Where it all began, Part 1

Throughout high school, I knew I would go to university.

I had no specific plans in mind - I didn't have a specific career I was striving for like a lawyer or doctor (in the medical sense, of course!).  I didn't even know how university related to getting a job at the time, and maybe that is how most high school students think.  I did have some friends that seemed to have long-term ambitions, but I thought I would figure it out when I get there.  It was university after all - a place to explore new opportunities and find my identity, and the romance began...

I had aspirations, but no direction.

During my junior year, I started to request information about programs across North America.  I sent out countless emails from a small, ancient computer at my high school, and looked forward to checking the mail (physical, not electronic) every day.  I couldn't wait to find a shiny brochure about a top-level university that was mentioned daily on the local news.  At this point, it was all about quantity, and I didn't really care as long as I could look at a new calendar from a new university every week.

I only ended up applying to two schools that I requested information from, and they were the closest to my home town, so I settled on comfort.  I suppose I was scared to even think of applying anywhere else, mostly because of the distance from the familiar.  When I think about it, I was pretty terrified to actually 'go' to university with all the other students that I thought would know what they are doing there.  One thing I did know - I was good at science, and I knew that I would be majoring in a science field.  I looked at the calendars again, and picked out some programs that had the catchiest name or that seemed to be the highest profile, without any interest in what I actually thought I should be doing.  I ended up being accepted at both schools and agonized over the decision for a while, but picked the university with the best ranking as reported by a popular university ranking service (which is, of course, completely unbiased and quantitative in its approach, right?).  And off I went - to live by myself in a single-bedroom apartment in a city where I knew no one, a university that I had not even visited, and a program with a name I couldn't really comprehend.  Naturally, it was only for four years, and after I would have the dream job that I was perfect for with a substantial signing bonus.

And so life at the academy began...