Semester Reflection

Has it really been 4 months since January? It feels like it has been years. This semester had quite a few ups and downs. For example, I never would have expected the grades I’ve been getting! Mid to high 90s is so much higher than I had ever done in school before. My biggest improvement coming from my new found skill of time management.

As far as the bumps this year? Where do I begin? On January 2^nd there were threats of a third world war. For the first 2 months, almost the entire country of Australia was on fire. Most recently there is a global pandemic that nobody seems to be taking seriously at all. Personally, I have been self-isolating (minus groceries when necessary) for the past four weeks.

My birthday was March 11^th and two days later, on March 13^th (a Friday, might I add), our school stopped all classes indefinitely because of Covid-19. A corona-virus that originated in the Wuhan province of China, has done enough damage to the world that I can no longer attend my classes in person. Oh, and I was also laid off.

I was very frustrated at first, because I had been advocating for closing everything down, but when I was laid off I had lost my income. Luckily for me and others, the Canadian government seems to have really stepped up to the plate, and I’m glad to say that I am proud of how our government has handled the situation thus far. Even if I would have wanted a faster, more extreme, approach. Proactive, not reactive.

All in all, the online learning is getting the job done. Teachers have been marking us with much more leeway and as a result I feel like even though I’ll pass with great grades, that I’m cheating myself. Just because I’ve passed doesn’t mean I know what I’m talking about. I guess for now the future is on rocky ground, and so I’ll just be grateful that me and everyone else is safe for now. Knock on wood!

COVID-19 and Social Distancing

      I remember growing up through SARS, Bird Flu and H1N1. I was pretty young at the time, and I was pretty into zombie media, especially during the H1N1 outbreak. COVID-19 however, has made a much larger impact on the world than any of them. It is not necessarily any more infectious than the others (Flanagan, 2020), yet it has managed to spread much further.

      Unfortunately, it has turned out to be more dangerous to the elderly than younger generations. In order to minimize the deaths caused by COVID-19 it is imperative that we do everything we can to slow the spread.

      Luckily for us, social distancing is our greatest weapon against the spread. If we can stay at least 2 meters away from each at a MINIMUM, we are fighting the good fight! Social distancing, however, is not enough in my opinion.

      I have always believed we need to protect those that are more vulnerable than us. It is my opinion that if you do not NEED to leave your house, then you do not have a REASON to leave your house. I think it is very ignorant and unfortunate that so many people seem to think that the death tolls are inevitable so why bother trying to stop it.

There are many ways we can help each other:

·               Ask your neighbors if they need something from the store if you have to go

·               Stop going out for entertainment

·               WASH YOUR HANDS

      It is true though that Social Distancing will continue to be our greatest weapon however, as it will not only stop you from getting COVID-19, it will help stop your from spreading it to those of us who are the most vulnerable.

Flanagan, R. (2020, March 3). How contagious is COVID-19 compared to other viral diseases? Retrieved March 27, 2020, from https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/how-contagious-is-covid-19-compared-to-other-viral-diseases-1.4836734 

Improving My Study Skills At School

                I had been out of school for almost 5 years (graduated 2015). When I wen to college then I had a lot less on my plate, and because of that, procrastination was king. All I had to worry about was getting my assignments done, and done on time. I hadn’t heard the phrase “time management” until I had already graduated! Now, I have a lot more on my plate, and sometimes it feels like I’ve stretched myself a little too thin.

                Feeling like I have too much to do with too little time, is not a great feeling. So I have been thinking long and hard about what I can do to minimize this feeling. Time Management is the answer. There are two things I have done to improve my time management. The first thing I did was buy a physical planner. I know that I retain information better when I write it down, so I bought a planner from Walmart. Unfortunately, I somehow bought a planner for 2018 (sometimes there is no cure for stupid)! That’s okay though, I just crossed out the months and days, to make them line up with 2020, and now I have a current year planner!

               

                In my planner, I write down all of my due dates in the Calendar view. In the more detailed view, I write out due dates, but I also write a loose plan of what I want to get done and when. For example, if I know I have 3 hours of free time I will look forward in my planner and schedule myself a block of time where I will work on that assignment. Writing it down helps keep me honest with myself. Plus, the feeling of crossing something off a list just can’t be beat sometimes.

                The second thing I did was recognize that breaks aren’t a bad thing. I’m a slow reader, and worse than that is I have this amazing super power where I can read something 5 or 6 times, and not retain any of it! There is not much I can do about reading slowly. What I can do about not retaining information is recognize when I am not retaining what I’m reading and step away, take a break. I’ve noticed that after a break my work is more efficient, and I can get into a flow more easily. I could spend 3 hours working on something after a long day, and get less done than I would if I took a 1 hour break and spent 2 hours working on it. Recognizing this has helped me improve my work ethic. Now if only I could shake the feeling that I should be working when I’m taking a break, then I would truly understand what it’s like to be an adult.

My Introduction To College Life

I love college, but starting a new program always makes me a little anxious. I've been to college once before, for Video Game Art. I went to Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie, around an 8-9 hour drive north west of Oshawa. It was my first time moving out and so far from anybody I knew at the time, but I still don’t remember being as nervous as I was starting my program this year.

I’ve been out of school for almost 5 years. Now, I live on my own, pay my own bills, have a full-time job that unfortunately barely covers the cost of those bills. I’ve been wanting to come back to school for programming for a few years, because I want to make video games, but I didn’t know anyone who could program. Finally, I decided to enroll into programming.

I’m anxious because I must continue paying these bills and continue living on my own, but without the reliability of my full-time job. As I type this, I still haven’t received my OSAP funds. Luckily my school has a great financial services department!

From their financial aid webpage: https://durhamcollege.ca/financial-info/financial-aid/osap. They give you a quick run down of what you’ll need to apply for OSAP, in my case, as well as other financial aid programs and links to their sites if you want to learn more or apply!

Now that my first week has passed, I am getting more comfortable in my new routine for the next 8 months. Remembering that everyone else is in my class is in a similar or comparable situation that I am reminds me that we’re all making risks everyday.  Sometimes we fail, and that’s okay, because from that failure we get one step closer to success.

My goals for this program are to hopefully graduate with honours. I never tried as hard as I could have in school, and after growing up, I really wish I had, so this time I’m going to. With that being said, please don’t fail me!

OSAP. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2020, from https://durhamcollege.ca/financial-info/financial-aid/osap.

Welcome To Communications

Welcome!

This is the blog in which I will be publishing my thoughts on varying subjects!

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