It’s amazing what university can do to a person.  One minute you have a good roommate, the next you don’t.  There is drinking, sex, drugs, all manners of temptations you have to deal with.  Some people succumb to the pressures, to the distractions, and let themselves get lost in it.  They find themselves susceptible to everything around them and they crack.  They flee university because they can’t handle it anymore, they tell you that it’s all too much and they can’t control themselves around it.

And then there’s those who flourish.

Sure, I may not be getting the marks I hoped for, and God knows I get distracted all the time.  But I’m still here.  I’m still going to classes, I’m still working on projects, I’m still as anti-drugs as I ever was, and I still don’t drink.  What makes me different?  Why didn’t I become a typical university student, getting wasted every night with my new friends, going to bars in Hull only to stagger back after midnight? 

I’d like to think it is because I’m a strong, independent person, and I have my exceptional parents to thank for that.

They may not have been the most typical “I love you so much sweetie” parents that you see in movies, and they didn’t dole out praises unless you earned them, but they are fantastic parents.  I am who I am today because they raised me right.  

They raised me to be my own person, to stand up for myself, and to not let anyone or anything change me.  They taught me that I have to work for the things I want, if I want praise, I have to work for it, and if I want to succeed, it’s all on me.  They didn’t coddle me, they weren’t my friends: they were my parents.  There were times I wished they weren’t, but when I look at how I thought about them back then, and how I treated them, how I thought that they just didn’t understand, I’m ashamed.  I know all teenagers get like that, and I can honestly say I’ve changed.  And you know what?  All those times they said that when I was older, I’d understand?  Well, they were right.  Parents usually are.

So thank you.  I love you guys.

I have recently (recently being this morning) been made aware of a ‘white poppy’ campaign going around.  The white poppy is supposed to symbolize peace rather than the red poppy, which stands for… wait, what?

It has always been my belief that the poppy is a symbol of peace, remembrance, and sacrifice.  We don’t need a new poppy to symbolize our want for peace, we have one already (one that personally, I wear almost year round, depending on how long my poppy lasts before it falls off).  I think people need to realize that the poppy isn’t a sign that we advocate war, or glorify it in any way – it is our way of saying thank you to those who fought for our freedom, and to honour those who died in the process.

This Remembrance Day, I will be proudly wearing the poppy, showing my support and utter gratitude for my great-uncle and all the other soldiers who died for Canada, and for the soldiers who are with us today.

Lest We Forget.

Well, another Halloween has passed us by.  Once again, I was at my house, handing out candy to all the little trick-or-treaters braving the rain and the cold.  We had 13 kids this year, double last years total.

Back in my day, we had 20-25 kids pop by the house for some chocolate and chips while my siblings and I were out doing the same.  Our neighbourhood was the place to be on Halloween!  And yet, we’re down to a measly 13 – if we’re lucky.

Kids today.  I’m not sure if it’s because the majority of kids in my neighbourhood are around mine and my siblings age, making them a little old for trick-or-treating (at least for candy…), or if it’s because kids these days just seem to be growing up so fast.

I had my first cellphone in Grade 9, and that was only so my mom could get a hold of me after volleyball tryouts.  Now, four year olds have as much knowledge of an iPod than I do! I mean what??  I had to go out and play in the mud if I wanted a good time, now kids have Angry Birds and Where’s Perry? to entertain them.

It makes me a little sad to see the number of kids going out for Halloween decreasing.  It reminds me of a time gone past and how different childhood is nowadays.  Oh well, there’s always next year.

P.S props to the little boy in the homemade R2D2 costume, this year and last year.  You make me feel a little better about the whole thing.  Don’t ever change.

Oh god, here it comes.  You’re looking through your old pictures, and all of a sudden you’re taking a fast trip down Memory Lane.  *sigh*

You start wondering where the time went, why don’t you talk to these people anymore, what kind of person you were back then.  

I love looking back at what I’ve done, who I hung out with, where I went.  It’s a happy sort of sad, the best kind.

Just have to remember that the past is the past, and we live in the present.

Well would you look at that.  It’s mid-October already.  Seems like only yesterday I was moving into residence, freaking out about making friends.  Now I’m only freaking out about all the essays and assignments I have due!  Yes, yes, I know… why am I writing this when I could be doing homework?  Do you even need to ask that question?

Let me just give you a piece of advice: you are going to go into university thinking “yeah, I’ve got this.  I’m going to be totally focused and work my ass off!  I’m gonna start everything early!” 

… No.

I thought the same thing!  Heck, I started out doing just that!  But this is university, this is a whole new world.  There are distractions (examples: Supernatural, How I Met Your Mother, movies, friends, a social life) and these distractions are focus killers.  Trust me, I’ve gone through almost two and half seasons of Supernatural in like three weeks.  My roommate is no help either. 

Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is: you will get distracted, it’s almost guaranteed.  But that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to do well.  A little distraction is okay, as long as you get your work done and try your best (totally cliche right?).  Keep your goals in mind, but remember to have fun!

Now let’s see if I can take my own advice…

AKA FROSH 2013.

So, I just entered my first year of university at the tender age of 19.  Not that tender compared to some, but whatever.  

Here are some tips/advice that I would give anyone going into their first year.

1. JOIN FROSH!  Honestly, best decision I’ve made so far.  I have met so many people that I never would have gotten the chance to meet and I’ve made memories that I will look back on for my four years of university and beyond.  Seriously, do it.

2. Be outgoing!  If you’re like me, you basically enter hermit mode as soon as you’re around people.  Don’t do that!  Even if it’s hard, go out there and just introduce yourself to people!  On your floor, in your frosh group, in your classes!  Trust me, I know it’s hard, but it will be so worth it in the end.

3. Get to know your roommate/bathroom mates!  I knew my roommate going into this, we went to high school together.  We weren’t close friends or anything, but it really helped knowing at least one person in my building.  My canmates knew each other before this too, and they are pretty cool girls.  One is even in my program, so bonus points for that!

4. Get sleep!  Right now, my roommate and I are both nursing colds, probably because we were outside all week, got little sleep, and we’ve been around people a lot recently.  I recommend sleeping and getting rest to try and counteract this.

5. DON’T SLEEP ALL THE TIME!  Sheesh, come on people.  You need to get out there!

6. Schedule in some down time.  My floor has basically been going HAAM all week, while my roomie and I have been watching movies in our room at night.  We both know that we’ll be here for 8 months, and there’s plenty of time for parties after we’ve acquainted ourselves with campus etc.

7. It’s okay to be sad.  Trust me on this.  I miss my family like hell, pretty much everyone will.  This is your first time away from home for many of you!

8. It’s okay to get lost.  My roomie and I did this yesterday.  We got lost on a bus for two hours before we found our way back to campus.  It happens to the best of us.  Just remember, a lot of people have been where you are- first years.

9. Get into your school!  Rep the school spirit!  Go crazy!  It’s a lot of fun, believe you me.

10.  HAVE FUN!!  This will be one of the best experiences of your life, make the best of it by having as much fun as you can.

This is me and my best friend Sammi, eating honest to God crepes, in honest to God Paris.

Why are we in Paris you might ask?  Well, let me tell you.

This past year, I took a victory lap at my school, which just means I came back for a semester.  Now, I did this because there were some classes I wanted to take that I didn’t get the opportunity to earlier in my high school career, but I did it mostly because I wanted to go to Europe.  Every couple of years my high school puts on these big, uber fantastic trips to far out places.  In grade 10 I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Japan, which was absolutely spectacular.

Now, I’ve always had a travel bug, it was instilled in me at an early age by my parents.  They always took us on family vacations: Disney World in Florida twice, Universal Studies Orlando, Washington D.C., Mount Rushmore, Myrtle Beach, all of the East Coast except Newfoundland and Labrador, out West except to BC.  Let’s just say, I consider myself extremely lucky.

ANYWAY!  I heard of this trip and had to go.  I mean come on, it’s freaking EUROPE we’re talking about!!!  So, I saved up my hard earned cash from working at Kawartha Dairy, breaking my back scooping ice cream for tourists, and away I went.  I had the good fortune to be able to travel with my best friend -Sammi-, my boyfriend -Mikey, who also went to Japan-, my brother -Dylan-, my sister -Kelsey-, one of Sammi’s friends -Ashley-, and two of my coworkers -Evan and Asha.

We got to see so many amazing sights!

The Berlin Wall:

The Brandenburg Gate:

The Anne Frank House:

Hill 60:

Passchendaele:

Tyne Cot Cemetery:

Ypres:

Vimy Ridge:

Beaumont-Hamel:

Juno Beach:

And last but not least…

The Eiffel Tower.

This trip was short, but incredibly eye opening. I got to stand where soldiers stood, fighting for the freedom that I can call mine today. It was moving, it was insightful… it was amazing. The feeling of pride I got, standing at Vimy Ridge, or Juno Beach, knowing that brave, young men from my country had fought, and sometimes died there… outstanding.  I cannot wait to go back and spend weeks in one of my favourite places in the world.  Europe.