“Find the part of UBC that makes you feel at home and enjoy it. Every entering first year is nervous about the upcoming year. Every. Single. One. You’re not alone. And you should never have to feel like you are.”
Latest articles from Natalie Morris
“Opportunities change plans. Job offers introduce new cities. Friends move and jobs stay. The future is flexible. You're not going to ruin anything by not setting anything in stone yet. You still have a year left.”
“Welcome to UBC! It can be scary but the reality is you will make friends. How do I know? Because tens of thousands of first years come every year in September and all of them make friends. Residence is like the perfect recipe for friendships.”
“I had the best hot chocolate of my life in Prague. I met some of the highest respected professors in my field of study. I learned about Danish chair design and München beer halls. I visited ancient churches and Michelangelo’s.”
“I’m entering my fifth year and I’m still finding new ways to become a more efficient student. Some people strike gold their first study session, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t hit your stride right away.”
“If you're living with these people long term — as in longer than just the next two months — then prepare yourself to just come out of your room and talk to them. If you're not, ask yourself, is it worth it?”
“Try to register for your dream major’s required courses and work hard. I’m not telling you to start working at a ‘ignore everything’ level, because that’s not healthy and that’s what causes burnout.”
“If you're only taking summer courses and you're not working a good number of hours, you don't really understand how stressful summer courses can be. I've only taken one summer course before and it was while I was working over 50 hours a week.”
“Talk about your needs, talk about your wants, talk about what scares you and what you wish your life was and how you feel when you wake up in the morning. Talk to your partner and hope they talk back.”
“A relationship shouldn’t be in competition with the ones of the past, because you can never win against a romanticized past. Your relationship should be in the present not in the past. You shouldn’t be shamed by your number of past sexual partners.”
“In all of my classes here, the final assignment or exam of the class is the only one that matters. It's worth 100% of my mark. In all my classes. All due within five days of each other. I can't afford to get below a 2:1 while here.”
“If you did fail the class, take a moment and remember this is not a reflection on who you are and grades don't mark what kind of person you are. Then decide if you're going to retake the class for your degree or major...”
“If you're not taking summer classes — I understand, some of us have to work those summer hours — but you'll be working on campus over the summer or maybe will live there, you'll notice just how many students have stayed to work or study too.”
"But if you’re just drinking casually and still ending up sad, it might be just how you are when you’re drunk. Are you going through a stressful time? Are you worried about something? I also have the pleasure of being a generally happy drunk..."
“My religion and politics professor is one of the most respected scholars in his field — someone whose articles I’ve been reading since first-year. I had a not-so-mild case of scholarly fangirling when I realized that.”