Love, Amy

welcome to my small bit of the internet

[amydhillooon]

Update - May 19, 2018

It’s been a while since I last posted. Life has been crazy and I haven’t really made the time to post here. However, I will be graduating in a few weeks and with no clear plan of what the future holds I’m sure I’ll be posting much more often.

As for everyone who has left me questions, I will try to answer them tomorrow. Just know that I am still alive and well!

- Amy

[amydhillooon]

Good on ya, Nike!

Last night, I was doing my usual window (screen?) shopping and I had to do a double take when I was scrolling down Nike’s “Newly Added for Women” section.

There is an actual heavy model ON AN ATHLETIC APPAREL WEBSITE! This is absolutely incredible. Not only is Nike’s whole page filled with models of different colours, the fact that they are also including different sizes and shapes of women is amazing! It’s almost like women are actually diverse ....

One of the biggest reasons this is important is because this will (hopefully) start to decrease the stigma that bigger people feel while exercising. Not only does our media associate exercise with already perfectly sculpted people, our society immediately labels anyone who doesn’t look like them to be ‘unhealthy’ or ‘lazy’. Then, these labels make it even harder for heavier people to create a healthy lifestyle for themselves. So, when Nike uses heavy models to show their clothing in a way that is not different from the other models, it increases the inclusivity of exercise and healthy-living for everyone. It makes the idea of both heavy people and skinny people exercising to be the ‘norm’. This will hopefully decrease at least one of the societal barriers that people feel hold them back from a healthy lifestyle.

Obviously, we have a long way to go from our current fat-shaming culture but things like these are a huge step in the right direction. And especially when big influential, trend-setting brands like Nike are taking these steps, it is sure to spark a revolution!

[amydhillooon]

Where are you from?

I am from a wandering home, restless against the west coast.

From birthday celebrations at the stroke of midnight,

I am from a new start with feasts and fireworks.

Where manners are enforced with a raise of vocals.

I am from wrestling and hide seek,

Silly games that bind us like a freshly-printed novel.

I am from superstitions and natural remedies.

From beliefs in the greater power, watching over us like a booming cloud.

I am from stubborn, passed on through blood, like an unholy curse.

Where old values are held high, no room for today.

I am from cousins on my mother’s side and my father’s.

From dinners, large and loud, on each and every occasion.

I am from walks in nature and playground visits.

Where money has no real value, other than to pay bills.

I am from vegetable gardens and that apple tree in the back.

I am from support, care and love.

[amydhillooon]

What do you think about UBC? I'm a grade 12 student and I really want to go to UBC but I'm very scared!

Hi! I totally understand why you might be scared because going to post-secondary schooling is a very big life moment. I still remember exactly how nervous/excited I was the entire summer before my first semester.

I actually love being a student at UBC. In terms of academia, be warned -- it is both challenging and competitive here. Your classmates are the brightest of the brightest and it’s hard not to feel the pressure. But, you always have to look at the bright side. If you made it to UBC, that means that you are one of the brightest too! Also, I took the pressure I felt and used it as motivation to push my learning farther. Now, as a fourth year student, I really do feel like I got the most out of my classes here! One point that I want to emphasize about the courses at UBC is how much freedom there is. I was able to take almost any type of course I wanted to (as electives obviously). Subjects like classical studies, plant physiology and Punjabi (!!!) were all readily available. I’m not sure that a lot of other schools are able to offer the enormous range that UBC has, so that was really important to me.

However, the experience of going to UBC is not all about courses and studying, the atmosphere and people are also incredibly important. There was always stuff to do on campus and there are so many different types of clubs! As a commuter, my experience was a little bit different. I feel like I missed out on a lot of the fun ‘after-school’ activities and I definitely was not as involved in clubs as I wish I could have been. But I’ve definitely heard that living on campus or nearby can be loads of fun. One thing that I did not miss out on was meeting lots of fantastic people! Seriously, I got to meet and know some of the best professors and became really good friends with a ton of different people throughout these years. I don’t think you’ll ever regret coming to UBC, but you may regret not coming!

I hope I was able to provide you with a good enough answer, but it can be hard describing something so large! Please let me know if you have any specific questions I can answer too.

[amydhillooon]

Who’s that girl? It’s Jess!

That opening song gets stuck in my head every other day and it would be annoying if I didn’t love the show. Anyways, I wanted to talk about something that’s been on my mind since I started watching this show -- the diversity!

The MAIN cast has two black men and an Indian woman. It may not be much, but it’s still something! Even more than the fact that they have people of colour, these characters are actual characters. They are more than the stereotypes that media loooooves to use. The Indian woman, Cece, is this smart, interesting model who the show uses as the ideal beauty. It is so refreshing to see someone like myself represented like this! Don’t be fooled though, the show pushes past her model status and allows Cece to grow and develop as a character in the show. The two black men, Coach and Winston, are nothing like the “typical” black man stereotype either. Coach is obsessed with coaching (almost to a fault) and is literally unable to talk to women. And Winston ... well, he’s just really weird. But they’re all unique! The show moves past just having token racial characters, and to what I think is a good representation of racial equality.

The show touches on sexuality as well, although it is less prominent. Jess and Cece have a gynecologist friend named Sadie, who is also a lesbian. The other characters never skip a beat when Sadie announces that her and her girlfriend (Fiancé? I can’t remember right now) are pregnant. There is just genuine excitement from everyone. A more subtle form of the diversity of sexuality that they show on this show is when the male characters (like Schmidt, Nick and Winston) kiss each other on the mouth. The show doesn’t assume that the characters are suddenly gay and it’s just treated as a quick joke and then the show keeps moving along.

New Girl doesn’t seem like it is actively focusing on these types of things. But, it is nice to see them regardless in a relatively popular show. Also, I’m sure that the show could include MORE diversity and I’m sure from someone else’s perspective, the show may not have done the best job either. I think it does okay! Do you think that New Girl does a good job at showcasing diversity?

[notlikethemoviess]

[amydhillooon]

New Girl is finally on Netflix! Totally forgot how much I looooooove this show.

[amydhillooon]

Study Tip #2

Don’t underestimate the value of teamwork when it comes to studying! 

Working with a group of your classmates can be one of the best methods of studying. Not only are you able to get help if you need it, you can also teach concepts that you understand well to someone else. By talking through ideas and working together to solve practise problems, you’ll actually be able to absorb more of the information and be able to recall it better too!

It is important to note that group study sessions only work well if everyone is motivated and ready to study! Otherwise, it’s really easy for a ‘study session’ to turn into lots of chit-chat and goofing around.

[amydhillooon]

CAPS 391: Introduction to Gross Human Anatomy

Here are some of my thoughts regarding this course at UBC!

CLASS AVERAGE: 70.83%

HIGHEST MARK: 96%

LOWEST MARK: 34%

NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 412

DO I RECOMMEND TAKING THIS COURSE? YES, IF YOU ARE A SCIENCE NERD! Otherwise ... maybe pass on this one!

Gross Human Anatomy - This was the subject of the course CAPS 391. The aim of the course was to provide an understanding of all the different structures within the body that are visible to the naked eye (thus, the word gross). We covered most of the major systems of the body - like the skeletal, muscular, digestive and reproductive systems. If you have an itch to learn about the basics of the human body and aren’t afraid of a little hard work, this is the course for you!

STRUCTURE

This course had a very simple, typical lecture-based structure. My professor, Dr. Alimohammadi, was incredible. Not only was he a phenomenal public speaker, he was also very funny and made lectures entertaining. Occasionally, we would discuss clinical case studies but most of the class time was spent learning the names of structures and the organization of the body. 

ATTENDANCE + TEXTBOOK

You have to go to class. Seriously, you just have to. The lecture presentation slides are usually just images and diagrams, so they aren’t super helpful. The TAs do post lecture summaries after each class, but trust me, it is extremely difficult to learn off them. 

And, the textbook is a must! Dr. Alimohammadi is one of the two authors of the textbook and so, he pulls a lot of the information directly from the textbook. There is material on the exams that isn’t discussed in lecture but is in the textbook.

EXAMINATIONS

The grade for this class was made up of quizzes, midterms and finals. There would be a quiz on Connect every few weeks but I can’t remember exactly how many quizzes there were. In total, though, they made up 5% of your grade. Then, there were two midterms, each worth 25% and a final worth 50%.

The quizzes were each ten minutes long and even though you had all your notes and textbooks available, it was impossible to do well unless you studied the material beforehand. 

Now, the midterms and the finals were all multiple-choice. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. The multiple choice questions were incredibly tricky, but I guess that they tested proper and thorough understanding.

Here’s an example of a multiple choice that could be found on an exam:

Those last options ... always had me second guessing my choices. I was always sure of one option and 50/50 on another and then, I would just get stuck. (Btw, if you’re wondering, the answer is D for the question above!)

MEMORIZATION

This class is heavy on memorization. You will have to memorize dozens of muscles and each of their innervations and movements. There is no way around it. If that is something that you aren’t good at, getting a good grade in this class will be much more difficult for you. But, like always, it just means you have to put in a little bit more effort but you can definitely still do well in this class!

That’s pretty much all I have to say for this course. If you decide to take this course, please let me know how it goes for you and feel free to ask me any questions!

[amydhillooon]

Hello! I saw ur post about studying. How long does doing all of that take? And many days before a test do u study?

Hello! You’re my very question here and I feel a little too excited ha! 

First off, I’m not going to sugarcoat it and say that it doesn’t take too long. Because, it really does. But I’ve found that this method actually helps me commit things to long-term memory, rather than just short-term working memory. To answer your question though, it depends on how much material I need to study. I may end up starting a few days before or an entire week before a midterm or final. Usually, I tend to do about a chapter in the textbook a day. It usually takes me roughly two hours to get through each chapter but because I’m doing small segments each day, it doesn’t feel like a lot. Then, I usually give myself two to three days before the examination to get down to memorizing details. The hours I dedicate to memorizing will vary. I’ve spent whole days memorizing tiny details of the Krebs cycle (which is not at all fun) but I’ve also spent as little as an hour before bed reviewing my notes too. 

Figure out what works for you and run with it!

[amydhillooon]

Study Tip #1

With four years of undergraduate courses under my belt, I have gathered a few very useful study tips that I’d love to share. I’m going to make this a series - I’ll upload a new study tip every week or so until I run out of them!

My first (and probably most important) study tip is to WRITE, RE-WRITE and RE-RE-WRITE!

During lecture-based classes, the goal is to absorb as much information as you can. You should be actively listening to the professor, asking questions (if you aren’t shy like myself) and physically writing down notes on paper. I strongly urge handwritten notes for a reason - you are more likely to remember things if you write them down! Here is one study that showed that notes taken on a laptop inhibited retention and processing of new information. Now, the type of notes you take in class is VERY important. There is almost no point in copying down the notes on the presentation slides, especially if the teacher supplies them anyways. Instead, you should be focused on writing notes that clarify and/or support the notes on the slides. The notes I take in class are abhorrently messy and this is coming from someone who it meticulous about everything.

The next step involves combining your lecture notes with the presentation slides (and textbook if needed) into a comprehensive study-guide. I would recommend doing this step whenever you have some extra, but not to leave it until the night before an exam. Now, it is up to you as to whether or not you would like to hand-write again or type it up. I usually like to type it up because it allows me to edit, rearrange and organize material easily. Plus, it’s visually appealing and I actually tend to study better when I have simple, clean notes. Below, as an example for you, I have attached some of my notes for a physiology course (CAPS 301).

The last step will usually occur while you’re studying for midterms or for finals. In this step, after you’ve memorized a segment of your material, grab a blank piece of paper and write it out all from memory! This is honestly the best way to test exactly what you know and don’t know. The paper will show it all. Find your missing bits and pieces and then, focus your studying toward them. If you’re able to write out everything, you should be ready for your examination!

That’s pretty much it! I have fine-tuned this process over the years and I cannot imagine studying any other way now. It does require a lot of effort, not only before examinations but during the lull of the semester as well. However, every person’s studying habits are different so while this may work for me, it may not work for you. It is important to figure out what type of student you are and make sure your studying is helping you, not impairing you!

[jackpearscn]

[amydhillooon]

It’s impossible not to fall in love with baby Randall.

[amydhillooon]

This Is Us : A new favorite?

After hearing about this show repeatedly from friends and family, I finally decided to give This is Us a chance. And within a few episodes, I had fallen madly in love.

The pilot got me. It was so intricately and beautifully laid out. I won’t spoil anything but I was legitimately shook at the end. I can usually predict plot lines and surprises from a mile away in TV shows and movies, so this was a first. Then, after the pilot, I watched the rest of the episodes within a week. 

So, if you haven’t seen This is Us yet, this is the SIGN you’ve been waiting for! Go watch the first episode and thank me later.

[amydhillooon]

BEAUTY: NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer

PRICE: $54.00 CAD

WHERE: SEPHORA

OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10

REPURCHASE: YES

Because this is my first post regarding beauty, I thought I’d start off with one of my favourites. The NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer is the only makeup item I wear daily. I wear the colour St. Moritz Medium 1 and I purchased it from Sephora for $54.00 CAD.

This tinted moisturizer is extremely light and moisturizing. It also has a nice smell, although others may disagree with me. In terms of coverage, it is light but build-able. The fact that it can even out your complexion is such a huge bonus considering it’s just a tinted moisturizer. I’ve tried a few other ones and their coverage just does not live up to the NARS one.

The only issue I have with this product is the fact that it does tend to rub away on my nose. Not only where my glasses meet the bridge of my nose, but even the tip. I’m not sure if this is because my nose is in itself oily or if the moisturizer makes it so. However, this usually occurs after a good six-eight hours so it’s not too much of a problem.

I would recommend this product to anyone who struggles with dry skin. This product keeps your face soft and moisturized the entire day. The price is slightly high but this is one item I will continue to repurchase!

[amydhillooon]

KIN 343: Biology of Human Athletic Performance

Here are my thoughts regarding this course at UBC!

CLASS AVERAGE: 83%

HIGHEST MARK: 96%

LOWEST MARK: 57%

NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 141

DO I RECOMMEND TAKING THIS COURSE? Yes!

Introductory courses, like this one, are always a good way to ease any curiosity about the subject. You get to dip your toes into all the different branches of the field. And, personally, that is was my favourite part.

STRUCTURE

This course covered a few of the different branches of kinesiology: muscle anatomy and physiology, exercise physiology, sport and exercise psychology, sport nutrition and sport medicine. Each module was taught by a specialist in the field and was covered in about five to six lectures. At the end of each module, there was a lecture session for quizzes. There was an independent completion of the quiz, followed by a group completion. There was a midterm and a final exam. The final course mark consisted of the quizzes, the midterm, the final and a group participation mark. The structure of the class was relatively straight-forward.

A very unique part of KIN 343 was the alternating professors/lecturers. Like any course, getting to know the professor’s method of teaching and testing is crucial. So, at first, I was really anxious. Would the course be messy? Would each professor have a totally different style of teaching? Would it be difficult changing professors every two weeks? But, the main class instructor, Dr. Paul Kennedy, was amazing at making sure everything was cohesive. It was honestly so cool to have instructors who specialized in different areas come and talk about what they loved.

ATTENDANCE

Attending lecture for this class was completely necessary. All the instructors leave out certain words, phrases or graphs in the slides they upload. So, you have to be in class to get the information. Many of the questions on quizzes were directly pulled from those slides.

The groups were created by Dr. Kennedy himself. All the students filled out a questionnaire, regarding things like leadership and collaboration abilities. We were sorted into groups that were supposed to be maximally cohesive. It was an interesting idea and I think it may have worked better than being able to select groups individually.  

EXAMINATIONS

The multiple choice quizzes at the end were all created by Dr. Kennedy so there was no real difference in testing. My only complaint was that a few of quizzes had errors and because Dr. Kennedy wasn’t the one teaching some of the modules, the questions on the quizzes sometimes seemed irrelevant or focused on minor details. I didn’t do so great on the individual quizzes, but the group component compensated for them and I barely lost any marks. I think that midterm had questions that were created by the other instructors as well so it was much more fair. It was, however, written and the questions were more application-based than fact reiteration. The final exam was identical to the midterm in terms of style and was an honest representation of the material covered in class.

Overall, it was relatively easy to get a high mark in this class. You had to put in work to memorize all of the lecture slides and be able to apply that information as well. I would totally recommend this class to anyone who’s interested in kinesiology and even if you’re not, it’s a good class to take to boost your GPA.

[amydhillooon]

An Introduction

Hello! 

My name is Amy Dhillon and I am currently a fourth year student at the University of British Columbia (UBC). I am pursuing a degree in the Bachelor of Science and I am majoring in Biology. I have had the chance to take a wide variety of courses during these last few chances. My absolute favourite courses covered topics like human anatomy and physiology. I have also taken and enjoyed a few botany-related courses during my third and fourth year. I love to learn and I am unbelievably grateful that I get to study at one of the best universities in the world. 

If there’s anything you should know about me, it’s the fact that I am a TV and movie fanatic. Some of my to-die-for shows include Gilmore Girls and the Office. There is no limit to how many times I will re-watch these shows and as many of my closest friends will attest, there is also no limit to how much I will talk about them. One of my guiltiest pleasures is any and all Marvel superhero movies. I’m not going to say that Captain America is my favourite, but I’m also not going to say he isn’t. Honestly, I love watching well-thought-out dramas just as much as animated children’s movies.

Apart from school and entertainment, I have a secret passion for beauty. I started watching beauty videos on Youtube when I was 15 or 16 years old. Now, I regularly shop at Sephora (unfortunately for my wallet) and I enjoy testing out new products and reading reviews online. While it may seem like a superficial hobby, there is something so nice about men and women coming together to talk about something so fun. 

For now, this is a little snippet into who I am. I hope that more will be revealed as I continue to build on this website. So, until next time, stay tuned!