Developing a Career Path

Which way to go?

Coming into first year you might have a lot of ideas about what you THINK you'll do when you graduate. As you move from one year to the next you might find that your vision of future career may shift a little. In my case my career path shifted A LOT and by the time I reached my final year I was in a completely different place than when I started.


People always say that university is the best time of your life, that this is the time that you learn about yourself and who you are, and when you develop into the person you'll be for the rest of your life.Coming out of high school you might be wondering... "How do I turn my interests into a job?" Today I'm going to talk a little bit about how you can use your time at university to help you develop a career path for yourself.

1. Get Involved

Develop your Career
Path!

 --It can be easy for students to fall into the commuter trap, that is only attending classes and then going straight home. Falling into this trap can make it difficult for you to find out where your interests lie and connecting with your fellow students. Join a club, student organization or college council can be a great way to connect with the York community and learn about where your strengths and interests lie. Being a part of clubs helped me to learn that I am really passionate about education, and health promotion.
This has translated into me learning that I want a career that allows me to help others and be an advocate for equal access to education and health services.

2. Use the Services

They're FREE
so USE THEM!

--Developing a Career Path can be daunting even for the most self confident among us. That's why I can't recommend the Career Centre strongly enough! For me personally I think they're one of the best
most under used service on campus!  The Career Centre can help you career counseling, resume building, interview skills and so much more...all FOR FREE!! I don't know about you but if something is free I'm that much more interested in using it, and when it's a service that helps me get ready for the 'real world'  I'm even more interested in using it. I'm not going to lie to you, it can be difficult trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, but you're not alone there are people that are here to help you!



3. Put yourself out there!

Go out on a limb and
see what happens!

-- This might be the most important tip I have to give you!! It's easy to keep to yourself, it's easy to stick to a routine you're comfortable with and it is easy to never challenge yourself, but if you want to get the most you possibly can out of your life then you have to put yourself out there and try new things. I'm not saying that you have go sky diving or run with the bulls, what I'm saying is be willing to try things that you have never done before. Try going to Frosh week, try joining a club, try taking up a new sport,
try something that pushes you outside of your comfort zone. You might find that you learn about about yourself, develop some new skills and make some amazing friends and life long memories! Who knows you might do something that leds you to a job, or a new path for your life!

Figuring out what you want to do with your life is not an easy decision, it requires a lot of thought, soul searching and in some cases a little help from your friends. I hope that this will inspire you to try a lot of different things during your time here at York so you can begin to figure out what you want to do with your life after university!

Good Luck and as always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Looking for a Job? Try working on Campus!

Being a student today is expensive and unless you've got Donald Trump financing your education chances are you'll probably be working at some point during your time at university. I don't know about you, but I HATE job hunting! Having to go out and hit the pavement looking for somewhere to work is daunting and time consuming. When I started at York I figured that working retail was my only hope for financing my education then I found out about ON CAMPUS JOBS!!! Have I piqued you're interest???

What are on campus jobs?
--At York there are over 1000 jobs just for York students. That means you won't have to compete for jobs with students from Ryerson or UofT, it's just fellow Yorkies! There are 4 types of on campus jobs available for students:
1. Research At York (RAY): These are research jobs which allow students to work alongside professors and grad students working on research experiments. They're great for people that want to gain more research experience and get PAID!!
2. Work Study: Most common type of on campus jobs, these students work in various positions all over campus gaining workplace experience.
3. College Life At York (CLAY): These jobs focus on student working within the college system at York developing student community and engagement on campus.
4. York Engaged Student (YES): These jobs focus on students that are actively engaged with campus life, these positions are mostly peer mentoring, ambassador and advising position.

**For more info about these types of jobs check here!**

How many hours do you work?

9-5? Nay Nay!

--Best part of working on campus is that fact that you cannot work more than a maximum of 15hours per week! Some jobs make you work early in the morning or late at night, or work a ton of overtime. Working at York though you probably won't be working too early in the morning and if you're working in an office you won't be on campus too late. Some jobs make you miss classes or sacrifice your study time to work a shift. On campus jobs fit around your class schedule and they always let you take time off to study, since they understand that you're a student first!  

Money, Money, Monneeyyy

How much do you get paid?
--I know you might be thinking... "Only 15 hrs per week! I need to make more money than that!" well maybe the fact that all on campus jobs are paid more than minimum wage will make up for that?? Yeah!! It's true! All our jobs range from $11.50-16.00 per hour depending on the job you have. Hopefully that will make these jobs EVEN more appealing than they already were :D

What are the benefits of working on campus?

I met these great ppl at work ON CAMPUS

--Working on campus has a few great benefits! First of all it's SOO convenient. You're already on campus for school so the commute from class to work is almost non-existent! Secondly on campus jobs are a GREAT way to meet other York Students, Staff and Faculty! Networking and making new friends are a great way to become even more involved with the York Community! Finally on campus jobs make a
FANTASTIC reference! Since employers know that students are going to move on to further education or
other jobs after they're finished at York they provide students with great references! References and experience are important for your first job as well as to make your application to grad school or professional schools stand out!

I hope that this has made working on campus sound more appealing to you. If you want to find/ apply for on campus jobs be sure to check out the Career Centre website! They have an online job portal with all the on campus jobs listed, all you have to do is upload your resume and cover letter and click APPLY for the jobs that are listed!

If you have any questions about what I've talked about here, feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole 

First Day of University Check List

When you're in primary, middle and high school you are given a list of all the things that you'll need to

bring with you on the first day. However when University rolls around, you are suddenly (or not so suddenly in the case of some folks) an adult and you're expected to simply KNOW what you need for the first day of school.

If you're anything like me, then you probably are sitting at home right now thinking, "What the heck should I bring with me? What should I wear? What will I NEED? Will I need school supplies? Will a need to have a laptop, will I be the ONLY one without a laptop? WHO CAN I ASK?!?!"

First of all let me say, calm down, take a deep breath, you'll be fine. Here's a short list of some of things you might want to bring with you on your first day of school. This is be no means a REQUIRED list of things to have, neither is this an EXHAUSTIVE list of what you'll need. Feel free to take my list and add to it as you see fit.

Clothing
--York's Keele campus is huge, it houses over 90 different buildings and sits on hundreds of acres of land. With that mind you might want to dress comfortably. Comfortable shoes are a must, at least for day one since you don't really know how much walking you'll be doing, especially if you don't know
exactly where your classes are.  Similarly the temperatures in different buildings varies and so you might want to bring a light jacket, just so you don't freeze. Overall I'd recommend comfy clothing so that you can move freely and quickly from one class to the other.

School Supplies
--Unlike high school you probably won't need a backpack full of school supplies, you might not need scotch tape, or glue; you might not need a stapler or hole puncher with you either. You probably will need pens, pencils, highlighters, white out and erasers. Some people think that in university EVERYONE will have a laptop, or that you HAVE to
have a laptop in order to do well. Let me step in here and just say that everyone needing or having a laptop in class is a MYTH. For the majority of my classes I myself used a notebook, and hand wrote my notes. You can absolutely do well in university without a laptop. I would recommend attending the first class without a laptop since the first lecture probably won't be too content heavy and laptops are heavy and difficult to transport.


Food/Drink
--It's really important to remember that you'll be on campus for at least 3 hours, and during that time you might get a little hungry. For those of you that have planned to have multiple classes on the same day, you might want to seriously consider bringing some snacks or a packed lunch and a water bottle with
you.

**Insider Tip: Lines at restaurants on campus during the first weeks of classes are going to be very long so bringing food is always a good idea just in case you don't have time to wait in line between classes!**

Electronics
--You might want to bring your cell phone, iPod/ MP3, iPad/ Tablet or Laptop with you to keep you entertained throughout day while you're moving between classes. Be sure to bring your chargers with you to school so that you can charge them between classes at the Vari Hall charging stations between
classes.

I hope that you found my list helpful, and that you can make some use of it, if there's anything you want to discuss about what I've written here, please feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Lecture? Tutorial? What's the difference?

Typical University Lecture

In most High Schools, a class is a class is a class. However you might notice as you're enrolling in your courses for the fall that some of your classes are not in fact classes at all. You might find that some of your
 "classes" are Lectures, some Seminars, some Tutorials while some are Labs, depending on your program you might have some PKIN classes, practicums or even performance type "classes". You might be at a loss trying to figure out these difference between these types of classes, so that's where I come in!!

Lecture vs. Tutorial vs. Labs
--A Lecture is probably the most standard, form of University instruction. You might recognize this from TV shows or movies, it is usually characterized by a large number of students, gathering in a large hall sitting and listening to a Professor or instructor discuss a particular topic for anywhere from 1-3 hours.

Typical Tutorial Room @York

--Tutorials operate in conjunction with lectures, they usually occur either before or after the lecture with smaller groups of students working with a TA. In tutorials you have the opportunity to engage with the course material more directly than you do in lecture. You have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the importance/ significance of the readings to the course objectives. Tutorials generally last anywhere from 1-2
hrs depending on the class.

--Labs are very similar to tutorials in that they also occur either before or after the lecture, and they are smaller groups of students working with a TA going over specific lab components affiliated with the course.Labs usually last anywhere from 1-2 hrs depending on the class.

Labs can be FANCY!

Both Tutorials and Labs record attendance, and they both have participation points allocated to them. This can be a less intimidating way for students to engage with material and TA's/ course directors. That being
said I would highly recommend attending both lectures and tutorials/ labs, since they are a great way to ask your questions and get more familiar and comfortable with course material.


Now for those of you that have been adding up the amount of time I have listed here might be thinking "WOAH that a LOT of class time! Ain't nobody got time for that!" Let me put your mind at ease and explain that at York you are required to have at least 3hours of taught instruction per class per week. That means that you're lecture + tutorial/ lab time must equal a total of 3 hours. So you might have a 1 hour lecture followed by a 2 hour tutorial/ lab or a 2 hour lecture followed by a 1 hour tutorial/ lab.

So be sure to step into Class!

You might also be interested to know that generally in the FIRST week of class you will not have tutorials or labs. Especially if your tutorial section occurs BEFORE your first lecture. As a general rule professors cancel the first week of tutorials so that students have a chance to get accustomed to the course and have the opportunity to purchase books, and other course materials so they are prepared for the tutorial or lab.

University is all about going to class, hopefully you feel more ready to attend your first day now that you know a little more about what you should expect from your Lectures, Tutorials and Labs. If you have any questions you you wanna chat about what lectures, tutorials or labs are really like, feel free to comment
below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Anxious about University? Tips to adjust from a York Veteran!

The next chapter of your life
is waiting for you!

High School is over and you survived, now you're embarking on a new chapter of your life. On the
surface you might be calm and ready but underneath you might be freaking out just a little bit. Don't worry, you're not alone pretty much every other first year is nervous about their first year. I'm here to offer you some tips for adjusting to University Life!

As a self-proclaimed York Veteran I've compiled a list of things that you might want to know to help ease your anxiety about starting at University.



1. Keep an OPEN MIND
--Coming into York you might have some preconceptions concerning your university experience. From movies and TV you might expect your career at York to be some kind of montage of parties, all-nighters and missed classes. Alternatively you might expect your university career to be filled with long
research assignments with impossible expectations, professors that live to torture their students and classmates that are out to sabotage your success. Let me be the first to tell you to PUT THESE THOUGHTS OUT OF YOUR MIND!!

Yes University will be different from High School. You will be a small fish in a big pond at first, it will be more work and you might find it difficult to adjust at first but it is not beyond your skill set. You will have to work while you're here, you will have to attend classes, you will have professors that challenge you but it won't be more than you can handle. Be open and willing to try new things while you're here. The four years you're at university are an opportunity for you to learn more about yourself as a person so don't rob yourself of the chance to experience university life.

2. Be Brave!
--Yes York is a big school, Yes you will be one in 60,000 students, but that doesn't mean that you have to be afraid. You have support at every turn so if you need help all you have to do is be brave enough
to ask. If you have a question, there is a VERY strong chance that other people in your class also have the same question. So don't be afraid to put up your hand in lecture and ask. If you don't want to ask in lecture you can also meet with you professor after class or in office hours!

3. Get involved and Cast a WIDE NET
--While at York I would highly recommend that you get involved with campus life in some way. You might not know where your interests lie so why not try a lot of clubs or organizations and see what you like best! We have over close to 500 student clubs, organizations, charities, student governments and YU Connect or this blog for some cool clubs you might be interested in! Be willing to try several different things on till you find what you like.

4. If you need help all you have to do is ask for it!
--If you find yourself at a lost, struggling or just needing a little support all you have to do is reach out to get the help you need. York is dedicated to ensuring that students succeed at University, that being said the university can help you if you don't say you need help. This goes back to being brave, if you need help feel free to ask for it. If you're not sure where to go for help you can stop by the RED Zone and we can help you find the best people that can help you. There are tons of free workshops, seminars, counsellors and peer mentor support systems that are available for ALL York students that there's no shortage of services you can access. Here's some info on the many services that York has available to support students!

5. Try to get ahead and stay organized
--The first few weeks of the fall semester are a little lighter when it comes to work load, so I'd recommend trying to get yourself organized and prepared for when your schedule begins to pick up. There are some quick and easy ways to get organized, using your computer, phone or tablet's calendar blog for some other tips you can use to get organized.
to plot your due dates and other assignments. I'd also recommend using an agenda since you can get a FREE agenda from the York Federation of Students at the beginning of the semester. So pick up you're free agenda and use it to write everything down. Check out this

Well those are my top 5 tips for adjusting to University life. I hope that it helps to calm your anxiety. If you have any questions about the things I've mentioned here please feel free to comment below!

As always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Having Difficulty Getting into a Class? Not Sure What to Do?

It's the middle of June and many incoming students are beginning to enrol in classes EVERYDAY!
This can result in a few different issues arising. If you're enrolling online or in person and you're finding   that the classes you're trying to get into are full or spaces are reserved don't freak out I've got some tips that you can use to try to get into the classes that you want/ need.

Pro Tip 1: Be Flexible and Patient.

Since there are so many students that are trying to get into the same or similar classes this means that some sections of classes will fill up more quickly than others. If you want to take a class at 8:30am and it's full but there is another section open at 10:30am be flexible enough to be willing to change the section you take the class in.

Similarly if you want to take the 8:30am section and you find that it's full right now don't lose hope. Over the summer students are constantly enrolling in classes, switching classes and moving their timetables around. So if the section/ class you want to get into s full today that doesn't mean that it'll be full tomorrow or next week or next month. So be sure to keep checking throughout the summer and at the beginning of the school year.

Pro Tip 2: If you can't get into a REQUIRED course for you major, try calling your department!

If you are required to take a particular class and for whatever reason you are unable to get into that class. I would recommend calling the department offering that class. So if you HAVE to take ADMS 1000 but it's full then I'd recommend calling the School of Administrative Studies and asking them if they can put you on a waiting list, or open up a spot for you in the class so you can enrol without an error message coming up.

If you do decide to call the department to see if they can let you in, try to remember that you are one of hundreds of students that the department has to interact with. That is to say, remember to be polite and courteous when on the phone or in person. Try to remember the old adage "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." People are more willing to help those that are polite and pleasant rather than rude and obnoxious! Also try to limit the number of calls you make/ in person visits you take to the office just because they do have other equally important work, so just remember that as well.

Pro Tip 3: Add a class BEFORE you Drop a class.

If you decide to change up your class schedule and you want to drop a class in order to take another one, by sure to ADD the class you want to get into BEFORE you DROP the class you're already in. That is because if you are drop the class and are unable to add the one you want to get into then there is the strong chance that you'll be unable to get back into the class you dropped. That means you'll be left completely out of a class. That'll be most problematic if you're applying for grants or OSAP and you you need to be enrolled in a particular number of credits.

Those are my 3 PRO TIPS for dealing with issues surrounding enrolling in classes. If you're having difficulties and you wanna chat about it, please feel free to comment below!

Remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

What else can I do on campus before/ after my Enrolment Appointment?

There's LOTS you can do
while on campus this summer

Having to come all the way to Keele campus in the middle of your summer vacation in order to spend 3+ hours at an enrolment appointment means that a lot of time students want to make sure that they can
get AS MUCH DONE while on campus as possible. With that in mind I decided to create a short list of things that you might want to do while you're on campus for your enrolment appointment.

I really LOVE Top 10 lists, what can I say I'm a major David Letterman fan! So following Letterman's example here's my Top 10 List of things you can do on campus on the day of your enrolment appointment. 

**If you're doing an online appointment you can totally still do all these things if you don't mind giving up a day to head over to campus!**

My Top 10 Things to Do on Campus:

10. Visit The RED Zone
--Come by Vari Hall and visit us before OR after your enrolment appointment to learn about all the
awesome things you can do with your life here at York!

9. Pick up your YU Card
--You'll need a piece of government ID in order to get it and it only take 2mins and you get it right on
the spot! REMEMBER you can SMILE in your picture so have fun with it!

8. Take a campus tour/ residence tour
--Why not take a campus tour while you're here? They happen everyday at 10:30am from the Bennett Centre!! Also if you're thinking of living in residence/ have already applied to live in residence and you want to get a feel for what it'll be like there are residence tours everyday at 2:30pm from 108 McLaughlin (stop by the RED Zone for directions!!).  

7. Check out your college (or at least make sure you know where it is)
-- Take a walk through your college, check out your lounge, look for your council office or just make sure that you know where it is.

6. Take a tour of the gym
--Our gym is a HUGE facility and the folks at Tait McKenzie are super friendly and are more than happy to take you on a full tour of all the facilities.

5. Check out some of our campus food options
--We have so many food locations on campus why not sit down and have lunch on campus so you can get a feel for the campus and the energy of our student population!

4. Stop by the YFS office and ask them about their services
-- The YFS or York Federation of Students is the student council that represents our entire student body. They have TONS of student services and they give lots of stuff to the York population.

3. Check out our transportation office/ familiarize yourself with the bus loop
--If you're think of driving you might want to stop by our transportation office to ask any questions you might have about parking at York. We also have a Smart Commute office that can also help you figure
out what carpooling options they have for you. If you're not planning to drive then take a tour of the bus loop to familiarize yourself with where your bus picks up and drops off.

2. Visit the bookstore and pick up some York gear :P
--We're happy to welcome you into the York community and we want you to feel proud of where you go to school, so be sure to stop by the Bookstore and pick up some York Gear. They have some FANTASTIC York clothing that is major specific so pick up a $12 shirt with your program on it and represent York wherever you go!!

1. WALK from one end to the other and EXPLORE outside areas of campus while the weather is still nice!!

--Let's be honest, the weather in Toronto can be unpredictable, so while the weather is nice be sure to check out the beauty of our campus while the weather is still nice. It's really worth it to take a look around now so you can get a feel for the campus while it's a little calmer, before classes begin.

I hope that you enjoyed my list. If there's anything here that you have questions about or comments feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

What the heck is an enrolment appointment?

First of all CONGRATS on getting accepted to York, that's amazing and you should be proud of yourself!

You've probably been invited to attend an enrolment appointment, either online or in person. You might be wondering what happens at an enrolment appointment/ advising session. If you're anything like me then you probably didn't know how long it would last, what they'd cover or what you should wear :P! That's where I come in...

Here's what you NEED to know about your IN PERSON enrolment appointment.

1. What will you be doing in this appointment?
--At your enrolment appointment you will be taught HOW to enrol in courses here at York via our online system. This is CRUCIAL since this is the system that you'll be using for the full 4+yrs that you're at university. The advisors will explain the requirements of your degree program to you, covering important topics such as GENERAL EDUCATION courses, ELECTIVES and CORE COURSES. You'll want to pay close attention to the instructions, information and advice they offer you; since you WILL be signing up for the classes you'll take in the FALL at this appointment!


2. Be on TIME and be prepared to be in the room for a while!
-- You should AIM to arrive at your appointment at least 10-15 mins early. This is because you need to sign in and collect some pamphlet information before you will be allowed to continue on to the section
of the appointment where you actually enrol in classes. So if your appointment starts at 9am then you should try to be at your advising room by at least 8:45am.

--Also be ready to sit in the appointment for anywhere from 1-3 hours. This means that depending on
how long you take going through the steps of selecting and enrolling in your courses you could be at

this appointment for up to 3 hours. It is perfectly normal to stay for the full 3 hours, it is also totally fine to be completely finished within 1hour it all depends on how many classes you're enrolling in, how you structure your schedule and whether or not the class you're trying to get into is full or not.

***Sometimes parents decide that they'll come with their student to their appointment thinking that
they'll be allowed to enter, they won't. So unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective parents will not be allowed in the room. So if your parents want to come let them know that they'll have to find something to keep them busy for up to 3 hours!***

3. Bring any and all questions you might have
--Your enrolment appointment is THE place to ask any questions that you might have about your ACADEMIC career here at York. Your advisors will be able to answer questions you might have on
your program, double majoring, major/minoring, professional certificates and everything in between. So feel
free to ask them, that's what their there for!

**Also remember to bring a jacket or sweater sometimes the rooms are cold and if you're there for a few hours you don't want to freeze!**

That's us in Vari Hall

4. Remember to stop by The RED Zone after your appointment is done!
--After a 3 hour appointment you might be tempted to RUN AWAY, but I would highly encourage you to make a quick trip to the RED Zone. Your session with us will only last for about 10-15mins and it will
be full of information about LIFE here at York. We'll tell you about The College System, Paying for School, Getting involved and SO MUCH MORE. At the end you get a little thank-you gift and we help you get your YU Card (campus id).

I know it might sound grueling but I assure that your enrolment appointment is important and at the end of it you'll know how to enrol in classes and you'll have visited the RED Zone which some would argue is the highlight of the day!

Come see us!

For those of your reading this blog who are participating in ONLINE enrolment appointments you are more than welcome to come and visit the RED Zone if you happen to be on campus. We'd love to see you at any time during the summer. Or if you'd rather wait till your "making connections" appointment
that's cool too you can always stop by and visit us then :D

If you have any questions about anything in this blog feel free to comment below!


As always remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!!

Nicole

Cheap Eats on Campus: Challenge Accepted!

I don't know about you guys but I am constantly finding myself on campus between classes broke and hungry. (I totally didn't mean for that to sound as pathetic as it did!) Knowing that I can't be the only one on campus that experiences this I thought I would dedicate the month of February to finding Cheap meals on campus!

I know that might sound impossible, but for you guys I'll take the challenge!

How am I going to do it?
-I will cover the following meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Dinner

-Budget for each meal will be $5 (or as close to $5 as I can get!)

-I'll present you with at least 3 options for each meal
--I'll try to make sure that at least 1 meal is a "Healthy Option"

-Each meal MUST include a beverage

-I'll tell you where you can go to get each option

I know you might be thinking...that doesn't sound hard! Finding places to eat won't be difficult, finding meals for $5 will be a bit more challenging. I'll give it my best shot and hope not to let you guys down.

If you know of a GREAT place that fits the parameters mentioned above let me know about it in the comments section, I'd be more than happy to check it out and add it to the list of places to eat on campus!

Look out for my Breakfast and Snack blog next week!

As always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

On a Lighter Note: A Little About How I Relieve Stress

I don't know how many people out there follow this blog or read it with any regularity or even at all but...I thought that this might be a good time to open up a bit and share a little of me with you. In the least creepy way possible!

This time of the year can be really stressful for students and it's super important to do little things to help relieve your stress. So with that in mind I thought I'd share a couple things that I really like to do to get rid of stress.

I drink A LOT of tea and coffee (I know that isn't a stress reliever but I promise it has a point). That being said I have this strange obsession with my coffee cup sleeves.

I'm not sure why, but I have this OCD like need to rip up coffee cup sleeves into little pieces and put them in my empty coffee cup. Don't know why, but find it strangely relaxing and kinda fun!

Check out my technique...

I start by ripping the sleeve in half, then I rip the half in half and so on until I have little pieces. Once I have the little pieces I put them into my coffee cup and then throw the whole thing away.

Yup I know it's strange and I'm not going to pretend that I think it's totally normal or anything but it's just something that I really like to do.

I also really like puzzles! I like figuring out how things work together and it's always nice to build something beautiful! I'm not saying that I do puzzles with thousands of pieces or anything in fact sometimes I do puzzles online!! It's the whole thought process behind the puzzle that I find so relaxing!

When I'm online, I really like to doing puzzles via MSN jisgaw since we are in the technological age, I find it super fun to play online games and the fact that puzzles are online makes them that much more fun and easier to do (Since I don't have to worry about losing pieces or finding a flat surface to set up the puzzle)!!

Here's a puzzle I made yesterday IN REAL LIFE! Yep it's The Hulk! Enough SAID! The thing I like the most is that you feel such a sense of accomplishment when you finish a puzzle!

There's so much that you can do to relieve stress and these are just two of the things that I really like to do. Feel free to share what you like to do to relieve stress in the comments section below!

I wish you all the VERY BEST OF LUCK as we prepare for your Fall Exams!

As always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Fall Semester Winding Down...But You're Getting Wound Up?

I can't believe it the Fall semester is winding almost over. Literally there are only like 2 full weeks left in Fall 2012. What does that mean for you? That means getting yourself prepared for the RAPIDLY approaching exam period. You might be wondering how to start getting ready for your upcoming exams.


Well Well WEEELLL that's what I'm here for!! Here are my top 3 ways to get ready for exam period.



1. Make a LIST of all your exams, how much they're worth and WHEN THEY ARE!
--Now that our exam schedule is out be sure to check it to make sure that you know when your exams are scheduled. Since classes end on Dec 3rd you probably won't be having your exam during your regular class time. So be sure to check the website.

All nighter = Not the BEST!

*TIP* I always sign in and have the system tell me when my exams are happening by clicking "My Exam Schedule" in the grey column on the left hand side of the page. Be sure to keep checking this site as your exam draws closer, since they can change the location or time WITHOUT giving you notice. And it would SUCK if you missed your exam because you didn't check the site!!

2. Make a Study Plan

Sample Study Plan

--Now that you have your list of your exam, you'll be able to determine how much time you have to prepare for each exam. So the next step to take would be to make a DETAILED study plan and try your best to stick to it!! What does a study plan look like? Well take a look at my sample study plan!!

*TIP* Try your best to make a study plan that includes breaks and "down time" you don't want to burn out when studying. All nighters are not the best idea so try your best to avoid them by STARTING EARLY!!

3. DISCONNECT
--Today we are more connected than ever! Almost everyone has a cell phone, or a laptop. WIFI is an IMPORTANT part of our lives and it can be really difficult to turn off these devices to allow yourself the time you need to study. So TURN IT OFF! Let your friends and family know that you won't be around for a few weeks while you prepare for exams. I promise if they care about you and your education they will understand!

*TIP* Whenever I'm about to have a good ole fashion study session I use a Mac app called Self Control. This blocks your computer from accessing various social media sites for a specific amount of time. So I turn it on for the duration of my study block. This also helps you in timing your study times.

Those are my top 3 ways to prep for exam period. Check back with me next week...I'll be talking about how to make the most of your study sessions in The Scott Library.

Until then...REMEMBER to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!!

Nicole

Midterm grade NOT what you expected? Wondering what to do now?

Coming out of high school you might be accustomed to getting straight A's. Despite everyone telling you that university is not the same as high school, you still thought that you'd be able to keep up those high marks. However, now that you've started getting your midterm grades back you might be finding that the marks you're getting aren't quite what you had expected.

You might be thinking..."NOW WHAT? SHOULD I DROP THE CLASS? MY PARENTS WILL BE DISAPPOINTED! MY LIFE IS FALLING APART!!

Let me be the first person to tell you to CALM down!! It's going to be ok! You don't have to the class, your parents just want the best for you and your life is not over. Take a DEEP BREATHE!! Everything will be ok!!

So you didn't get what you thought you would...don't be discouraged. It isn't the end of the world...although it may feel like it right now. Here are some tips for dealing with less than ideal Midterm marks.

1. The BEST part about Midterms (if there is anything good about them at all) is that they are only ONE part of your grade! You still have time to improve you mark!! Midterms are NOT the END of your course. You still have other assignments, tutorial or lab work or a final that you can use to boost your grade.

2. Take the time to look over your grade. Look at how much of your grade the midterm is actually worth. Take the time out to go and talk to your professor or TA to figure out how to improve your grade, (If you're worried about talking your prof see my post ). Really look at your midterm and determine where you went wrong and how you can improve.

3. Try to put your grade in perspective. Of course we all want to do well, but how does this midterm mark impact your life. If you care a lot about your marks then a not so great mark might stress you out. I'm here to remind you that grades are one component of your whole university experience, and your time at university is only one part of your entire life. Although it might seem like a MAJOR ISSUE now, remember this too shall pass. Try not to stress yourself out too much over your midterms.

4. Try to STAY POSITIVE! If you didn't do as well as you hoped, don't be too hard on yourself. Negativity only makes you feel worse and doesn't actually motivate you try to improve. Get proactive, take the suggestions or improvements you get from your TA's or Profs and learn from them.

**Remember: If you find yourself really stressed out about your grades you can always check out CDS.**

- When I was in my first year, I had a really hard time adjusting to University life. It was the first time I'd ever lived away from home, I was in a new country where I knew no one, and I had just gotten back a midterm that I didn't do as well on as I had hoped. I was REALLY hard on myself and I didn't think that university was for me, I was really having a hard time. My Don suggested that I go and talk to CDS. Honestly I wasn't sure that CDS was for me...but I went and found that the people there were really nice; more importantly they were helpful. I know that sometimes it can be hard to ask for help but sometimes that's exactly what you need most. I highly recommend checking out CDS since they do offer FREE personal counselling!

I promise Midterm season will end! Lets get through it together. If you have any other tips for dealing with midterm add them in the comments section below! See you after Midterms!!

Take it one day at a time and catch me in the zone,
Nicole