I have been bitching and whinging about U of A non stop for the last month (oh, ok since day one) and I'm getting tired of it. I want to change. But old habits die hard. Yesterday I had a bit of insight into why I seem to loathe this place a little more than your average (science) student. During a conversation with friends, I realized that by taking my year off before coming to university, and by taking my semester off in fourth year, I really distanced myself from my peers. This may not seem like the end of the world but I missed out on studying with my friends, lunches and general socializing during university. A few friends of mine who are slightly older than me were reminiscing about socializing at university and how much fun they used to have. That is one reason that I would really look forward to vet school; small class sizes allow you to make real friendships. As a very social person, walking around day to day with one friend on campus who I only get to see three times a week, is a kind of purgatory. Thank goodness for smartphones that let me feel connected to people in some small way. I can think of only two real friends than I made at university. Lets think about that, in five years, over 30 classes, and 6200 science students, I made TWO friends. Currently, one lives in California pursuing a professional education, and one is working (for next to nothing) as a biologist. No wonder I'm lonely. I go to school every day with 30,000 other people and I maybe get to see my one friend three times a week.
Now, that sounds pretty self-indulgent, I agree. I now realize that it was up to me to make friends, work on relationships, etc. But with two months to go I'm just not up for it. So with that depressing piece of insight, I will tell you things that I enjoy about U of A:
- Um...
- Kidding! Here they are:
- The fireplace in Sub
- The napping room in Sub
- The cafeteria on 4th floor BioSci (Especially to go study there in the morning, you can see the sunrise over the river valley and downtown)
- The Harry Potter room in Rutherford
- The Faculty of ALES
- The Faculty of Art and Design
- Knowledge common
- The horse portraits in SUB
- People watching in HUB mall, especially seeing what all the cool art kids are wearing
- The exceptional teachers that really care about teaching, I have had a few.
There! That is 10 whole things that I love about U of A. (It felt really weird writing I love U of A - uh...not ready for this)
Anyway, what else did I want to tell you? Oh yea, this will probably be my last post before I know if I have interviews this year. I have very mixed feelings about this. In fact, I'd rather not think of it at all... however, in about two weeks my fate will be decided. In some ways, I don't want to get in this year. If I had a year to work and relax and not have exams, how bad could that be? But in other ways, a whole year to wait and wonder postpone other life goals even longer (I really want a pig), seems like torture. The plan is to look internationally next year if I don't get in this year and that opens up a whole host of of problems and feelings. And the bigger plan is to try for 3 years and then cut my losses. Still no plan B on the horizon though. I have had flitting thoughts of being a hairstylist. Whatever it is, Plan B has to eventually lead to my owning a ranch/bed&breakfast (same as Plan A) and it has to have nothing to do with science.
Sitting, Wishing, Waiting...
Jammy
