers of summer adventure, long queues at the Co-Op and the remnants of patchy sunburn, awaits. A completely clean slate, with new subjects, new classes and a certain apprehensiveness when it comes to locating those new tutorial rooms…

But, as most of you reading probably realise, at uni you only have to flip the calendar to July for the chance at a clean slate. Being the jaffy (try urban dictionary if you’re confused) that I am, it feels bizarre to start again mid-year. 12 weeks go by and you feel like you’re finally starting to make friends in your classes, then *poof*, the break happens and you don’t know anyone all over again. Strangely enough though, I feel excited about semester two. I’ve got the kind of renewed motivation that only comes after a decent break – and even if it disappears within the first week like always, it’s enough to remind me why I’m studying in the first place.

The thing about this ‘fresh start’ is that it’s not quite like all the others. Yes, I’ll probably still get lost trying to find my new classes, and that first day back will probably still involve a long queue at the Co-Op (!!), but this time, a little experience is on our side. This time, I already know I can drop by House of Cards when I’m keen for caffeine. This time, I know that the Systems Gardens is the best place to go when you need a little peace and quiet. This time, I even know where to locate my favourite study nook (I think I could write an ode to Arts West, honestly!). Because this time, the things that were so dazzlingly new a few months ago, are now refreshingly familiar. And because of that, I wonder what I will see and do this semester, now that I’m not quite so overwhelmed?

What do you think?

This Gif has almost zero relevance, I just think it’s fabulous. Indulge me!

ChannelFluffy Episode 3: Banana (A.K.A the core subject you don’t like) Revolution! (Anita)

No, you didn’t read it wrong and I’m not drunk. It’s banana revolution. I become a bunch of bananas.

To avoid spoilers, I better stop my introduction here and let you watch the video.

To be honest, I found uni is much more challenging than high school. We all know what we are going to expect on the final exam of IB economics – there will be some essay questions in paper 1, articles and short answers in paper 2 and calculations in paper 3. We all know the final exam is gonna be similar to the past papers based on the same syllabus. However, I was completely thrown by the amount of questions on the Introductory Microeconomics (don’t worry, it is not “bananas”, I quite enjoyed the subject despite finishing the exam was a bit of pain) paper and it is nothing like the exams in 2016. For some other subjects, the online tutors refused to answer some questions simply because “I can’t tell you”. My first uni exams were my most underprepared exams for no doubt, and I guess that is something we all need to go through after twelve years of spoon-feeding.

Again, thanks for watching my video and have a well-deserved winter break! Meanwhile I’ll try to upload more videos!

Anita 🙂

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