Before finding out I got into the UBC Civil Engineering program, I felt like Atlas, except instead of holding up the sky, I was carrying the combined stress, exhaustion, and emotion from the last twenty months. I finally felt a sense of relief as that weight was replaced with an overwhelming sense of pride. Not only was I able to say that I had overcome failure, but I was able to once again say confidently what my plan was. While I knew that I still had three more years of school left before graduating and the hardest was yet to come, it was reassuring to finally feel part of the engineering community.
I had another great summer working the same job as a landscaper and fence builder, playing baseball, and hanging out with my friends. Before I knew it, it was time to go to my third school in as many years. Another new beginning, making me anxious as new beginnings always do. These nerves were quickly diminished on the first day as I met up with a classmate from Langara who turned out to also be going into Civil Engineering. It was comforting to know someone in the program and not have to start over completely from scratch getting to know people. I remember the whole civil class being introduced to some of the head faculty who gave a summary of the program. My friend and I were reviewing the program handbook which provided a few pages of formulas. The formulas might as well have been hieroglyphics as they were not recognizable. We looked at each other and just laughed, someday we would know how to use them.
Walking around campus that day, I had an entirely different feeling than I had at my previous schools. Beyond the fact that the campus was massive and that I would be going to a school with more than 60,000 students, I felt a sense of comfort knowing that this was now my home. This is where I would be until I graduated. I wasn’t much of a different student at UBC compared to Langara, I still maintained an intense and rigid study routine and I continued to worry too much about studying and getting assignments done. The only thing different now was my confidence in what I was doing. Also, my study spot had changed, but once I found my spot in Irving K. Barber Library, I felt at peace in my routine. I will never forget that study spot, it was on the quiet third floor by the windows facing west, looking onto Koerner Library. I would get there first thing on Saturday mornings to claim my throne. And to anyone who questions my claim to that spot, I have carved my name on that desk so tough luck its mine. Being overwhelmed and tired as an engineering student was a constant. If you weren’t drowning in schoolwork and wondering how you’d make it through the week, you were either the best of us or decided to take a week off. Sometimes, I would just laugh through the pain, especially whenever a teacher added to an already, seemingly impossible to-do list. This helped me get through some awful weeks. However, laughing wasn’t always possible. Instead between assignments or tests, I would just question why I signed up for this. As annoying as other faculties probably found it, engineering students, including myself, loved to tell the world about how busy we were. Deep down, I enjoyed every minute of trying to figure out how I wouldn’t drown the next day.
Author
PATRICK SMYTHE
Project Manager
Civil Engineer
Motivated
Storyteller
Big Time Dreamer
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New beginnings bring new routines, commitments, responsibilities, and many new friends. Adding to the list of why UBC was such a great experience for me was because of the new friendships I made and the opportunity to develop those friendships for the next few years. Being able to see your friends every day, sharing a laugh or conversation while walking between classes, or sharing a pitcher at the end of a tough week were the bright spots of every semester. Being around your classmates all the time was an important reminder that we all struggle through school and no individual’s situation is ever completely unique. Friends also provided some friendly competition in the classes which offered a little extra motivation for every test.
Now in the next step of my journey, I realized I needed a new goal. I maintain overcoming failure as one of my key principles to strive for and is ultimately one of the main themes of this website. I wanted to expand on key principles for myself that I would follow. Getting accepted into the university and program proved I could overcome failure. I knew overcoming failure will most certainly be required again in my life sometime, but it wasn’t required again just yet. I needed to learn to grow and work towards achieving future goals. I introduced a new simple phrase, “Always Improve”, to my arsenal of motivation and inspiration. Of course, this is never always possible, but it’s worth always striving for. Always improving isn’t necessarily always getting a better result, that’s not sustainable. Rather, always improving to me is focusing on one or a few specific facets, traits, or skills in your life and doing or managing it better. More specifically, some of the immediate things I wanted to improve on as a student were studying smarter and taking tests. I always found that I take forever to study or to prepare for a test. Whenever I would try to learn or memorize every single detail, I would bomb. This was a challenge in itself, requiring many reminders throughout the rest of my undergrad. I would streak together a few good tests, and then boom, get hit with a big F. Failing is always a good reminder for me, if we don’t fail, how can we improve?
New beginnings offer opportunities to really reflect on where you once were. From almost completely dropping out of engineering two years before to now almost halfway through my undergrad, it was quite a surreal feeling. There is something so encouraging and refreshing about experiencing these new opportunities, it is almost like its a fresh start. It seems there are unlimited possibilities, especially ones that you may never have dreamed of being in before. I know how scary these new situations can be though. I often go into them with zero sleep due to worrying the night before. After experiencing these new situations however, I often feel so silly worrying about them as much I had had. At the end of the day, I always make it out alive and often they are exactly what I needed.
