Illustration Credit: Darian Trabold
A look back at where we began, from your pals at The Mike
Lauren Sarney, Features Editor
The most vivid memory I have of my first day of university went as follows: once we had moved in, my very new roommate admitted that her mother warned her that I might be trouble, based on the decorations I brought. It took me maybe too long to figure out what she meant, but then it all became clear: weeks prior my boyfriend and I had gone shopping for room decor, and in our local vintage shop I found a stack of old newspapers I bought for a buck. The most coveted among the yellowing papers was an emboldened print of the Twisted Sisters lead singer Dee Snider, grinning in profile under blaring lights that accentuated the blue and rose of his makeup. You can imagine, I’m sure, the mortification that came next as I attempted to explain that, no, I did not and will likely never like Twisted Sister, I just liked the colours on the poster.
The specifics of that story might lack ubiquitous appeal, but the gist should give anyone who has – recently or not – begun school at some point a morsel of deja vu. We all began somewhere, so for this article we’ll be looking back at what the team on The Mike can recall of their first weeks.
On Moving In
Jenna: My first week started with moving into residence at Elmsley Hall. I was super nervous as I had never met my roommate before, but I was excited to see what was in store! I met my roommate and my neighbours and we instantly clicked.
Aiden: First week was a blur. I locked myself out of my own room multiple times, spent most of my time hanging out at my friend’s dorm in Campus One, and did my best to explore the surrounding downtown area of St Mike’s.
Darian: Quite honestly, I cried a lot. I missed my cats, my family, and my home in Florida. The Toronto Air Show going on at the same time did not help. It was so hot in Elmsley so I couldn’t close my window (which did not even open all the way) to soften the noise. My roommate was not moving in the next day but thankfully I met my first friend across the hall from me, who made me feel a little less lonely that first day. The next day I also got even luckier when I met my roommate, who I still live with today, 4 years later; I couldn’t imagine my college experience without her.
On Friendship
Jenna: Now looking back as I am in my fourth year, I see that I met my forever friends, and I am so grateful for everything I did this first week of the first year.
Miranda: Everybody is very open to meeting new people, my roommate and I sat with a random girl in the dining hall in the first week and now she is one of our closest friends.
Aiden: I had already made most of my friends from orientation, so we mostly hung out or studied in Robarts.
Darian: I will never be more grateful for a group of people than the girls of Elmsley Four. Coming from far away I was nervous people would already know each other or have things in common that I could not relate to. I quickly realized many were in the same boat as me; I felt like I had found a family in this large university.
On The Rest
Jenna: I went to frat parties on my first week… that was interesting!
Miranda: [First week was] lots of fun orientation activities and meetings with different residence houses. The club fair was fun but extremely hot and disorganized.
Lucas: Other than being lost on campus a few times, the one thing that I remember so well from my first week was during the first day of school, I went to a 9am tutorial, not knowing tutorials did not run during the first week
On… Zoom?
Karen: My first week was actually online… It was September 2021, the covid pandemic was still ongoing and Orientation was taking place virtually. I actually never attended FROSH week, everything was so confusing, and the thought of activities happening online wasn’t exactly motivating… My first ever lecture was on Microsoft Teams, and honestly? It was the worst! I hated feeling so disconnected from other classmates, the distance making it almost impossible to make friends. So, in a nutshell? First week for me… was a learning curve, it was stressful, strange, and oddly familiar: felt like high school never ended since we were once again, back in the oh so comfortable setting of virtual classes
Looking Back
Ethan: [This past first week was the] lightest it’s been in years: but equally as nerve racking. Getting used to everything again, even in my fourth year, is not easy. I still look back at my first year at UofT and wonder how I did it all!
Dimitrios: What stood out to me about my first few weeks here is how fun and exciting university can be! While our primary goal at university is our studies, that is just the tip of the university iceberg! There are countless groups to get involved with, events to go to, and things to do during your time at UofT. You can find something different to do each day, so be sure to make the most of these opportunities
Lauren: Now, going into my third year, that first day story renders me both wistful and restless. In many ways I have completely eschewed that freshman girl – that boyfriend and I couldn’t hack long distance but have now sustained a fruitful friendship, I have moved residences twice, and I no longer speak to some of the people I once dined with – but on the whole I feel so proud of that shambolic first year. If I were to have been gifted the option of clairvoyance in that first week, I’m sure the temptation of looking to the future – this future I’m living now – might have been too good to pass up, yet I remain happy that omnipotence has not been given to me. Through the years I’ve learned so much about what I will and will not take, how to love myself, how to love others, how to study properly (because Dimitrios is right, university is kind of supposed to be for learning!) That first week is now a distant memory, but it also showed me that I can be outgoing, can be involved, and can enjoy the god life even in the throes of school. I’ve brought these lessons even into this year, so as I was unpacking my third dorm room, I left Dee Snider in a box at home. I may not need his painted face for room decor anymore – as I’ve now begun to prioritize textbooks and fluffy pillows over the faces of pugnacious performers – but he’ll always be my sister, even if he is fairly twisted.
