Final Weeks of the First Year

by Raegan Densmore

At last, my first year of university is coming to an end. My last class was on April 4th. My exams will begin this upcoming Monday, and then I will return home at the end of the month. After eight months of reading after reading, essay after essay, this year is about to conclude, and in all honesty, for me, this flew by incredibly fast, and I have been constantly thinking about how I should spend my time for these last couple of weeks here.

 First off, the university school year is shorter than any school year from elementary to high school, so that makes the year feel shorter, because technically it is. You start the semester and then next thing you know, it's already midterm season, (which feels as though it is basically the whole semester). I also found that a lot of my assignments for my courses were due around the same time, and so the copious amounts of assignments due make the weeks seem like they flew by. 

 I will say, however, the periods of time when I had nothing due flew by as well. This week is my final stretch of free time before I go back home. Because of that, I feel like I need to get things off of my bucket list that I have been wanting to do before I return home. For instance, a few days ago I walked over an hour down to the harbourfront. It was a nice experience, especially since it was 18 degrees out and not freezing and windy like it typically is. In Toronto, there are also a bunch of stores and restaurants that the rest of Canada doesn’t really have, such as 7/11 and Chick-fil-a. However, I have been really wanting to try Chipotle. The fact that I haven’t yet is kind of crazy. But if I am buying food, 99% of the time it is from Tim Hortons, 

which is what I did back home as well. I stretched my wings far enough to make it here to Toronto, but in some areas I still have lacked the willingness to explore it seems. Time has flown by so fast, I am gradually running out of time to explore things this year. 

 Back to the topic of school, for some odd reason, I haven’t been that worried about my exams. I took three year long courses so those final exams should scare me, but that will probably kick in a couple days before each exam, like my motivation to do school work usually does, in typical procrastinator fashion. These exams are also all essay based, and since I have written about five hundred essays this year, maybe that has lowered my nerves even more. I have, however, seen a bunch of videos of students taking exams in these massive rooms and it has looked quite horrifying. Turns out two of my exams will be in large rooms. So while I may feel fine about exams now, when my nerves start to kick in and I have to walk into these very open rooms where there are hundreds of desks lined in numerous rows, they certainly won’t be calmed down any. Only when they are all complete will I be at peace, and feel very accomplished. 

 And so, my first year is officially coming to an end. Overall, it has been great, but the time has gone by incredibly fast. Toronto has been amazing too and such a thrilling experience. I feel like I need to do all these things, as if I won’t be here for at least three more years. However, if this year flew by, then most likely will the next ones. While the workload I receive may be heavy, I will enjoy the experience while I can, because I only have so much time.