Officially Done First Year!

Wow, I can't believe I've officially made it through my first year of university.
It was definitely an experience, to say the least.
I figured that because I'm now done my freshman year, I needed to change the name of my blog - so, i'm not blogging from... Dancing Through University!
I figured this was an appropriate name for it because I'm a dancer. And I literally am dancing through university - and I'm not talking about just taking dance classes, I actually dance pretty much everywhere. See me in the cafeteria? I'm probably doing some weird dance moves somehow. Alone in my room? One person dance party. It's just something that comes so naturally to me, really :)
Anyway, I hope you like the new title, and I really am sorry for not posting in so long. I had my dance recital and then exams, and before that I had a ton of papers to do. But hopefully throughout the next 4 months until I start school again I'll be able to still blog about school related things. Probably you're going to hear about my house a lot - I'm going to be renting a beautiful house with 4 amazing girls. So I'm going to have to figure out how I want to furnish my room, what I need, and what all we need for our house. (If you have any ideas/tips, please share them!)
Hope that it was a great school year for all of you that are now done, and good luck and finish strong for those of you who are still working!

Tips for first years and things first year taught me

1. You’re going to meet a lot of new people, some of them you’re going to hit it off with immediately, some you’re going to dislike immediately. That’s totally fine, university is about meeting new people - it doesn’t mean you have to like every single one of them.
2. It’s okay to be nervous, but soon you’ll find that there really was nothing to be nervous about!
3. Plan your courses - there’s no point in taking the hardest course as your elective, it’s just going to mess with your average.
4. Plan your timetable well - you might think you’re going to use that 1 hour break in between classes to get work done. You’re not.
5. You don’t have to be best friends with your roommate, but if you end up liking them, lucky you!
6. Learn how to stand up for yourself.
7. Use your meal plan wisely, don’t go crazy buying a ton of food - because at the end of the year your options will boil down to either starving or asking your parents to add more money onto it. 
8. You will probably hate your major at least once, probably more. Stick to it unless you’re 100% sure you hate it.
9. You will see a lot of things at the beginning of the year that will surprise you, by the end of the year they won’t anymore.
10. You’ll figure out who your real friends are - whether they go to the same school or not.
11. There’s still always going to be that one person who always does better than you on everything - just ignore them.
12. Try not to procrastinate too hard, doing 8 page papers the night before is NOT fun. 
13. The freshman 15 does exist - watch what you eat.
14. Your marks will probably drop a lot, but that’s okay. First year is a time for adjustment.
15. You will learn what your professors and TA’s are looking for in papers, sometimes you just have sacrifice what your personal beliefs are, and write what they want you to. 
16. Boys are disgusting.
17. Girls are also disgusting.
18. At the beginning of the year you’re going to care how you look - it doesn’t matter if you’re going to class, or grabbing breakfast at 9am. That will change - soon you’ll be going everywhere in sweats and the fact that you’re in real clothes will be a miracle.
19. Sometimes you just need to cry.
20. If you think you’re good at procrastinating, you’re going to get 100% better.
21. When writing papers, remember to cite. You don’t want to get called in for academic misconduct. When in doubt, cite. 
22. Sometimes even though you’ve worked for weeks on a paper, you’re still going to end up failing it. That paper you wrote in 2 hours at 5am, 4 hours before it’s due? You might get a 90 on that one though. You never know.
23. Just because you’re at university/college, that doesn’t mean people are more mature, at all.
24. There’s going to be a lot of times when you’re going to have to decide between going out and staying in a working. Just remember that YOLO isn’t going to get you a degree.
25. Free food is the most amazing thing that has ever existed.
26. Actually, free anything is the best thing that has ever existed - never turn down free stuff.
27. Become friends with people outside of your major/faculty, there are going to be times where you’re going to want to strangle them all
28. Don’t punch your roommate just because they made you mad. While it might get you your own room, it’ll also get you kicked out a residence for a while.
29. Make good decisions, maybe not all the time, but make an effort.
30. Sometimes all you need is to just stay in, eat junk food and watch movies - but sometimes what you need is to just go out and have fun. Make sure you get a good balance.
31. First year does count.
32. It’s completely fine to change your major.
33. Residence will probably look like like complete shit the first day. Actually, it’ll probably still look like that the day you move out - but it’ll be a shitty place that you’re going to be sad to leave.
34. There’s going to be people who you meet, and their only intention is to sleep with you. If that’s your thing, go for it, if that’s not, thats perfectly fine as well.
35. Some people are going to have ‘kill counts’. No, that’s not a list of people that they want to kill - it’s who they’ve slept with. If you meet someone that actually calls it that, just stay away from them.
36. There’s a possibility that you might get sexiled.
37. Don’t buy post-it notes from the dollar store, they’re about as sticky as a piece of paper.
38. Keep up with your readings if you don’t want your eyes to fall out of your head when it comes to exam time.
39. Buy used books if you can, those things are expensive.
40. You will probably end up buying texbooks that you’ll never end up using to study. Instead you’ll be using your $200 texbook as a step stool. 
41. If there’s unlimited internet - utilize it! Download and stream as much as you possibly can before the end of the school year. 
42. You’re going to meet a lot of people and wonder how they even got into university/college in the first place.
43. At some point in the year, you’ll probably end up taking care of a drunk person. Take good care of them, you never know when you’re going to need them to help you too!
44. There’s going to be people that show up to lecture/seminar/tutorial that are still drunk from the night before - it’s going to happen, whether it be you are someone else. 
45. There are going to be a lot of attractive people at your school. And it will be awesome.
46. Try your best to actually listen in class - if your prof talks about it for 10 minute, then it’s probably important/its going to be on the final.
47. You will have multiple papers that are due at the same time. Get over it, stop complaining and write them.
48. 90% of the time, you’re going to be poor. Get used to it.
49. Get used to spending money you don’t have - hello loans and credit cards. 
50. At one time or another, you will probably hear someone having sex, or at least hear someone tell a story of them having sex. Earplugs and headphones are an amazing invention. 
51. Clean up after yourself, AND clean yourself. If you have to do the sniff test on your clothes, you probably should wash them. If you can’t remember when you last showered, you should probably get on that. 
52. There’s no guarantee that this is going to be the best year of your life. At least try to make it not suck completely.
53. There’s a club for everything on campus, and if there’s not one you’re interested in - start one!
54. You don’t have to party to have fun.
55. You can become whoever you want to be, it’s a fresh slate. Become the person you want to be, and remember to be yourself.

Ending The Year Off Right

The end of the school year is fast approaching... Everyone keeps asking me how many weeks are left. Honestly, I don't even want to think about that at the moment! I still have 2 papers to write, 1 midterm, 1 presentation,  and 2 hours of research participation to do - and that's just before exams!
Around this time people really start feeling run down, exhausted, and ready for summer... Unfortunately, it's not time to pack away the books just yet - for now we just gotta keep on working, and get through the next 2 months.
Here's a few tips to make the last part of the year a success!

1. Don't Start Slacking
Because it's getting towards the end of the year, people are starting to slack. I've noticed other people doing it, and I've seen it a bit in myself! Right now is the time to work harder, and get things done. Papers will be due soon, and exams sneak up faster than you think. I know it's hard with no motivation, but dont slack off yet, you can get through this!

2. Start Thinking About Exams
My exams start about the second week into April, and while that seems pretty far away - in reality it's not! Even if you're just looking at your notes for 30 minutes a day, it's better than leaving it all until the last minute. Start organizing your notes, print off practice tests, and make sure you have everything you need to study and ace your exams!

3. Think About Your Summer Job
While it's not directly related to school, it's still a big thing that you have to worry about! In the midst of preparing for exams and writing papers, make sure that if you're looking to get a job in the summer, you start looking ASAP. Summer jobs go fast and if you want a good one it's best to start looking early.

4. Talk To An Academic Adviser 
If you're not quite sure as to what you have to take for next year, if you have questions about your program, or if you just want to make sure that you're prepared - then go see your academic adviser. They will make sure that you're on the right track for everything, and if you're not, then they'll help you make sure everything is in order.

5. Know When Move Out Day Is
If you're living in residence, or renting a place, make sure you know what day you need to be out by. For my school, if you're not out of your room on time then you're charge $100 for each additional day that you have to stay. Since most of us are broke students, make sure you know the dates and times that you have to do things by. Make sure that you have transportation to go home as well! It might even be helpful to start moving things home now - if you know you're not going to need something for the rest of the year and you're taking a trip home, it could be a good idea to bring it home as well.

6. Don't Forget To Still Have Fun
While I keep saying to make sure that you're on top of your studies, also make sure that that's not the only thing that you're doing! Put some time aside to have a little fun! St. Patty's day, anyone? If it's your first year like me, then make the best of it and do all of those things that you keep meaning to do before your freshman year is over.

Anyway, that's it for now! I need to go try and make a dent in my pile of homework.
Stay smart and make the best out of the end of the year! :)

Dorm Room Workout

Today's post is going to really relate to the title of the blog - surviving the freshman 15. My roommate and I recently decided that we were going to try and get in shape, so we started doing this workout called the 30 day shred. Before I actually talk about this, I just really want to stress the idea that doing this isn't about losing weight and getting skinnier - but getting healthy. A lot of people confuse the two, but there is definitely a difference. You can have a super skinny person that is completely unhealthy, just as you can have a bigger person who is 100% healthy. The idea behind us doing this is to try and kinda of counteract all of the bad stuff that we are forced to eat the the cafeteria.
Anways, the 30 Day Shred is a really great workout for a number of different reasons.

1. It requires minimal equipment. In the video the people use light hand weights, but if you're not quite up to that yet, my roommate and I started by just using water bottles instead.
2. You don't need a lot of room. Our double room is extremely tiny, but we still have enough room for both of us to do it at the same time. Even if you're pressed for space, you can still do it.
3. It gives you alternative ways to do the moves. Throughout the video it'll show you two different ways to do most of the moves, one person will be doing the advanced version, while another will be doing an easier version. You can mix the two together, or just stick with one - it all depends on your level.
4. It only takes about 30 minutes. Personally, I find it really hard to try to fit in time to work out into my schedule. What makes this video great is the fact that you can do the warm up, exercise, as well as the cool down stretches all within 30 minutes.
5. It mixes different kinds of exercises. Instead of just giving you a strength workout, this combines cardio as well as abs to give you optimum results.
6. It starts easy then builds up. The idea of the 30 day shred is that there are three different levels to it. You start out on the first, which you do for 10 days, then move on to the second, which you for for 10 days as well. Lastly, you do level three for the last 10 days. Each level gets progressively harder, but it doesn't do so in an outrageous way.

Really, the workout isn't that bad... And that's coming from me. I'm a total workout wimp, I can't even run for 5 minutes without feeling like i'm going to pass out.
I just thought I'd share this with everyone. If you have any question about it, feel free to send me a message.
Also, if you want to download the videos for it - leave a message and I can send you the link where you can download it for free :)

Have a nice day!

Accepting Your Offer

Hey guys! This post is going to look a little but different than the others, I'm writing it on my iPad before my dance class... So just a little heads up!

Accepting your offer is a big deal, you've gone through all the hard work of deciding where to apply, and them you actually apply. Here in Ontario, you get to apply to 3 colleges or universities, and then the end when you accept one, it automatically rejects all your other offers.

Here are some tips to ultimately choosing which school is right for you:

Don't choose just based on looks
Take academics into consideration, a school might have the best campus ever, but if it doesn't have the program that you're in love with, maybe think about your other options.

Don't choose just based on academics
On the other hand, you're going to be at your school for around 4 years, so you are going to want to love the campus. You can have a school with great academics, but if the campus is hard to get to, spread out, or just isn't right for you, consider your other schools.

Take a tour
One thing that I highly suggest is taking a tour of the school that you were accepted to. This is a great way to not only get to know the campus, but learn about the school. Tours enable you to get your questions answered by a real person, not just an FAQ page. Also, tour guide will bring up concepts that you didn't think of to ask about. Also, sometimes the schools will give your free promotional material - when I visited my school they gave out m&ms with the schools name on them... Always a plus!

Don't choose a school just because your friend is going there
If you're going to be going to a school for 4 years, you're going to want to make sure that YOU'RE happy, not your friend. You will make new friends, and You will have the opportunity to keep your old ones... So you don't necessarily need to go to the same school as them.

Read the instructions on what to do
If there are words, read them because they could possibly be important. You don't want to end up not going to your top choice just because you didn't accept their offer properly!

Consider scholarships
Each school will have different amounts of scholarships that the will offer you. If money is a big factor to you, you can see if schools will give you counter offers. Also keep in mind that your scholarship could possibly go up or down by the end of the year. In my case, my top school was offering me $1000, but by the end if the year I had bumped up my average to a 90, so I ended u getting a iPad and a $2000 scholarship!

Think about where you're going to live
Is the school close enough to live at home? Are you going to commute? Are you living on campus? What are the living or transportation expenses that you will have? There are a lot of things to consider.

Well, I hope this helped some of you! Feel free to write me a comment tell me where it got it! :)

Floorcest

Okay this one is kind of a no-brainer for most of you guys that live in residence.
Personally, it's not a problem because I don't find any of the 4 guys on my floor attractive at ALL. But for some of you that live in bigger floors could run into the problem that you find a guy/girl that you like.
Usually I would say go for what you want, but on this topic, just try to hold off until you move out of residence. Yeah, it would be nice to date someone on your floor, you wouldn't have to walk halfway across campus to see them, and it would just be more convenient... But what happens if you break up?
As my friend would say... AWKO TACO.
The good thing about breaking up with someone is that for the most part, you don't have to seem them again.
...Unless that person happens to live 2 doors down from you, of course.
Imagine how awkward it would be, running into you ex, day after day. And it's not only going to be awkward for you, but probably a lot of the floor.
I know this sounds pretty harsh, but it's definitely one of those rules that you should listen to.
If you're really interested in someone, wait until you move out of rez to further this relationship.

Keeping In Contact With Friends

One of the challenges with going off to school is trying to keep a part of your old life intertwined with your new life. I'm lucky because I know quite a few people that are going to my university from home, but a lot of people don't get that. It's hard to keep in contact with your friends from home, whether they've gone off to other schools, stayed back for a year, or moved to other places. It's tough, and if you ask a lot of people, they're going to tell you that it just isn't possible. I'm going to be honest, a lot of people try, and it just doesn't work - but it can.
Even I'm finding it hard to stay connected to some of my old friends.
I think one of the hard concepts to grasp is that people grow and change... And sometimes we don't understand that and just can't realize that people can grow apart. At times, all it takes is people to grow apart so that they can come together again.
Sometimes we just have to learn to let people go, so they can grow, and so we can grow. Just because you're saying goodbye to someone for now, it doesn't mean it's for forever.
But you know what? You can totally still keep in contact with you friends or girlfriends or boyfriends and whatnot. There's someone on my floor who has a girlfriend back in California, and he's in Ontario. Another girl on my floor lives 10 hours away form her boyfriend. Both of these couples have found ways to make their relationships work. I have a friend at school that is originally from British Columbia, and she's going to school here in Ontario. She still keeps in contact with her friends.
With so many kinds of social networking websites and programs that help us connect to people, facebook, twitter, tumblr, skype, computers, and our phones, the world makes it pretty easy to keep in contact with people.
In the end, it takes two people, and it takes effort from both sides to make something work.
Distance can kind of be like a test; a test to see who is worth the trouble and who is worth it to you.
All in all, I think it's also important that you try to keep old friendships, but also make new ones. If you're always surrounding yourself with the same people, then you're never getting to experience new people. While making new friends can be scary, it's something that you definitely should try.

"Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold."

I know this has kind of been a lame post, but really, keeping in contact is something that you're going to have  to deal with when you're going through school.
It can be sad, feeling like you're being left behind or forgotten, but the great thing is that you have the power to try and change these things, you can make an effort, and you can make new friends.
I've been through this, and you will too, or maybe you already have. I hope that you've made the right decision for YOU if you have already, and if you haven't yet, just stay true to yourself.