YIKES!! It’s December!

All around the world people are preparing for Christmas and who knows what other kinds of holiday traditions. Decorations are going up and people are shopping for their friends and family. We’re so excited to see the looks on their faces when they open up the gifts, aren’t we? Yeah, for sure! But if you’re a student you’re also really stressed.

As soon as December comes around we’re scrambling to get essays done, study for exams, all the while not go insane. It’s a strange sensation really, to be excited for Christmas but to dread December. I wonder if Christmas will ever feel like it did when I was a child, and I didn’t have to worry about essays and exams.

As a child my greatest concern had nothing to do with school, but everything to do with what would have my name on it beneath the Christmas tree. I remember December being a time of snow ball fights and making angels in the snow. That and Christmas specials on TV at the neighbour’s house every night. But I guess that’s why they’re called memories right! Eventually this time of year will be different for us students. Will stress ever become a memory? Who knows?

Either way, I wish you all the best this December.

The Last Day of Classes

Once upon a time (well not really “a” time because it was today) there was a young first year student. And what is this first year student doing on a beautiful sunny day like today? Well, we find her in bed. Opps, she has once slept in and her first class will be starting in 30 minutes. She had a late night last night; she was at Hot Spot last night, singing and worshiping God. And here she is, asleep in bed with the sun shining on her face as she dreams about summer.

But don’t worry. She won’t be in bed for long, because although she slept through her alarm, her roommate’s alarm will go off soon. *chirp, chirp* There it is, the bird call from her cell phone and our main character groggily crawls out of bed and into the shower. It’s the beginning of another day at Redeemer... but not just any day. Today is the Last Day of Classes for this school year. Her last day of being a first year. With that excitement to boost her energy level, she quickly eats a bowl of LIFE cereal and grabs her backpack – she’s off for her last class of the year.

A few minutes later we find our girl in line at William for her morning French Vanilla Latte. She talks with Gerta who’s making her drink about her exams and the beautiful weather, and wishes her nice day. Now she’s walking to class, a bit late, but there’s still time to talk to a couple of friends along the way.

10:00 and it’s time for microeconomics, her last class of the year (which I believe I have mentioned a couple of times, but hey, she’s pretty excited about this... she gets to hand in a paper that she’s been working on since the beginning of the semester. It’s a group project about the limitations of Fair trade and how all of that relates to economics. Pretty exciting stuff!) She sits down beside one of her best friends, opens her lap top and talks excitedly about how great it is to be almost done classes and exams, with summer just around the corner:

“It feels Sooo short compared to high school.”

“I know” she agrees.

“I handed in our project and this is my last class.”

“Yup, me too. All that’s left is exams...”

“and then summer!” they both said in unison and laughed.

Their prof finished off his last lecture on the last chapter in the text book (she couldn’t believe how many text books she actually read this year... looking back it was a whole lot for just four months, but at the time it didn’t seem like that much to read.) And then he gave a few pointers for the exam. The clock struck 10:50 and Freedom!

Well, kinda freedom. Freedom from classes sure, but now it is time for our first year to realize all of the studying she has to do to prepare for her first exam on Tuesday night. Time to start reading over those REL 101 notes and checking out the slides her prof posted on the internet site Moodle.

But the rest of this day won’t be just about studying. Seriously, it’s a nice day. And it’s the Last Day of Classes! And her dorm still hasn’t gotten back to her neighbouring dorm for a prank they did in February (not that she keep grudges ... they just haven’t forgotten). Yes there are still a lot of things that I have to do yet before my first year is over, just to make being a first year unforgettable.

Spring, Exams, Housing and Time-out

This weekend was such a great one, the weather was gorgeous and we had Friday and Monday off school, which made for a great long weekend! Everyone came back hopefully feeling refreshed and ready to finish the last stretch of the school year! I know I am looking forward to be finished exams and homework 24/7 but at the same time I will definitely miss the social stuff here and being so busy that time never seems to drag on. I will be finishing up most of my assignments and a final midterm this week and hopefully next week I can begin my exam reviews as I have three exams in a five day span, which really isn’t too bad but you always want to be more prepared than less.

Exams get some people really stressed out but I believe that if you take the time to exercise, eat right and study in shorter increments that studying becomes much less stressful and more effective. I’m sure everyone has an exam routine that works for them. It’s kind of crazy that we still have classes right now while lots of other universities are beginning exams, from what I understand though they have a longer exam time than we have so their exams are more spread out. I don’t mind still being in school, I’m sure it all works out to about the same in-class hours.

Anyways, I was very happy to see as I was bringing in my stuff from the long-weekend that our tennis courts are now up! I’m hoping to get a few games in this week, if only the weather would co-operate. I know a lot of people who have tons of essays right now, but I really only have a midterm and one-page French essay due this week. That’s why I’ve decided to do this Brown Rice cleanse that I did with a door-mate last year. It’s really cool because you can eat as much as you like and it’s only for a short period of time (5-10 days). Basically it’s anything with brown rice, vegetables and fruit, no salt, sugar, dairy or meat. We had fun coming up with random meals last year so this time I have a few more ideas.

Tomorrow I’m going to a birthday party for my friend; he is a transfer student and a commuter so it’s good to see him connecting with a bunch of people here. I can only imagine that it’s a bit more difficult for commuters to get connected, as it is very easy when you live on campus and events are always going on. I hope that next year when I live off-campus I stay involved in the Redeemer community just as much as I am now.

Speaking of off-campus housing, I just sent in my notice to Time-out (our school newsletter) about summer housing. There’s a ton of ads about housing in Timeout right now, so it’s a great resource for that type of thing as well as lost/found items and finding drives home. Time-out also posts class-cancellations and activities going on. A great way to stay connected with what is going on. After all it’s delivered to your front porch every morning! On April fool’s they did a mock-Time out which was really funny, the ads they made up were hilarious because they were similar ideas with an outrageous twist. I’d definitely say it was the best April fool’s this year.

Full Swing Ahead!

We have almost reached the end of the first week of exams. What a relief! Some people are done, some haven’t started, and others are just floating through. The end of next week also means the start of Christmas vacation and the end of the first semester, boy am I excited.

Last week Sunday, the pro life group held an event that allowed over 100 students, and members of local churches to participate in a silent protest against abortion. With the snow blowing in our faces and the temperature in the negatives, we stood holding signs that told the people who passed by our message. Some people agreed with us and honked their horns, some people, well we can’t really say what they did to us, and others simply just saw everyone sharing the same message to choose life not abortion.

Time is ticking and my exam is getting closer, perhaps it’s time to stop procrastinating and begin studying.

'Tis the Season

It is difficult balancing emotions at this time of year. Christmas is just around the corner and the thought of fellowship, food, and family gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling. Suddenly, it becomes hard to concentrate on the umpteen papers and exams that will soon reach their due dates. We thought we grew out of our snow pants and rubber boots; well, maybe we have- but we will find a way to squeeze our way back into them.

Maybe it is all in God's plan to schedule exams amidst this exciting time of year. That soft snow falling outside creates just enough happiness for us to get through one more page of writing. God brings us the added joy during a time that proves to be a bit stressful and a bit more busy.

Let's celebrate the life that came to earth to redeem the world!

City and Hope

This week has been splendid. Busy, but splendid. On the weekend I decided to take a bit of a break from writing papers and it was quite relaxing. On Saturday I explored Hamilton a bit. Most of the places I had been before, but it was really refreshing to go to the Farmer's Market and have a sweet view of the city from the Dundas Peak. It is really important to take a break from school on a regular basis.

This week will be busy. It is weird that the busiest week of school (this week) is also the first week of advent. I actually find it really encouraging that we can be hopeful about Christ's coming and Christmas. Another thing to look forward to this week is the Messiah concert at McNab St. Presbyterian Church. A bunch of my friends are in the choir or alumni choir, and I am just pumped to go.

Next week exams. It is probably my favourite time of the semester. Perhaps I will write about that some other time...