Author: Kayla-Marie Turriciano

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: Being okay with being alone

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

You know when you see family or family friends literally at any time of year and they ask if you have a significant other? And you always tell them no, you do not? How about when you use the fact that you’re busy and growing your career to mask the possibility that you might end up single forever? What about when they finally stop asking because, like you, they also probably came to that same conclusion or they noticed that their questions drove you mad?

Great, glad we’ve all suffered through the same experiences. 

I have come to terms with the fact I will probably only find the love of my life when I’m 32-years-old and thriving in my career, with a nice place to live and plenty of plant and fur babies. I have also come to terms with the fact that, in the meantime, I will probably go through many MANY more failed talking stages, a bunch of heartbreaking “seeing each other” stages and likely a few “I thought this would be it” relationships. 

But the thing I have come to terms with the most is all the intermediary moments where I’ll be alone. 

How many of you, of us, can fully say we’re happy and alright with being alone? With living our lives alone for however long that may be? With not being dependent on someone else? With enjoying our own company and doing things for us and us only, for personal, creative, career growth? While I don’t consider myself perfect in this regard, I’m proud of the growth I’ve had in the last year. I’ve definitely become more comfortable being by myself and I genuinely enjoy it most days.

If that’s not you, there’s nothing like a global pandemic requiring us to practice social distancing and self-isolation with our thoughts for days—weeks!—on end to teach you how to be okay with being alone if you aren’t already. During this quarantine time, practice being okay with being alone. Don’t think of the potential next person you could date once we get out of this situation; don’t try to flirt with every Twitter mutual in hopes of landing one of them as your significant other; don’t search on dating apps for the love of your life.

Practice social distancing and practice emotional stability ON YOUR OWN. 

*PSA: WASH YOUR HANDS TOO

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: Having patience vs. wasting your time

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Last week, I saw a tweet pop up on my timeline that said “you gotta know the difference between being patient and wasting your time.”

While both may involve waiting on someone or something to come around or to change, there is a difference between being patient and wasting your time. It may not always seem like there is much that distinguishes the two, but the difference lies in what the end goal is and if you have any control over the outcome.

If you’re interested in someone but they say they aren’t ready for a relationship, believe them and let them be. Conversely, if you see that someone is interested in you but you’re not ready for a relationship, don’t lead them on, no matter how interested you may be in them as a person.

This might be controversial—so please don’t come for me—but I don’t think there’s such a thing as the right person at the wrong time. If it seems like it’s the wrong time, it just means it’s the wrong person, no matter how right it may seem at first. People tend to forget that there’s more than just being interested in someone for it to be “right.” Think about your mental stability, your emotional availability, your willingness to commit to someone—when it comes to people’s feelings, yours or another person’s, don’t half-ass it because that just ends badly for at least one of the people involved.

What does this have to do with knowing there’s a difference between having patience and wasting your time? Keep an eye out for these things to know where you stand with someone. If someone is showing interest but isn’t making the effort, let it be. If someone says they’re not ready to embark into a new relationship, let them be. If you’re only interested in someone for what they do and not them as a person, let them go.

What’s it like being patient, then? It’s being around them and feeling yourself become happy. It’s feeling their energy shift after a few days or weeks of seeing each other regularly, whether in a group or on an individual basis. It’s also sharing some tender moments and not feeling rushed or pressured. It can be spending so many nights cooped up in a car having late night chats, and your favourite thing about it all is the way their eyes smile when you look at them, or the way their hugs are a bit tighter every time you say goodbye.

And sometimes, it’s having a mutual friend that knows what both of you are too afraid to admit to each other.

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: Rejection

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

How do you deal with being around people you’ve rejected? Better yet, how do you deal with being around people who’ve rejected you?

Were you rejected by someone that you asked out from your class and then had to spend the next 10 weeks in a group project with them? Did you turn down someone that you see on a regular basis, such as at your local coffee shop or the gym? Did you become close with someone, shoot your shot, were rejected then remained friends? How about the contrary situation where you become friends with someone, very clearly have chemistry with them, shoot your shot, get rejected then never speak again? Well, if any or all of these scenarios have happened to you and you’re trying to navigate being rejected or rejecting someone, you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you are the rejected or the rejecter, I think the same can be said for people in either position. The first thing to try to tackle is understanding the external circumstances, i.e. the possible previous relationship you had with this person or the routine you had developed with or around them. Do you absolutely have to be around this person again? Do either of you make it awkward when you—if you—interact? Is there bitterness on either end about things not working out as hoped? Truly, at the end of it all, does any of it matter?

The second thing to consider is the internal circumstance, i.e. how mature you are. This might be calling some people out but, hey ho, someone has to: if you cannot deal with being rejected or rejecting someone that you have to be around after the fact, get your head out of your ass and be mature about it.

If you are the one being rejected, don’t take it too personally—unless they’re bashing your entire existence, in which case, kick their ass—and don’t let it affect your day-to-day life. If you’re not mature enough to do so, I also have this to say: don’t make your feelings other people’s problems. Own up to your actions and emotions and don’t take it out on the other person for being honest with you. If you’re the one doing the rejecting and the other person makes you feel like shit for it, don’t. Rejection is a natural part of socialization and you shouldn’t feel bad for being honest.

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Student Life

If size doesn’t matter, neither should length

Photo by Laurence Brisson Dubreuil

What’s with the whole world hating on women with short hair? More importantly, why do people think they have the authority to do so? What does it matter to you if a woman has short hair? She probably doesn’t care that you prefer it longer. Maybe she deals with hair loss and having short hair is the only way she can wear it. What if she just likes having short or even no hair? Do you know how much of a hassle it is to maintain long hair? And lastly, why do you care so much?

I’ve had short hair most of my life. When I was around five years old, my hair was cut to right under my ears and I had bangs—you could probably describe it as a long bowl cut. As I grew older, I remember having long hair. In every school photo, I had longer and longer hair, and it changed to being very curly when I was in the sixth grade. 

In seventh grade, I cut my hair to my shoulders—everyone had an opinion about it. I then let it grow out and started colouring it with blonde streaks. One time turned into a few times and I was soon a semi-blonde. Then, I started using heat on it almost every day and it was fried so far beyond repair—so I chopped it all off. I was left with a boy cut at 14 years old and, once again, everyone had an opinion about it. Guys told me they preferred girls with long hair. Family told me that they liked me with long hair because now I looked like a boy. 

After that, I once again let my hair grow out, which was a horrible, ugly and tedious process. I then cut it off again in Grade 11, right in time for my high school graduation pictures to showcase a short blonde bob. 

If you haven’t caught on yet, my hair journey has included a lot of cutting and growing and bleaching (and some bangs were thrown in there at various times too)—bar the few months where I had orange hair, but that’s not important. While my hair has changed vigorously over the years, the one thing that hasn’t changed is people telling me they prefer me, or women in general, with long hair. 

While I do miss having long hair sometimes, when I look back at photos when I had long, wavy hair, I just don’t feel like that’s me. The short hair I have now, which hasn’t grown past my shoulders in the last two years, makes me feel the most like myself. The comments, especially coming from men, about how long hair is preferred on women, need to stop. Even though I don’t listen to them, it can really affect how women with short hair feel about themselves and no one needs that negativity in their life. 

So women with short hair, I see you and you look amazing. 

 

Photo by Laurence Brisson Dubreuil

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: Expectations Pt. 2

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

I’m no stranger to writing about expectations: how they can lead to overthinking certain relationships and encounters, how they can leave you with unrealistic perspectives of people and situations, how they can just generally crush your soul, ruin your life and cause eternal instability and turmoil. In short, I think expectations suck and we should try to live life without them.

Having expectations, at least in my opinion, right when you meet someone, is a dangerous game to be playing. You don’t know this person’s personality, their attitude, the way they handle bad situations, how they treat customer service employees, if they litter, etc. All of these are very important things to consider, but that you (most likely) do not have access to. What you also don’t know is what their intentions are, unless you ask–but then you risk looking absolutely batshit crazy. Where they’re at in their lives, where they’ve been, what they’ve gone through.

What you also don’t know is what their intentions are, unless you ask–but then you risk looking absolutely batshit crazy. How many times does your heart skip a beat when you lock eyes with someone for the first time and their smile melts your insides? Exactly.

It’s easy to get swept up in the feeling and start overthinking things, start building up expectations in your mind of who this person is, what they may be like, what type of relationship you may want to have with them. It’s even more difficult to stop these things from happening when you just find them so damn cute.

To top it all off, it’s even more difficult to control your mind from creating expectations when other people jump on board—it’s one thing to talk yourself down from thinking something because you may say you’re overreacting or it’s all in your head. But when other people—especially your friends, your mutual friends—acknowledge some type of chemistry, you might think you should just save yourself the trouble and yeet yourself off a building. Don’t!

What do you do to prevent expectations from bursting in like they own the place and blowing up all chances of being mentally stable while you get to know this person? I was recently told to not have high hopes but also to keep hope—it’s that fine line of being able to go with the flow in reality and stopping yourself from overthinking and creating expectations in your mind.

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: breaking up over text

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Four years ago, I was broken-up with over text. It was a weekend, Feb. 12 to be exact.

My dad found me crying in my bed that morning when I read a reply of “I’m sorry but I lost feelings for you” to my previous night’s question along the lines of “what’s wrong/is everything okay?” because he was ghosting me. I was sobbing and didn’t know why that had happened because, just the week before, he had told me he loved me.

You may be wondering why I’m bringing up something that happened so long ago. You may also be thinking that I shouldn’t even think about it, give him any thought or maybe you think I’m crazy for still thinking about this, years later.

The reason why I’m bringing it up is to make a point. This happened four years ago and I still think about it, and I’m writing this because it stuck with me in a way that it shouldn’t have. 

While a text message is a way of communicating to someone that you’re thinking of them at that moment, or as a means of getting a message across quickly, it’s not the only way it can be used. In this case, a text message breaking-up with someone feels like a slap in the face. It felt like I wasn’t worth much more than a few seconds in his thoughts, I was nothing more than a quick message he relayed and dodged the consequences of, since I wasn’t there in front of him.

Four years ago, someone non-explicitly told me I wasn’t worth their time anymore, either as their girlfriend or as a human being with feelings that should have been taken into consideration. Being broken up with through text—a few days before Valentine’s Day to say the least—made me feel undeserving of being loved, of receiving respect. Most importantly, it made me feel unvalued, undignified and disposable.

Four years ago, I was broken-up with over text. Since then, I have grown up, I have learnt that I am worthy of love, respect, of having dignity, and have the right to demand it. Just don’t break up with someone over text; it will likely affect them more than you think and stay with that person for years to come. If you’re mature enough to have a relationship, be mature enough to break up with someone face to face.

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria 

Categories
Opinions

Makeup revolution: I’m not hiding

“You wear too much makeup,” “you look beautiful without makeup,” “you don’t need makeup,” “I don’t like your makeup.”

 

All of this and more is said to me on an almost daily basis, all because I wear a full face of makeup.

My relationship with makeup started when I was a child: I would perouse my mother’s collection, lovingly swatching the various deep brown and gold eyeshadows, applying the many shades of brown lipstick—her signature colour; applying the luxury makeup that matched mom’s olive skin tone but was too dark for my pale skin.

In the early years of high school, I bought my own foundation that looked like a mask because I didn’t blend it down my neck. I indulged in wearing blue eyeshadow that I didn’t blend properly. Once I started learning more about makeup, I began wearing the right colour foundation, found the Maybelline Age Rewind concealer, and my go-to look was wearing black or metallic crayon eyeliner in my waterline. Thankfully, I never had a crazy blush phase. I worked as a makeup artist behind the scenes for various school productions: The Lion King, a version of Prom, various talent and fashion shows. Considering all these factors, I was always asked why I wore makeup, who I was trying to impress—I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, I just genuinely enjoyed it.

When I graduated high school and entered CEGEP, I mastered the natural makeup look but could bust out a smokey eye if need be. I admired people who could pull off elaborate looks for an 8 a.m. class and, soon enough, I became one of them. I began experimenting with different lipstick shades and living my best life looking like a glazed doughnut because of all the highlighter I used.

Before my first year of university, I started a YouTube channel to finally produce content like the type I consumed almost religiously: makeup and skincare videos. I reviewed new makeup that I bought, talked through my five-minute everyday makeup routine and my nightly cleanse routine and did a few hauls. I even did a “My dad does my makeup” challenge in which I was left literally looking like a clown—my dad didn’t understand the concept very well.

In my second year of university, I started going more days without wearing an ounce of makeup, not even mascara or anything to tame my eyebrows. I always liked my skin and knew I was blessed that it was clear and cooperative. I never had acne, and I rarely got individual pimples. This makeup hiatus—which I did because I started valuing sleep over doing my makeup—also came when I quit my channel because I simply did not have the time.

Recently, I bought the Morphe 35H palette, filled with plenty of blues, browns, pinks and reds. Since buying it, I’ve gotten back into wearing makeup daily. I like to create eye looks with all the fun colours I wear—glitter, smokiness and all. I’ve gotten a lot of comments like “your makeup is too intense,” “where do you think you’re going with all that makeup,” and, of course, “you don’t need makeup, you’re beautiful without anything.”

To all that I say: “mind your own business,” “to wherever I have to get to that day,”  and “I know.” I don’t wear makeup to impress anyone, to cover up any insecurities, to show off, to get attention or to conform to how you think I should look. I will and I do wear a full face while also wearing a hoodie and sneakers—do you really think I do that to impress anyone? Makeup is supposed to be fun; it allows me to express myself, be creative and essentially paint a new picture every day without the fear of commitment. It washes off so I can apply it again—or not, because like I said, I don’t use makeup to cover up, so not wearing makeup is also a reality some days.

All of this is to say: leave people who wear a full face of makeup every day alone. We don’t do it for you and, unless it’s a compliment, we also likely don’t care what you think.

 

 

Photos by Laurence B. D

Categories
Student Life

Looking for cute winter date ideas?

Graphic by Sasha Axenova

During the warmer months, there are so many cute date ideas: going to a driving range, walking by the river, having a picnic in a park, taking a bike ride in a quaint neighbourhood, etc. But what about the winter? While it may seem more difficult to come up with cute date ideas when it’s cold outside, Montreal actually has a lot to offer other than your basic dinner/drinks and/or a movie. With Valentine’s Day not far away and my love life being more void than a black hole, I took on the hard task of finding fun activities for your winter dates and compiled a list for you.

For the outdoor activity lovers

I hate winter so these don’t feel natural for me but I am aware that many people enjoy spending time outside, regardless of the weather. 

  1. Lace up those skates! Montreal has so many skating rinks (Canada, duh) that you can go to for a cute date. From large outdoor rinks like the one in the Old Port, Beaver Lake or Centre de la Nature in Laval, to your assortment of small neighbourhood rinks or indoor arenas like Atrium Le 1000, a sheet of ice isn’t too far away. Or, you know, you can just wait for freezing rain and skate on the street the next day.
  2. Take a hike. Really. It may not be the most ~intense~ hike of your life, but trekking up Mount Royal to get to the Belvedere in the snow might be enough physical activity for one date. You can do it for the hike or for the cute view at the top—stargazing and all that good stuff, you know? You can also go snowshoeing or cross country skiing around Mount Royal Park or, again, at Centre de la Nature if you’re up for taking a short trip north (it’s really not that far).
  3. Take it slow. If you like the outdoors but aren’t super into the more strenuous activities mentioned above, you can always take a stroll in the Old Port or downtown. Go cafe hopping, do some people watching, do an improvised architecture tour of the city—so many options!

For the indoor activity lovers

If being outside for longer than the time it takes to get from inside a building to inside a vehicle sounds dreadful, fear not. There are plenty of cute date activities for you too!

  1. Chat it up. If you want to spend a lot of time talking to the person you’re on a date with, you have quite a few options. These are kind of miscellaneous but somehow all related: escape rooms, axe throwing, batting cage, rage rooms, indoor roller rinks, karaoke, or attend a cooking class. 
  2. Let’s get competitive. If you and/or your date are more competitive in nature, there are plenty of options for date ideas in the city—it just so happens you can be in close proximity to your date while potentially kicking their butt. For a one-stop-shop, the Forum is a great place to play pool, try your luck at arcade games or go bowling. If not, there are plenty of mini-putt locations around the city. If you really want to stay away from any physical activity at all, Randolph’s—the board game place—is a great option to get a bit of friendly competition going.
  3. Get around. If you want to go on a date but also explore some cool spots in the city, you also have a few options. If you’re into this kind of stuff, going to record shops, bookstores or vintage/thrift stores to peruse their collections will likely be a fun time and you might even find a rare gem. You might also be able to create an impromptu photoshoot out of it—for the ‘gram!

For the artsy types

Whether you like looking at art or making it, these are for you.

  1. Do it yourself. Ceramic Cafe is a great place to spend time chatting and getting to know someone while also getting your art on. Whether you make something for the other person or even work on a larger piece together, it’s a great option for bringing out the creative side of you. Another option is to attend a wine and paint night.
  2. Be the observer. If you can appreciate art but aren’t really into making some of your own, there are so many museums you can attend. Pro tip: the first Sunday of every month, there’s a variety of museums that offer free admission. There’s also the Montreal Science Centre in the Old Port or the Biodome that you can visit.
  3. Catch a show. I don’t mean a television show; I mean go to theatrical performance, go to a jazz bar or even a comedy show. And, I guess, if all else fails, you can just make a fort in your living room with all the cushions and blankets available on the block and put on a new series.

 

Graphic by Sasha Axenova

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: Expectations

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Why do people have so many expectations? 

If you’ve been following along since the beginning, or if you know me in real life, then you know that I used to use dating apps to try to find ~the love of my life~. I would spend hours upon hours swiping left and right, matching with many strangers, chatting with some of them, getting further than simple small talk with only a handful. I’d get attached to two or three, spending countless days and/or weeks talking to them on the daily, hoping that one of them, nay, expecting that one of them would be “the one.”

Extreme? Perhaps—at least I’ve acknowledged it and learned from my past, right? But even without the perhaps extreme nature of my previously delusional thinking, expectations in the dating world, well in general, are real and they are a cause for unnecessary stress, dissatisfaction and disappointment.

Why do people have so many expectations of another person? Why is there this idea that if you’re attracted to someone, you have to date or hook up immediately to satiate your innate, primal hunger? Why does so much time have to be dedicated, especially right at the start, to spending every minute of every day talking to them, getting to know them, seeing if they’re worthy, or even worth being with at all? Why is it that, if you like someone so much that there’s undeniable, palpable tension that can be seen from a mile away, you have to consider everything else: school, work, family, friends, etc.? Why do expectations rely on the circumstances you’re in?

If you find yourself attracted to someone, if you want to get to know them more, if you want to maybe even end up dating them, just go with the flow. The more expectations you put on yourself, on others and on situations, the more you put on the line and the more you risk losing or messing up.

Just talk, take things easy, hang out—with no expectations. I’ve learnt it and I’m here to pass my wisdom (lol) along to you all. Live life with an idea of what you want—I’m not saying you should abandon your goals/dreams/aspirations for the end goal—but be willing to go with the flow, to take things in stride and live with no (at least less) expectations for the journey to get there.

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: Circumstances

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Not the right timing. Not the right feelings. Not part of the plan. Not what I had in mind. Not what I’m looking for. Not in that way. Not in a million years. Maybe in four months. Maybe if things were different.

Whether it’s that cute girl you work with that you have undeniable chemistry with, that handsome guy in your class with the dreamiest eyes, that friend you started developing feelings for after spending so much time together, circumstances can make or break any situation.

Everything can go according to plan, you can be ready to shoot your shot, you can be certain of your feelings after spending weeks trying to convince yourself otherwise. You can have an inkling that they might like you too, that everything might work out for once, so you can stop shooting your shot to no avail for the same reason every time. Maybe this time, things will go right and you don’t have to hear “I like you too but I’m seeing someone else/I don’t want to ruin what we have/I don’t see you in that way.” Or maybe it’s the right person at the wrong time: they’re newly dating, you’re moving away, they’re in a long term relationship.

As I was struggling to come up with an idea for this week, the circumstances changed—literally. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word “circumstances” more in my life than this past week. Maybe it was a reminder that, no matter how much you plan for things to happen—or for nothing to happen at all—the universe (or God or whatever you believe in) has a funny way of showing you who’s boss.

One of my favourite relationship analogies relates to lines: people can be like parallel lines, spending their whole lives living alongside each other but never intersecting. They can also be like perpendicular lines, that cross paths once and never again. Both of these situations are a blessing and a curse; they depend on the circumstances of each line and how they’re meant to act in relation to another.

You may want to be a perpendicular line with someone but the circumstances are not right so you’re stuck being parallel lines forever. Sometimes, that’s more of a blessing than a curse because they likely weren’t meant to be in your life the way you’d hoped. While it’s okay to be sad or upset about things not working out according to plan, circumstances can change and your parallel line with one person can turn into a perpendicular line with someone else.

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: The fear of being alone

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Romance is one of my favourite genres of movies — shocking, I know.

As I was watching the Netflix original The Last Summer last week, Maia Mitchell, who plays Phoebe in the movie alongside KJ Apa’s Griffin, said something that made me pause the movie and scatter for my notebook and pen: “I fear whether I’m even capable of love or if I’m just destined to observe it for the rest of my life.”

If you’re new here, hi, my name is Kayla and I have an existential crisis every few days.

This one line, which took up maybe 13 seconds of the movie, summed up my whole dilemma with finding love. You know how people, usually those a generation older than you, always tell you to slow down, to not rush things because you’re young, you have time for everything to work out, to find love? Those people stress me out because how do they know?

They don’t.

I have so many people in my life who are in their 30s, 40s, 50s and who are still alone. I have family members whose lives probably went very differently than what they planned or hoped for. Sure, they might be happy but they also might not be; they may have just adapted to what life threw at them because they had no choice other than to accept it and move on.

What does this have to do with the movie, you may ask? If you go back and comb through my previous articles, or if you know me in real life, then you know that I’ve struggled with going after what I want and just letting things happen the way they’re supposed to. I always simply chalked it up to the kind of person I am, to my drive and character — but it’s more than that.

There aren’t many things in life that I want more than to find love, to marry someone and to have a family of my own. This one line in this cheesy teen romance movie brought these two things together — seeing so many of the people in my life alone and struggling with letting go of going after the things I want. I fear not being able to experience love for myself, of being destined to only observe it from those around me.

So to those people that ask me why I’m so worried, that say I should just let things happen the way they’re meant to, that I’m young and have my whole life ahead of me — you’re wrong. Life doesn’t work out the same for everyone so bare with me while I fear never being able to be in love while I have to watch everyone else around me have what I want so badly.

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Student Life

In the dark about Concordia’s student services?

Here’s a roundup of many services and resources Concordia has to offer that can help make your life both inside and outside of the classroom go more smoothly and be more manageable.

 

Student Success Centre

The Student Success Centre is a catalyst for resources available to students aiming to improve their academic career or life afterwards, with the help of their Learning Support resources or the Career and Planning Services (CAPS).

One of the available resources are Learning and Study Skill Specialists that can help with preparing for assignments (note-taking, oral presentations, exams), doing assignments (reading, writing, math), as well as other areas relating to school, such as anxiety, help with learning in a second language, and time management. Peer tutors are also an available resource that can be accessed through the university.

If you are unable or unwilling to meet with someone in person, there are handouts for various topics that you can download and print from the comfort of your own home. Additionally, handouts are also available for problem-solving (math), different methods to improve or adjust your learning habits (strategies to improve concentration, to improve your memory, etc.), tips for being successful in online classes, and even handouts that are specific to those applying to or already are in graduate school.

If you function and learn better in a group setting, there are organized study groups for certain courses already in place such as for ECON 201, 203 and 221. There are also countless workshops offered for a variety of topics throughout the course of the semester: learning strategies, exam strategies, business, engineering and computer science study skills, and writing and research tips.

If you feel like your studies and learning are on a good path and you want to start thinking about life after school, CAPS can help you to figure out which career can work with your degree or help find an internship within your field. They can offer help with your job search, give career counseling, and host career events, workshops and job fairs. CAPS also has an entire guide dedicated to cultivating and improving your interview skills, various guides as well as drop-in times/appointments to help with resumés and cover letters, and multiple sources to inform you about salaries, benefits and employers within the field you want.

 

Financial Wellness

Are you concerned about money? Concordia also has resources available, either through helping you achieve financial wellness or with bursaries, scholarships and loans. If you’re stressed about how you’ll be able to pay for your life while in school, Concordia’s website is full of hidden treasures to help you out. From giving tips on how to make and manage a budget, to how to responsibly use a credit card and how to understand banking and financial institutions. If it all becomes a giant blur, you can visit the Financial Aid & Awards Office for more advice on how to attain financial wellness.

 

Campus Wellness & Support Services 

Concordia’s health services include a vast array of resources. Medical services include being able to book an appointment or receive urgent care from either a doctor or nurse, depending on what you need. You are also able to receive vaccinations, pass a variety of tests such as pregnancy, urine, pap, blood, STI, etc., or obtain a medical note for school or work if you meet specific criteria. You can find a verified source list for various aches, pains, infections, general non-serious ailments, etc. as well as information on how to improve and maintain your overall health, such as eating healthy, being physically active, managing your stress and mental health, sleeping, and practicing safe sex.

While physical health is important, it’s not the only kind – it includes spiritual and mental health as well. Concordia’s health and wellness resources include counselling and psychological services where you can meet individually with counsellors or attend groups and workshops. Online, there is also a PDF available with crises/after hours resources and a web page available with even more resources for mental health services.

 

Access Centre for Students with Disabilities

Concordia has an Access Centre for Students with Disabilities. Online, you can find information on who can apply and how; examples include: “vision, mobility, hearing, chronic medical conditions, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, mental health conditions, Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders.” You can get advising, attend workshops, participate in the peer note-taking program, have access to government funding, have your textbooks and course packs converted to accessible formats, benefit from transportation accessibility, and more.

 

Birks Student Service Centre

If you’re looking to obtain documents or information about them, the Birks Student Service Centre can help. Located in the J.W. McConnell Building (LB 185), you can request and obtain documents such as official forms and letters, transcripts, get a student ID or OPUS card, pay tuition and fees or request refunds, obtain information about studying in Quebec as a non-resident, and so much more.

If this resource roundup still leaves you questioning what you should do or what help you need, Concordia’s Navigator program allows you to connect to a staff member or experienced student who can help connect you to the right resources.

 

Graphics by Alexa Hawksworth and ZeZe Lin

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