{"id":24811,"date":"2024-01-08T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T17:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=24811"},"modified":"2024-01-17T11:17:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T19:17:10","slug":"tips-and-tricks-for-surviving-the-winter-semester-at-lansdowne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2024\/01\/08\/tips-and-tricks-for-surviving-the-winter-semester-at-lansdowne\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips and tricks for surviving the winter semester at Lansdowne"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As this is my last term at Camosun College I have a pretty good grip of the ins and outs of surviving college life at Lansdowne, especially for the cold, dark, and dopamine-depleting winter semester.<\/p>\n<p>I thought that I\u2019d share my bountiful wisdom with the student body because I\u2019m nothing if not a philanthropist\u2014that, and my editor asked me to.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Best study spots<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Something that I\u2019ve learned over time is the importance of leaving the house to study. It truly makes a world of difference. I find that sitting in a studious environment with no distractions is the key to success. Mostly because I\u2019ll start cleaning my kitchen or attempting to cut my cat\u2019s nails to avoid sitting down and actually doing homework if I\u2019m left to my own devices.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_24812\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24812\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-24812\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-525x700.jpg 525w, https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_5054-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24812\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A quiet place to study at Camosun&#8217;s Lansdowne campus (photo by Jordyn Haukaas\/<em>Nexus<\/em>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But where to go on campus? There\u2019s the obvious choice of the library, which is equipped with study rooms, computers and printers, quiet areas, and one of the most important features: assistance from the knowledgable librarians (more on that later). I love booking one of the study rooms for group projects, using the printer services, and talking with the librarians. However, even with its impressive resume of services, it\u2019s not my go-to.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I prefer the sanctitude of the quiet study room in the Wilna Thomas building. Located in room 204, the room has the necessary components for a study sesh, with fashionable dividers between desks, beanbag chairs, and the most pleasant lighting I\u2019ve encountered at this school. It\u2019s been acting as my haven for when I need to be alone with my books. Additionally, the various benches and study rooms in the building make for great places to hunker down and work with classmates on a group project (or to vent to your friends about participating in group projects).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Honourable mentions for best study locations go to the study nooks on the second and third floors of the Fisher building and the large study area on the top floor of the Young building, which has an additional connecting room filled with comfy chairs, and a relaxing atmosphere that looks very inviting for a nap\u2014I\u2019ve avoided it in times where lucidity is required.<\/p>\n<p><b>Best and worst college food<\/b><\/p>\n<p>As far as the food at Camosun goes, I\u2019ve ben advocating for the cafeteria to offer healthier food options since the dawn of time (or, 2022, when I started here). Health qualms aside, I\u2019ve navigated the ups and downs of the cafeteria more than I care to admit.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Ignore everything you\u2019ve heard about food groups because I\u2019ve created my own, which I\u2019ve filtered into two categories: \u201cindulge\u201d and \u201cavoid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indulge:<\/p>\n<p>The poutine at the college is my escape for when I hate myself, after a stressful exam, or whenever I want to be lulled into a carb coma that lasts for the remainder of the day. Specifically, I go for the buffalo chicken poutine. (If you can\u2019t handle spice, there are other options, like the original poutine or mushroom poutine.)<\/p>\n<p>But my poutine addiction is hardly helpful advice, so what I\u2019d suggest is to take advantage of the customizable options at the cafeteria\u2014from my experience, the staff have always been extremely friendly and willing to accommodate. They can make sandwiches and bowls, and they often have tasty specials available. Also, during the especially cold and frigid months try the soup: I\u2019ve never been disappointed and it leaves me feeling good and not overly weighed down like the poutine does.<\/p>\n<p>Or sometimes, I\u2019ll have a slice of pizza, which is usually fresh with a variety of flavours. I will say, I\u2019m extremely annoyed that the Interurban campus has a pizza machine, and Lansdowne doesn\u2019t. Whoever picked Interurban over Lansdowne for a pizza robot has no place in my life, and I want them to know that.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Avoid:<\/p>\n<p>Unless you like slightly chewy sushi and underwhelming dumplings, I\u2019d avoid the \u201csushi\u201d area of the cafeteria. It\u2019s not horrible when you\u2019re in a pinch and aren\u2019t feeling like a plain sandwich, but as far as good sushi goes, it missed the mark, unless that mark is a C-. I realize that this next critique is probably more subjective than not but I don\u2019t think the burgers are worth the price; they have relatively slim patties and don\u2019t fulfill my junk-food fantasies like a burger should.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Get resource-ful<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The last and most important piece of advice I have to offer is to use the resources available to us. A portion of our student fees are allocated to these resources, so there\u2019s no excuse to not tap into them. For example, the librarians I mentioned earlier carry with them a wealth of knowledge, and they\u2019re vastly supportive. Any time I\u2019ve been stuck in an endless sea of research, academic sources, and questions, they\u2019ve acted as a lifeboat, saving me from the storm and placing me in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re away from the library and have a question there\u2019s also an amazing feature called AskAway chat on the college library\u2019s homepage.<\/p>\n<p>Through AskAway, you can message with a real librarian who will assist you with any questions you have, and, in my experience, they\u2019ve always responded within minutes. Trust me, this service has saved me so many times and will continue to do so until I graduate.<\/p>\n<p>A habit I fall off of in times of stress is one that I actually should\u2019ve leaned into during those times: visiting my teachers\u2019 office hours. I\u2019ve had countless talks with my teachers that have been a contributing factor to my success on a project or exam. If you want to boost your letter grade, meet with your teachers and ask them questions\u2014nine times out of 10 it will make all the difference. You can thank me later.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are a plethora of other resources available; these are just the ones that I found helpful. But get your hands dirty and do some research\u2014there are many available options to help you during your time at college.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Happy studying, and I hope this new semester is a successful one. See you on the other side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As this is my last term at Camosun College I have a pretty good grip of the ins and outs of surviving college life at Lansdowne, especially for the cold, dark, and dopamine-depleting winter semester. I thought that I\u2019d share my bountiful wisdom with the student body because I\u2019m nothing if not a philanthropist\u2014that, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,302],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","category-january-8-2024"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24813,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24811\/revisions\/24813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}