1. The SMU library is equidistant from the Starbucks at City Hall and the Starbucks at The Cathay. Either way, you're taking a 5 minute-walk there, and then a 5-minute-walk back. It sucks. The Coffee Bean is not an option, even if there's a student discount because seriously, Coffee Bean??
2. The worst place to sit in a seminar room is the outermost corners of the last row. The professors barely glance in that direction.
3. On the topic of seating arrangement in SRs, the person behind you will look at your screen and judge you. It is not intentional nor is it out of ill-intention. The seminars are just really long, and sometimes, the most interesting thing is whoever the person in front of you is stalking on Facebook.
4. You're going to make lots of friends, but after awhile, you're going to lose touch with most of them. It's part and parcel of university life. The fact of the matter is that it's impossible to stay equally close to everyone. At the very least, try to stay friendly with everyone.
5. If you really want to maintain a friendship, you have to make an effort to keep the spark going, or else it'll just fade away. Go for meals together, or go shopping, or study together.
6. The gym will only be crowded in the afternoons and evenings at the beginning of the term and after the exams. After week 6, it becomes cozy again. The gym is never crowded in the mornings.
7. A lot of the things you learn in your seminars aren't very useful, especially in your first two years in SMU. Be discerning and try to identify the knowledge that you need for your examination and the knowledge that you need for your life and then take those in.
8. The waiting time for Tea Party is really really long. Even if the queue is short, there's probably a whole lot of people waiting for their pasta ahead of you. If you want a quick bite lunch or dinner, avoid Tea Party.
9. During fundraising season, avoid the concourse. There'll be stalls selling snacks, tauhuay and other things at higher-than-normal prices. Chances are, you'll know at least one person from these stalls, and it's very hard to say 'no' to them (especially if they're cute girls).
10. Class participation is important. It encourages you to pay closer attention to the class, and to identify who in the class you don't want to be friends with, really. Speak up, think for yourself, and try not to get too worked up.
11. Bring a marker for all group meetings in GSRs. Writing things down on the board is the best way to keep the meeting moving. If nothing is being written down, your meeting should be finished.
12. If you don't prepare for your classes, you're pretty much wasting your time. Before your classes, at the very least, practice the key concepts which were taught in the previous class, if it's a Mathy-Mod, like Finance. If it's one of those...marketing/comms mod, read up so that you can keep up with the discussion.
13. Good friends don't always make for good group mates. It may sound like a good idea to have a friend in your group, but not everyone's working style is compatible. The reverse is also true; good group mates don't have to be your good friends.
14. Don't be a lousy group mate. You know the type...doesn't turn up for meetings, doesn't contribute much to discussions, submits substandard work. Don't be like that. If you're lucky, you're group mates will pick up the slack for you, but don't be surprised if nobody wants you in their group ever again. News spreads fast in SMU, especially when it comes to this.
15. Fluffing is perfectly acceptable, and people who complain about them are just lazy. Fluffing, if relevant to the presentation, can be really great. Also, fluffing happens in the real world all the time.
16. You'll meet plenty of brilliant people along the way. Those mythical scholars, or those with perfect GPAs. You can be one of them too. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
17. You'll learn way more outside the seminar rooms than inside it. Go join an organizing committee or a CCA or even better, look beyond SMU for your opportunity to grow. There's something out there for everyone - if you want to learn about investment, banks, and whatnot, there are clubs just for you. If you want to get a firsthand experience at say...marketing, or HR, go join a org comm doing an event which interests you.
18. You shouldn't join everything though. Learn when to say 'no'.
19. Most of your friends will be from something that you've joined. That's just how things are. Maybe it'll be your campmates, or your CCA mates, or your Organizing Committee. Point is, in this environment, it's sometimes difficult to find a reason to "belong", and we need that pillar to hold on to. (I hope I'm making sense)
20. With a good grasp of time-management, you can rule the world. Some people in SMU will seem like superheros - they're able to get the A's, and be presidents, and be involved in other stuff too. It's all about setting aside time and making sure you get things done in that given amount of time. Do what you need to do, and after that, do what you want to do.
21. You're going to second-guess yourself in your SMU journey. You're going to ask yourself whether you're in the right place, whether you've made the right decision. You're going to wander what it'd be like to go over to the other side. All the would-haves, could-haves, and should-haves will start running through your head, and it's not going to be pretty.
But at the end of the day, the hand that's been dealt to you...has already been dealt. You can go with it, and make the most out of your experience. Or if you really think that you can go elsewhere, and that things will be better for you once you're there, then by all means.
Just don't go through life with a chip on your shoulder, gathering up bags of regrets, complaining the whole damn time about what a shit situation you've somehow found yourself in. We have to make the best out of what we have, and frankly speaking, what we have in SMU is pretty damn great.
22. Stay positive and have fun. Upon rereading this post, I realize that I sounded very...study-focused and serious. Life's supposed to be fun. You can have a lot of fun in SMU, and still do well - it's all about your attitude towards things. Stay positive, be open, and be nice to everyone. Crack jokes, hang out after school, do stupid shit...and maybe even fall in love...?
23. Life doesn't end at SMU. It's easy to get absorbed in the school environment, and to devote everything to your studies and your CCA and your new friends. However, life out there still goes on. Remember your friends from outside SMU, remember your family who's always waiting for you at home and most importantly, remember that school isn't everything.
~
And that's it for me. The list above is not exhaustive, of course, and reflects my personal opinion on life in SMU. Maybe you agree, and maybe you don't. Either way, to each his own. Have a great semester, and I'll see you around.
 |
| Timetable for Semester 1. |
No comments:
Post a Comment