important lessons from amazing people

The beauty of being thrown into a house with 30 other people from all over the world is that you meet and connect with people you never would have crossed paths with otherwise. I now speak to people from places like Australia, Iceland, Mexico, Chile, parts of Asia, and all over Europe on a daily basis, sharing stories, experiences and ambitions. The world is a diverse and interesting place, and having the chance to share part of my life with people who can teach me about places I never would have thought about before is a very special thing. Even those from the UK who I would consider myself similar to in many respects have changed my perspective. 
Some of the most valuable lessons I have learnt here have not come from lecturers, they have come from the people who I am living this experience with, and I am going to share some of these.

Positivity is so important
There are a handful of people in this house who have such a positive outlook on life. They find the good in every situation, and this is something that I find both inspiring and daunting. As a naturally pessimistic person I rarely see the good in bad situations and let them get me down, but somehow these people are able to turn anything into a positive situation and rarely let things get to them too much. I feel like this has rubbed off on me a bit (I want to stress the words a bit, I still like a good old moan), and I hope to be able to channel more of their attitude and gradually work towards a more positive mindset. 

It's ok to rant
On the flip side, I have also learnt that it is ok to have a rant and get things off your chest from time to time. It stops you bottling things up inside and exploding at the poor person who happens to hit a nerve on a bad day. 

What's meant to be is meant to be
This is so cliche but I have learnt from the people I have met here that if something is meant to be then it will happen. We have all ended up in this position because we are meant to be here for this portion of our lives, whether we expected it or not. Everything that has happened here and will happen here over the next few months is supposed to happen and thinking ahead/planning for the future can only get you so far. I've learnt that I need to sit back and relax a bit more and let life follow its path rather than planning every detail of my day and the months ahead. 

Culture is so important
I'm not sure as a through and through Brit I can say I'm particularly cultured. I've travelled parts of Europe and can appreciate the importance of different cultures around the world, but I'd never really realised how you can learn from being surrounded by many different ones 24/7. Even the Canadian culture has taken me by surprise as I ignorantly assumed that it would be very similar to what I'm used to. I have definitely learnt to appreciate the value and importance of culture more, and will definitely try to embrace what's left of the British culture when I get home (even if it's nothing more than sarcasm and complaining about the rain).

The world is so big, but also so small
I didn't know that it takes hours to even fly off Australia if you live in the South. I had no idea how far away I live from most of the world, and how lucky I have been to be within a couple of hours of most of Europe. This planet is huge. If I think about it too much it really messes with my head. The fact that for most of the day my Aussie friends are living in a different day to their families is crazy. Canada is massive too, Quebec is 12 times the size of the UK and driving for two hours doesn't even get you to the next nearest city. Two hours from home and I'm South of London, in Yorkshire, by the East Coast or almost in Wales. At the same time, the world is so small. I have housemates who grew up in the same area and only met here. I've met someone who knows another friend of mine from home. I'm constantly reminded of that 'It's a Small World' ride in Disneyland. 

There's more to life than grades
Echoing my last post, one of the most important things I have learnt is that there is more to life than grades. As I mentioned before, it took me a while to accept that but now I can appreciate that sometimes an experience is worth so much more and I have learnt this from the people I am living with. 

This post is slightly cringe, but as the semester draws to a close and I start having to say goodbye to some of my housemates, I think it's important to reflect on what they have taught me, whether directly or indirectly. I'll definitely be going home with different attitudes and outlooks on things thanks to being surrounded by so many different backgrounds, and I'm pretty lucky to be able to do that. 

A Change in Attitude...

Eight months seemed like forever before I came to Canada, and during the first few weeks I was wishing that it would just hurry up and be December already so I could go home and be back where everything is familiar, even just for two weeks. I still have bursts of that sometimes, when I see all of my home uni friends together or when I get a bad grade, but now, over two months in and halfway through this semester, all I want is for time to slow down.

I've had my fair share of lows since coming to McGill. My academic performance is far from even being considered decent and my workload is insane. Throwing that in with being so far from everything I have ever known and having to adapt to living on the other side of the Atlantic has meant that there I've had some very low moments - I've looked at countless flights back to the UK and even considered not coming back next semester. 

This weekend however, my mentality has completely shifted. 

It's suddenly hit me tonight (I'm writing this at 11:35pm on Sunday) that I am so incredibly lucky to be here and that I spend a lot of time feeling sorry for myself when I have nothing to complain about. Sure, my grades are nowhere near what I expected or wanted, yes I have a lot to do and yes sometimes I do just want to curl up in a ball and sleep for week, but I'm in CANADA - life is pretty damn good. In two short months I have had so many incredible experiences, I've adapted to a whole new way of working (who knew the British and American education systems were SO different?) and I've met some amazing people, all whilst making Montreal my home. 

I think a lot of the reason for this sudden change in attitude is to do with the people I've met and realising that I only have a few weeks left with a lot of them. I'm living in a house with 30 people from completely different and diverse backgrounds who each bring something different to the experience. Some of them work harder than anyone I have ever met, some of them have such interesting life stories and some of them are so incredibly positive that it's hard not to feel inspired. I've always known that I would only have one semester with a lot of them with yet somehow it never really hit me until this week that in 7 weeks, it's goodbye, and with some of them it may be forever. I think it’s the fact that it's now November, and while part of me is ridiculously excited that I’m seeing some of my best friends and my family next month, the most overwhelming feeling is sadness that I will be saying goodbye to the people that have become my family over that last few weeks. The people who will be replacing them next semester have so much to live up to, and I hope to be writing a similar post to this in a few months confirming that they did. 

I am so so lucky that I will be coming back after Christmas for round 2, even if I don't feel it sometimes. I needed this wake up call to remind my pessimistic little brain that although important, grades aren't everything - I can get back on track in my third year and still end up where I want to be. The experiences I am having here are so much more valuable, it's just a shame it's taken me 2 months to realise that. 

Dear October...

Dear October, 

You'll always be my favourite month, although this year I have definitely paid for enjoying you...

Concrete Jungle 

Of the four weekends in October I only spent one in Montreal, and that was my birthday weekend so I have had a pretty busy month!

The first weekend was spent in New York City, and was potentially one of the best weekends of my life. Going to New York has always been on my bucket list, and without wanting to sound too cliché it was literally a dream come true finally going there. The first day started in Times Square and then we went to Grand Central (I had a Gossip Girl fangirl moment), The Empire State Building, The Met (another Gossip Girl moment), Central Park, along the High Line and then 'home' to Brooklyn after dinner. My fave moment of that day was when we were up the Empire State, overlooking the city and I could see the skyline that I had seen so many times in photos. I had one of those heart bursting moments where I felt incredibly lucky to be where I was. 

Top of the Rock 

Day two was just a busy as day one. We visited the 9/11 memorial which was a humbling experience, and is such a beautiful tribute. I had the same feeling there as I did at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, a feeling I can't quite describe. From there we went on the Staten Island ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty, before going for lunch at Shakeshack and almost crying at how good the chips (fries) were. We then walked back to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn Bridge, where I had another heart bursting moment - it was so beautiful! That evening we went to Top of the Rock and saw New York by night from above. This was probably the highlight of the whole trip for me, it was so peaceful up there and we almost had it to ourselves because we went so late, we even got a photoshoot (shoutout to the guard who provided the torch and photography skills).

Bday with my bday twin

It rained on our last day so it was a pretty chill day. We ate at Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn and then studied in a cafe opposite the Library (which was closed) before heading back to the bus station and braving the journey back to Montreal. 

The week after New York I had 3 midterm exams which were a new experience for me. They did not go well at all, whether that be down to the New York trip or just my inability to grasp the Canadian university system, we will never know (hoping it's the former else my degree not going to go as planned). That weekend was my 20th Birthday, and was one of my favourite birthdays ever. If you'd have told me last year I was going to turn 20 in Montreal, surrounded by a group of people from all four corners of the world I would have laughed in your face, but it happened and it was amazing. We spent my actual birthday at a college football game, which I didn't understand at all. I can't thank my 3653 fam enough for making my bday so special and for getting me the cutest card and gifts!

Niagara Falls

Toronto from the CN tower

From the 19th - 30th my family came over from the UK which was so lovely. We spent the first weekend in Toronto where we literally walked the whole city, and went up the CN tower which was another insane view of another insane city. Toronto is one of the most diverse places I have ever been, it's huge and I would love to go back and explore more in the future. We spent the Sunday of that weekend at Niagara Falls which was another bucket list experience. It is hard to describe the beauty of it and the pictures definitely don't do it justice. It was so nice to be able to go there with my family because it is somewhere none of us ever thought we would actually go to! It was probably one of the highlights of my Canadian experience so far, especially the boat trip which took us right up to the Falls.

Quebec City 

That week I met my family for dinner every day, and we did some typical Montreal things like going up Mont Royal and to a hockey game (which they loved). Then for their last few days here we went to Quebec City which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to! It is like being in a small French town which I love. The architecture was stunning and it was just such a gorgeous place, I'm definitely going back when it snows there! 

Yesterday was Halloween and also the eve of one of my housemate's birthdays (shoutout to Mother Moss) so we dressed up and celebrated. It was such a good night and was nice to celebrate Halloween in North America where it is such a massive thing. 

Mean Girls on Halloween  

Overall October was a really good month fully of a lot of travel and a lot of memories were made. My academic life hasn't been going so well and I'm not doing as well as I perhaps hoped but with the amount of travel and experiences I have had I can see why. Hopefully November will be just as good, but perhaps a bit more successful academically (I would like to actually pass this year!)