Dear
Dear first year me,
What an adventure you are about to embark
on to, to say the least.
To tell you about what undergrad will be like,
I’m going to use three simple words: FAILURE,
HELP, LOVE.
Let me explain, and we’ll circle back in
a bit.
When you get to the University of Waterloo,
it’ll feel like a fresh start, and you’ll
be determined to make the most out of your
university experience.
But as soon as classes start, you will see
all of your plans of grandeur just fly out
the window.
You’re going to spend the entirety of your
first month doing nothing but studying, and
when midterms come around, you’re going
to fail for the first time in your life.
I don’t mean to scare you, but it’s going
to happen.
On a positive note, you’re going to seek
help from your profs, your TAs, and the friends
that you’ve made, and slowly you’ll start
to change your study habits for the better.
In addition to that, you’re going to get
more involved with the Engineering Society,
and you’ll find your sense of belonging
and your home for the next five years.
Getting involved with something you love really
helps you re-prioritize things and maintain
a healthier work-life balance.
As you get into upper years, life is going
to take a sharp left turn on you, and your
mental health will hit rock bottom.
You’re going to be diagnosed with depression
half-way through undergrad, and spend a long
time working to improve how you deal with
it.
You’ll seek out counselling for the first
time, and your amazing support system will
be there for you through it all.
You’re going to learn that just because
things are tough, it doesn’t mean that you
have to go through it on your own.
You’re going to work through everything
and come out the other side a stronger and
much more mindful person because of it.
You’re going to always make time for things
that you enjoy and the people you love, which
will ultimately get you through the best and
worst 5 years of your life.
When it comes to co-op, you’ll learn more
about what jobs you DON’T want to do than
what you actually like, and the uncertainty
about your future will frustrate you endlessly.
But in the end, it will work out, and you’ll
be at a job that you love, helping improve
the future of wide-spread electric vehicle
adoption.
You might have noticed a theme here.
You’re going to struggle a lot through undergrad,
but you’ll make the most out of each situation,
you’ll seek out the help that you need,
and you’re going to leave here with the
fondest memories you could ask for.
That ties back to the three words I mentioned
at the beginning,
FAILURE, HELP, LOVE.
If I had three pieces of advice for you, they
are:
1.FAILURE doesn’t define you
2.Seak the HELP that you need
3.Do what you LOVE!¬¬
My name is Abdullah Barakat University of
Waterloo graduate, class of 2018.
