T-dot, Hogtown, “El Toro”??, Hollywood North, Centre of the Universe, and your new home! Welcome.

August 7, 2011 1 Comment

I was a newcomer to Toronto last September and, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I was a little nervous about moving to a big city. Now I love it! Here I want to talk a little about living in Toronto and some of my favourite things to do.

The first thing I want to convey is that you should not be afraid of a little distance. Last summer when I was looking for houses I was told to look in ‘The Annex’, but everything I found there was really small and really pricey, so my roommate and I decided to expand our search. We made a few appointments, came up to Toronto for the day, and made a point of taking the TTC everywhere we went so that we could get a feel for times/distances. We ended up accepting a slightly longer commute in exchange for a place we really love. I live a little further away from campus than most of my classmates. It usually takes me 25 minutes to get to school on the TTC, but it doesn’t feel that long when you’re listening to music, reading a novel, or brushing up on your torts cases.

The fact of not living right downtown has not hindered my ability to participate in pub nights etc. I use the blue night TTC system to get home after a night out. I am also a huge fan of myttc.ca and smartphone apps for getting me to and from various places without getting lost.

Living in Toronto is so convenient. I can order any cuisine I want online and have it delivered to my door (not something I’m used to). The shopping is amazing. I live equidistant from Yorkdale and the Eaton Centre (in terms of travel time) and there are tonnes of really great stores right around the law school.

One of my favourite things to do in Toronto is going out to see a show. This obviously isn’t something you can do every weekend (my ScotiaBank line of credit is good, but not that good), but I made a point of seeing a show each semester: Priscilla Queen of the Desert and The Lion King. A friend of mine and I scheduled The Lion King right after final exams in April. It was a great way to celebrate and we made a whole night of it. We checked out art museums and a really nice restaurant in the Distillery District before the show (another place I highly recommend). After December exams I went with another friend to the Royal Ontario Museum. Trust me, it’s way cooler than you remember it being when you were 10 years old.

Last year I didn’t really know what festivals were when and I felt like I was probably missing out on a lot. The truth is that Toronto has way more to offer than I can fit in this blog, and everyone will have different interests. Seriously, set out some ‘touristy’ time. Go to a Toronto tourism website (there are several) and figure out what you want to do this year. There are music festivals, drama festivals, film festivals [sidebar: Go to TIFF! The Toronto International Film Festival will be running September 8-18 (just in time for your arrival 1Ls!). Last year I saw “Buried”, and Ryan Reynolds gave a talk after the screening (no big deal). ], art festivals, a salsa festival, sporting events, concerts, etc. and I have no doubt that no matter what your interests, there will be people in law school who share them.

Filed under Toronto

Law School Jitters

July 14, 2011 1 Comment

Last summer I was really nervous about starting law school for a number of reasons. Coming to a new school to a discipline that was rumoured to be hyper-competitive put a lot of pressure on me to perform and I wondered if I would be up to the challenge. On top of that, moving to Toronto was a huge change for me. I grew up in a much smaller city (population 50,000) and did my undergrad at a school where most students never leave the six-or-so blocks of the student ghetto. I had only ever visited Toronto for high school fieldtrips and the occasional Broadway show. I had no idea where I was going to live or how I would get around. A week before orientation, I still had not found an apartment. As you can imagine, I was freaking out!

I was really excited to meet my new classmates, and was thankful to be arriving with a relatively large group of friends from undergrad. On the other hand, none of my friends were in my ‘section’ of the class, and although my friends consider me fairly outgoing, I am actually quite introverted in large crowds of new faces.

All of these anxieties quickly passed. I found a great apartment last minute from a landlord just as desperate as I was to meet the September 1st deadline. I learned how to navigate the TTC (which is not at all confusing) and soon discovered that the neighbourhood around the law school had just about everything I would need.

At Orientation Week I met dozens upon dozens of new people. I couldn’t remember anyone’s names, but then again neither could they. In fact, you realize fairly early on that everyone is in the same boat as you are.  Everyone is trying to find the right school/life balance. You have an instant support system of really great people around you, and while U of T law is competitive, it is definitely not as cutthroat as you’ve heard.

If you don’t know what kind of law you want to practice, you’re not alone. If you don’t know what the seven sister firms are in September, you’re not alone. Even if you spent the summer before law school not travelling Europe, I swear you’re not alone (I worked at McDonald’s—and loved it! What?). And not only that, it doesn’t matter, so breathe!

Filed under Anxieties

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