The first semester of my first year at McGill flew by. Although I had a lot of fun going out with friends and meeting new people, I felt as though I didn’t take advantage of Montreal too much. I needed the entire semester to get used to the workload of my five classes, and although I did partake in some night adventures I didn’t go out as much as my peers. I also didn’t get to explore Montreal’s vast food options beyond Two Chow, Pizza Pizza, and Bouddha Bouddha on St. Laurent (although I highly recommend the latter as a great BYOB restaurant). With this all in mind I figured it was fitting to make a second semester bucket list.
1. Find one or two good bars to become a regular at.
Watching “How I Met Your Mother” has caused me to become envious of how the gang has their local go-to bar. This semester I want to set out with the goal of finding a bar that’s close by to become a regular at, since clubs are not my thing. Requirements really just include cheap drinks and fun atmosphere, although if they carried Shock Top it would be a done deal.
2. Get into a healthy fitness routine.
During my first ever finals week and the following time I spent at home, I understood how the freshman fifteen could very easily become a reality. During finals week I inhaled carbs and Red Bull, and I became addicted to coffee. It was not a healthy lifestyle, and I didn’t visit the gym once despite the stress relief I most definitely needed. Going into second semester I realize that I need to train myself to keep to a healthy fitness routine. I’ve started by signing up for a fitness class at the gym and I’m planning on forcing myself to work out at least four times a week with friends who will hopefully carry my butt to the gym when I get lazy.
3. Meet three new people I want to keep in my life.
During first semester I met a lot of people, and I have made some great friends. That being said, I don’t want to limit myself, and I want to continue meeting more awesome McGillians/Montrealers. In high school I was a bit more extroverted than I seem to be at university, but I’m going to make a serious effort to meet at least three new friends during second semester. I’m a firm believer that one can learn a whole lot from meeting new people, and seeing as there are thousands undergrads at McGill, I have a whole lot of learning to do.
4. Do well in my classes and get to know a professor or two well.
I came out of first semester proud of how I performed in my classes despite the many temptations that Montreal and university itself offer. However, I have realized that I was not conscious about developing relationships with all of my professors, which is a shame. I want to push myself this semester to go to office hours and introduce myself to all of my professors, and to get to know them well. I know networking is important and that having good relationships with my professors will be good for that, but I really just want to be able to let professors like my current psychology professor know that his recent lecture on introverts and extroverts addresses my previously mentioned personality dilemma.
5. Score an internship
I’m currently a first year with advanced standing, which basically means that I’m a second year and can therefore graduate in three years. With this in mind, I know I need to begin establishing a resume that will help to get me employed after graduation. This is definitely my biggest goal of the semester, and year. I’ve applied to several so far, but have yet to hear back about any, so I need to keep looking.
With these five goals in mind, I’m ready and excited for my second semester at McGill. Hopefully other McGill collegiettes can be inspired by one or more of these to add to their own personal bucket lists!
Images obtained from:
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/31/5_insane_“how_i_met_your_mother”_fin…
http://msurjblog.com/2013/01/12/welcome-back/
Cover photo by Katrina Kairys.