Month: September 2021

Conflict with a roommate can be a stain on your college experience. It’s always unpleasant coming home when you don’t get along with the person in your shared space. However, instead of simply accepting your fate, there are things you can do to prevent drama.

1. Discuss Your Problems

Never expect issues to resolve themselves if you stay silent. A passive aggressive approach — such as making it obvious that you’re annoyed about something or complaining to someone else and hoping it gets back to your roommate — will only make things worse.

First, recognize that your roommate may be unaware that something is upsetting you. After all, what’s normal for one person could be offensive to another. Invite your roommate to a discussion about living together and talk calmly and kindly about anything that’s bothering you. Make sure to ask your roommate if there is anything you need to change, too.

2. Give Each Other Time to Overcome Issues

Long-standing bad habits can be difficult to change overnight. Plus, your roommate may need time to find solutions to whatever is leading to the conflict between the two of you. Give your roommate a chance to make adjustments, and only have another conversation about the problems if you don’t see any progress or if your roommate is taking too long to uphold his or her end of the bargain.

3. Find a Mediator

Some causes for conflict may be too big for the two of you alone to resolve. In these cases, it’s best to find a mediator. If you live on campus, an RA is a good choice. Otherwise, find someone else who can be neutral and who can help you work toward a solution. It may be beneficial for each of you to initially talk to the mediator one-on-one without the other being there. The mediator can then come up with an action plan or arrive at a compromise that means neither of you will be too unhappy.

4. Remember It Won’t Last Forever

The good thing about college is that you tend to live with the same roommate for only a short time before moving on to different accommodations. If your situation is uncomfortable but bearable, just remember that it will be over relatively soon. You can always spend more time in other places — such as the library when you want to study or your friends’ homes during evenings and weekends — to limit contact with your roommate.

Of course, if the situation is unbearable and unresolvable, the only solution is to find alternative housing. It’s best if you can switch rooms or apartments with someone you know. However, if that’s not possible, the only option may be to break your lease. In this case, learn from the experience to make better choices for your living arrangements next semester.

You’re much less likely to face roommate drama if you don’t share a room. This means moving off campus and into a student rental. Oshawa students can receive their own room in a three-bedroom suite or five-bedroom townhouse at Foundry Simcoe. Apply now before all the units are gone.

Since the habits you develop at college will likely stick with you for a long time, now is the perfect time to become healthier. There are many things you can do that require minimal time, effort, and expense but will make a big difference to your life.

1. Keep Your Apartment Clean

Make it part of your routine to do a little cleaning often. Wipe down surfaces and door handles, make your bed every morning, and do your laundry before you run out of clothing. Having a clean home will protect you from illness and improve your mental health. Bear in mind that it’s extra important to clean in the winter, as your windows will be shut more, which allows dust to build up.

2. Exercise Regularly

Much of your life as a college student may be spent sitting — either in class or at your desk when you’re studying at home. This means there’s a good chance you’re not moving enough. However, one of the great things about college is the chance to try out sports and activities you were never able to practice before. Experiment with as many as you can until you find one or a couple you love to incorporate into your weekly routine. You’ll find that you sleep better, improve your immunity, and just feel better overall.

3. Sleep Enough

Many college students try to survive on far too few hours of sleep, often believing that they can make up for what they missed on weeknights through naps on the weekend. However, your body is unable to function well like this. You’ll struggle to focus in class, you’ll be more irritable and stressed, and your immunity will be lower.

Setting a bedtime can help (it’s worth setting a notification on your phone to remind you), but this may not be enough if you find it difficult to fall asleep. The most important thing to do is stop looking at screens at least one hour before bedtime. Blue light wakes up your mind and makes it harder to fall asleep. Use this time to read, do some stretches, work on an art project — whatever helps you relax. In addition, avoid coffee from the late afternoon onward, as caffeine can stay in your body for hours and continue to have an effect.

4. Eat a Balanced Diet

Having the freedom to eat whatever you want can mean you’re tempted to make less-than-ideal choices. Just paying more attention to what you choose can go a long way. Often, mindlessly eating the first thing that appeals to you ultimately won’t be what makes your body feel good. On the other hand, eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, will keep you energized and satisfied.
The best way to eat a healthy diet is to go grocery shopping rather than to rely on what’s available on campus. As well as buying ingredients for meals, think about what you can have for snacks. You’ll end up spending less as a result, since unhealthy snacks sold in stores on campus tend to be pricey.

5. Drink Plenty of Water

Whenever you can, hydrate with water. Carry a reusable bottle with you everywhere: to classes, to your extracurriculars, and when you’re out and about. This is another money-saver, as it will prevent you from needing to purchase beverages, and you’ll end up consuming far less sugar.

6. Know Yourself

Stay alert for signs that you’re becoming unwell or need rest. It can be tempting to ignore indications of exhaustion because you never want to miss out on fun opportunities. However, it’s important to be alert for signs of burnout, as it can impact your academic performance and mean you no longer feel like socializing.

It’s easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you have a comfortable place to live. For Durham College student housing, there’s Foundry Simcoe. You’ll have your own room where you can sleep undisturbed, a kitchen where you can prepare healthy meals, and great restaurants nearby for when you don’t feel like cooking. Apply for a lease now while units are still available.

Figuring out whether you should drop a class may be one of the most difficult decisions you have to make at college. You need to be sure you won’t regret your decision, especially if you drop the class too late to receive your money back. Having said that, there are certain indications that dropping a class is the best course of action.

1. Other People Recommend It

The most important person to talk to before you drop a class is your student advisor or registrar. It’s critical that you’re clear about the process and know what the consequences of dropping the class will be. In addition, though, you should talk to students who have already taken the class, your professor, and the department head. They can tell you if the class will become even more difficult and if you’re likely to continue struggling.

2. It Will Lower Your GPA

The last thing you want is to allow a single class to bring down your GPA. If the class is a requirement for your major, it could be better to take it at a later date — when you’re more prepared or you have more room in your schedule. If the class is an elective that you thought you were going to enjoy, learn from the experience. There may still be time to switch to something completely different.

3. You’ll Definitely Fail

There’s no point continuing with the class if you’re sure you’ll fail. For some classes, the final exam counts for your entire grade, in which case you may be able to work to improve your understanding of the material. However, if the class uses a continuous assessment model and something happened early that ruined your chances of passing — such as you missed the due date for a crucial assignment, you submitted the wrong work, or you forgot to set your alarm and overslept on the day of the test — the only solution may be to drop the class.

4. You Received Incorrect Information

Perhaps you thought the class was required for your major or maybe you missed the section in the course outline that specified a prerequisite that you don’t have. The class could even have changed from previous semesters and you read old information. In any case, it may be better to take the class later or drop it entirely.

5. Your Attendance Is Almost Nonexistent

You may skip a class because you dislike it or because you struggle to fit it into your schedule. In the latter scenario, you may have two classes back to back located on different parts of campus, or the class may clash with the schedule for your part-time job or another commitment. It’s best to come to the conclusion early that you can’t possibly attend the class, so it would be best to drp it.

6. The Class Is Simply a Nightmare

There may be a chance that you’d pass the class (perhaps even with a decent grade) if you stuck with it, but it’s ruining your life at the moment. It doesn’t matter if this is due to the materials, the professor, your workload, or something else: if a class is negatively affecting your mental health, it’s not worth continuing.

There’s also a possibility that the class is not the problem: it’s your study space. This is likely the case if you feel that several of your classes are unmanageable or that you’re falling behind in general. Instead of dropping classes, find a better place to study than your dorm room. A great solution is to move into Durham College off-campus housing. At Foundry Simcoe, you can have your own room in a five-bedroom townhouse or in a three-bedroom suite. Apply now before all the units are sold out.

Students love to sleep, but going to bed on time is often difficult — and getting up in the morning is even more of a challenge. Nonetheless, becoming a morning person at university can improve your life. Not only will you arrive to class on time (without needing to rush), you can also use your morning productively, which will make it feel like you have more time. This may sound like a dream, but anyone can become a morning person — here’s how.

1. Get Up When Your Alarm Goes Off

Instead of hitting the snooze button, get out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off. You may need to train yourself to do this. One method is to set your alarm to become louder every time you hit snooze; another is to set an alarm sound that you can’t stand.

If you use your phone as an alarm clock, avoid looking at any notifications — that will only keep you in bed that much longer. It can help to leave your phone across the room, making the only option to get out of bed. Just don’t allow yourself to climb back in.

2. Prepare Yourself for the Day

If you’re slow to wake up, it can help to spend a few minutes adjusting your mindset for the day. Think about what you want to achieve (such as how you’ll progress toward your goals) and check your calendar to see what you have on your schedule for the day. Perhaps think about how you’ll manage to complete everything on your to-do list, including how it will feel to check off that final item — which is much more likely to happen if you’re productive early in the day. Finally, you may like to meditate or reflect on the positive things in your life.

Turn all this into a regular morning ritual. Soon, you’ll find yourself adapting to this reflective morning routine.

3. Talk to Someone

A solution for morning irritability is to socialize. Call a friend or family member or strike up a conversation with a roommate. You may feel like this takes an unreasonable amount of effort at first, but it will soon lead to you feeling happier at the start of every day.

4. Start Moving

It’s impossible to stay sleepy when you exercise. Find an exercise routine that works for you to energize yourself in the morning. You could use an app for a workout to do in your room, head to a nearby gym, jog in the park, or even join a fitness class. In fact, exercising with others can keep you motivated and accountable. If there are no organized classes in your area, create something yourself with a group of friends.

5. Go to Sleep on Time

Unless you’ve slept enough, it’s impossible to feel anything but exhausted in the morning. If you’re struggling to fall asleep, try putting away all screens a couple hours before bedtime. If this is impossible due to your study schedule, at least enable a blue light filter on your devices.

6. If All Else Fails, There’s Coffee

If you need an extra boost of energy in the morning, turn to coffee. Just thinking about how it will taste and smell may be enough to incentivize you to get out of bed. Plus, you’ll feel instantly awake and ready to take on the day.

One more thing that can help you become a morning person at university is having your own room. No one will disturb you at night, which will mean you gain a better night’s sleep.

To have your own room, though, you’ll likely need to move out of your dorm and look for student apartments. Oshawa students have Foundry Simcoe. You’ll share an apartment with just two or four other people and have a private bedroom that comes with a comfortable double bed. Apply now to secure your spot in time for next semester.