Home-sickness

For all those international students out there (not for you commuters who think a 2 hour drive is far away) this list is for you. I present you with various things you can do if you are ever homesick. Let's begin...

1- Breathe. Realize this happens to everyone at some point, its a big change living alone. If you miss living in your home think about all the pros you have: no parents saying yes or no to your outings, no siblings fighting over the remote, no one going bursting in to your room unexpectedly. Make a list of things you don't miss from back home (ex: being told to do my bed, laundry, dishes...) and go over it whenever you feel homesick.

2- Talk to your closest friends or family. They'll tell you not to worry, that pretty soon you will be headed back to see them and it will be amazing. Lets just hope your Skype doesn't crash on you if your residence has a sucky internet connection. 

3- Ice-cream/Chocolate. No further explanation required.

4- Get out of your bed, stop crying, and explore your new home away from home! Tour around with your new friends, make some memories and inside jokes.

5- Take a look at what you brought from home whether its a yearbook, photos, videos, stuffed animals, snacks... whatever your mom managed to squeeze in your suitcase. These things serve you as a reminder that home is still there, and its really not that far with all the technology we currently have. 

6- Have fun! Do something that will take your mind off this anxiety you're feeling. 

Bottom line: homesickness doesn't last long, it will probably be a few hours or a night and then you will be back on track. Think positive (its better to be homesick than homeless? did that work? :S). AND the more you are gone, the better the visit back home is. Embrace your new life: realize you are growing up and actually becoming independent. 

The Roommate

The first thing my grandma said to me before I moved out for University was, “Wouldn’t it be funny if your roommate turned out to be crazy? Like the one in the movie The Roommate… what a great movie.” Besides the fact that I was surprised my grandma even knew what that movie was, let alone seen it, I couldn’t help but disagree with everything she had said. 

1. It would not be funny if my roommate turned out to be a schizophrenic stalker who is off her medication and trying to steal my identity.

2. Sorry grandma, this movie sucked.

Unfortunately, my grandma wasn’t completely wrong. When I first met my roommate, I was extremely optimistic. More than being optimistic, I was extremely excited! Honestly, I thought she would be like the sister I never had… I know that sounds weird, but I grew up with three brothers, and always wanted to have a… okay, maybe my expectations were a little high. So, when I first met my roommate, although I wasn’t sure we would be great friends (she was very quiet, unlike myself), I figured it was at least better than having a loud and obnoxious roommate. I quickly changed my opinion when she started ignoring my facebook and text messages. I felt bad during frosh week, as while everybody on my floor were bonding and creating amazing friendships, she was alone in her room. I tried my best to invite her places and to come hangout in the apartment with everybody… but she always refused. The one time she agreed to spend time with me and a friend, we went to the mall, and she was rude the entire time. Whenever I tried something on or wanted to, she literally had nothing nice to say at all. I think that was the point my opinion changed on her. We are all beginning a new phase of our lives, are all in the same position, and even though she may have had a difficult time adjusting, she was not the only one. My constant effort to include her and befriend her was not worth it, if she wasn’t going to try and at least be friendly with me, she wasn’t worth my time. I gave up.

Okay, now that you why I initially didn’t like get along with my roommate, I will tell you how I dealt with it. It took a lot for me not to confront her about the issues I had, as although I am not necessarily a confrontational person, it wasn’t easy for me to live with her for a number of reasons:

1. She NEVER cleaned… literally, the only cleaning I ever saw her do was vacuum her room (and that was only once). 

2. She used my stuff without asking… (I know she did this because whenever I left my stuff in the washroom, I would slowly have less and less shampoo/ conditioner/ body wash left. I would purposely leave my stuff in there… kind of like my little experiment. Although that may seem irrational, she had the same shampoo and conditioner bottle for the entire year. So either she used mine, or never showered…).

3. Her mom (okay, I know that I cannot judge a person based on their family, but if my mom treated anybody the way she treated me, I would have said something. She was always rude to me, and literally told me to clean my room. All I wanted to say was “I am sorry, but last time I checked you are not my mom. DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO AND STAY OUT OF MY ROOM! I began closing my door after that…).

4. Last, but defiantly not least… she left hair in the shower! (This is probably the thing that got to me the most. It was disgusting, and my friends heard about it for months! It got to the point where I would shower in other people’s showers. I finally left her a note asking her to please clean her hair out of the shower, which I thought was pretty straight forward, but apparently not. She actually asked me to clarify what I meant…oh boy.)

These were only a few issues I dealt with living with my roommate my first year. Seriously, it’s hard to say the right way to deal with a horrible roommate. It is less than a year of your life, and just because you don’t like your roommate, doesn’t mean you will not make friends or have an amazing year. Honestly, there will always be somebody you may not particularly like, and if confronting the issue may make it worse, it likely isn’t worth it. Oh, and remember, if you don’t like your roommate, they probably aren’t too fond of you either.

Move-In Day

Moving-in to residence was a big day for me. I didn't know a single soul, apart from the random people who added me on Facebook from the 'Class of 2015' group... but they don't count.

I could not sleep at all the night before, I was constantly worrying about the new friends I would make, the new relationships I would have, the different environment it was... all those types of jitters. I was even thinking what I would wear the next day...

The day eventually came, I woke up extra early to make sure everything was packed and ready to go and loaded the van. Once I got there, the line up was intense, it was even worse than a line of girls waiting to see Ryan Gosling. I made my way to the front, and got my room keys and university ID which meant I was set to go.

I was also worried about what my roommate would be like: would I be paired up with a voodoo lover, a stoner, a party animal, a hoarder?! The thoughts were killing me. I got to my room and my roommate wasn't there yet so I started unpacking all of my belongings while my parents moved the furniture around and cleaned everything. This room was the size of my previous bathroom, would I even be able to live alone?! There was a slight chance of dying of starvation without my moms home-cooked meals.

Pretty soon my roommate walked in the room, our families met, we met, and hey! SHE WAS NORMAL! We really weren't able to get to know each other the first day because we had to settle in and say goodbye to our parents. But the following days we would catch up on our lives during our tea-time sessions every morning and found out we had a lot of things in common and we could definitely make it out alive having each other as roommates.

That first night you sleep in your new room is not easy. I'm not going to say a few tears didn't shed here and there, but its that night you realize how much you miss your old high school friends and feel as lonely as ever. Have no fear, the days that follow are the ones where you meet your new friends and even yourself. Orientation week was one of the funnest weeks I've had. You get to meet your floor mates, people in your program, and well... party. About a month in after move-in day you'll be laughing at how you cried yourself to sleep that first night, and how amazing the new friends you have are.

The days to come are going to be stressful, exciting, full of discoveries, laughs, memories, and even regret sometimes... but if there is one thing I want you to keep in mind its that you should always be yourself, not what others want you to be.

Say Hello to University

University. A whole new chapter of your life... this is just a little note to let you know we are going to start posting blogs about our university experience.

For all you recently graduated kids out there, get ready for one of the biggest changes in your life. It's going to be one amazing ride.