Ambition is key - I always want something to strive for. While studying for exams, I realize that I'm going to be receiving my undergrad degree in about a year and a half. What is symbolic of a university degree? Is it a piece of paper to show that I crammed information into my head for four years and wrote exams to test my knowledge on the subject? Hopefully that's not what I think about when I finally see my official-looking degree face-to-face, embellished with the elegant University of Western Ontario logo and my name written in bolded capital letters somewhere near the centre of the paper. Hopefully I do think about the intrinsic value that important piece of paper carries: my ability to learn, my ability to understand my own needs in how I learn, becoming more independent by living away from home, the amazing people I shared memories with, the typical obstacles and life lessons a university student faces and most importantly, the accomplishment I have made in life by receiving that degree. But don't get me wrong - the knowledge I have gained on topics such as economics, accounting and actuarial science is readily applicable to the real world. In a recession, I understand the underlying causes and the way the economy works; I know the government's role in business and in fiscal policy; I've studied the success factors of a business under the highly-acclaimed case method (focusing on operations, organizational behaviour, marketing, budgeting, etc); I've learned different political and economic views such as neo-Keynesian, neo-liberal, monetarism; and I've scratched the surface of the debt and equity markets. I can use this in everyday life - whether I'm reading the newspaper or shopping at a store - which makes my degree that much more valuable to me.
That leaves me to wonder... is that the only time I will get to experience that feeling? Or will I be receiving more degrees, that are perhaps symbolic of other things? All I know is that I am feeling ambitious and that the future is unpredictable. I'm going to go somewhere in life.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Turkey weekend
Not much new in this sort of interesting life I live, yet I love.
The venture back home to my parents house for Thanksgiving weekend took close to 6 hours, when it is normally a 2 hour drive (I got a ride to Burlington, waited over an hour, took a 2-hour GO train ride home). I arrived home at about 6:45pm, ate soup for literally 2 minutes and then took off momentarily to get to Peterborough for a dinner I have with my high school friends every year. This is the 7th year of this tradition and this was the first year we didn't have a potluck. It's also the first time we're not teenagers... we're just a bunch of people in our 20's now, ahhhh. We went to Swiss Chalet this time, which was much easier for the parents/hosts (no cleanup, no turkey to cook). I felt high on life all weekend - being reunited with people you care about is such an unreal feeling. We went to Champ's that night, which is pretty much a small-town sports pub - always a good time. I have this one ginger friend who is known to be wild, always overdrinks and always gets kicked out of bars, haha. She got asked to leave, obviously.
Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving with the family and we had roast beef, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, garlic bread, garden salad, a mango salad and a Boston creme cake with strawberries, kiwi and peaches for my dad's birthday. I bought him a $60 gift card to Tim Hortons because he literally goes there EVERYDAY. It was also my roommate's birthday yesterday and we got her a gift certificate to Aritzia and lots of candy (which she ate all in one night).
Ok that might've been the most boring post I've made yet. Now I'm back in London, getting ready for my one week of hell this semester. On Monday, I have a debate in Poli Sci (the first one of the year for the entire class, presented to 100 people), Tuesday I have a finance assignment due, Thursday I have a philosophy exam and an accounting assignment, and Saturday I have a finance exam. After that, I hardly have anything. Whoooo! Time to hit the books.
The venture back home to my parents house for Thanksgiving weekend took close to 6 hours, when it is normally a 2 hour drive (I got a ride to Burlington, waited over an hour, took a 2-hour GO train ride home). I arrived home at about 6:45pm, ate soup for literally 2 minutes and then took off momentarily to get to Peterborough for a dinner I have with my high school friends every year. This is the 7th year of this tradition and this was the first year we didn't have a potluck. It's also the first time we're not teenagers... we're just a bunch of people in our 20's now, ahhhh. We went to Swiss Chalet this time, which was much easier for the parents/hosts (no cleanup, no turkey to cook). I felt high on life all weekend - being reunited with people you care about is such an unreal feeling. We went to Champ's that night, which is pretty much a small-town sports pub - always a good time. I have this one ginger friend who is known to be wild, always overdrinks and always gets kicked out of bars, haha. She got asked to leave, obviously.
Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving with the family and we had roast beef, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, garlic bread, garden salad, a mango salad and a Boston creme cake with strawberries, kiwi and peaches for my dad's birthday. I bought him a $60 gift card to Tim Hortons because he literally goes there EVERYDAY. It was also my roommate's birthday yesterday and we got her a gift certificate to Aritzia and lots of candy (which she ate all in one night).
Ok that might've been the most boring post I've made yet. Now I'm back in London, getting ready for my one week of hell this semester. On Monday, I have a debate in Poli Sci (the first one of the year for the entire class, presented to 100 people), Tuesday I have a finance assignment due, Thursday I have a philosophy exam and an accounting assignment, and Saturday I have a finance exam. After that, I hardly have anything. Whoooo! Time to hit the books.
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