Introduction - Hi I'm Sydney!

Hello everyone! My name is Sydney, and I am in my third year majoring in Political Science and a minoring in Law and Society. I am originally from Calgary, Alberta but chose to explore living in a new city for my undergraduate studies. I landed on Vancouver because I wanted to stay in Western Canada, as I love the mountains and being relatively close to my family. Three years later, I am beyond grateful that I decided to commit to UBC, as it has given me the opportunity to explore my academic interests, ultimately leading to my discovery of my passion for law and social justice. Within this field, I am particularly interested in supporting pro-bono initiatives and working with individuals who face challenges to accessing legal services. Outside of academics, some of favourite things include traveling to new places, talking walks in Pacific Spirit Forest, running, cats, and matcha!

I chose to take RMST 202 this semester because I want to familiarize myself with new literary texts and improve my reading comprehension skills. I am excited to delve into texts without the looming pressure of grades - which are a persistent stressor in most courses at UBC. Throughout the semester, I expect to be exposed to diverse literary works, which will lead me to develop new insights and perspectives.

Today, I enjoyed listening to the lectures podcast-style during my walk to class. I live near the UBC track, so my walk to campus is approximately 35 minutes, giving me the perfect amount of time to enjoy the podcasts. 

First, in Inventing Romance Studies, my response to the question "where is the romance world located?" is that the romance world is not a concrete city, country, or region, but an abstract place that can be accessed by anyone who wishes to explore it. It can be accessed by individuals who produce romantic-style works, such as literature, theatre, or film. It can also be accessed by individuals who engage with such romantic-style works - those who interpret them and seek out their intrinsic meaning. In this upcoming semester, I believe that we will all be accessing the romance world as we delve into various forms of romantic literature!

Second, while listening to the conversation lecture, On Romance Studies, I particularly resonated with the idea that after you learn one Latin language, it is significantly easier to pick up others. After eight years in French immersion, I found that learning Spanish at UBC last year came quite naturally. I was able to guess many of the words, as they sounded similar to French words, and conjugation came easy to me. 

Thanks for reading my introduction! For fun, I've attached two photos that represent my two lives below - one from my hometown of Calgary and one from UBC.