If I were to describe my first-year experience in one word it would be: YIKES!!!

40 min of sleep? Sounds good to me.

Up to four-hour bus rides to Toronto to get emotional support from my dog (and family)

Is it possible to live off sugar for eight months? Yes. Will you gain 15 pounds? Yes.

Not knowing where the campus gyms are, and not caring

Preferred to wait at the SLC Tims line over being in class

Crying myself to sleep from stress and anxiety

Failing a lot: midterms, interviews, you name it! (sorry mom)

Forgetting what fresh air smells like and about the outdoors in general (shout out to 5hs/day in the RCH basement)

Realizing where hell week got the name

Waterloo needs a hyperloop from campus to residence because that’s the only places I’d be

C O N T I N U O U S

Questioning if I belong in my program every hour of every day

Memes were literally the source of the small happiness I had: the way I made friends, how I survived class, how I got through the day, how I dealt with failure and more

Getting a tutor and praying not to bump into anyone from my class (I’d recommend the DC library basement)

It was hella rough, one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced. I often found myself loosing sight of my goals and forgetting why I chose this career path. Was everything I said in my AIF really a load of shit? I was so close to transferring programs, schools and quit in general. However, I powered through and am still here. Although it was tough it made me realize that this program was still what I wanted. I could have easily come to the opposite conclusion and left and that would have been OK too. If you are going through this or have in the past I believe in you!