Back to School: My College Experience

For my last Back to School post, I want to write about one of the achievements I get the most compliments for and questions about: going to college.

I've already written a couple articles about college and accessibility and some of the services I got, so for this post I want to stick to the experience itself, specifically during my first two years.

My college experience started in 2003 when I got accepted into Algonquin College's General Arts and Sciences - Pre-Media & Communications program!

With that done, I needed to find a place to live. At the time, we lived in a small town about 45 minutes from Ottawa, so I got into Algonquin College Residence, right next to the school. My parents were still able to come in to help me if I really needed it, and the residence had an attendant service program for disabled residents, but except for a roommate, I was living on my own. And that took a lot of getting used to!

In the first week and a half alone, I slagged a pot of rice when I put it in the microwave with no water, stinking up the apartment, drenched my clothes after failing to adjust a shower nozzle, and locked myself out of my room. Lessons were quickly learnt.

On the bright side, living mostly on my own meant I had my own TV, could stay up later (when classes permitted), and eventually, got used to spending longer periods of time away from my family.

College classes were an interesting experience. Algonquin's General Arts and Sciences was kind of like going to university without actually going to university. I took classes like Creative Writing, Psychology, Film Studies, and Presentation Skills, all of which were fun, and most of which, in hindsight, came in handy much later than they probably could have.

Socially, I got along great with my first two roommates, who I had met at summer camp years earlier, a couple mutual friends who came over periodically, and a few people I knew from high school. No immediate class friends though for most of the first year, just people-watching and lots of books and DVDs bought at the campus stores. During my second year, I started to relax and be friendlier. A Group Dynamics class made me some friends and lead to my first outing in Ottawa without my parents. It was to a bookstore, and I still talk about it every time I go by the place!

The end of that year was my first time on a bus and in a bar. My roommate and I decided to go see a movie one weekend, so we took the bus. He was in a wheelchair, so the driver thought I was his attendant and let me on for free! Later, I went to a bar in downtown Ottawa for a grad party. Fun time, but wasn't really my thing.

I think that pretty well covers everything! In the past few years, I've heard more and more of the older families and individuals I know within the Joubert community talk about how they or their kid is going to college, applying to college, or thinking about college, and it's honestly one of the topics I like hearing about the most, because I know what an impact those two years, and subsequent stints, had on me. I seriously hope, going forward, that more young adults, not just the ones I know, can have that same experience.

Cheers!