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Reflections on the Podcast

In this final blog post, I will be sharing my experience conducting my podcast. My podcast was about the meaning behind the Gryphon - the identity it possess for the students, faculty, and staff here on the campus and our alumni. 

For this podcast, we were to utilize both primary and secondary sources to do research on our topic of choice. I appreciated how open this assignment was, it allowed me to be able to choose a topic which really peaked my interest. Since my topic was more a personal choice and quite dependent on others opinions, I couldn’t really use a lot of secondary sources, so I relied heavily on primary sources to obtain information. The only secondary source I used was the dictionary online to find a suitable definition of a gryphon that occurred in my introduction of my podcast. The primary methods I choose to use for my research were mainly interviews and my own observations. I liked the idea of interviewing and talking amongst students, staff and faculty, and alumni about their own take on what they mean when they consider themselves to be “gryphons.” I talked to many students, my bio 1090 professor, the communications head at UoG, and a number of alumni. I thought that the hardest thing to do for this research were to generate the questions that were individual to the person I was talking to (e.g., a professor has a completely different standpoint on the gryphon than a student does). The questions had to convey appropriate wording and clarity for those being interviewed. If the questions were well thought out and clear, the actual interviewing process was easy to continue a conversation with the person. I think if I were to do anything differently, and if the circumstances on privacy were different, I would’ve have asked to record the people so I could incorporate the people’s voices in my actual podcast - might’ve made it more influential or authentic.

The next thing we had to do was actual create the podcast. We were to include intro music, an introduction (approximately 1 minutes long), a body (averaging between 5-7 minutes long), a conclusion (approximately 1 minute long), and then outro music. It didn't seem like it would be that hard to conduct. It was a straightforward layout. It was fairly easy to construct the script for my podcast, as I just had to combine all the interviews together in a way that flowed, as well as my own personal take on my topic. I think the actual recording of my podcast took no more than 20 minutes. Unfortunately, I’m quite technologically challenged so the hardest part for me was to edit and incorporate effects through Audacity to improve the quality of my podcast. I debated asking my brother for help with the editing, but then I realized that he doesn’t like to help people very much, so I had to try to piece it together to the best of my ability. It took me many tries to smoothly merge all my separate audio recordings together. Finally, I was able to almost smooth out my podcast, with the exception of one part where you it slightly sounds like I dropped my phone. I was quite happy with how it turned out, given the fact that I didn’t really know how to use any of the effects. If I could do It over again, I would want to familiarize myself with Audacity more than I did. It would allow me to incorporate more sound effects to enhance the context of the podcast. 

The final step for this assignment was to attend class and peer evaluate other people’s podcasts. At the end of the class everyone’s podcast that we listened to were given back the feedback from the rest of the class. I’m one of those people who are quite hard on themselves - I am my biggest critic. I welcome feedback always, but listening to other podcasts and thinking about mine, I thought mine was not the best and could use more work. When I received the feedback and read through what my classmates has to say, to my surprise, they quite enjoyed my podcast and didn't think it was bad. I got many comments on my voice and how it was very smooth and how I could convey emotion through my voice. I had some people comment on how this topic was a very interesting to listen about and how I made it relatable to many of the students here on the campus. I enjoyed hearing from my classmates and the overall listening of other people's podcasts. It seemed like everyone had their own style and personality within their podcast. If I could redo my podcast, I would make sure that I didn’t rush at the beginning so it matched the pace of the rest of my podcast. 

With the semester coming to an end, I was very happy with the overall experience of creating this podcast and partaking in this first year seminar. It was a nice change from the regular midterms and scientific writing assignments I have to do for the remainder of my courses. 

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The Vault

The first item I would put into the vault would be headphones. Over the course of the school year I have learned the importance of a positive headspace. In the most troubling and stressful times during the school year, the best thing to do is kick back and listen to music. Headphones also help many students focus and study. If someone were to walk around the library, on any floor, majority of the students have earbuds or headphones on while they’re working. A huge part of studying is finding a clear headspace and isolating yourself from others in order to focus.

The second item I would put into the vault would be a microchip or memory chip from a laptop. With so many technological advances, students rely heavily on the availability of laptops. Often times, a student’s life and school work is all on a laptop or tablet. This generation and upcoming generations are becoming paperless. The importance of technology is increasing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if by the year 2168, the use of paper didn’t exist. Although there are studies that prove that if students physically write out notes, they’re able to retain information better, it’s hard to not evolve when everyone around you is using technology. 

The third item I would put into the vault would be a piece of this year’s Guelph rugby sweater. One thing that this school has taught me is how important and enthusiastic Guelph is about school spirit. One of the main things that people wear to Homecoming and the Frosty Mug are our rugby sweaters. Over the generations of Gryphons, the sweater changes slightly. It would be cool to for people to see our print for the sweater and compare it to their year’s sweater. The sweater itself represents how close the school is and how school spirit is a huge part of being a part of the Guelph community. Education is not just learning in classes, but also learning about where one fits in and how to express oneself. Attending university shouldn't just be all about studies and classes, but students must experience the campus life. Getting involved in the school can be a great stress reliever, which will benefit someone’s studies. 

This concludes what three items I would incorporate into the vault for students from 2168 (150 years later) to see about education. 

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OPIRG

The pamphlet I was given was called OPIRG Radical Resource Library. The purpose of the pamphlet is to inform students at Guelph University about a new place to gain information as study on the campus itself. The pamphlet is targeted at students at the University of Guelph. The overall message that this pamphlet conveys is that OPIRG on 24 Trent Lane, is another great place for students to learn and study. Their resource library contains books that not even McLaughlin library has to offer, known as their TRELIS collection. The building is a unique place and is very accessible. Students can even sign out their books with their UoG library cards. OPIRG Radical Resource Library is an alternative place to study and find out new information. 

Talking about in justice in within the educational system with OPRIG’s Brad Evoy, got me thinking about other injustices around the world. The one injustice that really has been brought to my attention is the law on gun control in the United States, or should I say the lack of fun control. There’s been over 20 shootings just this year in the States, yet it seem likes their only solution to the problem is to allow more people to have an arms in their possession. I know that living in Canada, there aren't concerns of many shootings, but I don’t think that anyone should have to live in the fear of a shooting. I don’t know how many more shootings need to occur for the States to finally realize the “right to bare arms,” needs to change; however, it shouldn’t have to take the chance of another shooting for a change in policy. I wish the States would recognize and address the problem with a better solution that giving teachers a right to bare arms during school hours - because what’s a better way to solving a gun problem than allowing more people to have guns in their possession? I know that I myself can’t do much about this gun control injustice, but I feel as if someone needs to before it gets more out of hand than it already has.

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Reflection on Peer Feedback for Podcast

Tuesday’s class we focused on giving feedback to others’ introduction and logo for their podcast. Receiving feedback on both my own introduction and logo, has abled me to vastly improve both so that they can intrigue the listeners. In my opinion, the most useful feedback I was given for my introduction was to watch my pace and go into farther depth of why I chose this topic. I think that really expressing a more personal angle on my podcast, gives more meaning and emotion towards the overall project. The most useful feedback I got for my logo was to add a graphic on my logo that pertained to my topic, but keep it’s simplicity. Based off the peer feedback given, some of the changes I plan on making are: expanding on my personal views for why I chose to do my podcast on “what it means to be a Gryphon,” in my introduction, practice reading the script with more emotion and tonality, and add a a simple illustration on my logo. I think by incorporating these few changes will improve the overall feel of my podcast. I didn’t find any of the feedback really hard or difficult to read or hear. I appreciated the honesty and now can improve upon what others have suggested for me to do for my final draft.

Apart from receiving peer feedback, I think it’s harder to give peer feedback. I know that it’s beneficial to my peers who are getting feedback from me; however, it’s hard to try to pick out the flaws of someone else’s work as I don’t want to be too harsh. Overall, many of the logos were very well done and it was hard to pick out what people needed to work on. I found that the introductions were easier to give feedback on, as you can comment on more areas like: tone, emotion, pace, length, and content. I felt as if giving feedback wasn’t that hard to give as it was meant to help others improve upon their own works.

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Podcast Pitch Revised

After having the opportunity to get feedback from one of our instructors today in class, here is my newly revised podcast pitch. 

I have decided to focus my podcast on the idea of “what it means to be a Gryphon/What makes you a Gryphon.” This idea interested me because Guelph seems to be a very popular school which really focuses on the idea of a community throughout the campus. I wish to go more in-depth of how some of the community members of Guelph University really see themselves as being part of the Gryphon family. I want to focus on the community itself and its culture which makes Guelph so appealing to many students and faculty members. I wish to find out more about how everyone has a role here at Guelph which embodies the idea of being a Gryphon. 

I have taking into consideration some methods for my research on this topic. From previous classes, I wish to utilize the methods of observation and interviewing. I want to see how students and other members of the Guelph community interact with one another on campus. Then I wish to interview both past and present Guelph students on what it means to them to be a Gryphon. As well, I plan on interviewing some of the faculty members and get their input on how they see themselves as a Gryphon. I would then compare the three perspectives and see if there are any similarities or differences between the groups of individuals. 

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Study Preparation

How are you preparing for midterm exams?

Prior to coming to university, I was one of those students who liked to study the night before. I was able to get away with it and still earn good marks. Unfortunately, university has taught me that if I want to truly succeed in any of my courses I need to study multiple days before an exam or midterm. This semester I have motivated myself to study at least a few days ahead of any of my midterms. I find it easier to study over multiple days, rather than try to cram all the information required for a midterm the night before. I seem to retain more information by spreading out the studying time. I tend to turn to practice questions and old midterms for extra practice for a particular midterm. The more questions I can familiarize myself with, the better off I am in the long run. When I feel like I’m prepared for a midterm, I seek out help and extra preparation from my peers on my floor or other residences that also have the same midterm as I do. We quiz each other, and ask any questions needed for clarification. 

Are you trying any new strategies this semester?

This semester I am trying a new strategy in order to prepare myself for my upcoming midterms and hopefully my future exams. I’ve decided to take advantage of the SLG mock midterms. I’m going to the chemistry 1050 mock midterm on Wednesday night to see how the upcoming midterm might be like. I know I don’t feel prepared for this mock midterm; however, I will at least have a sense of what I still need to study before the actual midterm. I think this opportunity will also be beneficial because I will have a hardcopy of a midterm that I can refer back to after I complete the remaining of my studying. I think it helped other students in chemistry 1040 last semester, so I hope it can help me too.

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Dorm Life Conversations

For this blog post I decided to answer the question “Pay attention to what you and your fellow students talk about when you're together. Eavesdrop on other students' conversations.  What topics and themes emerge? How do these compare with Nathan's observations in Chapter 5 on “Dorm talk”?” 

Last class we took some time to properly observe people without any distractions. It was amazing how much I could pick up from just being a background person that no one paid attention to. I was able to use this observation tactic to listen and analyze different conversations that my floormates had over the weekend. Like Nathan, I observed that many of the girls and boys talk about relationships, with either their friends or boys/girls that they may have met. I know that I am guilty of this as well, but it was interesting to see how little the conversations trailed from these topics. Everyone seems so interested and curious to hear who’s the new person in someone’s life. 

Another thing that Nathan noticed was how little the students actually talked about their classes and academics. This also holds true for my floor. The most talk about school anyone seems to have is around midterms and finals. It’s not really conversations about the classes, more asking for help for a brief minute then the conversation ends. Although many of the students have similar course schedules and classes, there always is something better and more interesting to talk about. 

I believe that throughout any generation, people are intrigued by the new gossip - from rumours, to new relationships, to sports. The hottest news is always a priority in the dorm.

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Dorms and Personality

In the book, “My Freshman Year,” Rebekah Nathan talks about the dorm lifestyle and reflects upon how the doors can tell a lot about a person. In the book Nathan talk about how most of the doors have phrases and words to describe their lifestyle. Some of the phrases were “Friends don't let friends party naked,” or “24 bottles of beer in a case.” Nathan summed up the dorm themes into the categories of: booze, nakedness, craziness, youth, celebrity, and sexuality. The dorms in the story expressed freedom and fun, and drew a picture of how a person was. She learned that many of the students in her residence were a fan of partying, and liked to have a good time. She came to a realization that nudity, sexuality, drinking, and craziness were all part of the college or university scene. 

When I roam my hallways, I can see how people express themselves through their door art. I, like Nathan, can infer what a person is like by the pictures or phrases on his door. Some people are more creative and artistic than others, but everyone on my floor painted their dorm doors. Majority of the doors were very abstract and had little to no meaning. My door being part of that category, is a willow tree, because my name is Willow. I, myself, have little to no creativity or artistic ability, so I understand when some doors express abstract depictions of images. Despite my floor’s lack of artistic ability, almost all the doors show what a person is interested in. There are two boys down the hall who are a huge country fans. Their door has cuts outs of beer logos and trailer park boys characters. They’re also hockey fans and have the logos of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins hung up on their door. They are partiers, so the beer logos depict that side of them. Another door that intrigues me, is girl’s door down the opposite end of the hall. She is very artistic and her door is a beautiful landscape of mountains and a river. It wasn’t until I talked to her when I found out she was in computer engineering, with a minor of art. She keeps to herself often and is very quite, almost serene like the river lost in the mountains on her door.

 I like roaming the halls and glancing at all the pictures on other people’s doors. Like Nathan, I do believe that someone’s door acts like a brief introduction to that person. 

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Home

Since coming to university, the idea of my home has altered slightly. Living residence is a new opportunity and more independence than I have when I'm at my home with my family. When I go home, it seems like my whole family pays more attention to me than when I was always there. It seems like my siblings really miss me, although they say they don’t. Up until I left for university, my siblings and I paid little to no attention to each other - we we’re always use to each other’s presence and didn’t seem to think of them being there. Now it seems like I pay more attention to all my siblings. I feel like I’m not used to living in a big family anymore. In residence all I have our floor mates, who I now consider my second family. The only difference is that we all have our own rooms and take care of ourselves independently from one another. I can’t think of anything really “glaring” at my house when I go home that used to be obvious to me. I know I have to be more careful with what I say and do around my younger siblings. I seem to have grown up and matured in which some of the things I can do now in university I can’t do at home. Even if the time and distance has slightly altered how I view home, it will always be home to me and a place where I can spend time with my family. 

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My Learning Journey

It’s hard to think that all the decisions I’ve made in the past have truly shaped who I am today and will become in the future. In the moment, people don’t think about the consequences or the new opportunities they can get from experience they’ve had in the past. Life changes and people fade as years go by. I know I’m not the person I was when I was little - I have changed and grown because of all the decisions I’ve made in the past. This is my learning journey.

Growing up, I was very much involved in hockey and baseball. I played both competitively for many years. I loved being part of athletics, I still do. I felt free of any worries I might’ve encountered during that time - it was my escape. I was able to focus on the game and myself, rather than everything else. I learned the valuable skill of teamwork throughout my duration of each team setting. Each new team I was on had a different “team dynamic.” Some worked, where others didn’t. The best teams I was apart of all had a teamwork mindset. Everyone knew that there was no “I” in team. We were one - lost together, and won together. It was successful because my teammates never tried to outshine everyone else; we all knew that we were stronger together than on our own. Teamwork has been a part of my life for a long time. This skill helps me when it comes to group work in either school or work situations. I value the idea that two is better than one now that I know strong team dynamics are quite beneficial. 

Since I played high level hockey, it was almost inevitable to not endure injuries. I was small growing up and still am small. I played against girls who were almost a foot taller than I was and twice as heavy. Although I knew I had a height disadvantage, I often forgot about it during the game. Adrenaline pumping, I felt stronger and taller than I actually was. Over my hockey career, I endured multiple concussions, shoulder dislocations, and cracked ribs. The older I was, the harder these injuries were to heal from. I quickly learned that my body couldn’t handle all the injuries like it used to - my temple of a body was slowly crashing. The recovery time put me into an almost depressive state, I missed the game, my team, and having a way to destress. I came to a realization that there was more to life than just sports. I had to go to physiotherapy to help speed up my recovery from my injuries. It was then, when I thought seriously about going into physiotherapy as a career. I was interested in the human muscles - how they worked and intertwined within the body. Injuries were the worst and most devastating part of sports, but I found what my aspiration. I wouldn’t be here in Human Kinetics, if I hadn’t suffered from all my past injuries. 

Over the course of high school, I decided to try coaching girls hockey. I coached all ages, but preferred to coach the peewee or bantam age group. I didn’t think I would enjoy coaching. I wasn’t the most patient or talented at tolerating younger children. I’m glad I did decide to coach. Coaching taught me how to be more patient with younger ones, as well as become more responsible for my actions. As a coach, I had to deal with all kinds of skill levels on the team. Some of the girls were very advanced, where others struggled a lot. At the beginning, I found it very frustrating when some of the lower level skilled girls couldn’t get a handle on the simplest drills. After several weeks of coaching, I started to push myself to be more level headed and less impatient with the girls who needed the extra time on the basics. If the girls were struggling, I figured it was because I wasn't teaching them properly. Ultimately, it was my responsibility as coach to ensure that all the girls were improved and had fun during the season. As a result of coaching, I am now more patient with friends and peers that I have needed to tutor or help in school or deal with other problems they may have. 

Apart from athletics, I have also found myself to be very academic. I excelled in many subjects, and didn’t need to put a lot of effort into my studies up until grade eleven. During grade eleven, I was astonished of how the work expectations and work load increased. Up until then, I was able to relax in school and essentially cruise, but I still achieved high grades. Grade eleven really pushed me to build a strong work ethic. I learned to not procrastinate, focus on my studies and work efficiently. I knew I needed high grades to be accepted into science majors, so I quickly had to learn how to truly work and earn my grades. I wanted to perfect my work ethic before going into university as the pace of school only increases, which makes it harder. Although I put many hours into my work and studies, and complain about all the work, I'm very much content with the end results. I know I can work hard and if I put my mind to it, I can do well in almost all my courses.

Another positive outcome from high school and university, is that I’m no longer afraid to utilize all the aid school has to offer me. In past years, I would always go to my peers and friends for help in school. I didn’t like the idea of having to confront the teachers for help with school work. I was simply afraid of them thinking I was dumb. It wasn’t until my grade eleven chemistry teacher, Mr. Julseth, approached me and asked how his chemistry class was for me. I wanted to lie to him and say everything was fine, but he seemed genuinely interested and concerned if I was struggling. I found myself going taking the extra time to obtain help from him when he wasn’t teaching. Soon my mark improved dramatically. He was the first teacher I found who really cared about his students’ success. I learned that he wasn’t the only teacher who cared students’ success. I have become more willing to seek extra help available from professors this year. I have come to an understanding that my past teachers and my current professors are happy when students come in for help if they’re struggling. I frequently use my physics professor’s office hours as I know I struggle in physics.

When school is over, I work in the summers. I work at Hickory Hickory Decks, and just this past summer I had been promoted to a junior salesman position. I’ve always been a very social and interactive individual, but sales is more than just interacting with customers. I found that there was a huge organizational piece to the job. I had been somewhat organized in the past with school work, but it’s different to organize meetings and calls with customers than it is to study. I needed to organize meetings, and calls around both my free time and the customers availability. I had to learn to accommodate schedules in order to succeed in the business. I improved my organizational skills through this job as well as more accommodating towards others.

Throughout the duration of my first semester, I have adjusted to the new life of living in residence. I live in Johnston Hall, one of the North residences, in a single. At first it was hard to adjust to living on my own. For the past eighteen years, I had been living in the comfort of my own home - my parents were always there and I had my siblings for company. I relied heavily on my parents for any problems I had in school or in other areas of my life. Living in residence has shaped me to become a highly independent individual. I have my own schedule and it’s ultimately up to me to go to class and do work. I don’t have my parents or siblings telling me I should be work. It’s at my own leisure whether or not I complete any tasks on time. There is no parental guidance or babying. Since being in residence, I have learned to take care of myself. I have become more mature and grown more on my own than I had when I was living back at home. I feel like I’m closer to becoming an adult. 

One of my favourite learning experiences was the missions trip I went on in grade twelve. I always thought I appreciated everything I had, until I went on this trip and realized I took many things for granted. I went over to the Dominican for about two weeks building houses and spending an awful lot of time with the children in the village. I saw how deprived of many luxuries they were, when I have all these items at my fingertips. I made a connection with one of the village girls Luna. She was eight years old and she loved life. I wondered to myself how she saw lived life so happy, yet her family struggled to make ends meet. I learned that there's more to life than all the luxuries and articles one can own. I saw how happy Luna was to be able to spend time with her friends and make connections with strangers, like myself. When I returned home, I realized I was very spoiled and was almost disgusted by all the thought of how I didn’t really appreciate all I had in front of me. The missions trip opened my eyes and made me appreciate the little things in life. I have become less materialistic and don't think I truly need anything. This experience was my most memorable.

I have gone into much detail about experiences that are quite positive. Even the most hard times can be beneficial or have a positive outcome. In grade eight, I experienced my true first bullying. It broke my spirit and I became depressed. it was a horrible year. I lost all my close friends because the bully controlled everyone in the school. She didn't like how I would stand up for myself and others she bullied, so I then became the target of her harassment. I begged my parents to allow me to transfer schools, but they advised me that I couldn’t run away from my problems. I quickly learned that the best thing to do in a situation like this was to seem like it didn't bother me. There’s nothing worse for a bully than disallowing them to bully you. I acted like it didn't bother me and kept my head up at all times. I become a very strong individual and rather self-reliant. Everything happens for a reason, and although it was painful go through, I don’t wish to change what happened to me. I learned that the only person I could always rely on was myself. Even now, I know better than to let negative people into my life, and am able to remove myself from a bad situation.

As I’ve grown up and made more decisions in my life, so have many people close to me. Sometimes people stay in your life, but often times people come and go. Over the course of my life I’ve lost many close friends, not because we would fight, but simply because we both changed and had no real connection. I didn’t really understand the concept that everything happens for a reason, until one of my closest friends in middle school stopped acknowledging my presence. I took this very personally, and it clouded my judgement. I thought I was the reason why she didn't like me anymore. It took a couple years for me to reflect on the situation and realize that my life is better without her. I figured out that I was a better person without her, and I’ve become a more reasonable individual. I learned that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is a positive outcome, but many times it shows you what you want in life and deserve. To this day, I am very good at making friends, but also good at accepting those who choose to leave as well. There’s no reason for holding onto the past, as new opportunities occur all the time. 

All my past decisions have helped shaped who I am now. I will continue to make mistakes, but I will learn from them. I will always change, even if it’s an insignificant change. I wouldn’t be here in Guelph this year if I hadn’t experienced any of the above learning opportunities. I hope you enjoyed my learning journey. 

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Metacognition and Learning

I haven’t really thought of the correlation between metacognition and learning, until now. Through the last class, our guest speaker, really made our class reflect on how our current courses/classes have undermined or supported metacognition alongside learning. 

In my opinion, metacognition is important for any individual to truly learn a concept or topic. Those who have the capability of utilizing metacognition, build a great understanding of the concept that they may be learning. For many people, they may not realize that metacognition is something they do on a regular basis - it can be from peer evaluations to their own personal input. Reflection is an important part of learning. It helps an individual dictate what he or she truly understands and doesn’t understand about a concept. No one can truly learn without being critiqued, either by a peer or oneself. Reflection can open new ideas or can help find a solution to improve in a certain area the next time it comes around. I believe that metacognition, reflection, and learning all have a strong correlation to one another. 

I am someone who tends to be very independent, so I have a tendency to reflect on my own - writing down a checklist of concepts mastered and concepts I need to revisit. Only recently have I expanded and studied with peers to deeper my understanding of a topic. I now like to have my friends check my understanding by letting me explain a topic to them. I know that if I can explain a concept to someone else than I must have a good understanding myself. It’s hard in big classes to gain an understanding of the course material as most of the exams and midterms are multiple choice - they tend to rely heavily on facts and not deeper learning.

For future reference, I think one way I can develop metacognition to deepen my learning is to take more time to obtain feedback from friends and other peers, like professors or TAs. I know it’s hard to catch my own mistakes or things I can improve on - it’s easier to hear someone’s opinion that has a bird eye’s view on a topic. I think it’s important to get another opinion and feedback to help me grow and farther understand a topic.

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Guest Speakers

Tuesday my class was fortunate enough to be able to hear from three Guelph University staff members: Kimm Khagram, Daniel Poulin, and Jodi Salter. As our first assignment in this class is our own personal “Learning Journey,” these three were asked to share their own learning journeys with the class. It allowed u to get a feel of how ours could be structured. It was a great opportunity to hear how these three staff members landed here in Guelph. Each individual person had their own learning journey that was true to them. There were some cases where the stories were similar, but everything was meant or learned for a different reason. 

One thing I thought really stood out to me was that all three staff members didn’t have a distinct pathway our career plan at the beginning that they were settled on. All the speakers jumped around in different fields, trying to figure out what they aspired to become. A key thing that they all agreed upon was how they weren’t afraid to say yes to new opportunities. They also tried to never close any definite doors along the way; this allowed them to have that option open. Even though there could’ve have been an earlier pathway for each of them, they didn't settle for easy. They each explored numerous fields to get a feel of where their interests lied. It’s reassuring to know that everyone struggles and experiments with what career path to choose. 

An interesting thing that was also mentioned was that they chose Guelph because they felt the right “vibe” and sense of community in this town. It made me think about why I too chose to go to Guelph. When everyone was accepting university applications, I had narrowed my choices down to Guelph and Queens. I liked both the kinesiology program that Queens offered as well as the human kinetics program that Guelph offered. I looked at the two universities by comparing both of them. I visited Guelph and Queens numerous times and decided that both of the campuses were similar; however, I preferred the Guelph better as a town than Kingston. I knew that if I went to Queens the likelihood of me visiting home if I wanted to was very slim - six hours away is a huge deciding factor. Guelph is only forty minutes away, so it’s not too far that I can’t come home, but it’s far enough to sure that my parents can’t come up unannounced to surprise me. I realized that the overall feeling I got when I came to Guelph was more of an open and friendlier atmosphere. I liked the idea that Guelph is more known for it’s agriculture and not so much known for being “rich,” like Queens tends to be. I felt like Guelph was more suitable for me, that I could really be myself rather than trying to fit in with the Queens crowd. 

Like the speakers, deciding to come to Guelph was part of my learning journey that I never really took into consideration until now. 

[wjuniv1200-blog]

First Day of Classes

There’s nothing better than starting a new semester in the school year. It’s an opportunity for new beginnings. It allows you to start fresh and it marks that you survived yet another semester of classes. Most importantly, a new semester marks the first day of classes. I would love to share my experience I had with my first day of classes, which consist of: Biology 1070, Biology 1090, Chemistry 1050, Physics 1080, and the University Seminar 1200.

First, Biology 1070 was my first class I had come Monday January 8. I didn’t really think it would be much different than the last biology I had taken the first semester, Biology 1080; however, I was wrong. This class had a completely different tone or dynamic. My professor, Dr. Jacobs, seems very upbeat and enthusiastic about the course. She informed all of us in that lecture, composed of about 600 students, that she teaches the course in a more interactive way so that we will be able to learn a better understanding of the course material. Dr. Jacobs is quite fond of learning to be able to apply that knowledge to topics we may or may not have already discussed. I think it will be more challenging, but I think it’s better for me to comprehend the course material. One thing that she did that really stood out was that she took aside some time and gave us an icebreaker to talk and get to know our neighbours. I can say that I’m very excited to take this course this semester.

Second, Biology 1090, also varied in tone in comparison to the other biologies I had taken or am currently taking. A huge difference for this biology would likely have to be that the course is split between two different professors. The first half of the semester I have Dr. Baker teaching genetics and the second half of the semester I have Dr. Colasanti teaching cell and molecular biology. The first class there wasn’t much for me to really truly asses how this course might look like or go throughout the semester. I can say I feel like this course touches upon some of the biology that was taught in grade 11, rather than just going into more depth of what we learned in grade 12.

Third, Chemistry 1050, will likely be one of my hardest course this semester. I am very fond of chemistry and always excelled in the course; however, Chemistry 1040 was a challenge. One thing I appreciate about Chemistry 1050 is how structured the course is. Unlike Chemistry 1040, this course doesn’t jump around to different chapters or material in chemistry. This course seems to work in a way like high school was - focussing on one topic for a chunk of time then moving onto a connected topic. The course just has more flow to it. I really appreciate how I have a better professor for this course in comparison to the professor I had in Chemistry 1040. Dr. Jones is very relaxed and explains the lectures throughly. I’m looking forward to hopefully improving my chemistry mark from last semester.

Fourth, Physics 1080 is not the class I look forward to attending. I’ve never been very good at physics, although I excel in mathematics. I find it hard to get through the physics part in order to complete the math portion of a question. I do really like how the course is set up. The quizzes are more beneficial than a midterm for me, mostly cause I often need the third attempt for the quiz. They really just ensure me that I can go into the exam with an already passing grade. I really like my professor, Mike Massa. He makes physics fun and likes to humour the class, which acts as comic relief. Although physics isn’t one of my strong assets, I think I’ll be fine and I will take the opportunity to use the office hours of my professor as he’s very approachable.

Fifth, University Seminar 1200, is a new take on all course on a whole. I love how small the class is and how personal it makes the class. It’s nice to take a step back and not be overwhelmed about a lecture size. I also find it helps to be closer with your professors than not. I think this class will be a great experience for me as it’s nothing like I have ever done before. Both Mrs. Bergart and Mrs. Parlette-Stewart are very approachable and actually seem interested in teaching this course. I think there is a very diverse group of people within this seminar that can all contribute to class discussions which is also beneficial. I would highly recommend taking a first year university seminar for anyone who has the opportunity to. 

As many can see I have a very complex and difficult schedule this semester. I ask myself sometimes how I even manage to be in such a time consuming major, but I tell myself it’s all worth it because I enjoy what I study. I can’t wait for this semester to truly begin, as I know it’s just one step closer to my end goal.