Faces of UBC: When was the first time that you felt like an adult?

“It was when I chose to come back to UBC because I was not supposed to. I was away and joined a college back in India. Then I realized that I was running away. I felt like I made a good decision and it made me feel like a grown up.”

—Vidit Jain, second-year Sauder School of Business

“Well, I don't know if I'm an adult yet. That’s probably the simple answer. There are moments when I feel adult-like when I do basic things like cooking, doing dishes or paying my bills. But I’m still waiting for the moment when I definitively know I that I am an adult.”

—Jeff Groh, third-year science and music 

“Well, I’ve been at UBC for seven years so I think it was 2010 because I felt like I was being thrown out to the wolves and had to get my bearings on my own. Time management was a difficult thing and I felt like the comfort of having a structured timetable wasn't there anymore.”

—Ahmad Sohail Ludin, first-year political science

“There are moments when you think that you are an adult, but ultimately that moment is very short-lived once you realize that you actually rely on other people and that there are things that baffle you that shouldn't. I’d probably say that it was just settling in first year and realizing that I could actually do everything — I could have control, plan my life and have fun the way I wanted. To top that all off, I did my first load of laundry. Looking back, that was probably a minimal moment, but it certainly meant a lot to me.”

—Charlotte Gilby, second-year arts 

“It was when I had to find myself a place to stay. I had a house from July to August because I was subletting from a friend, but they needed to come back the after summer was over. For the new semester, I had to find another room, but I still hadn't found one four days before I had to move out. To top it all off, I didn't even have a Canadian phone number. It was the first time I had to deal with this kind of problem by myself.”

—Feiyang Zhu, co-op electrical engineering

“Probably after I got into my second year — that was the time I really started to plan my life. When I first came to UBC, I stayed in Place Vanier and was technically on my own, but I wasn't fully independent during that time. I relied financially, spiritually and mentally on my parents and friends even though they were not physically with me.”

—Nemo, third-year double major in history and economics 

“Last year when I landed on the plane because before it, every time I landed somewhere, it was see my friends or to see my parents. But this time, I landed somewhere where I didn't know anyone. It was just me, on my own.”

—Adriano Sela, second-year computer engineering (right)

“The first time I went to a super market and bought my own stuff.”

—Ana Pozas, second-year biology (left)

“I feel like an adult pretty much all the time, like when I feel I've been productive when I could've not been. For example, I’ll organize a study group after class and I’ll attend. I know for that hour I could’ve easily been on Facebook or on Netflix, but I studied. I feel pretty good about myself then, like I’m doing something with my life.”

—Micah Berlow, psychology and music 

“I definitely didn't feel like an adult all of my first year because everything was made so accessible and easy. It was first week of my second year and I was living off-campus. My roommate wasn't home and there was something so simple I had to do. I realized that I will have to do it all by myself and there was no one that I could ask for help. It was kind of enlightening because I realized that I could do it — I am totally capable.”

—Gagan Ganger, third-year international relations

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