Why I Love Our University: First Year vs Third Year

It’s hard to believe that I’m in my third year of Creative Industries at our university! I know this is a cliché, but it really does feel like just yesterday I was in my first year. I loved our university — for a few reasons — right from the start. Fast forward to a few years later, I still love many of the same things, but some of the reasons why have changed. 

It is very difficult to not love the location of our university. It’s right in the middle of downtown Toronto and close to literally anything you can imagine. I wrote a blog about why I love Toronto so won’t repeat myself too much here. 

In first year, I loved the location of our university because it was close to so much to do, and I was really able to live my best life. I tried different restaurants, went shopping all the time (my bank account did not love that) and attended events like concerts and the Toronto International Film Festival (external link, opens in new window) . I tried to take advantage of everything entertainment-related that Toronto offered. 

Now as a third-year student, I still love our location! I still try to try as many new things as possible, and am slowly getting back to going to more events now that COVID restrictions are lifting. However, now I appreciate our university’s location in terms of proximity to possible internship and career opportunities. I’d really like to work in the publishing or entertainment industry, and Toronto is the hub for both of these industries. It’s home to both large and small companies in a variety of fields. As a student that is currently applying for summer internships, I really appreciate the wide variety of Toronto companies I can apply to.

Our university has over 39,000 undergraduate students, which is definitely larger than any high school I can imagine anyone went to. 

I came to our university from a high school that had about 2,000 students, with about 230 of them in my graduating class. In my first year, there were about 230 people in my program, and I did not know any of them. However, I found that such a diverse range of people attend our university and make classes and residence life fun. I was able to make some great friends and just talk to some interesting people. 

Now in my third year, I appreciate meeting new people even more, especially after almost two years of online school. I really missed the socialization aspect of university life, and now I make an effort to always talk to whoever happens to be sitting next to me in class. Not everyone is going to be your best friend, but just talking to different people in a variety of programs is a great way to learn new things about our university, pick up some study tips and learn something new about the world. So many people at our university have cool life stories and interests. I’ve met students who are influencers, artists and musicians that bring unique perspectives to life, even if you’re just working on a project together.

Yes, I love our university for what I’m learning! I honestly love learning and always have. I chose our university because of the unique Creative Industries program, and I’m happy to report that three years in, I still love it!

In first year, I sometimes wasn’t always loving what I was learning. It was a lot of overview to prepare us for the rest of the program. I was only able to pick two classes each semester (one module course and one lower liberal course) and typically enjoyed those, but our mandatory classes weren’t my favourites. However, I always loved all the different elective courses our university offers! I’ve been able to take classes like CHY 183: Introduction to Forensic Science and POL 128: Politics and Film. 

Now in my third year, I really value what I’ve learnt throughout the years! I love the variety of courses I’ve taken, and I see how they will help me in the future. I love it when my professors have vast experience in the field they’re teaching, and I realize how listening to them will help me work towards my goals. As I work towards the end of my degree, I’m starting to see how the professional courses, electives and Creative Industries classes are coming together, and I can apply key teachings to my future. I even decided to pursue an English minor going into my third year. Do I love every class I take? No. But, now I try my best to see how these classes can be relevant to me in the future.

I still have one year left of my degree and who knows, maybe why I love our university will change again! However, I think I will always love the location, the people and the education I’m receiving. If you’re still noodling on whether or not to attend our university, check out why my fellow student ambassadors Eva and Nishka chose to come here!