Letters from the dorm: making the most of your university life and staying motivated in your final year
By the final year of university, it’s easy to lose momentum and be impatient for it to be over. But this is the exact time you need to cherish
Tacye Hong took part in the Governor's Challenge 2017.As I entered into my final year at the University of Toronto, I realised that time was slipping away and I needed to make the most of it. From studying hard and making postgraduate plans to keeping friendships and crossing out items on the bucket list, the first three months of the new term have been stressful but truly enjoyable.
People often say by your final year, you begin to lose momentum, but I haven’t found that to be the case. I’m still working hard to keep my grades up while taking part in various activities outside class.
Not only am I working on a report that will be presented to the G7 leaders, I have also been selected, along with four other students, to represent the University of Toronto in a national case competition. We will be heading to Ottawa to compete in the finals in February and I am so proud of my team. These extra activities make my course load more difficult to manage, but I am immensely grateful that I have got
the chance to do them.
As I have decided that I want to study economics further, I’ve been busy applying to graduate schools. Deciding which school and programme to choose hasn’t been easy. It’s daunting to think about leaving behind the places and people I love here in Toronto, especially since I feel the city is my home now.
However, I am also excited to start a new chapter in my life . It is easy to stay in your comfort zone but it’s important to get out there and explore new places in order to grow.
Apart from studying, I’ve also been making sure I find time to see my friends and working through a list of things I’d like to do before I graduate. A lot of my friends plan to find full-time jobs after university, and on top of having different future plans, we seldom have classes together. So it’s easy to drift apart unless we really make an effort to keep in touch.
But it’s also times like these that make you realise how important some friendships are, and that good friendships are worth working hard to maintain even after you go your separate ways.
I still have a lot more bucket list items to complete and I hope I can use my remaining months here in Toronto to cross them off. There are still many things to explore and university traditions to experience, and I cannot wait to make my fourth year the best it can be.
Edited by Charlotte Ames-Ettridge