MUN is Fun! Baby’s 1st McMUN Conference

Last weekend, I was in Montréal for McMUN, the Model UN conference hosted annually by McGill. I joined the Model UN team last year but wanted to get some more experience before going to a “real” event. This was my first time at a conference outside of Glendon and while I was still feeling apprehensive about whether I was ready, I decided to just go for it. I’m so glad that I didn’t back out like I thought of doing so many times — guess this exploration in 2015 thing might be working for me.

Was I excited or terrified?!? BOTH.

Along with another member of the GMUN team, Yasmin, I represented Côte d’Ivoire on the Fourth Committee SPECPOL where we discussed issues such as intervention and national sovereignty, maritime disputes, and slums and urbanization. Since I was in a general assembly, there was a huge number of countries represented (over 150!) and having a partner definitely helped make my first conference outside of Glendon a little less stressful.

So official. So fancy.

The conference began on Thursday but my committee sessions didn’t start until bright and early on Friday morning. There were sessions all day on Friday and Saturday, as well as a final morning one on Sunday before the closing ceremonies. I was worried before the conference that we would run out of things to talk about after 3 days of sessions in the same committee but our assembly only got through 1 of the 3 proposed topics in the time we were given. The sheer size of the committee may have had something to do with it (the Chairs were literally using binoculars to read some of the placards in the back, not quite what I was used to from Glendon practices!).

Some highlights of the trip:

• The brilliant, inspirational keynote address from Payam Akhavan, a former UN prosecutor and top international human rights lawyer. It was captivating, thought-provoking and included some Lord of the Rings references… need I say more?
• THE FOOD. I basically spent the entire weekend in between committee sessions wondering when my next meal was. Thanks, MTL.
• Getting to know the Glendon MUN team better! Since the club is so large, meetings are offered twice a week and so I hadn’t really met a number of people on the trip. McMUN turned out to be a great bonding experience.
• I learned so much! Having the opportunity to observe the debate and negotiation styles of students from all over Canada and the US helped me sharpen my own skills and I feel a lot more confident in what I’m doing

Some of the Glendon team at McParté, the Saturday night social event!

Make sure to check out Beckie’s McMUN post if you haven’t already!

Have any questions about Model UN or McMUN? Leave me a comment or tweet me @soniapGL!

#OneWord365: Explore

This week I’m joining some other members of the eAmbassador team and sharing my #OneWord365. If you haven’t heard of OneWord365, it’s a project where, instead of compiling a long and complicated list of New Years’ resolutions that you won’t remember in a month, much less a year, you choose just one word that will define your year.

I’ve thought long and hard about this and finally came up with the word explore.

In my last post, I talked about how I was making it a priority in 2015 to get my procrastination habit under control. Toward the end of 2014, I made a serious effort, the first in a LONG while if I’m being honest with myself, to change my study habits and it made a huge impact on my overall mood. If I hadn’t finally tried changing up my way of doing things, I would still be stuck in the same place.

For the entire time I’ve been at Glendon, I’ve insisted that I study best alone in my room. Last semester, I missed the shuttle to Glendon from the Keele campus by a few minutes and ended up with nothing to do but study. I grabbed a hot chocolate from Second Cup, sat down with my laptop… and suddenly 2 hours had passed. Ever since that day, I’ve been exploring different ways of studying and found that I actually like a lot more variety than I’d initially assumed. Who knew?

Here are some other ways that I’m planning to explore in 2015:

Trying new kinds of books… maybe even venturing into the world of non-fiction
It’s probably not news that I read a fair amount in my spare time but I’ve been looking to expand the kinds of books that I read. In particular, I’m interested in reading non-fiction, poetry and maybe even some classics (no, I haven’t read Pride & Prejudice, stop judging me!).

Attending different kinds of events
On Saturday night, I went to the York basketball game with Asha, her family and another friend at the Keele campus, the first time that I’ve been to a sports game since Frosh week. It’s not my usual Saturday evening activity but I’m so glad that I decided to go. I had a great time and it just reinforced that I should step out of my comfort zone. Especially because I live on campus, I want to take advantage of the significant variety of events that are always happening but that I have glanced over in the past.

Getting back into writing
I used to write creatively all the time but in recent years, it’s taken a backseat. Hopefully 2015 is the year I pick up the pen again – I’ve missed it.

And there you have it! This post isn’t a comprehensive list and I’m anticipating (hoping!) that lots of unexpected adventures sneak their way into my year. I can’t wait to see what 2015 brings!

To find out more about #OneWord365, check out the website here. You can also check out which words Juan, Asha and Francette have picked out for their year. Go Team Awesome!

Do you have any suggestions of things that I should try this year? 

Mid-November Check In

Typing this title felt SO weird — how is it already November?! While my head is telling me it can’t already be this late into the year, my body and schedule are definitely aware. It’s a really busy time of the year with exams coming up and the assignment load piling up. Essays on essays on essays.

But enough of that. This week I’m more interested in talking about the exciting things going on in my life than the stressful ones so let’s get started!

READING

If you’re remotely interested in YA fantasy novels good books, give Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series a try. I read the latest one a month ago (sooo not in November but like I said, I’VE BEEN BUSY) and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I don’t really like to use the word “epic” but… THIS BOOK IS EPIC. Intricate and enthralling and fast-paced and just excellent.

I haven’t read Falling into Place yet but I’ve heard great things. It’s recommended for fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman and Jay Asher (AKA ME) so if you’re into their work, check it out and we can discuss feels!

WATCHING

I’m laughing as I look at this line of pictures because… what? Clearly I have some diverse interests. I’ve been re-watching episodes of The Mindy Project and now that I’m all (re)caught up, I’m excited to start the new season! As for Orphan Black, I STILL HAVEN’T SEEN S2!!! I watched the entire first season in a couple of days and it was amaaazing. I need to get a move on before I hear a spoiler! As for the last picture, it’s Grand Prix season in the figure skating world! 🙂 This is probably the first year that I’ve followed the competitions so closely and I’m really enjoying myself.

IRL

• last week some friends and I went out for brunch and a trip to Ripley’s Aquarium. I had a blast! Mission Leave this Tiny, Beautiful Campus Once in a While is on the right track!
• over the last couple of months I’ve been helping to direct a play at a spiritual organization in Toronto that I belong to and today was the big day! HOORAY! It went so well and I couldn’t be more proud of my girls
• the Glendon Order of the Phoenix Yule Ball is coming up on Friday and I’M SO EXCITED! Wizards do it best

Like I said at the beginning of this post, this can be a stressful time for a lot of people and I’m certainly no exception. Thinking about the little things that I’m getting my energy from is so helpful in keeping me grounded. Stay positive, friends!

PS – It’s taken a bit of trial and error but I’m going to be moving my posting date to Sunday for the foreseeable future. It doubles as either the start or end to the week depending on how you look at it and it’s usually a time of the week when things have calmed down a bit for me school-wise. I’m excited and hope you are too! See you next Sunday 🙂

Exploring, Toronto & Dessert

At the end of the school year, my friends and I made a resolution for next year. It’s not that we didn’t have a great time this year (we did!) but there was one thing we definitely didn’t explore as much as we would have liked to: the city.

A lot of my friends seem to come from small towns/far away and so it makes sense that they haven’t seen much of Toronto. I, on the other hand, grew up in Brampton, right in the GTA! Now, that said, I rarely had any reason to come into the city and while I’ve done the obligatory CN Tower trips with visiting relatives, it was never really something that I did just for myself. Despite this, I’ve been feeling like I should be a lot more well-acquainted with Toronto than I am and that feeling has really thrown me off. I’m usually always eager to explore if I’m visiting somewhere new, something the pages of browser history dedicated to fun spots in cities I’ll be visiting later this summer can attest to. Exploring Toronto should be more or less the same thing but being new in a city that’s so close to home has left me feeling less excited than usual.

Logically, I know this makes zero sense, especially when I really know NOTHING about what the city has to offer. I want to feel at home in Toronto. My sister and I took the GO bus down to the ACC last week for Stars on Ice (!!!) and it was a lot of fun just looking around for a place to eat before the show. I need to stop feeling uncool for geeking out over cool things in Toronto!

This year, my friends and I did lots of fun things together but we didn’t really leave campus much. Who needs the subway when you’ve got froyo at Keele a shuttle ride away or popcorn and a movie down in the common room? (Hint: Me) When I left campus one afternoon to grab some ice cream with a friend when the sun was (finally!) shining, we were both a little regretful that we hadn’t made better use of our proximity to the city to try new things and see new places. It’s not a big deal with only one year behind us but I don’t want to be at the end of my degree with only a handful of excursions off campus to show for it.

Come September, I want to be a tourist again. There’s so much to explore in Toronto and I’ve only seen a tiny sliver of it. I don’t even know the best dessert places to go!! Rest assured that this time next year, I will be an expert on where to go for ice cream and pie 😉

I need to see more of this beautiful city!