Going to UWO as a Non-Party Person

By Sabila Hamid

Life at Western was definitely the best 4 years of my life. I have never lived away from home so living alone in London was daunting at first but soon, I got used to the university lifestyle. When I was in high school, there was a popular belief that Saugeen, one of the residences at Western was the “party house”.” As such, I was nervous when I found out that Saugeen was the residence that was selected for me. However, I learned that Saugeen (and Western) was so much more than that. Living in a traditional residence (two people per room, shared bathrooms with the floor) is probably one of the biggest piece of advice I can give to an incoming Western student. It gives you about 20 new friends firsthand and your floor becomes a small community. Several of my floor-mates eventually became my housemates and some of my closest friends. Although there is certainly a party/drinking culture at Western, it is not all it is. The students are diverse and you can definitely find people with the same interests as you. I do think students at Western are some of the nicest and most welcoming people, and the experience becomes much more memorable once you find your group of people.

Academically, I did feel there was a jump in difficulty from high school to university. It was hard for me to adjust with the typical “one midterm and one final” layout for many courses. It’s different from high school because a large portion of your grade is from just 2 exams. Also, unlike high school, university lectures can have up to 400 students which can be intimidating. However, with that being said, time management is a very important skill that will help with the stress of having a full course load. Along with cooking meals, doing laundry, socializing, and extracurricular activities, academics is not the only thing to focus on. With good time management skills and prioritization, it is more than possible to do well in course work and thrive in other aspects of university as well. University can be nerve-wracking at first but instills so much self-growth and independence over the course of 4 years. Especially living away from home, your friends literally become your second family and the inclusive community makes any hardship that much easier to deal with.

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