Okay, okay settle down… I know everyone has been asking, some even begging, for this because I live the most entertaining life and you all want to know the inside scoop, so really I’m just giving the people what they want (totally joking).
In all seriousness, I spend way too much time jealously watching Youtube vlogs, reading blogs and following other’s daily routines on various social media platforms – all while sitting on my couch! I do believe that is the very definition of FOMO, but most of the time I’m really just curious as to what other people do in their 24 hours of the day, in comparison to mine.
SO, I thought why not share with everyone what a day in my life looks like in case you are like me, and love being a snoop. Not everyday of the week looks like this but for the most part my Monday-Friday is spent with a focus on school and has the most concrete routine. I do occasionally like to shake it up, and you know study in a different library or whatever, but for the most part my days are pretty repetitive.
A Day in My Life: Vanessa Geitz – 2nd year Public Health Student, BBT connoisseur, and avid Netflix-series binger
7:00 – 9:00am – Time to wake up! I decided to be honest and create a two hour gap, just because my alarm might go off at 7 but more often than not I lie in bed staring at the gas station outside my window until 9. Maybe it’s the luminescent glow of the station’s lights in the morning fog, or maybe I’m just avoiding reality, but I can never seem to hit snooze less than 7 times. R.I.P. to my roommate’s eardrums.
9:00 – 9:29am – Staying in my fuzzy robe until the last minute is not accidental at all. In fact it is a personal test, where I like to see if I can make coffee, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, get ready and do today’s reading all in 29 minutes – really keeps me on my toes! If I wasn’t awake before, I sure am now. Probably from all the epinephrine (and piping hot coffee) running through my body, and from the 29 minutes of straight cardio I did running around my apartment. Workout for the day: check!
(^Me being efficient by showering and getting my caffeine fix in one!)
9:30am – If all goes well, I make it just on time to meet my friend Jess – we’re in the same program, both love bubble tea, and procrastination, and are neighbours so it was basically love at first sight, or first lecture I guess. Our schedules are essentially the same so we always walk to class together and usually complain about the dreary, Halloweentown ‘Apart Spell’-like, weather of Waterloo, where we’re going to get coffee, or how tired we are. It’s usually a combination of all three.
10:00am – 5:20pm – What happens between these hours, well I couldn’t really tell you. It’s usually a lot of classes, snacking and sighs as I realize all the work I left to the last minute and have waiting for me at home. There is also some more cardio thrown in as I attempt, and fail, to make it across campus to wherever my next class is in that terrifying 10 minute gap.
5:20 – 7:00pm – My roommate extraordinaire and longtime best friend Sarah finishes class at the same time so we all walk back to our apartment together. We share what happened throughout the day as if we hadn’t been texting and tagging each other in memes the whole time. She tells me some super complex Kinesiology information, I nod and comment on how cool that is, and then tell her about what I ate for lunch. A large portion portion of Sarah and I’s conversations surround food, and we often pretend we are food critics even when the gourmet dish of the day is a ham sandwich (I am aware how lame this sounds).
We say “see you l8tr” to Jess and retreat to our humble abode. Sar and I like to take at least a 30 minute break after a long day of classes and usually have a roomie-catch-up. Even though we live 3 metres away from each other, we don’t get to spend a lot of time together. We cook dinner, talk about our future plans, cry about our future plans and share our theories for whatever TV show we are currently watching. Sometimes we do a high and low of the day, which I love doing with friends because it’s efficient and still super personal.
(^ a constant battle)
Once dinner is ready, if we both have some free time we like to watch a show together. I’d never really done this with a friend but it’s so fun! Right now we are watching How to Get Away with Murder and it’s honestly my favourite part of the day. Sarah and I are so similar so, relaxing, joking and chatting with her is comfortable and always a good time.
After getting into the swing of university after first year we realized it’s important to do something fun at least once a day, so the overall experience isn’t just academic. We like to grab a bubble tea, try a new restaurant, go for a walk, or get in a workout! Sometimes even just hanging out and putting our school work aside for an hour or two is the best break.
(^ me after 5 minutes of studying…)
7pm-? – The rest of the night consists of me catching up on assignments, studying or reading to get ready for the next day. Every once and awhile Sar and I pop our heads in each other’s doors and chat, or we take a break and have a snack. This is my time to get work done, so that I can relax and be a millennial – aka stay up until 2 am on the internet. I love watching a fall-themed movie before bed – Halloweentown High is one of my favourites!
Sometimes I treat my body like a temple and go to bed at 11pm and sometimes I squint at my lock screen and wonder how I’m still awake at 4:25am, knowing the next day is going to be rough.
So that’s it! My not-so glamorous daily routine. I guess in comparison to others my schedule seems a bit bland but I’m not really big on spice so I kinda like it.
I still have time to have fun, be a teen, and am surviving university with the help of Ned and his declassified school survival guide – so I think everything is going pretty good! I think the most important aspect of university is to understand how to create a balance – studying is important but so is having a social life! I’m starting to understand that more and more and try to make my days’ productive for school, and enjoyable for me!
You only have 24 hours in a day, Warriors – make em’ count!