Finally, a good article!

Way to realize at such a young age that only a few among us are destined to great things. Most will fail and become 'artists', 'activists', and peace and conflict studies professors. They will maintain their sense of self-importance but will be rightly mocked.

Most people who are currently in university simply have no business beign there. They've been tricked by their teachers into thinking that they are something special. They ain't!

I wonder why, in your grade 5 class room, you didn't simply go closer to the poster to read the final sentence. Are you that lazy? Stupid? Short?

A useful reminder that many professors, TAs and others are quite willing to help students who indicate that they really want help by taking the initiative to ask for it instead of assuming that they are so brilliant that they don't need it or, more reasonably, that it's not available.

Professor Brilliant, you fail at trolling but I'm impressed that you got internet in your cave.

Peace and conflict studies is a marquee program at U of T. It accepts only about 30 second year or above students a year and they have to submit a resume and go through an interview process. Good luck Ian!

However, with Thomas Homer Dixon and David Welch moving to Waterloo, I'll be interested to see if the program maintains its independence or if it folds into the Munk Centre for international relations.

I think this is the first genuine thing you've written, reflecting your actual experience instead of the experience you think you should be having. It's good, very good.

I too shared your experience of having random motivational / animal-themed posters in my classrooms, Ian. What I didn't share, however, was your expectation that University shouldn't be an exercise in personal initiative.

If there is one true thing I've learned through my (now lengthy) post-secondary career, it's that ability amounts to roughly 30% of success- the rest is simply hard work and personal motivation. Quite simply, what you get from your education is a direct result of what you put into it.

It's a good thing that you've had an experience in a Canadian institution where that principle has become clear. I'm now at Cambridge after a number of years in the Canadian system- and if you think you're own your own now, well, just wait until you meet the byzantine maze of the old English Collegiate system. And it's a good thing, I think. We shouldn't expect to go through life having our hands held.

Oh, and P.S. I think the Peace and Conflict studies is a truly excellent programme- easily one of the finest in the country. (Good choice!)

Their conference in 2007 was absolutely unparalleled in quality- they put Harvard-run conferences to shame that year.

Kayla: "What I didn't share, however, was your expectation that University shouldn't be an exercise in personal initiative."

How did you arrive at that interpretation? It's pretty clear that the author is saying the exact opposite: you need to make your own effort to succeed in university.

I dislike artificial motivational techniques. It spoils the real reasons you should be doing something - personal enjoyment. Let's face it, if you are facing a lifetime of doing something then you won't last if you don't get some enjoyment out of it. Playing the piano is not going to last if you don't like it. Studying school work also is not worth much if not enjoyable to you. You can get through high school if you can bare classroom learning but don't enjoy it. You will at least need some hands on actitivity to go beyond that. In grade 7 & 8 we had these hokey achievement certificates that teachers could give us & if we got so many we got some other kind of award. Didn't mean much to me. I was surprised that I actually got a few - one in particular in music I remember because I had researched and written a report on blues music and its roots in slavery, that I really enjoyed. That report and our great teacher likely lead to my life long love of jazz & blues. Some others for spelling and math etc. All it really got me was resentment from some of the other students- overachiever's because they didn't seem to like me 'challenging' their academic supremacy and underachievers because I was now labeled as a 'brown noser'. I shrugged that off, live and learn.

I agree with those who have urged you to consider the effects this blog might have on your future. For your own good.

This is amateurish and will be exceedingly embarrassing to you by the time you graduate. By then, you'll hopefully have learned how to write and analyze. I cringe just thinking about your writing.

The motivational poster? That isn't really how it happened, is it? You're just using one of the most tired and boring cliches to beef up your writing, aren't you? Someday you'll look back on this and shudder. Awful, awful writing without an original thought behind it.

I understand that you're being exposed to ideas that the very average high school student would find revolutionary.
They aren't.

By the time you graduate, the most important thing you should have learned (not absorbed) is how very little you know and how ordinary you are. It's part of maturing into adulthood.

Do you really want this record of your ridiculous youth, your extreme naivete, your childlike pontifications, your teenage idiocy available for all the world to see? Forever? How horrible.

Jessica, Jessica - a little bitter sounding. Someone needs to review what she's written to wonder if she wants it "available for all the world to see." Geeze Jessica, give the young man a break - at least he's involving himself in his studies and looking beyond his walls.
Methinks I'd sooner read anything he writes rather than your bitter diatribe.

To Jessica;

Simply put, you are rude and your comments are unwarranted, inaccurate and caustic. Please keep them to yourself.

Ian, I quite enjoy your blog, as I am sure thousands of others do. Your articles are honest and refreshingly real.

As for your job prospects, I'm sure any employer would be lucky to have such a talented and well rounded employee.

I should know, having spent 15+ years hiring legal staff in Toronto, now running my own business in Nova Scotia.

Best of luck in the future.

I tend to agree with Jessica. Frankly, I'm embarrassed for the author. You found registering for classes complicated? Good lord.

I recently graduated from U of T and can firmly say that the registration process is pretty self-explanatory. Were you really so coddled as a child that even the simplest procedures seem complex to you?

Also, writing a paper is not complicated. It requires time and effort, yes, but it's not complicated. Yeesh.

Jessica....Did you have a blog on the Globe and Mail when you were a freshman?

You should be ashamed of yourself for criticizing this achievement and stop taking everything so darn seriously. You could better spend your time constructively criticizing his work, instead of just insulting him.

No one is expecting him to write like a mature and worldly adult. He is expected to write like a freshman, a little lost in the maze of registration at a huge school.

I for one love reading this blog. Well done Ian!

Bravo Ian.

I think many first-year students are not sure how to navigate the processes of administration and are trepadacious about approaching faculty for help. The fact that you recognize and are willing to admit that you, on occassion, need advice, may reassure many other students reading your blog.

Comments from people like Jane only work to further make confused (i.e. normal) students more fearful of stepping forward and asking for help. Writing a paper can be complicated when one is new at the game, Jane.

So, thanks Ian for encouraging other students to take some initiative, to ask rather than suffer in silence, and to be active in their own learning.

i'm all about 'initiative,' but i'm disappointed at how we've moved to a society that's like a self-serve gas station. guidance and mentorship are lost arts. do we expect a student to know where to begin to ask for help? universities should be proactive in offering guidance and mentorship rather than throwing students behind a wall of bureaucracy. That's the kind of experience that will discourage and frustrate talented people forever.

Hey Ian,

Theres some serious hate out there eh. This Jessica chick is going nuts and that one person who says writing a paper isnt difficult must be the next Darwin.

Of course papers are hard to write, I'd rather be doing a million other things that writing long papers. The typing in the actual letters isnt hard, it the looking up info, formulating idea is whats hard because it poses a challenge which is what education is supposed to do.

I wouldnt warrent those disrespecting fools too much attention. Clearly, one of them has some mental issues aboue writing and the other just wants eveyone to know they graduated from UofT...like its a big acheivment.

Take care Ian.

A fellow blogger

I agree, the first few months in university can be quite overwhelming. It was for me. Everything happens all as once and I personally believe High School does not prepare you to the tough reality of University. You learn the hard way to manage your time and to always be ahead of yourself.

Then you realize the undergrad degree you selected wasn't for you and you start over. Or maybe you realize you ARE comfortable in what you're studying and you move on to a master degree and so on. In either case, you do a bit better the next time, because things aren't so new anymore.

And yes, you look back and you probably think how things that were so difficult back then are a piece of cake now. But that's no reason to judge people. I think the person who I'm talking about will recognize herself :-)

Jessica is everything that is wrong with UofT....her rant is representative of MANY UofT students who think that other students shouldn't dare open their mouths unless they have something profound to say and are able to overarticulate their thoughts (to the point that 90% of the population can no longer understand.

University, more than anything else, is about learning how to reflect on your experiences. Is this blog cliche? maybe, but it's honest and it's clearly written - I understood the blog's intentions. Whats great about this blog is that it documents a time and a place in Ian's life that he will later be able to reflect on.

Ian is living life and putting himself out there. Isn't that a good thing? or would we rather have Ian quivering in the corner of his room, afraid to share his experiences because someone else thinks he should be ashamed of himself.

Usually the Jessicas of the world get that way because they've disappointed someone's overinflated expectations of all A+ grades, either their's, their parents' and so on. Once they realize this they get very bitter. If they realize its not about impressing people, they might make a recovery.

This blog is definitely an achievement to be proud of. Most people- whether an adult or a first year- don’t have the skill or the dedication, which you obviously do, to write a regular blog with the Globe and Mail. This is one of Canada’s most important and prestigious newspapers! It will be a fabulous addition to any future resume, and I hope you'll continue to write about the rest of your post secondary education in years to come :)

I feel the same way about my first year. New experiences, new rules. It's a totally different world, and it takes time to get used to.

Don't listen to these people who spew nothing but hate in their comments. They're just envious. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to your stories. I think your article was insightful and honest. Keep it up.

Jessica? Jessica? What nothing to say? No bitter comeback? Hopefully enough of Ian's supporters hushed your stupidity.

"Under "Achievement" was a sentence that I never managed to read but was probably very inspirational."
--LOVE IT! lol

Wow - the nutcases have come out of the woodwork! Jessica and Jane: you are exactly what I dislike about universities. They tend to attract petty snobs who like to bully anyone who is younger or less experienced than them. Jessica and Jane, I can assure you that I am smarter and more educated than you. I have a Ph.D. and work at MIT, yet I don't believe that my education and position mean that the views of others are inferior. I can also assure you that Ian is far more intelligent and has a far brighter future than either of you.

Ian, I enjoy your blog - it's fun for me to read about your experience as an undergraduate. Keep it up and don't let the haters drag you down into their bitter world. They are so disappointed with their lives and had much greater hopes for themselves. It must hurt a bit to read their crap, but your discomfort is temporary - these hags have to live with themselves 24/7.

I'll second that Kate. Jane and Jessica, shoo.

..".most will fail and become 'artists', 'activists', and peace and conflict studies professors. They will maintain their sense of self-importance but will be rightly mocked.

does anyone find this extremely offensive?

It may be "offensive," katie Lee, but so what? Or do you think all conversations should avoid blunt or abrasive speech just so thin-skinned cry babies don't get their poor widdle feelings hurt?