JADE BAILEY, 20
Studying chemistry at Ryerson
HOMETOWN: Brampton
WHERE SHE IS NOW: At home in Brampton
Ifinished high school in 2019 and initially studied psychology at the University of Ottawa. I wanted that experience of living in a dorm on campus, just like the movies, but it ended up being the complete opposite of what I expected. My residence was on Rideau Street, a 15-minute walk from campus, and I didn’t get on with my roommate. I thought, Why am I paying $9,000 a semester for housing I hate? Then Covid hit, and the university told us we had to go home.
So I moved back into my mom’s four-bedroom home in Brampton. Right away, I had trouble concentrating on online learning, and I basically gave up on two of my classes. I soon decided that if I wasn’t going to be on campus, I might as well transfer to a school in the GTA. In August, I accepted a lastminute offer from Ryerson. I work part time as an insurance agent three nights a week, so I started paying my mom $400 a month in rent, just to help out, and I bought a desk for my room so I could study.
My relationship with my mom is solid. It helps that we don’t spend too much time together; she’s a property investor and is often out checking on her houses. Still, she never knocks. She’ll come into my room in the middle of a lecture to take my charger or to see what I’m doing. But at least she’s cleaner and more polite than my last roommate.
I’ve never been to the Ryerson campus, which is weird. My first class was physics, and the professor left the group chat on in Zoom. Everyone was talking to each other and making jokes.
Later, we set up a study group on WhatsApp where we remind each other of due dates and share links to the course material. Everyone is really supportive, but I still don’t have any friends in my program. I’m shy and I never make the first move.
I have two credits carried over from last year, so I’m only taking four courses this semester: physics, chemistry, math and biology. My biology professor is my favourite—he splits lectures into three parts to make it easier for us to stay focused, and he does entire sessions where he just answers our questions.
Most days I have class in the morning. Then, if I’m not working, I spend the afternoon napping and watching YouTube or Netflix. I’m halfway through the Michael Jordan documentary.
I just had my first lab for biology. We can’t go into the laboratory, so we had to buy our own materials and do the experiment at home. I think exams will be the same.
One upside to online learning is that there’s a lot less pressure to attend every class. Last week, I was up late studying, and I slept through my 8 a.m. physics class, but all the lectures are recorded now, so I caught up later. It feels like I’m cheating on reality, but it’s really just more flexible. Sometimes I have trouble doing the work, though, because my eyes get strained from staring at screens all the time.
I’m thinking of moving to downtown Toronto in January, using the money I’ve saved to live with a friend. I can’t wait to see people face-to-face again.