"You win some, you lose some."

"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough."
-- Og Mandino

I'm pretty sure a lot of us came into university thinking the worst, yet we weren't exactly expecting it. We came in with high hopes, and we harbored that juvenile expectation that we'd always do well and get what we wanted. But realize that when you walk into UofT, as harsh and as bitter as the administration and marking system so happen to be, you're walking into a slap-in-the-face. For kids who've never experienced this before, it's the hardest possible lesson to learn: Real life happens.

What exactly does "real life" entail? Let me rephrase this: Life is full of unexpected things, half of which are unfathomable. Real life happens at UofT. Here, you learn the real meaning of working your ass off; the line, "I'm going to pull an all nighter," never seemed so real. You actually do pull all-nighters. You kill yourself for hours trying to master a concept that will barely, if not never, cling to the recesses of your mind. You struggle to stay focused, but you're having too much fun being distracted. Work ethics come into play at UofT, no matter what anyone says -- you can contest that you came from a grungy high school, and I'll wholeheartedly believe you: Strong foundations build strong buildings. The same goes for futures: if you weren't well-educated and weren't encouraged or challenged, you obviously haven't experienced education to its fullest. As hard and as heinous as UofT is, you know they're challenging you and they want the best from you. No less. If you feel like it, please do yell, "High school robbed me of an education." It'll be well attested.

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."

-- Maya Angelou

You come into first year and you are either shocked by the impersonal atmosphere created by thousands of kids, or the newness of failure. Failing your first test, ever, doesn't mean you failed life. It just means you came across a prominent bump in the road (to where? I'm not sure, but you can decide that yourself). And for others, especially those that hail from a very well-fashioned lifestyle where everything just seemingly went well/your way: Not getting what you want doesn't mean the world's against you.

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
-- Sir Winston Churchill

For anyone who's had their heart broken this year (either in realizing that "nothing was going to happen" or that "it was an impossible scenario," you all get what I'm saying), or had their dreams dashed, or had their hopes drowned: you'll live. I give you a good couple of weeks, which should be plenty of time to rejuvenate yourself and recuperate from all this stress, and you'll be fine. The only person who can help you is yourself. Only you can refuse to be put down by these thoughts. Failed? Study your ass off for the next test. The same principle applies to all other aspects of so-called "failure" (which is terrible, terrible word). If at first you don't succeed, try again; that doesn't mean you take the same route, or approach the same person after all truths have been established -- it means you have to find a new route. Find a new approach, a new ideal. Evolve and progress damn it!

So you didn't get your anticipated 99.9% and ended up with a 70% instead; that's not bad. If you think that's bad, think of everyone else who would kill for a 70 (I would honestly kill for a constant 70 in all my courses; that would be a fantastic Christmas gift). Think about everyone else who's trying so much harder than you to understand concepts, but doesn't obtain something near that mark. Count your bloody effin' blessings, children. That's the least you can do amidst all this madness. There's no point bitching and moaning, when you can be working on something.

If you can fix a problem, fix it. If you can't, then go and cry.
There's no point crying over something that can be altered. Nothing is ever set in stone (maybe except for your genetic makeup, which obviously mutates as things go haywire). If you settle for less, if you settle for this so-called fate, you're obviously not trying hard enough; thus, you don't want to do as well as the other kids, hence your own failures. So do something already! Gah.

And back to anyone who's been slapped in the face about the imperfections of expectations versus hopes. "So if I try hard enough in school, and get what marks I want, I can apply this try-and-try-again rule to relationships and all that jazz?" Well. No, not really. Love, crushes, all that rose-tinted stuff can't be tampered with. Working for you obviously involves one person and their ability to push themselves past their threshold, past their own expectations. Working something out, like a relationship, takes two. It takes two to tango, hun. If one end doesn't bother working out the steps, it'll look like badly-choreographed jive. And don't confine yourselves yet. No one is anyone's soulmate. I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm just saying there aren't defined people for your happiness. Don't let other people draw the line when it comes down to how you feel, or how you are.

Changing for the sake of someone else is never a good sign.
Quirky is as quirky does; what would the world do without this you that you are?
Imbalance would occur! That's what. So just... be you.
Hope. Dream. Dance. Scream. Be you.
There's no point in thinking otherwise.
(I'd respect you less; a whole lot less.)
And if nothing seems to go your way... Find another way.
Not everything will be perfect. Get used to it.
Life with it. Real life is at UofT. Real life can hurt.
But don't lose faith or hope in it. No point in moping.
When one door closes, find another. When they're all shut...
Find a window. It's obviously a haunted house you're in.


Peace out.

PS: This post goes out to all those who've been disappointed in the past four months. You're good people and you're all fantastic; don't you ever think that one test, one moment, one defined feeling that governs your sanity, defines you and the path you're taking. Because it doesn't. And if you think that way, please call my cell phone. We will have a very, very long talk. Crumpets and tea? I'd like that. With a smack on the head and a reality check to boot. (You know I love you guys.)