There is less than a month to go before I attend my very last undergraduate lecture. With midterms and assignments and club meetings and work shifts, I didn’t even notice FOUR YEARS of uni pass right by. While a weaker man would scream, cry, and completely give into the senioritis, I have instead decided to channel my internal freak out into this article. The last article I will write for the Herald as an undergrad… 

My very first submission to this paper was a little advice column I wrote back in 2022, at the end of my first year. Now, as the grand finale of undergrad crawls menacingly ever closer, I think it’s only fitting to write another. However, instead of coming up with eight profound pieces of advice myself, I’ve decided to do what any good academic does and plagiarise share lessons that my friends, family, and faculty have taught me (with citations of course).

1) “Feed your friends” (Abcarius, 2022)

While living with Isabel in the summer of 2022, I quickly learned that every single time she was in the kitchen, I was bound to get a plate of whatever she was cooking, whether I asked for it or not. From fancy french onion soup, to frozen poutine, and even 5 POUNDS OF PIEROGIES FROM SCRATCH, she would share her food with reckless abandon, never letting anyone even try to pay her back for a meal. Now, every time I cook for myself I make a teeny bit extra to share with a roommate or a friend, and it always makes me feel loved when they do the same. Most of the dishes I know how to cook I learnt by sharing ingredients and ideas with my various roommates over the years. Feed your friends and they’ll get conditioned to feel happy (and hungry) every time they see you.

2) “FLOOR TIME” (Guevara, 2021-25)

University is a constant barrage of to-do lists and deadlines—this we know, but no amount of scheduling and learning strategies will stop you from being overwhelmed. The only true cure to this devastating ailment is floor time. My dearest friend Sam (yes, the editor-in-chief of this fine publication) taught me that every once in a while it is important to get off your chair, grab a pillow, stop working on that problem set, and SIT ON THE FLOOR. It’s a distraction, a change of scenery, and there is no better feeling than talking your friend’s ears off about utter nonsense while sprawled out on the ground. Once you hit the cold hard floor, the only way left to go is up.

3) Small gestures matter (Yi, 2023. Unpublished data)

My other bestest friend and ex-roommate, Jamie (yup, the ICSS president, it is so fun having friends in high places) taught me the importance of small gestures. Though he never actually said this to me, I have been on the receiving end of his little gestures innumerable times. Whether it’s dropping by that event your friend is organising, or bringing a small bouquet to a buddy’s performance; remembering to wish someone best of luck before an exam, or ruining your sleep schedule because your roommate needs to rant at 3am; Jamie is always up for a chat and down to help. It’s the tiny bits of effort that add up to make a good friend. 

4) “The world is a better place because you’re choosing to put your curiosity into it” (Gosain, 2023)

The wisest and coolest Innis grad I know is Rhea, my co-orientation-coordinator in second year and favourite person to have brunch with. I have this quote written up on a little post-it on my wall and it has pushed me to pursue my career in research. But it doesn’t just apply to science! Being curious, asking questions, and trying to search for answers is a difficult endeavour, but it is a truly crucial one, without which our lives would stagnate. So read books, watch videos, do research, and question everything. It is what you are here to do.

5) “In this house, we do not blame ourselves” (Srivastava, 2023)

Nishka, who I met through UofT’s summer Arrive Ready program for over-enthusiastic try-hard nerds, has always inspired me to push myself academically and artistically. After a particularly hard day at the lab, she said the above quote to console me over a failed experiment. It is truly impossible to control every variable and meet every deadline. Her words remind me that when things go wrong, it’s never right to doubt your aptitude but rather work to find solutions. You made it this far, didn’t you?

6) “By all means, try. You may well have a shot” (Keil, 2024)

This is something the principal of Innis College, Charlie Keil once said to me. Whenever there is an opportunity, always ALWAYS apply. Don’t have the experience you need for a job? Maybe they are looking for someone with a fresh perspective. Is there an award or scholarship you don’t think you will win? Maybe you’re more qualified than you think. Is there a student leadership role that is normally only filled by upper years? So what! You might become the youngest person ever to take up the mantle. APPLY FOR EVERYTHING. 

7) “It is a community because of you” (Basra, 2025)

The Innis Herald has been my home and my people ever since first year. I joined as a junior copy editor, then became EIC, and now I have been managing editor of this little venture for the last two years. My time at UofT would have been bland and boring without the paper and I like to think that I in turn added a bit more personality to the publication. If there’s one thing I’ll miss from undergrad, it’s running the Herald alongside the masthead of maniacs mad enough to run it with me. The formula is simple: find something you enjoy, find others who enjoy it too, put everyone in a room, and make something stupid that even more people will enjoy with you. At that point, you’ve stopped being a group. You’ve become something unstoppable: a community (Winger, 2009).

8) “We’ll figure it out” (Nathan, 2023; Boyle, 2024; Finley, 2025) 

Throughout three research projects under the mentorship of three different grad students, one thing has been a constant: something or other always goes wrong. The first couple of times it happened, I panicked and frantically emailed my mentor again and again and again. Each time, I was met with the same answer: “We’ll figure it out.” Now it serves as a constant reminder that there exist no unsolvable problems and no solitary endeavours: you just haven’t thrown enough brains at the issue. Collaboration and conversation cures all.

I hope you can find some semblance of wisdom in this sentimental mess of an article. There were just way too many things I wanted to say and too many people I wanted to thank through this piece. But halfway through, I realised that this is but a thinly veiled excuse to immortalise one message, in print forever and evermore, to all my friends and mentors: I love you.

The End.

Yash