Preparing For The First Day Of School

Hi sweeties!

For those of you whose first school day is right around the corner, I came up with a little list of things you should be keeping in mind. My first school day is in a week, and there is a lot of stuff that came up even before my first lectures. Let's see what I can suggest to ease the first day of school:

1. Be Updated
In universities or colleges, there is often an online platform for enrolling in courses, getting to know them, and completing quizzes. Definitely register for all required courses, and once you are enrolled, don't forget to read their syllabi and find out what is expected from you by the first lecture. Please, don't forget to mark all important due dates right away in your agenda.

2. Know Where To Go
A few days before the first lecture, make sure you go around the campus/university to find out where your rooms are and how long does it take you to get there. Also, find a few places to have lunch at, or a place where you would study at after class.

3. Prepare Outfit and Bag
It's crucial that you prepare the clothing and pack your bag the night before, because if you won't do that, you'll be too stressed in the morning and might accidentally forget something. Here is a sample list of what should be in your bag for the first day of school:
- pencil case with writing utensils, white out, eraser, mi-ni stapler, (calculator, and ruler, if applicable)
- binder(s)
- notebook(s)
- planner
- water
- hand sanitiser
- cash
- timetable
- map
- ID card

4. Have Goals
You should set specific goals on your first day regarding your future. Regardless of current level of your education, you are one year closer to your adult life and whatever it may hold. Be smart about your goals, and remember to set goals that are both: long and short term; and don't forget to come up with a few plans on how to succeed in reaching them.

5. Charge Phone
Very self-explanatory, but important - you have to charge your phone to its fullest for your 1st day. Your phone will serve you as a quick access to certain things + it will be your quickest reminder. I recommend noting any to-do tasks that might come up for the evening, or even the names of people you meet.

It's a typical wish, but you should obviously stay positive, and be open minded to meet people. I believe you'll do amazing! Good luck!

Why Do Co-Op? | Little Life Update

Hey guys!
I'm sorry for such a long absence, but that is because of my trip to Cuba (which I'm still on). As I will be back, I'll be ready to post weekly again! Before I begin on a topic of co-op, I must say HOW EXCITED I AM to start university in 15 DAYS! Ok, as I've done that, I'd like to discuss why and when I will do co-op, and respectively, why should you do it as well.

What is Co-Op?
Co-operative education is, in my own words, when a student is given an opportunity to work in their field of study while pursuing a degree. You WILL get paid, but there is a lot of preparation required for your placement. As a part of preparation, you are most likely to be enrolled in a course which teaches you the basics of employment; you will also have to have a good academic standing, have a respectable resume, and pass an interview. It varies, but the earliest you can do co-op is your 2nd year, 2nd semester. In my school, the earliest I can go is 3rd year.

When and Where?
As I've mentioned above, it varies. I personally, would rather start co-op from my 4th year, just because if I will do it earlier, I will not have enough credits for Med School admissions. As to where, it highly depends on a few factors:
1. Your program
2. Preferred location/payment
3. Organization type
4. Your prep (grades, resume, interview success)
I would LOVE to be able to do my co-op in a hospital lab in Toronto, since I love the city, and the beautiful hospitals it has.

Why?
As an undergraduate student, you have a multitude of reasons to pursue co-op. As a premed, those reasons triple. I will list a few advantages of co-op here:
1. New people and experiences
2. Practical application of learning
3. Salary
4. Letters of recommendation
5. Exposure to real adult life
6. Work in a team (most likely) environment
7. You might get hired to that institution upon your graduation
8. Big boost on your resume
9. Break from constant book work
10. Motivation to continue studying as you get exposed to what's waiting for you

On a more personal note, I am moving to Hamilton in 8 days, so on the 27th I'm ordering all my furniture and packing all the things from home. I will be visiting home really often, since I'll miss my family and Toronto, but I'm really looking forward for my academic journey!

How I Organize My Planner

Hi guys!

The school year is approaching, and there is a lot of stuff I didn't figure out how I'll do yet, like taking notes, studying from a textbook, etc. The only thing I'm certain about at this point is organization. In this blog post I'll discuss the way I organize my planner, and I will insert some pictures as well!

On the inside of my planner's cover I have multiple types of post-it notes for a few purposes:
1. not enough space on the weekly spread
2. highlight something extremely important
3. plan out something that is not happening for sure, but may happen
4. right down a phone number or some other piece of info

I also have a ridiculous amount of stickers, since arts and crafts are a little hobby of mine, so I like to make things prettier to motivate myself to stay organized

I really like using the monthly view to point out the test dates, the duration of trips/programs and other plan. As soon as I will get my syllabi from my courses in September, I will fill out the monthly spreads for important dates and examinations

My weekly view is not yet completed, though. Obviously, I will be filling it up as soon as plans will come up, and as the tasks are going to get more diverse and complicated, I will certainly colour code it a bit, but here is how it looks like right now. At the moment, I thing it will work great if I will only colour code the meetings in one colour, and examinations and assignments in the other, but the daily tasks will be recorder in black. 

The notes section at the back of the planner is a great space to put my schedule into, as well as other academic notes. In my case, I put in potential subjects for the next few years, since it is important to keep track of the prerequisites early on. I also highlighted the courses that will complete my minor degree, and I've organized the courses by preferred semesters:

1 Year!

Hi, sweethearts!

I apologize for not posting frequently, but that's because of my work schedule! Today is a very special day - 1 year since my blog was created! I am very excited about that, and in this blog post I will include all the topics you should be excited about for the future. If there are any suggestions, please feel free to email me or leave a comment below any blog post! For now though, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of you who have been reading and enjoying my posts; please leave some comments and I will absolutely reply back asap!

Future Topics:

Before September 6:

1. Why Do Co-op
2. Setting Up The Planner

After September 6:

1. First Day/Week of Uni
2. How I Organize My Workspace
3. Courses Overview
4. School vs University
5. First Month of Uni
6. How to Manage the Time
7. How I Organize My Desk
8. Staying Healthy While Living Alone
9. What to do During Reading Week
10. Winter Break Plans
11. How To Work Through a Textbook
12. How I Take Notes
13. Effective Ways To Relax
14. How I Study in Uni
15. How to Study in Groups
16. My First Semester Mistakes
17. Studying During Summer vs Winter

I will of course be adding some more topics as I go along the school year, but as of now, that was the list I came up with. By the way, the list is presented in more/less chronological order, but some things might be changed around.