Make the best of it all!

My number one piece of advice is: make the best of the years you have in college! Don't stress yourself out over all the small little things that will happen, just take them one day at a time and learn from it all. Always remember why you are there, to obtain your diploma!!! It can be hard to find the right balance between your school work and social life, but don't waste your money partying every night and drop out, you will regret it and most likely end up back in school trying to finish when you are older!

Parting Ways

As mentioned earlier in the blog parting ways at graduation is the one thing that will never become any easier. And like the 'I love college' song the graduation song applies to all different ages and will always be apparent at this time in your life.

Time Management

The following website has useful tips and information on time management, which seems to be a struggling issue for many students.

http://collegelife.about.com/od/TimeManagement/a/Guide-To-Time-Management-For-Students.htm

Choosing the right school for you

Decided where to go to school is a very important, and possibly, hard decision. There are many factors that are taken into consideration, and the importance of each of them depends on yourself.
Step 1: determine what you might like to study or major in at college
Step 2: develop a list of criteria you want to use to evaulate and weed out colleges
 - degrees offered
 - majors/minors
 - location (rural or urban setting)/distrance from home
 - size of the student population
 - public vs. private
 - costs (tuition, room and board, etc)
 - financial assistance packages
 - campus resources
 - graduation rate/time
 - placement success/internship and co-op programs
 - accreditation
 - class size
 - faculty contact/classes taught by full-time doctorally qualified faculty
 - quality/reputation/ranking
 - degree of pressure to excel
 - safety
 - student body
 - social life
 - religious affiliation/independent
 - housing options
 - realistic entry expectations
Step 3: compile a list of possible colleges and univeristies
Step 4: research each of the schools you are interested in
Step 5: visit the colleges on your list

50 Things to Do while you're in college

While looking around on the college topic I came across this list of 50 things you should remember/do while you are in college:

http://jeremyau.com/post/907424629/50things

I would highly suggest reading these, they have a lot of useful points!

I love college!

The song of the college life. It doesn't matter what year it is, this song will always have a way of making it into your college career...it's a theme song. Asher Roth's - I love college

Its songs like this that give college students a bad rep but it's nights like they're talking about that help make this experience a time you will never forget!

Here is someone elses experience of a dorm room. This is an example of procrastination at its best. 

Educational Resources

Your school library should offer you many different resources to accomodate your studies. At our school there are different hubs that offer help with any assignment that you are working on. They are run by students who are on the honour role.
Aside from the hubs the library also offers tutors that are available to you if you need any extra help. This information can be found at your library information desk or probably online at their website.

The joys of not having a car…Public Transit!

Many people may class this as the ‘loser cruiser’ but hey personally for six years it has gotten me from point a to b when no other means were available to me. I mean yeah once or twice we have run a red light and I have been in one accident on a bus but generally they are the best option aside from driving as walking can take far too long to get from point a to b.
The Barrie transit information can be found at the City of Barrie website (http://www.barrie.ca/Living/Getting%20Around/Pages/TransitInformation.aspx) which has not only the schedule and the fares but the map that has all the different routes.

Insecurities and what can help

This post pertains more to females then males but a little for everyone. Insecurities are found in everyone and most pertain to the image of people. My image was and has always been my biggest insecurity and to help me with that I obviously kept my close friends nearby as they always make me feel amazing but aside from that there are a number of gyms and health plans with support systems setup to help you. Personally I joined the gym at our school where they have all different exercise machines and different classes. At your school they have a cheaper rate for students and offer a number of different things depending on the facility. Here is the link for the Barrie Campus Georgian College Athletics Centre:
http://www.georgianc.on.ca/barrie-athletics/fitness-centre
Another thing I found really helped me as along with image my weight has been an issue was weight watchers. I personally did not have time to attend meetings so they offered an online program where you put it all in online and track everything there so with honesty you can accomplish your goal. This is just one of many options but I found it worked for me!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/

Working life…Are there any job opportunities?

Depending on the area that you live in many times there are not a vast amount of job opportunities out there. In classes especially if you are in a co-op program they will tell you of one website where you can find approved jobs that fit your program, but what about a part time job that helps cover the bills?
A number of places can be very helpful to look for jobs.
# 1 suggestion to any student would be to go around personally with a resume and be well dressed. A personal visit to any location is usually a better way to make an impression before an interview.
#2 Since you are attending school the most logical place to look for a job would be on campus. There are usually a number of jobs available especially at the end of the summer before the beginning of the fall semester. The best place to look would be on your schools website, for Barrie’s campus: http://www.georgianc.on.ca/careers/for-students/job-search/
#3 the government job bank site. http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/intro-eng.aspx From this site you can search all different locations, fields of work and qualifications. You must watch the dates that the jobs were posted on and make sure that you are looking at the most recent postings before sending in your resumé.
#4 www.workopolis.com This site has a process where you can log in and create a profile that allows you to set criteria of what you are looking for. Along with that you can also save your resume to your profile and set it to be available for employers to search. Generally this site you find the job posting and apply by a different means then online.
#5 www.monster.ca This site works the exact same as Workopolis.

Budgeting

We all do it, we get our OSAP amount and by the end of the year, we find ourselves broke, and not knowing how we spent all that money. Learning how to budget yoursels can be a very useful thing, not only for when you are in school, but for future years as well. The following link is from Georgain College's website, it has useful tips for creating a budget and a form that will help get you started:
http://www.georgianc.on.ca/admissions/financial-aid/budgeting-tips

 So where does some of your money go:

ACTIVITY	COST
One movie, every Tuesday, for a year	$300
One coffee, every school day, for 8 months	$258
Order pizza, once a week, for a year	$780
One case of beer, once a week, for a year	$2002
$30 hair cut, once a month	$258
Lunch out, three times a week, for a year	$907
Late video returns, 2 days late, once a month	$144
$5 cover charge, once a week, for a year	$260
Three bar drinks, twice a week, for a year	$1404
One pack of cigarettes per day, for a year	$2847
Total Cost:	$9160

Landlord and Tenant Rights con't

One thing I found very interesting is how many people did not know that a landlord cannot tell you that you cannot own a pet. They are allowed to refuse to rent an apartment to a person who is applying to rent, but once you become a tenant they cannot refuse this right.
Even if there is a section in your lease about you not owning a pet, and you have signed this, that section becomes void. The landlord cannot evict you for this reason, but if your pet is causing problems, they are allowed to apply to the Board to evict you.
The follow site has more information on this subject, along with some other useful information with regards to some of your rights as a tenant:
http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/Key_Information/STEL02_111463.html

Student Housing

Finding the perfect house to rent can be hard, especially if you do not know where to look. A great website to use is places for students:
https://www.places4students.com/Index.aspx

This website also provides your with some other sites that are great for finding a place and for other information regarding Barrie:
http://barrie.ontariotenants.ca/index.phtml

Another great one is Kijiji, but you will need to be aware of the scams and how to avoid them.

I recommend creating a checklist of some of the things you would find important when renting a house. When you arrange to view the house with the landlord, bring this checklist with you. This will help you in finding the perfect house!

Some of the things I found important were:
- all utilities included in rent
- internet included
- parking space (since I own a car)
- lock on my bedroom door

Student Discounts

School is expansive as it is, so why not take advantage of being a student and enjoy some of the discounts you are entitled to!
With your student card in Barrie you are able to get discounts at the following venues:
- Zehrs on Tuesday's
- bus passes for city transit
- Rexall
- Pizza People
- Greyhound
- Gym membership at the school
- YMCA membership
There are much more that I am not even aware of, if you know of any that I missed please let me know! In some cities, with your student card, you are able to ride the city transit for free, although this is not the case in Barrie.

Another great thing with being a student is the SPC card. Any student can get this discount card at most mall locations and it provides you with many great savings. The link below will take you to the SPC website:
http://www.spccard.ca/

Landlord and Tenant Rights

Your landlord MUST give you at least 24 hours of written notice prior to entering your rental unit, they must also state why they are entering the unit. The only time there would be an exeption to this rule is if you are a border, not a renter.
The following link will explain some of your rights as a tenant and some of your landlords right:
http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/Key_Information/STEL02_111473.html

If your landlord has:
- illegally entered your rental unit
- changed the locks without giving you a replacement key
- withheld or interfered with your care services, vital services
- interfered with your resonable enjoyment of the rental unit
- harassed, coerced or threatened you
You should fill out a Form T2. This is an application about tenants rights, and is free of charge:
http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/STEL02_111281.html

Damage Deposits

Many landlords ask their tenants for a damange deposit before or when the tenant signs the lease. Many tenants do not know that a landlord is NOT allowed to ask for this. They are allowed however allowed to ask for a rent deposit.
I've attached the link to the landlord and tenant act where you can research this further:
http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/Key_Information/STEL02_111479.html

If your landlord has charged you:
- illegal rent or
- illegal charge
Or if your landlord did not:
- use your rent deposit to credit you last months rent or give it back to you, or
- pay you interest annually on your rent deposit
You should fill out a Form T1. This is a Tenant Application for a Rebate, please know that it will cost you $45 for the first unit + $5 for each additional one. The attached to a link to where you can find a Form T1 and the instructions on how to fill it out:
http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/STEL02_111281.html

Balanced Lifestyle

College brings alot of stress and worries, crazy busy nights and sometimes weekends and not much time for fun. You always have to remember that you will regret if you live your life just for school. Obviously homework is important but take advantage of student discounts for different meals and events and make sure you know what surrounds you as fun.

Keep in mind the different things that you enjoy doing recreationally and see what deals they offer students. In Barrie if you are of age the bars have deals for students such as The Roxx and The Queens offer free cover before 11:30 on Tuesday and/or Thursday nights. Also the school bars usually have great specials and themes for their pub nights, in barrie it is The Last Class and they always have a rockin' good time!!

You can find pictures and information about The Last Class on Twitter under @TheLastClass or Facebook under Brew Crew Promotions.

Other bars that are around for a good time are places such as The Bank, Club Ash, At the Five Bistro, and many more.

You can find a promo video for the bank at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMFbFj5BOvY

On top of all of the bars there is mini-putt, Galaxy movie theater, many restaurants, and many more things. A way to find some recreational activities there is a package that the City of barrie has put together so I am sure that many cities have taken the time to do the same and show new comers what they have to offer them. Do your research and find some things to do, all students are on a budget and the city usually has deals to offer you to stay within that budget.

Your rights in your home.

Many people have no idea what they have the right to do or not do in their rental home. This can mean they don't know how much notice they need to receive before the landlord enters the premises or they just don't understand how their lease works.

This is a website that will give you information on all of these things and all the people are very helpful with answering your questions.

http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/index.htm

Another source would be your city website because many of the issues can be resolved through them aswell.

Second Half

The first half of our blog we discussed some of our experiences we had through our college program. This half of our blog we will provide links and services that will help students mainly in Barrie as that is where we are located.

Where am I today

I am in my final year of my University program. I live with two other girls, one of which owns the house I am renting a room in, the other was one of my old roommates. We are all pretty busy with work, school, or relationships, and all seem to have our own lives outside of the house. So far, there has been no drama, yeah!!

It is so nice to only have to deal with the stresses that are caused from school, and let me tell you, there is a lot of them right now. Since I am in the first semester of the forth year of the program, there is a lot of work involved. It seems that I have an assignment due almost weekly, and have a lot of reading required to ensure that I am able to do the assignments and pass my midterms.

This is probably the toughest semester I have had since I have starting any of my post-secondary schooling, and I am beyond excited for all of it to be over. Five years in school is a long time. I am now trying to juggle my schooling with a part-time job, and still have a social life on top of that! I am ensuring I am keeping my school work as my top priority, I do not want to make the same mistake that I made in my first few years of college.

Since I've started my University program, I have lots of drama, heartbreaks, and let downs. But it seems that the good times far out weight the bad times that I have had. Although I find being in school very stressful, I am glad that I decided to continue with it and not stop after college. I've met a lot amazing people, and have become closer to the ones that I already knew. I am looking forward to what lays in my future, and I am sure, it will be just as eventful as my past experiences have been.

Fresh starts, and lasting relationships!

The drama at the house didn't really start until all of us became busy with school and other things. It seemed that we all took out our frustrations on each other and some of the girls decided they were too busy to keep up with the cleaning. There was many times when some of the girls and I would get into full on screaming matches over the dumbest things, of course, those things didn't seem like nothing at the time.

It got to the point that one of the girls and I didn't even talk for a few months, which made things in the house very awkward for everyone else. We finally ended up sorting things out just as drama was starting with one of the other roommates and everyone.

We all decided that it was best that none of us re-signed out leases for the house and thought it was best to move on from living together. It is really hard living with different personalities and learning how to deal with everyone differently. We all moved out of the house after our year lease was up, and after a few weeks of taking time apart, all starting talking again. The roommates I had in that house I would have to say, even after all the drama we had together, are definitely my closest girlfriends. So I guess, just because you can't live with someone, doesn't necessarily mean that you won't last as friends, because I see those 3 girls in my life for a very, very long time!

New beginnings

The summer of my final year of college was an eventful one, that is for sure! I had two new roommates that had moved in, one I had lived with at my previous house, and the other girl I had just met through my other roommate.

The semester started off great. We had many nights out together, and for the first few months, there was no drama amongst any of us! By June, things started to get really bad with my boyfriend and I. And by the end of June I had decided it was time for us to end things. It was one of the hardest things I had to do, and it resulted in a lot, and I mean a lot, of emotional ups and downs.

We tried to remain friends for the summer, but by the end of the summer, things were not going well and we ended up not speaking together. This time apart made me really miss him and when I decided I wanted to talk again, and maybe actualy try things again, it was too late. He had moved on and found someone else.

I was lucky enough to have my roommates and family with me to help me through this time in my life. It took along time for me to finally feel like myself again. I finished my college program and moved straight into University to obtain my BBA. I kept myself busy with school and made a lot of new friends because of it. I

In the end, I realized that the breakup was for the best and we were both better off not being together. And although it took me a very long time to come to that conclusion and to fully move on from things, I am glad I did. I feel that it made me have to come out of my shell and go out and meet new people in my program. While we were together, I never really did that. I found that since we broke up, my schooling/grades have improved so much.

Starting my University program being single and living with the 3 girls that I did really made me feel that things were turning around for me, that this was a new beginning. But of course, living with all girls, there is also going to drama invovled!

Library times...not so quiet at gc state!

The other main thing that was a large part of my college experience was the library at good ole gc state! This library experienced the goods times, the bad times, and the loud times.
I met one of my best friends there and he can pick me out of a crowd because he saw me yelling at another one of my besties for being rude.

The library has watched many tv shows with me, gave me a place to nap during class, a really wicked setup for poker games, and just a place to chill so we didn't have to go home. No one would tell us to be quiet nor would they approach to try and separate or join us. Our group was pretty much untouchable and took over whatever space we needed when we needed it. Rude of us? Some may say so, but this college was highly overpopulated when it came exam time and we needed the space. Back bones were definitely needed around us.

Great times, great people, great life at GC State. I would change alot of things in my life but the experiences I had...priceless, wouldn't change them for the world!

Jobs...or lack of jobs...in Barrie

Throughout college my work life consisted of working at my co-ops every other term after first year. I started looking for a job outside of a co-op entering into my third year after my H&R Block co-op.

Every January from then on I worked as a CSR for them. In the other terms there were no jobs to be had. I applied to over 100 jobs without one call back for interviews or anything. I was about ready to give up on the battle when I was starting my trek into the Laurentian Business Program and talked to a friend who was looking to hire.

The job was on campus and was very convenient for where I was living and a pretty easy one. I would be making sandwich at the on campus cafe. In August of my last semester I got the job and began to work throughout school. It was easy the first semester to balance a job and classes but come second semester a challenge was posed - I had taken my job at H&R Block back as well.

Working two jobs and going to school can be tiring but being a student money is money and you gotta do what you gotta do to keep the flow coming in. Paying for school by yourself can be very difficult when you're stuck going so long without a job because the one you counted on for so long was only seasonal. Relying on OSAP was out of the picture because up until first year of university I had to claim with my parents.

The 2 job situation worked out in the end though come exam time it was hard, and the 2 weeks that I had to take off for funerals put a pretty heavy cut in the paycheck which took a while to bounce back from. But no matter how much was going on and how much it didn't seem worth it I worked as hard as I could and it paid off in the end. At the end of my first year at my job I got promoted to a supervisor - pay raise, check. more hours, check. I was loving life.

Working and school can always be a struggle but the two sometimes need to happen together. This is where you need to prioritize your time and keep up with all your school work, it's difficult but very possible.

Support is not always there when needed...

The girls moved in and life was going great. School wasn't busy yet so we were able to hang out as a house for a while. We all got together on nights and went downtown, most of the time sober nights. We had some pretty random drunk nights to go along with those but many of those were not remembered.

The house was a great comfortable place to be for the first 6 months of us all living together than as living with all girls goes, the drama set in. People had underlying issues that had built up over time and as many people are to 'talk' about them there would be a fight. So the house became uncomfortable and awkward for all.

I had a lot going on at this time between work, school and life. In the winter semester I had to go home for 2 weeks as the battle that my grandma was having with cancer took over and she passed away. I went home for a visit not knowing that it was going to be my last. While at home my cousin also passed away causing me to be there for a full 2 weeks rather than the weekend that was planned. I missed a lot of school and work and came home to what was the most uncomfortable situations.

When I left my parents house to come back to my own I was excited to be away from family and not have the deaths hanging over my every thought thinking that there would be support here when needed and fun times when wanted. Was I ever wrong, the house was in shambles. I got here and no one was talking to each other the house was disgusting and I somehow was dealing with the brunt of it all. I was the only one that everyone in the house would talk to but it was only about the issues they were facing.

I didn't want that, nor was i ready to be dealing with that. I had support through the whole thing from a few people but at the arrival home everyone was to preoccupied to really help. I didn't end up dealing with it until a month and a bit down the road when it all came up during a severely drunken night where lets just say it was lucky I had my best friend there because I was a hot mess.

After that I brought my issues with the house up with the girls and talked to them all individually about how i felt when i got back. Things got better but not overnight, it was a work in progress but by the end of the summer we were all talking and pretty much all friends when we departed ways to our new houses.

new house, new/old roommates

I was starting my last semester of college and as I mentioned in my last post, I had moved out of the house I was living in, and moved in with two friends I had known my whole life and one I have met first year of college. We all got along great. It seemed that my last year of college was going to be great! No drama, no disrespect, no mess!

By Christmas time, two of the girls were deciding it was time to move out. One decided she couldn't afford the house and moved home with her parents, and the other moved out because she got a job and only came back on weekends. By the time the next semester started, we had a new roommate and one empty room. The new roommate was never home, she pretty much just used her room for a storage room and spent most of the time at her boyfriends house. This of course was fine with myself and my other roommate. We loved having the house to ourselves. We were able to focus on our studies and everything was always so clean!

Things were great. My boyfriend and I had been together for 2.5 years, I lived with one of my best friends, all of my other closest friends lived across from the street. Things were great. Of course, that can never last.

Roommates come and go, some stay in the picture...some not so much

The year at the new house started out with a bang! First long weekend of the school year, living in a college neighbour hood and we had a party...not to smart on our part. The drinks were flowin, the mussic was pumpin and the games were contining throughout the night. Late into the night everyone living at the house had long lost track of time and we were all feeling pretty wicked until the lights came through the fence...yup it was the police.

Two thirty am and the police show up to what you would think first offence would be a warning...but nope that day was not our lucky one...a 500 dollar ticket was issued and drama began. The house was fine but the guests had got to go!!! We got the house emptied and laughed/cried at the rough turn of events in the night. That was the first sign that there was a lot to come out of this house. The first semester brought many fun times with all of us and then two of the roommates had to part ways, jobs took them to another town while the other just decided that the money was not flowing in the right direction anymore and she moved home to her parents house.

The second semester of third year brought an empty room and a new roommate. The new roommate just came to the house for dinner and the odd hang out session but really just lived at her boyfriends house so the house was always neat and quiet. This helped my study habits quite a bit as there were very rarely any distractions.

With this turn of events I became more focused and found that my work was kept up and I was successfully holding a job on top of school. That semester was coming to an end and as the story of my life goes more new roommates were coming into the picture. This time it did not involve me moving, which was the best thing ever!!! More new friends were coming into the house that I had met throughout the last two years of my life.

That year was my first year of university and lets say...drama, cleanliness out the window, and a lot of random drinking occurrred that caused for a very eventful year.

Summer Love

The summer was a much better time for me, from what I can remember of it.

I was back to my old self again. I was happy, and loving life, and loved the new people who moved into the house. There was only four of us that lived their over the summer, all girls. So of course, there was a bit of drama, but it didn't revolve around me, thank god!

My house became the spot to be for my friends that I made in school. And I found myself partying into the morning with them and again, not attending most of my classes. Since I had made friends with people in my program, I was able to still stay on top of my homework and assignments, and started to actually enjoy studying with them.

The only issue I had over the summer was at the end of it with my landlord. When we all signed our lease we were asked to give them a cleaning deposit, that we were suppose to get back at the end of our year lease if their was no damage to the house and it wasn't extremely dirty. Well, there was no damage to the house and since there were only four people living in it, we kept it very clean and tidy. Yet, they refused to return our money to us. We got on the phone with the landlord and tenant board, who informed us that the landlord should not have even asked for a cleaning deposit, they were not allowed. After we informed the landlord of this, they started looking for problems.

They started bringing up things like: you had pets in the house, it is in the lease that you are not allowed to have pets. Again, we called the landlord and tenant board who informed up that a landlord is NOT allowed to tell their tenants that they cannot have pets, whether they sign a lease that states it is a no pet house or not. It got to the point that we all just wanted to get out of the house and not deal with it anymore. We all wanted to end our summer on a good note, and did not want to deal with any unneccessary drama. It really wasn't worth the stress over a couple hundred dollars.

So, after all the ups and downs I had, all the good and bad memories I made, I moved out of the house and started my final year of college with a friend I had lived with in residents and two friends I had known since kindergarten. I was excited to start this new chapter in my life and prayed that I had left all the drama at my last house, but of course, there is always drama when four girls live together...

Roommate Drama

When we all came back from Christmas break, you could tell the dynamics had changed in the house. I was starting my second co-op placement and taking one night course as well. All of my other roommates were starting their second semesters for the year.

Since I was working 40-hour weeks and taking one course, I was pretty tired by the time I got home from work, and by the weekend, I was spent. All I wanted to do was relax in a quiet house, study when I needed to, and go to bed early so I would be able to function for work the next day. Sounds pretty easy right?

Since all of my roommates were just in school, they seemed to have a lot of free time, which they enjoyed partying through. It seemed almost every night they were drinking, blaring their music, and having friends over. That was not the worst part though. I found myself being one of the only non-smokers living in the house, and remember I had 5 roommates...So on top of all the partying, they had become smoking in the house.

I would wake up every morning with every window open in the house (we were now in the winter months) and half empty beer bottles filled with cigarette butts. It was the most disgusting thing. By opening the windows they were trying to keep the smoke from coming upstairs, unfortunately, it didn't work. I found myself being woken up at all hours of the night from them being loud and started to notice that my room reeked of cigarettes, for someone who does not smoke, it is one of the worst smells.

My problems with my roommates started when I starting trying to confront them about their loud parties and smoking in the house. Many of these conversations turned into screaming matches and nothing was resolved. I found myself not talking to any of them and avoided being home as much as possible by staying at my boyfriend or friends houses.

After a few months of feeling completely alone and having feelings of actual depression, winter started to end and spring became. Almost all of my roommates moved out. Some of them trying to avoid the drama that surrounded the house, others found themselves dropping out of school, and some moved home for the summer. The ones the were not planning on coming back ended up subletting their rooms to people.

With this change came a fresh start for me in the house. The people who had made the last four months for me a living hell were finally gone and I had new roommates to start my summer and next semester with. Things really started to be looking up for me!

From Good to Bad then New Surroundings...again

Third semester of second year brought many drunken and stressful nights. The comfort level in my house had completely diminished and I spent most of the summer at my friend's houses or just living in my room. The only thing I did at my house was make food the odd time and sleep.

When things were good in the house I had already signed a lease for the next year to stay in the same house. Things just slowly kept getting worse and worse it got to the point that the two friends that I was living with were no longer friends. We never talked, we literally passed and just nodded on the way by.

I tried to get out of the lease that was for the coming September but this was like 4 tasks within itself. I talked to my roommate and my landlord letting them know that I was no longer comfortable living in the house and to save our friendship I needed to get out of the house. I had a place to move to but to get out of the lease was the issue.

The more I looked into it the more I realized how much some people 'screw' you over, with a lack of a better word, by placing family members in the house. I found while trying to get out of the lease that I had virtually no rights as a 'tenant' living there and better yet I was more so a boarder which allowed for me to get no help. I called the landlord and tenants board which returned no results.

I did everything in my power to get out of this lease and after fighting to get answers of what my rights were the family I was renting from finally gave in and accepted someone I suggested to take over my lease for that year. I went through 4 or 5 people and almost got charged for the ad that was posted for the room that I was supposed to be filling. It was the worst few months of my life dealing with the discomfort I felt in the house and trying to fill the room with the pickiest people showing the room.

The day I escaped the lease it took me 2 weeks at the maximum to finish my semester and move out. I kept my room locked until I left and I moved all of my stuff out and into my 3rd house in Barrie in 3 years. I was tired of moving but after the discomfort i endured while living in this house there was no way I could handle that for any longer...so onto another house with more friends I went.

I ended my 3 years of college living with 3 friends. Two of the 3 were friends from home that were from Kindergarten and the other one was a girl I had met through them that it was friendship at first sight. The four of us together, we knew it was going to be a year to remember!

New People, New Place, New Adventures!

My first year at Georgian flew by and into my second year I sprinted. Mid summer after my first year I moved out of the house with friends and moved into a house that began as acquaintances, into close friends, into pretty much mortal enemies.

The day came and my family and old roomies helped me move to the new house, what an event that was. It took about 3 or 4 trips with the truck full to the brim but I moved in with new people and began the adventure that I call my second year of college.

My life went from all school all the time to running to be on the SAC and just making it to the majority of my classes but not attending them for the full 3 hour lectures. Classes became some what of a nuisance when I found I could be out doing something better. Instead of classes a lot of the time I actually found myself eating sushi with friends. Good ole Aji Sai became a common hangout for our group.

First experience I had with sushi was the funniest and most embarrassing restaurant experience in my life. Everyone there had been for sushi before and knew how to use chopsticks, etc. It was a definite stepping stone for this girl, now i`m pretty decent at handling the chopsticks.

On top of being out of class for lunch I just gained more friends and began to want to hang out with people more while still getting the assignments and readings done. Along with being in a new house and making new friends I also lost the person that got me through a lot of my highschool and postsecondary education.

The friends I made stood by me when the guy I was on and off with for 5 years left for good. I was lead on for many years and had my heart ripped out and stomped on about a million times. It was one of the hardest things that I have dealt with. I tried to not dwell on the situation and make it through the year. This situation never did go away though. I spent time with friends and tried to stay busy but those feelings take a long time to pass.

I was slightly depressed about the situation for a while and it wasn`t until I became close with one of my guy friends that got me through the situation and allowed me to become myself again.

By this time the first semester was coming to an end and I was beginning to work at my second co-op placement and was busy all the time while still keeping in touch with all.

Third semester of the second year was fast approaching and the comfort level in this house was seriously decreasing and the friendships were slowly diminishing. The people you thought would be there forever turn their back and then what...

Beginning of Second Year

At the end of my first year of college I ended up finding and renting a house with one of my roommates that I had in residents. We found a 6-bedroom house that was about 5 minutes away from the school, and was actually down the road from the house that I rented over the summer, which worked out perfectly when it came time for moving.

The summer months flew by and I found myself packing up my things and getting ready to move into my next house, which I would live in for at least a year. I only knew one of my roommates, the other 4 were complete strangers to me. The landlord gave us each others email addresses, so we were able to talk a bit before we all moved in and figure out what was needed for the house.
I was the first one of everyone to move into the house, but left before anyone else had moved in. While I was away my old roommate moved in and gave me a quick overview of what our new roommates were like. She said everyone seemed pretty nice and thought it was going to be a good year. We lived with 5 girls and 1 guy (that poor guy!).

My first semester (which is 4 months), went by really well. There was no drama, no fighting, everyone got along. My boyfriend at the time lived down the street (in the house that I rented over the summer), and all of his friends lived with him. So the first half of the year was spent getting to know all of my roommates and hanging out/partying with his friends.

Again, this semester was spend partying and not so much time was devoted to school, which at the time, I didn't mind. I was enjoying my new life with the new people that I had met. By the time first semester ended, was when things started to change. Slowly, everyone started to not get along and the drama started. Since I am the type of person who speaks my mind and has a hard time knowing when I should not say something, I seemed to be the one who had to deal with most of the drama.

I thought that once we all went home for Christmas break that things would go back to the way they use to be, when everyone got along and there was no fighting. I thought we all just needed a break from each other since we spent almost every day together. Some of the roommates and I talked over Christmas break, but things did not seem to be getting any better, there was still a lot that we all had to say to each other, and no one seemed to be able to put the past behind us. The next four months were when things got really bad in the house, to the point where I was not even friends with anyone anymore and barely talked to any of the roommates...

Transitioning and finding your place

After my first year I moved home for the summer which is when I fully decided that the University program I had attended was not for me. I looked into programs that were more suited to my interests and came across Georgian College which was close to home.

Moving to another new town was the same initial feelings all over again. This time it was a more familiar town and I was moving into a house with all friends from home. The biggest fear was the choice to go to this school was made without visiting the campus so day 1 was a day of wandering around aimlessly until I found the rooms I needed to attend for orientation. And being the stubborn person I am I did not want to ask anyone for help in navigating so lets just say I spent a lot of time turning myself around and heading into a new direction.

My first year at the college was the year of my 19th birthday so the thought of drinking and bar hopping filled my parents heads and of course they worried about their little girl being in a strange city that she did not know. I managed to get through my first year at college being of legal drinking age and attending bars just a handful of times. Instead I devoted all my time to school work and came out of that year with honours. Mind you it was my only honours year but it was one that I was very proud of.

It was within the first couple of weeks that I met people of a crew I knew I would be with through the long haul, this was my place here. This campus had the same feel as the University one, small and a close feel to it. It was through these friendships that I began the battle of living with friends soon to become just people you pass on the street and found the people that would be by your side through good and bad.

first year coming to an end

My first year of college flew by. I made a lot of new friends (some of which I am still very close with), and a lot of memories that would last me a life time. Most people decided to move home over the summer, but I decided to stay in Barrie.

I was in the 3-year Accounting Co-op program at Georgian, which meant that I needed to complete a co-op placement over the summer months. I found my first co-op with the Township of Innisfil doing their Accounts Payable. I won't go into detail about that, since most of you probably find accounting a rather boring subject (don't worry, I don't blame you).

My summer was pretty uneventful, and was actually very boring since all of my friends had moved home. I was renting a room out of a house and lived with one other person, who was barely ever there. All I seemed to do was work, and work, and work. Which was great for me, since I still hadn't learned my lesson about partying my first year of college and would need all the money I could save to fund that!
And that brings us to my extremely eventful second year at Georgian College...

First Year Residence Life and Issues

Growing up with an older brother and always being closer to boys throughout my life caused for my first year to be a real life changer. Living in a residence with all girls took me through the stereotypes and the out of the ordinary ways of life.

On my floor in the residence there were more than enough issues from people causing issues with our don/RA, to messing up our lounge, to issues on campus. The issues began with the girls on the floor having an invisible line the separated the girls into different groups. From there more issues developed and it ended with all the girls on the floor being locked out of our lounge which was our means of watching tv and making our meals. So basically we all just mingled with our groups and went to the caf or got take out.

Along with issues in the residence for me there was an issue of health. Being in a new town all alone was a hard time for me. I hated being so far from friends and family. I loved the friends I had made but being only 17 and in a new place all i wanted was to go home and be with everyone. While I was there my great grandmother passed away so I had to go home for a while for her funeral and that was what made it worse. Coming back to Waterloo my friend at the other school noticed differences in my behaviour and that I was not myself. For the 8 months that I was there I went through ups and downs almost feeling depressed to no end.

Along with feeling depressed I dealt with an 6 month stint of being sick. I tried everything to kick the colds, infections, etc but nothing would do it and being away from home also made the feeling worse. After 17 years of having someone there to look after you in a room of your own all you want is your mom to be there and to have a bed in your own room so you can just relax and sleep without bothering anyone or being bothered.

Lack of sleep did not help the fact of getting up to go to class. Living in residence meant that I was right on campus which also meant that I woke up literally 20 minutes before class to have enough time to brush my teeth and leave. Pyjama's was a frequent site in my classes because of this fact.

I worked very hard in all of my classes and very rarely skipped one. I successfully made it through my first year at University and decided that that program was not what I was looking to do for the rest of my life. It was going to take me down a path that eventually would get me to where I wanted to be but with a whole lot of information and classes that were not of interest to me. I would have had a degree in something that I had no interest with and would have struggled through for no reason so I switched to a school with a small campus and a lot closer to home doing exactly what my interest and aspirations were.

My first year consisted of many illnesses, issues with people on my floor, and a whole lot of sleeping in and rolling out of bed to get to class. But it lead me down a path where I met friends that would last a life time and showed me exactly what I wanted from my education and lead me to the rest of my college life.

Partying Regrets

First semester, I really focused on school, I kept up with my homework and assignments and rarely missed class and I had the grades to prove this. If only I had kept up with it...

My second semester and part of my second year of college are kind of a blur. I spent most of my time drinking and partying. I hardly ever attended any of my classes, and crammed last minute for tests and assignments. Though I had an amazing time and met a lot of new friends because of this, my studies fell behind and as a result so did my grades. Some of my classes I barely passed, and for the first time in my life I actually failed a class.

By the end of my second year I had decided that I wanted to obtain my Bachelors in Business after I finished my Accounting college program. This was when I started to buckle down to try and get my overall average up. But, by this time it was too late.

Even with my extra efforts, I could barely move my average up. I was lucky enough to just make the cut to get into the University program though. But I do regret all the decisions that I made leading up to this.

My advice to you, go out, have fun, college is about making friends and meeting new people. But also, remember why you are there. Because the decisions you make in the beginning will affect you later on!

First Week in New Surroundings - All Girls!

First Day Jitters touched on the perspective that Nikki had moving to her new school. My perspective is a little bit different as I moved farther, at a younger age, and with no one I knew!

My first move away from home was to Waterloo, which is 3 or more hours away from home, with no one close by except one friend who attended the school down the road. I was being placed in an all girls residence in a shared room at the age of 17. I was not and have never been a girl with many girls as friends, I always had my close ones but to extend further out was fairly uncommon for me so this was going to be a tough adjustment.

The 3 hour trip with my family was nerve wrecking! I was watching as my surroundings changed from country scenery to industrial areas throughout the cities, this was not something I was used to nor was I willing to adjust to at that moment. The closer I got the more nervous I felt and at one instance I wanted to turn to my family and say, "we need to turn around i'm not ready for this." But I let the feeling pass and then I got anxious. I wanted to meet all the new people and though I was dreading having a bed in the same room as my roommates bed, brings a whole new term to the roommates you hear about from the people around you, I was ready to take the plunge.

Arriving at the school there were many people there ready to help me move all of my stuff into the residence and get me settled in so that I could say goodbye to my family and join the festivities, as most people do I took my time with that. My roommate beat me to the room so I was with my family when I met her and she was in the same boat I was, young and afraid of what this year would bring. So we greeted each other, said fairwell to our families and set out to see what was in store for us.

The week was full of different events with our team, "The Red Raiders," including meeting the faculty of our school and people in the different residences. Being the shy person I am, among other girls on my floor, I stuck close to the people I knew all week rather than trying to find new groups of friends. We ventured to the school bar where we were able to go and dance and just tried to make the best of the week being underage. When the first week ended the events slowed down and school picked up. Orientation week was what we all thought the year would be, fun times with a group of girls just trying to get through their first year of university...who knew that the catiness and party animals would change the feel for everyone!

first day jitters!

I can still remember the excitement and nervousness I felt my first day that my parents moved me into residents building. I was lucky enough to be moving with one of my good friends from high school, but had not met any of the other four girls I would be living with for an entire year, I didn't even know their names yet! I was always the quiet girl growing up, and have never been a huge fan of meeting new people, so I knew I was going to have to come out of my shell and be outgoing if I was going to meet any new friends. My parents helped me unpack and then left. Slowly my new roommates started to arrive and the introductions started. We all talked for a little bit, and then went our separate ways for the night, it seemed that all of us had moved in with one friend and had made plans for the night already. Which was completely fine with me!
As the days went on, we all slowly got to know each other and all seemed to get along, for now that is...

Our Path

Nobody knows what to expect when leaving home, it isn’t until you are in the environment itself where you finally see what the outside world is. Parents and teachers try to prepare you for everything but no one can prepare you for the hurt, the drama, and the stress that comes with it.

With this blog we plan to take you along the path of college life and make it known that no one is alone and that these feelings are common. The bad times come and go but there is always the good times that will outweigh them and eventually mould you into the adult you will become.