Of all the serendipities that university-hood has to offer, here’s something that has caught me with the widest possible grin; a Game of Thrones showing at the Rowdy library.
The TV lounge area at the Rowdy has been my little hobbit-hole for afternoon naps. A podcast episode, or a shoegaze-surf-esque playlist, would often fade off to reënergise me for later lectures. Today however, is different.
“Who are you?”
“No one.”
I gladly put my biphasic sleep schedule away, and a GoT episode has brought together a community of laughter, occasional cursing (what is a GoT episode without casual mind-blowing), and silent fervour.
“A girl has no name.”
Though strangers by nature, GoT easily surfaced our collective excitement and amusement, and it wasn’t long before I realised how much better a replacement of coffee—or napping—this episodic screening has become.
“What do you want me to do with this?”
It hadn’t properly hit me, until now, on how great it is to have the occasional courtyard concerts, sausage sizzles, and clubs fairs to keep community spirits up. Community is infectious, and I would love to take a hand in organising one of these events when the opportunity arises. I will definitely have to look into this after blogging.
“Wear it. Burn it. Do whatever you want.”
But for the time being, it’s back to Game of Thrones.
“My watch is ended.”
Dear reader,
You might remember me telling you that every so often, like anyone, I'm plagued by what can only be described as 'WHAT-IN-THE-NAME-OF-SANITY-AM-I-DOING-HERE?!?' moments.
Well, a while back, I had one and now, I want to tell you about it.
That's right, reader buddies: our relationship has progressed! Together, we have bypassed awkward acquaintanceship and moved on to... the next level! *Da-duh-daaaa!*
It's time for some honesty.
Like most first years, I came to uni with a suitcase full of expectations. Among these, two stood out. First, university would be a reward for working my butt off in Year 12. Second, university would be fun.
Like anyone with expectations, I had the joy of discovering that mine were pretty much completely wrong!
I soon learned that university, though it's rewarding in so many ways, isn't a reward for finishing Year 12. You don't come here to kick back and chill. (Oddly enough, that's why we have holidays!) University, like VCE, means hard work. I don't know why someone with an 90+ ATAR like me didn't work this out sooner. Maybe it's because people told me that doing an Arts degree is a breeze... (Or just maybe your ATAR isn't really the be-all-and-end-all measure of your intelligence - shock, horror, gasp! :O ) Well, dear reader, let me make one thing perfectly clear: doing Arts is in no way comparable to a gentle gust of warm air. Often, it's more like a hurricane!
Sure, the Artsy people get fewer contact hours than the Mathsy-Sciency people, but this is not because our professors love us so much that they want to shower us with heaps of time-off. Nada. We get more breaks to do what people in other degrees don't necessarily have to - reading, researching, reading, writing theses, reading, procrastinating about essays, reading, doing an all-nighter because we procrastinated too much... and did I mention reading?!?
And now, we come to revelation number 2.
I always thought that you came to university to have fun. You know the dream - becoming a puffed-up intellectual who dresses in tweed and spends all day debating the point of existence over endless cups of tea. (Wait, is it just me who dreams about tweed? Awkward...) Well, sure, it is fun. But, unlike Luna Park, university wasn't built for your amusement. It's here to help you qualify for a job.
And this is the hair-raising, spine-tingling, perspiration-producing truth - up until now, I had no clue what job I wanted. (Unfortunately, there isn't yet a degree to help you become the greatest, richest, most likeable person in the known-universe.... but I'll keep you posted!) Basically, this meant that I was working without motivation.
So, after these and other such goosebump-inspiring reflections, what did I do?
Surprisingly, I didn't jump on the next plane to Siberia, go into hiding with flying squirrels and spend the rest of my life buried under my doona cover. (Though, believe me, at the time, this seemed like the only possible - nay - sensible course of action.) Instead, I did the next best thing and called a friend.
I moaned, I whined, I lamented. "I didn't realise what I was getting myself in for! This university thing doesn't make any sense! Poor me...!" You get the idea.
Here's what my friend said to me:
"Well, of course you're feeling that way. I am, too. It's normal!"
That's when it hit me: oh yeah, there are a few thousand OTHER people doing first year WITH ME!
What then, you might be asking, is the point? Well, my digitally-interfaced pal, if you must have a point to take away from my yakking, please don't make it out to be that university is hard... Any duffer could think of that one!
I guess, what I really want to say, is that sometimes you will have these "OMG, this is too much - I'm fleeing the country!" moments. The thing is: you don't have to go through them alone. (What fun is Siberia without a fellow escapee anyway?)
If - no - when you find yourself in a situation that you can't handle, talk to someone. Anyone. Your parents. Your lover. Your unfailingly sensitive and understanding pet stick insect. Yell, scream, cry, punch things - they'll support you: ironically, that's what support teams are for! (Just don't punch the person you're confiding in, because then, you might have some problems...)
I'll bet you five bucks (as much as my student income will allow) that they'll know what you're on about. Chances are, they've been through it themselves. Then, you can enjoy the blissful experience of shared-ranting. This will make the world a much funnier and friendlier place.
And when the sun comes out, the clouds have cleared and you've realised that you're not alone, celebrate by euphorically singing 'You've Got the Love' into an egg-whisk while breaking open a congratulatory pack of peanut butter Tim-tams.
Is that just me again? Oh well.
Aimee
As I sit in the MSLC, shaking but relieved, I want to reflect on what, just, happened. Continue reading "Too Close for Comfort" →
You've survived half of your first semester at university! Pat on the back and a high-five for getting through so far- because wow, is it different from high school.
No one telling you to hand in homework.
No one telling you to be on time.
No lockers, no backpacks, no uniform.
At first this seemed like freedom. I could watch Netflix non-stop! Wear a onesie to class every day!
It would be great if we could all relax and get a H1 for all assignments. Unfortunately, after receiving back a first few assessments, even with effort scoring well can be hard. Some subjects are pleasantly easy, others are actually difficult once you begin the work. And after coming back from the big break (post-year 12 summer holiday) studying still feels like yesterday. I chose to start university straight after finishing high school. Sometimes seeing my friends on their gap year, having fun overseas makes me slightly jealous.
However it's important to stay positive. Coming back to study after a year-long break can be harder whereas diving straight in may keep you in the mindset. There's always the option of a gap year after undergraduate study, or combining holiday and study together by going on exchange during your bachelor course!
And, of course, remember the reasons for choosing your subjects. It's much easier to work on something you're interested in - find those moments that inspired you to know more!
Alright, enough of my motivational rambling and time to get cracking on those essays.
There's light at the end of the tunnel!
Eleanor
I still find it ridiculously fantastic to be able to tell someone "yeah, I'm studying at Melbourne Uni at the moment;" it makes me feel so grown up! But "how is that study going at the moment?" you may ask. "How has the transition been, have you found a balance between University-level study and the clubs, committees and events?" Well...
I was told many times that the transition is tough. "I haven't met someone who hasn't struggled with it," I read somewhere on the internet. Yet somehow, in all the excitement of just getting started at Uni, I still managed to underestimate it! It's probably a common Jaffy thing, because after leaving year 12 behind in that 3-month break I feel that I've had to completely re-learn how to study upon entering this new environment. The structure of University is just so completely different! Mostly for the better; there's heaps more flexibility and more choice when it comes to what you're studying and when, but the hard work is most definitely still there and the intensity can be quite extreme; in some cases entire VCE subjects are covered in one 12 week semester – and that's just first year! More than anything, the challenge is adapting your learning to this new structure.
So how have I coped with this change? Well I was dismayed to find myself steadily falling behind over the first few weeks, and then had to scramble to catch back up. I'd liken those first few weeks to marching into a dark cave; there was no way to know what it would be like, or what I would have to do to stay alive! I spent a large portion of the Easter break rewatching lectures, reading textbooks, completing worksheets and started week 5 (almost) completely back up to date. Since then I've been mostly keeping up with things, and study is important enough to me (as is my sanity come SWOTVAC) that I haven't let myself get too far behind, but it's a constant challenge.
I'd say I'm still transitioning, and will be for most of the year; figuring out how I study best in this context, where my best study spots are on campus, and how to manage my time to make the most of everything here at UniMelb.
So to any future or present first years, here are my tips for acing the initial study transition:
- Prepare yourself for a change; just be cognisant of it
- Try and keep up with classes from the very beginning of the semester. I fell into the trap of thinking "it's only week one, it's not important yet" but every week is important when it's one of 12, even the first! Don't let things snowball!
- Check up on yourself every week or so to make sure you're moving in the right direction in terms of study and balance.
- Make use of any breaks you have in the day to get work done. It can be tempting to just chat to friends for the whole time or take three hours for lunch, but you'll thank yourself when you get home and have no work left to do for the night!
- Choose which club events you want to go to strategically. You can't do everything! (Also, money doesn't grow on trees!) Fortunately, a lot of events and parties are held annually or semesterly, so chances are you'll have another opportunity to go even if this semester it's on the day before your mid semester test...
- Figure out how you study best. I have found it much easier to focus on my work when I'm on campus as opposed to at home, and some libraries work better for me than others. Find your fit!
So best of luck with all your assessments and mid-semester tests as we head into week 7. It's crazy to think, but semester will be over in just under 6 more weeks!
Thanks for taking the time to read,
Raph 😊
Coming up soon from me:
- Destination Melbourne: What was it and why you should go next year!
- Uni 101: What's the difference between a Tutorial and a Lecture?
- And other smaller posts on how Uni's going in general.
Outside of studies, Moving to Melbourne would still definitely bring a culture shock to most people, and as with such most of us have to adapt to the changing customs, different language, and higher prices (le sigh). Fortunately, something about that first part is a thing that I can definitely get used to. Continue reading "A Neat Observation" →
Dear reader,
I hope you've had an absolutely spiffing weekend! ('Spiffing' - what a marvellous word! Try saying it now in your best posh accent!) Would you believe we're in week 7 which means *drum-roll please!* .... we're over halfway through Semester 1!!! *Cue fanfare!*
While you've been transitioning to winter woolies and the end of daylight savings, this blogger has made her own enormous step forward... This month, ladies and gentlemen, I boldly ventured where few first years have gone before and moved out of home.
No doubt those lucky home-bodies reading this blog will be wondering what it's like to enter the wilderness of rent-paying, housemates and "OMG who stole my mineral water!?!" So, I've decided, in this post, to give you all the gory details...
*WARNING: Read on at your own risk!*
DIARY OF A WIMPY INDEPENDENT KID - ENTRY 1
DAY 1:
12:00pm - Arrive at your new front-door carrying half the house on your back and realise that you still forgot food for dinner
1:00 - Spend a ludicrous amount of time doing battle with your bed linen (why can't doona covers attach themselves!?)
2:00 -Say goodbye to your dad
3:00 - Play 'Take on Me' (VERY LOUDLY!) and dance like a lunatic around your bedroom because you're all alone and there are no parents here
4:00 - Climb into your new cupboard (for privacy) and burst into tears because you're all alone and there are no parents here
5:00 - Your dad returns (on the pretense of fixing the bike rack that he accidentally ripped off the wall earlier) and takes you out for fish and chips
7:00 - Watch TV with your housemate on a couch adorned with chewing-gum. Stay up late discussing the meaning of life.
DAY 2:
- Discover a plastic bag which someone has tried to flush down the toilet (mm-hmmm....)
- Listen to a passer-by outside your window joyfully singing 'Bob the Builder' at the top of his voice, because he thinks no-one can hear him...
- Attempt to dry dishes using a tea-towel with a big hole in the middle as your housemate set fire to it
DAY 3:
- Take a cold shower before going to uni. Why cold, you ask? Some especially bright spark has swapped the hot and cold taps around. Go figure!
- While showering, leave your clothes and underwear on the basin, right near a resident colony of ants...
- Find yourself scratching awkwardly in unmentionable places all day because you've literally got ants in your pants!
DAY 4:
- While resurrecting last night's left-overs, watch a 'pet' mouse scurry frantically into the kitchen
-Watch your housemate scurry frantically into the kitchen, trying to catch the mouse
- Help your housemate clean up mouse droppings
DAY 5:
- When all alone, discover that a nest of gigantic (and boy, do I mean GIGANTIC!) flying ants have hatched in your kitchen
- Run screaming out of the kitchen and send an S.O.S. to the experts (Mum and Dad)
- Go trigger-happy with fly-spray
DAY 6:
- Discover some cute fluffy mold growing in your non-functional fridge
- Discover a new species of fungus growing on your window
- Decide that this house would be ideal for a biologist
DAY 7:
- Have your first ever house-meeting with tea and choc chip cookies.
- Help your housemates decorate the lounge-room with fairy-lights
- Curl up in your brand new Aria day-bed with a book and a mug of hot milo - this, surely, is the life!
May this coming week bring you all the serenity, harmony and joy which you probably won't find at my share-house... May it bring me lots more good material for blog posts!
Addio!
Aimee
The past week touched my nerves for a bit, and I’m embarrassed to say my limbic reptilian senses mildly emerged as the assessments rolled in.
It’s interesting how one’s mental landscape can be quite the petri-dish no one wants it to be, and a simple introspective moment can be quite the antibiotic to start afresh on an (ideally) new dish.
But it’s not a new dish, nor do I want a new dish, because I want some of those pathogens to stay behind, to remind me what I did wrong, how I defeated it, and let it be a punching-bag for me to exercise my confidence and problem-solving skills. Asking for a new dish is just an easy way out.
No one likes to get stressed out, but for me, it’s important that I remain uncomfortable all the time. One of my favourite quotes comes from the fantastic Hungarian-American Andy Grove:
“Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive”.
So, dearest University, give me all you’ve got.
I’ve also taken some time to explore new ways to manage my tasks in a more effective manner. I love task lists and apps, but none of them quite hit the mark, especially when some features only come from monthly subscriptions. I often find myself switching between several sites and apps, and that is absolutely wasteful of my time. So, three key things that I’ve incorporated for this week:
1. Graphical weekly task planner on a word document
- I’m a spatially cognizant person, and none of the free to-do-list apps offer a way for me to see my tasks in a good calendar view
- MS Word, because it’s clutter free, transfers better to paper, and I can access and edit online (via Google Drive), natively on my computer, and on my phone (via GDrive as well)
2. App on computer (OSX) to keep me on a current task
- I’ve landed on FocusList
- It’s great so far. It follows the pomodoro timing technique, gives me stats on what I’ve done, and has a nice, simple task list
- Yes, it’s paid ($7.99), but it’s cheaper than most and gives me what I want
- Why not just stick to a task list manager? Well, I wanted a no-frills task list that I use for the day, and simply listing out everything that I need to do for the whole month doesn’t keep things in immediate perspective
- You can also give DoOneThing a go; it’s free, and just shows your task on the menu bar
- Sorry windows/ubuntu people! There are plenty of free options out there for you though
3. Figure out some radio station appropriate for study
- Haven’t found a verbal show conducive to concentrating yet; the American ones I stay tuned to—WNYC and WBEZ—are far too interesting to pass as “study radio”
- Still sticking to NPR 24/7 All Songs Considered circa IB studying in high school
Alright, gotta study.
Vacation's over, and class is back. Not going to be much of a break until the end of May, so it would be a good time to stay productive for the rest of the semester. With that said, it's probably not as simple as a single sentence, so it's important to consider the following:
Continue reading "Distracte- SQUIRREL!" →
Dear reader!
First, let me just say, I’m so happy that you’ve come back for post No #2 of my blog! Seriously, my heart – if you can picture it – is filling up with joy!
And, now… time for introductions!
My name’s Aimee (just in case you missed it!) and I’m one of the many kind-of-excited but also kind-of-terrified first year Arts students who has just undertaken the adventure of a lifetime and begun their study at Melbourne Uni. My mission: to provide five minutes of laughter (and yes, sometimes tears!) to all my reader buddies (You don’t mind if I call you that, right? – Thanks, I thought not!) and remind them, above all, that they’re not the only ones who sometimes find themselves feeling a teensy bit confused, bewildered or just generally in a ‘What the Hell am I doing here?’ kind of mood. I know I do. (We’ll keep that just between us, shall we?)
Ahem…
This brings me to my topic for this week: getting lost! It’s something which becomes a surprisingly integral part of your existence once you end up at a big beautiful campus like Melbourne. And, even more surprisingly, they’ve yet to publish a manual for how to do it successfully. (Weird, eh?) Luckily, I’m here, with a few tips to help you turn getting lost into an art-form! Take it from me, I’m a pro!
So here we have it: Aimee’s Guide to Getting Lost in Style!
STEP 1: Lose the hard-copy map! Nothing says ‘HELP ME, I’M LOST!’ like a big square of paper which gets humiliatingly glued to your face in the wind. And you don’t want to seem lost, do you? Rip it into a million pieces, burn them and then throw the ashes into the sea. All done? Good. Let’s continue…
STEP 2: Get out your smart-phone.
STEP 3: While using your smart-phone, be careful not to walk into anything… No really. It’s amazing how many first years hold phones so close to their faces that they forget to watch where they’re going and smash straight into other people/buildings. I’ll leave it to you to guess which especially talented and coordinated person managed to face-plant against a pole. (Guaranteed duck-lips without the botox– who doesn’t dig that crash!?)
STEP 4: While stopping (so that you don’t bump into things, remember? :) ) instead of looking like you’re lost and reading a map, pretend to be reading a naughty Instagram from your boyfriend/girlfriend (or your best mate if you prefer) and laugh loudly. The people around you will never guess! Just make sure you don’t laugh too loud or they might ask questions...
STEP 5: If you take a wrong-turn, don’t forget the art of U-turning with finesse! Before turning yourself back around, check your phone (or, if you’ve got a taste for vintage, like me, your watch!), whistle a bit, take in the sights and look chilled. Now, you may turn…
STEP 6: Still totally lost and time’s running out? Time to admit defeat and ask for help. Just be careful who you ask. EXAMPLE: The other week I was running around like headless poultry in an atrium PACKED with people and I managed to ask directions from a brand new, first year, International student who barely spoke any English. On the downside, I didn’t get very far. On the plus-side, get lost and you’ll make heaps of new friends!
STEP 7: When in doubt, take a detour and walk into the wrong classroom. Trust me, this one’s a must! I gave it a try in my second week and found it to be a thoroughly enriching experience. Instead of Linguistics, I ended up in Law in Society and brightened up everyone’s day by first, walking in late and then, running out again in a panic, because I’d just remembered that I wasn’t actually studying Law…
STEP 8: If it’s been more than ten minutes, you’re still lost and you’re unforgivably late for class, you have my permission to cry. Raise your head dramatically to the sky (like that blondie in ‘Frozen’ when she sings ‘Let It Go’), throw your arms out wide and howl, “WHY ME!!!???” (Everyone together now!) Alternatively, count to ten and then yell every single rude word you can think of and then make some up. (My personal favourites are ‘Cloff-prunker!’ and ‘Son of a motherless goat!’) You’ll soon feel heaps better!
STEP 9: You finally found your class – well done you! (If you didn’t, well done anyway for trying – now repeat steps 1-8, this time with another first year friend to help you.) Now sit back, enjoy what’s left of your class, then go grab coffee with a mate and tell them all about your adventure.
After all, on your own, you are just another helplessly lost first year. But, when you share your story, you become the latest lost-in-first-year celebrity with courage, humanity and, potentially, a very bright future in stand-up comedy!
So long for now!
Aimee
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