“Like obviously giving up a weekend is horrible for a teenager, but I was able to manage it.”
Claire Li joked, referring to her shift at a local bakery & cafe during high school — but could easily be mistaken for a current UofT student. Having structure gives her a special kind of steadiness, which in turn feeds immense passion for the next chapter of her life. Since the age of ten, Li knew going here was her dream, her motivation towards her goals credited primarily to her beloved fashion teacher. Though, like all new students, Li genuinely admits she is still “figuring it out,” despite being certain she wants to pursue a humanities pathway.
It all began in Markham
A city located in the Greater Toronto Area. Though not located towards the heart of downtown, she wore a fond smile on her face as she recounted the memories. It never stopped her friends with Friday night plans, sporting her favourite pair of going out jeans. Being a creative girl at heart, Li takes big inspiration from iconic photos of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan in the 2000s, preferring to go back in time to curate her outfits.
Bold colours, then matching sets
Fashion is just one way Li explores her identity, making a dramatic yet gradual shift from bold, bright colours to classic matching sets and high coverage clothing in preparation for her new life — her distaste for bubble skirts remains:
“You can’t wear this out to dinner, you can’t wear this out to the club, you can’t wear this to school. I don’t know but that’s just me.”
While her style may have become less loud, her ability to stay true to herself and opinions remains unchanged. Li can always be found enjoying anything from Kodak Black and Doja Cat to tasteful jazz, music becoming yet another form of self expression.
Even the bravest soldiers fear ACORN
Course selection is something outside of anyone’s control. Currently waitlisted for three courses she requires to complete an English specialist, and unsure about her 4.0 course load, despite an enrolment time that did her dirty, she remained composed. A good reminder is that there is always a way to get the credits you need, and freshman year is really only the start. Like all things here, you can’t predict how anything will go, from September to exam time. Regardless, Li is positive she’ll find herself at Robarts with an iced espresso in hand.
Find a few things to ground you
To new students reading this, things do have their ways of working out even if your year isn’t as planned, it might turn out even better than you originally hoped. One further piece of advice is to find a few things to ground you. While Li enjoys multiple novels for school, The Little Prince remains dear to her heart for its core values fitting any stage of life; the prince goes on a galactic journey to several planets in order to learn more about love, loss and becoming an adult.
A different group of people
Embarking on a new journey herself, she has set goals. Whether this be evolving from organizing deadlines with high school teachers — to declaring that she wants to speak to all of her professors during office hours: she aims to make the most out of her time here. Li is primarily just looking forward to living on her own in her student dormitories at Woodsworth. She reflected that she has always hung out with older kids, a contributing factor into her mature outlook on life.
“And then I’ve noticed that I feel so much more in place [with them]. And I’m just really excited to be in university with a different group of people and meet everyone.”
While she is guaranteed to walk into frosh week in confidence, Li remains incredibly humble and easy to talk to: foundational skills she has been able to gradually build with time, and will serve her well in this exciting transition. Rather than focusing on setting strict academic guidelines around studying or going out, university is ultimately a chance to freely create who you are.
Same city. New everything. Still her.
You might see similarities with Li’s story, or have your upbringing diverge in countless ways. Yet with her unwavering opinions and trust in herself, she’s not worried even if everything goes sideways. A comforting yet slightly terrifying reminder for all, is that you’ll severely underestimate just how much growth you’ll experience no matter how much you prepare beforehand.
Don’t be frightened by your three hundred person lecture halls and memorizing course codes for brief introductions during frosh; it’s often the least appealing parts of UofT that make the most memorable anyway.