Coming from a very sheltered upbringing, I was more nervous than excited to lap up the campus experience that everyone around me had nostalgically described. Unless my campus life was going to turn out like Rory Gilmore’s, ideally balanced between academics, relationships and friendships, I didn’t want anything to do with it. I had everything that I could possibly need right at home and the idea of traveling 7000 miles to finally ‘start my life’ did not seem very enticing to me. Boy, was I in for a journey.
The three months I have spent at UBC have been the most defining three months of my life. From feeling emotions I’d never felt before to having more “main character moments” than I can count, I have been on a trampoline of social, academic and professional highs and lows — and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
My first three months on campus:
- Tried bubble tea for the first time and developed an unhealthy obsession with it. I, however, took a strong dislike to pearls (don’t come at me) and now have the occasional nightmare about drinking pearl-infused bubble tea.
- Went to two parties that were crashed by the police and had a little too much fun as everyone at the party, myself included, were chased by them.
- Tried Rain or Shine Ice Cream in both the rain and the sun shine and gleefully enjoyed the kid’s blueberry balsamic in the rain more than the shine.
- Made some new friends and had deep, meaningful conversations and some absolutely ridiculous, infuriating but nonetheless enjoyable conversations.
- Poured my heart out to some people and kept even surface-level facts hidden from the others.
- Got promoted to Senior Staff Writer for The Ubyssey (humble brag).
- Experienced writer’s block shortly after.
- Struggled every morning to leave on time for my class (and failed).
- Had my ‘almost’ drunk experience for the first time, skipping to the hangover before I could savour the feeling (don’t drink, kids).
- Cribbed about food being a problem as I managed to burn the pasta I was meticulously preparing.
- Tried literally all the tiffin services available on campus and contemplated reviewing them in a blog post (potential pitch for The Ubyssey?).
- Permanently added the word “vibes” to my dictionary.
- Went on dates.
- Sang angsty renditions of “Good for you” in my pj’s at 2 a.m.
- Changed into my ‘nice’ hoodie before running down the stairs when the fire alarm was (intentionally) pulled.
- Contemplated changing my major.
- Gave in to the temptation of buying Blue Chip cookies for the hundredth time (Chunky chocolate chip is the way to go).
- Considered the Nest to be my home.
- Felt the pangs of homesickness in my stomach. ·
- Had the fright of my life as I navigated through a dark, dingy alleyway on a rainy night to review a play for the Ubyssey.
- Went to Save On's way more than necessary.
- Traveled on the bus on my own for the first time at night and felt like the main character as the theme song of my favourite show magically played in the background of Save On's.
- Cribbed about the rain.
- Constantly discovered new places to eat on campus.
- Ran to the safe haven that is McDonalds at 2 a.m. in the bitterly cold weather.
- Went to the Commonsblock of my residence building every single day without fail for the ‘good vibes.’
Even though my campus life has not been exactly like Rory Gilmore’s (though some uncanny similarities are to be found) I have had my own unique experiences and to me, that is as ‘main character’ as it gets. So bring it on UBC, what have you got for me next?