Hi, my name is My name is Maxwell Evans & I am a Happy Human Rep. This is my first year being in the Happy Human Project but I'm in my third year at Dalhousie & my second co-op term working for a media company in Toronto. I was born in Toronto, Ontario, but moved to Oakville, Ontario when I was about 5 years old. Oakville is not the most diverse city in the world, being a wealthy & primary white city, but growing up there I noticed more and more diversity around me especially while finding my people and entering high school with a diverse friend group. When I arrived at Dalhousie during COVID-19, it felt like I was in a place with little to no diversity, even compared to my hometown and as I came alone at the time, I was very intimidated by how I would be treated differently or how I would feel being the only black man in the room for most situations I would have to encounter. And that is why I have decided to write down three pieces of advice for any minority who is currently at or planning on attending a PWI (predominantly white Institution). 1. Find your group I’m not saying to go and pick out every POC that you see in the crowd and try to be friends with them, just to find people that you feel comfortable with, you know has similar morals/values and that you feel like you can be genuine around. When I was in my first year finding people that I could 100% relate to was a rarity, especially since the only people I was interacting with were the people in Risley. I didn’t let this stop me from finding a good group though, as I made a couple of amazing friend groups and just decided to surround myself with positive people and positive energy which made way for my love for Dal and my friends to grow exponentially. 2. Join a club There are a plethora of clubs/groups that involve diversity, check them out! My first week I went to an outdoor party that was being held by BASA (Dalhousie African Students Association) and I met so many cool people that I 100% wouldn’t have met if I didn’t show up to the Event. Another great example was the meet in Greet held by the Black Student Advising Center where I met so many people who are now a friendly face around campus & always people, I can talk to wherever I end up seeing them. 3. Have fun! Go out! The good thing about Halifax is that we have some of the most fun nightlife available at a Canadian university. Meeting people is so natural, and you will see every type of race, culture and religion getting together to enjoy each other's presence & just have fun, every time I go out, I can find at least one person I connect with in some way whether its music taste or laughing at that one guy dancing like a crazy person. Try to go to parties to give that new friend group a chance or to meet some new people and find out what they're about. If partying isn’t your thing go play your sport or check out the Dal events; painting or movie nights. Every time I walk into the Dalplex to play basketball I feel right at home, like I’m dapping up my long-time homies I've been playing ball with for years. (If you ever see me next semester come say hi, I'll throw you on my team.) Well, that’s all I have for right now, if you need any more advice let me know, I can talk about this for hours. But now it's time for me to get some rest as I have a train to catch at 7:54 tomorrow morning, peace out.
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Hey! My name is Bella Pagotto, and this is my third year being a rep for Happy Human! I am also in my third year at Dalhousie, studying a BSc in Microbiology and Immunology and Gender and Women Studies. All my life, it has been important to me to experience more than just one thing. Jumping at trying new things played a key role in my confidence in feeling secure in the things I did (or didn’t) like. Through that, I developed a huge respect for important aspects of my life: family, friends, competitive sports, reading, music. One of the most expansive qualities of life that I felt such a groove in was school. Not only was there a routine to school, but there was also promise. The promise of finding out something you never heard of before, to do and be better. It was a way I can flourish and excel but also a way I can reflect on my growth as a person and who I can be for those around me. Written by Katie Wuotila, Happy Human Rep. Post pandemic, in university and potentially nearing your graduation date, it is almost impossible to feel like you have everything under control in your life. Comparing yourself to others, diving into the deep hole known as social media and constantly being questioned on what you want to do after graduation all can make it feel like you have no idea what you’re doing. I felt like this after covid restrictions phased out of our university life and things started to go back to normal. The pandemic allowed me to hide from questions posed by the future and once it faded away, the amount of control I had over my daily life went with it. Once I settled into the regular chaos that is known as university, I quickly realized that I needed to understand that I was not supposed to have it figured out and life was supposed to be messy. Additionally, reading about other people’s experiences made mine feel much less chaotic. These books educated me on some important life topics I had not lived yet and comforted me that others had much crazier introductions to adolescent life than I. Here are 5 books you should read if you have no idea what you’re doing (which is ok). |