"Sex and the City"; Guelph Humber Version

I am sitting in the middle of Guelph Humber on the second floor outside of William’s Coffee Pub with a few of the most amazing women. I have had the pleasure to make friends with these three women throughout the duration of this course, and we have become close thanks to our activist project, Project Burma. Erin, Katrina and Laura are my new “Sex and the City” soul mates.

We just attended Mark Lipton’s lecture, where we discussed different technologies invented and even watched the first few minutes of the Zeitgeist movie. I watched it this past summer when my friend linked me to it, so it wasn’t as if it was something unfamiliar to me. I’m surprised that a lot of the people I sat with, including the ladies I am sitting with now have never heard of it.

I see Erin as the one with the thickest skin out of all of us, as she hasn’t seen the Zeitgeist movie before. Erin has a very open mind and is always willing to hear other people’s idea, which is what I like the most about her. One day, I was trying to find a seat in Mass Communications when she and I were only acquainted with each other. I didn’t want to look like an idiot and sit all by myself for 20 minutes before class, so I tried to find a spot where I could throw my backpack on the side to make it look like I was with somebody. She looked up and saw me wandering around the rows like the fat kid who doesn’t get picked for dodge ball. She was kind enough to push her jacket off to the side and welcome me to the seat beside her.

Katrina is a very gentle person, but when she saw the Zeitgeist movie, she decided to view some of it on her laptop afterwards. I must say, she was offended because she is Catholic and did not like some of the ideas portrayed in the movie. I told her it was just a movie, and she tried to put it at the back of her mind. I told her that if she was going into public relations like me, she shouldn’t be bothered and accept that there will be ideas she will not like but have to face, it is all part of the industry. She told me that I’m the ‘advice girl’ and felt better within seconds.

Laura has got to be the one I consider to be the one I bonded with the most at Guelph Humber. She and I coincidentally live in Mississauga, so we now go home together and talk about almost everything. When the Zeitgeist movie was up on the projection screen, her mood did not change at all. That’s funniest thing about Laura, she keeps the same face and until you actually talk to her, you know what kind of mood she is in. She’s not shy; she is just quiet and knows the right time to speak. To me, she is my ‘advice girl’ where I can always go to if I need her.

What have I learned from these three girls? I learned that we all agree we work the hardest in our Mass Communications class. I learned that we probably put the most effort into the same things. I learned we all have seen every episode of “Sex and the City” (except for Laura). I also learned I made new friends I can rely on. I always thought that university would be about studying and being a social hermit, but now I know I can relate to people experiencing the same situations as me; I am grateful =)

Overwhelmed =/

I hope it is natural to feel this way, because I feel that assignments are getting thrown at me left, right, and center. My older sister tells me it is normal and the feeling will eventually pass...once winter break is here *raises eyebrow*.

I just handed in my essay, and I feel proud of myself. Who knew I could write so much on something I actually care about. I think I speak for the 120+ students in this class when I say high school was a joke. I felt like a clone; always told what to do and constantly keeping at a pace where they would poke at random flaws. I felt 'babied' in high school, but as I said earlier this year, I finally feel a sense of independence for once. I was always told what to write about, how I was able to approach it, and then explain. Mark Lipton was right when he said, "You are all so used to being conditioned that the freedom I give you will certainly scare you." Once again, he was right.

I hate that I was ‘sheltered’ in high school. I never had a choice, so when I did this essay it felt amazing. It was as if I broke curfew with my parents for the first time. Sure I chose to write about The Truman Show, but I actually feel I broke down the main pieces of it (and even the little things people don’t catch at first glimpse).

This week is going to fly by, but I want to catch every moment of it. I’m glad my classmates and I got up in front of the class today and presented our activist project on Burma. What makes me even more happy is that we are recognized for reaching a larger audience outside of Guelph Humber. It’s located on Reilly’s on Dundas and Yonge St. The location was important, and as Erin and I were trying to find an available venue, we thought this would be the best choice (who wouldn’t want to come to Toronto for a independent concert?) I hope a lot of people can make it. The current amount of audience members we are expecting so far stands at 74 (hooray for facebook events!)

Earlier this week, I had to reassure my essay was good enough as well as finish the final touches to this Friday’s Activist Project with my group members.

Major essay + Burma Activist Project = one hell of a week; feel the overwhelming atmosphere much? Of course I do.

One Month Later

Only a month into this school semester, and I feel so different.

If I had stuck with my old study habits, I surely wouldn’t have survived this month. I used to treat my green highlighter as my soul mate whenever it came down to studying for tests and exams. Now, I don’t even know my green highlighter. A lot of my work is done online or typed out on a word processor. Honestly, I love this new adjustment. High school looks like a playground now that I look back at what I have done. I can do that work in my sleep. Now, I feel so much more independence entitled to me, and I love it.

I don’t have anyone badgering me to get things done at a certain time; I get to be my own boss. Mass Communications and Media Writing are the courses where I found my study habits have matured the most. In my Media Writing course, we have to read through chapter readings in order to progress in the course. I have read and taken notes on everything I have read so far, and absorbed the material better by reading a portion every night. In Mass Communications, I have weekly readings and books assigned for me to read throughout the course. I have accomplished to be on time so far, and I have surprised myself and did not think I could time manage as well as I have. I have a part-time job, and I clock in about 20+ hours a week on top of my fulltime school schedule. I am so glad I’ve learned how to time manage my schedule better than I thought, I just hope I can keep up with this practise and make time to rest.