Author Archives: Kamryn Hamagami-Postill

My Guide For Surviving BCIT

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If you’ve heard anything about BCIT, then I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours. The insane 6-7 course workload, the ruined sleep schedule, and the nonexistent social life. And if you go to BCIT I’m sure you’re probably knee-deep in assignments, fuelled by an unhealthy amount of caffeine, and wondering why you voluntarily signed up for this level of stress. But fear not BCIT friends, I have the perfect guide to walk you through the madness and whirlwind that is BCIT, with everything from the insane course load, making friends, dealing with group projects, and of course, surviving on sheer determination (and lots of coffee). 

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Step 1: Accept That Your Life Is Now BCIT

Yup, you read that right, say goodbye to any life you knew before school and buckle up because these next 2 years will really push your buttons. You may have once been a fun, social, well rested friend with hobbies and interests, that was fun while it lasted right? But say goodbye to that for the next 2 years now. Now, your life revolves around lectures, assignments, and desperately refreshing myBCIT to see if your grades have been posted. 

BCIT isn’t your typical “chill” college experience where you can coast through on a couple of lectures and some light reading. No, BCIT is quite the opposite. They really love to just throw you off the deep end from day one. The sooner you accept that you are now a full-time academic athlete, the better. It’s also not like you get to choose your course load, class times, and electives, no no no, this is a scary surprise. A couple weeks out from the beginning of the semester you will get a jump scare that is your schedule. Be prepared for the early mornings and late nights and if you’re commuting from far away, I’m sending you the best of luck. Your schedules are generated for you which actually is a huge relief in my opinion, and on the bright side of the hectic course load you get to avoid the stress of registering for classes. 

Step 2: Say Goodbye To Your Sleep Schedule 

Remember when eight hours of sleep was a normal thing? Those were the good old days. Now, if you get five hours, that’s basically luxury. You also will just never be able to fully relax again, there is always something to do, whether it’s posting a discussion post, studying for a midterm, or writing a paper, I can guarantee you will never feel bored again. But hey, at least we will be prepared for the workforce right?

Step 3: Your Love Affair With Caffeine 

To be honest, I don’t even like coffee, and being completely honest, before I started at BCIT I rarely had any caffeine. Now? I’m cracking open Red Bulls at the crack of dawn and having a double espresso with my dinner. It’s wild. You will without a doubt become so dependent on caffeine. Coffee isn’t just a beverage at BCIT; it’s a personality trait. You will consume it in alarming quantities, and at some point, you’ll convince yourself that caffeine is an acceptable substitute for actual food. And there is sure no shortage of this good stuff around campus, whatever you want, you can find. It’s a caffeine lover’s heaven. Just remember that caffeine crashes are real, and there is a limit before your eye starts twitching uncontrollably. (Probably. I haven’t reached it yet.)

Step 4: Surviving Your Classes

Not to toot my own horn here, but I always kinda just thought I was smart and school came natural to me. Well, I mean it did in high school but that is NOT the case now. When I say in some of my courses I’m barely scraping by, I mean it, (I literally just failed my econ midterm last week :). Surviving BCIT classes is an extreme sport. Every term feels like a sprint mixed with a marathon, sprinkled with a little bit of emotional trauma. Here’s how to stay afloat:

  • Try not to fall behind: I get that life gets busy, but make your classes your main priority, just trust me on this one, you’d rather over study than under study. There is no catching up once you’re lost. A “quick break” from studying will turn into a 600-slide PowerPoint you don’t understand, just stay focused and on task. 
  • Pay attention: trust me I know it’s hard to pay attention the whole time in a 3 hour lecture and it seems easier to just tune out with a little bit of Wordle or Sudoku but don’t do it. 
  • Use office hours: I actually never used any office hours my first year but this second year I think my teachers are getting tired of my face. 
  • Befriend the smart kid: they might just save your GPA. 
  • Group projects: I know, I know, they are awful, and there’s a 90% chance one

Step 5: Making Friends (your emotional support crew)

You’re all in this together so why not make the best of it. BCIT is tough, but suffering alone is even worse. Your classmates will become your second family – whether you like it or not. But don’t worry these classmates will become some of your closest friends. I mean you’re really the only ones who truly understand the BCIT struggle. You’re working through the same course load, dealing with all the same things, and are surviving off of the minimal sleep together so why not make the best of it? Plus, study groups are the best way to prepare for exams in my opinion, getting a group together and chatting out the topics really gets it to stick in my brain! It’s also nice to have a group that’s kinda on the same wave of anti-social and social-ness. You all get that you don’t have time to be social with friends but you can share in the social-ness of study groups! 

Step 6: Don’t Give Up

The thing about BCIT programs is that since they are all generally 2 year diploma programs, people outside of BCIT just assume that they are so easy. Don’t listen to that, BCIT is hard and you are totally allowed to feel like that, but don’t let that turn you off from starting a BCIT program either. The programs definitely pack a punch within the 2 years but hey the stats are great and the results are proven. You see it everywhere, 96% of grads get jobs, and these programs prepare you for the workforce. After all BCIT is a super reputable school and although at times you may ask yourself why you even put yourself into all that stress I can promise you it will all be worth it in the end you get to cross that stage. So if you’re in the midst of the BCIT grind right now, enjoy the ride for what it is, and one day you will get to look back on these struggles and wish you were in school when you’re sitting at your desk on the new 9-5 grind. 

Overthinking: My Olympic Sport

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If over thinking was an Olympic sport I’d be representing Canada and bringing home the gold. My acceptance speech would go something like this: “I’d like to thank my family, my friends, my life, my job, and of course, my brain, for making me a world class athlete in the sport of overthinking. I was definitely born with a little bit of talent but hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard, and my overthinking is definitely working hard.” If overanalyzing minor conversations, spiraling over text messages, and replaying awkward moments from five years ago were Olympic events, I’d have more gold medals than Michael Phelps. Honestly, it’s a bit bizarre how much I overthink and quite frankly, just plain unhealthy, but I’m not the only one like this right? A lot of everyday situations in my life become mental gymnastics for me, where every situation is a high stakes event but it’s just a one man sport, my brain and I. 

Whistler Olympic Rings

It always starts with something so simple, I just work it up to being something huge when it is totally unnecessary! Even just a casual conversation, a text, or a glance at a stranger. To someone that isn’t an Olympic athlete in overthinking these moments just come and go but to be it’s a case that needs solving “why did they respond that way?” “Was that a dirty look?” “Did I say something?”. 

Here’s a small example of a case where I’d freak out (and this is real it happened last week with an old friend)

Me: Hey! It’s been awhile! Let’s grab coffee sometime soon 🙂

No response …..

30 minutes later: hmm maybe they’re busy, that text sounded normal right.

1 hour later: why did I add the emoji?! They probably think I’m lame.

2 hours later: did I make them mad? Do they hate me?

3 hours later they respond: “hey sorry I was at work, how does next week sound”

All that anxiety and overthinking for absolutely nothing, I do it to myself every time. 

Some people move on from awkward moments. I collect them. They live rent-free in my mind, and I revisit them regularly, like an old scrapbook of past moments I regret, but they aren’t even things to be regretful about, just classic old me, thinking hm maybe I shouldn’t have shook their hand that hard. It’s down to every little detail and it’s just insane. And hey, I’m recognizing that it’s insane, and putting it down on paper probably makes you think that I’m insane, but it’s the truth (I’ll probably lay in bed tonight awake why I even posted this paper to the internet). The moment in 2012 when I mispronounced a word in front of my entire class? Oh, it’s on repeat. The time I accidentally said “You too” to a server who told me to enjoy my meal? Haunts me every time I go out to eat so now you will catch me rehearsing my lines when it comes to time to order a meal.  People say, Just let it go. And I’d love to, trust me, I’d want nothing more. But my brain says, “let’s analyze it from every angle instead!” 

Overthinking  doesn’t stop at social interactions. No, no. It takes over every aspect of life, especially decision-making. If you know me then you know I’m the most difficult decision maker. I’m beyond indecisive, it’s not even funny. I actually can’t even make a simple decision without consulting my mom and at least 2 of my friends before. I just can’t seem to make up my mind for the life of me. Picture this: I’m at a coffee shop. I order a latte. Simple, right? But then the internal debate begins: Should I have gotten a tea instead? Did I make the wrong choice? “It’s 4 o’clock the caffeine will keep me up all night” I can’t escape it. And don’t get me started on online shopping, it’s one of my favourite past times, but trust me, I never actually make it to the “shop” part because my brain just can’t make up its mind with anything! Step 1: Add item to cart. Step 2: Spend an hour reading reviews, Step 3: Remove item from cart because do I really need this? Step 4: Think about it for three days. Step 5: Add it back to cart. Step 6: Panic-buy it at 2 AM. Step 7: Immediately regret it and return as soon as it arrives. 

The worst thing about being an overthink-er is spiraling into things that I said, constantly worrying if I said the wrong thing. I’m an opinionated person and I do love to talk but I get worried that I get carried away sometimes and just come off as too much. I say things then instantly regret it. And it’s nothing ever bad, it just leaves me thinking about what other people think about what I said. If I get a message or vibe back from someone that is even just slightly unclear I will without a doubt go into full panic mode. 

Here’s the thing, overthinking is exhausting. It’s like my brain never learned how to use the “off” switch. But, ironically, I also overthink about overthinking. “Am I making this a bigger deal than it is? Should I just stop overthinking? But wait, how does one stop overthinking? What if trying to stop overthinking makes me overthink more?” Maybe overthinking is just what makes me calmer in the long run? I honestly really don’t know and don’t have an answer. It’s also not like I’m actively trying to improve this area of my life. I’m no help to myself at all. But maybe that needs to change? See here goes overthinking again! At this point, I just accept that my brain likes to run mental marathons with no finish line. 

At the end of the day, if you’re an overthink-er too, then you know it’s not all bad. I mean sure there are many times when I just wish I could be a bit more in the present but think about all those times where your overthinking saved you. Maybe it’s good you think long and hard about the decisions in your life, maybe that thinking has saved you from making the wrong choice and you don’t even know it! So if you’re an overthink-er life me and feel somedays like you can’t even keep up with how fast you’re brain is thinking maybe just try look at it in a positive light and just think this is for the best, after all, you can’t change who you are so why not just own it! 

True Crime Obsessions

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If you’ve ever found yourself three hours deep into a Netflix documentary about a serial killer you’d never heard of before, or if you’ve lost sleep because you needed to hear just one more episode of a true crime podcast, congratulations, you’re just like, you have an obsession for true crime and mystery. I love true crime. I get so enthralled with it. Books, articles, TV shows, documentaries, podcasts, you name it, I’m hooked. A few of my friends like it as much as me but some of them think our obsession is just creepy. I mean I totally get it, a lot of things that have happened to these people are devastating and I see a lot of the controversy about viewing true crime as entertainment which I completely understand,  I don’t view it as entertainment, I just think in another life I was meant to be a detective. I love trying to solve everything and piece it together in my own little ways. But why? Why is this something you and I enjoy? I mean it’s definitely not a light watch before you go to sleep on Sunday night. But time and time again, I keep coming back to it, and when a new show drops on Netflix, I will stop whatever I’m watching to get into the series. 

True Crime

If you like the thrill of mystery, then this certainly brings you that. There’s a mystery, a villain, a victim, and often, a sense of justice (or injustice) that keeps you hooked. You want to see it through to the end, even if it is bone chilling and hard to watch at times. Humans are pretty much natural problem solvers. We like to figure things out for ourselves, solving patterns, connecting the dots. And true crime is just what brings us that satisfaction. My friends and I say  it almost feels like an escape. Everyday life gets stressful but having something that we can just tune out to and fully immerse ourselves is a good distraction. And trust me I know it does sound weird and no we don’t enjoy what happened to these people, it’s more just the whole process of uncovering the mystery. 

It’s weird because sometimes it’s definitely unpleasant and you want to turn away but you’re just so hooked you can’t. It’s the same reason you slow down when they see a car accident. You don’t want bad things to happen, but when they do, you feel as if you need to understand them and get the whole picture. I was watching a series with my friends last weekend and they actually told me there is a science behind this all that psychologists call morbid curiosity. My friend is a psych major so I always feel like she really gets into and sometimes maybe over analyzes everything but she really got me with this morbid curiosity thing. It’s kinda just a feeling of a mix of excitement, fear, and of course curiosity. You may find it scary but you just want to stay involved and keep learning more. 

At the back of your mind you know you’re safe too. You may be watching something terrifying but at the end of the day you’re probably in the safety of your own home (double maybe even triple checking that you locked the doors). It’s like you’re hearing the worst of the worst but at the end of the day you know you’re safe. It’s a weird feeling. But even then, when I’m watching it with a group of my friends feeling safe in my own home, for days after I’m sometimes left with feelings of anxiety and that’s when I know it’s probably time for a break. About a year ago I watched this series about a guy who would hide under girls cars and at night when they would go to get into their car he’d jump out from underneath, I’ll save you the rest of the details but from the time I watched that to now, every single time I get into my car those thoughts always come across in my brain. Let’s just say I definitely did take a needed break from true crime after I watched that one. Although sometimes it does leave me feeling freaked out and even more anxious then before I’ve kinda agreed with a few of my friends that sometimes it makes us feel more safe and a bit more prepared. I mean when you watch these sort of things go down in the back of your mind your going to always think “that would never happen to me” but there are some crazy people out there and it never hurts to be prepared, now I kinda feel a bit more prepared if I ever have a situation come up like that (knocking on wood). I’ve listened to a podcast about a girl who was being stalked and followed in her car and she instead of driving home she drove right to the police station, called them, and waited in that parking lot until she was safe to go into the station. I feel like in the moment the reaction is to just go right home because home is known as your safe space but that girl did the right thing by driving to the police station and her life could’ve been saved by just that simple act. 

Even though I’m a true crime fan and I can’t get enough of the thrill and mystery I have a couple issues with. Not all true crime content is created equally. Some cases are handled with sensitivity and care, while others feel exploitative, turning real-life tragedy that people’s families had to go through just into some sort of entertainment and profit. And this is my dilemma with it. Before I watch something I usually try to do a bit of research, if the family is involved in some sort of interview or in the show, then to me that gives it a green light to be watched because maybe the family wants some more awareness to the situation but it seems like the family is against it, then I’ll stay away from it. There’s also the issue of desensitization. If you consume too much true crime, you might start to feel numb to it. That’s when it stops being about learning and starts becoming a background noise of horror, which isn’t exactly ideal for mental health. To be honest I used to binge watch series with my friends in one night but we’ve kinda learned to take a step back from that. We just kinda came to the realization that maybe this is affecting us more than we know and if we are being left anxious and scared it would be better for us to leave the show unwatched and mystery unsolved then carry those feelings with us into the next day. 

So what do you think about true crime? It is something you steer clear from or something that you just need to be unfolded. I’m learning as I grow up. I’m getting to be more in the middle about it all but the key is definitely  balance when it comes to this stuff! 

Dry January: Past 2 Months

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This past January I decided to do dry January. To be honest going into it I had no idea what to expect or how to feel and really didn’t even know if I’d be able to finish it. For context prior to January my friends and I loved going out. And not even going out to clubs or parties, just sitting on a nice patio for happy hour, having some beers after a day of skiing, or even just debriefing our weeks with a bottle of wine on Friday. It was super casual, fun, but I was definitely drinking every weekend. Coming out of the Holiday season I decided that I kinda wanted to make a change in my life. Obviously I’m 21 and didn’t want to go sober forever so thought I’d try the month out. I guess I was really just tired of the hangovers, feeling sluggish the next day, and waking up with a dull headache. 

Paulaner - Beer - Germany

Long story short, I completed the full month of dry January. And to sum it up really quick for you, yes there were a couple hard days in there, after a stressful day or week it would’ve been nice to take the edge off with friends but honestly, I always felt super proud of myself at the end of each night which I think kept me going the whole time. It also helped that I did it with a couple of my friends and my boyfriend so I was never fully alone throughout the process and we had each other to keep ourselves accountable. The one thing that kept on crossing my mind throughout the process of the month was “what is the point of this”. I kinda just assumed that I’d be right back drinking the next week after January so I kept coming back to the idea of why am I doing all of this if I’m not actually going to change? Well let me tell you, dry January permanently changed the way I think and feel about drinking. 

So I did have a work party at the beginning of February that I went to and definitely did indulge in my fair share of drinks at that event but the next morning I woke up feeling super guilty and overall just gross so I knew I had to do something about that. I haven’t had a bad hangover since. My attitude towards the way I drink has done a complete 360. And I’m no saint at all, I’m not trying to preach this new way of how I’m feeling to everyone it’s just crazy to me to look back on how 3 nights a week I’d be going out and drinking with friends now it’s rare that you can convince me to have a couple casual beers. 

So here’s what I think really changed for me, I got used to the idea that not every night has to be a party. I used to feel so weird about staying in and when I stayed in I’d really just spend my Friday night on the couch. But I’ve come to the realization that I can still do a bunch of things on my Friday and Saturday’s completely sober or even just have 1 beer and learn to call it a night. I honestly never imagined I’d be so calm at this age. Just a couple months ago my life was so different and everytime I think about it I’m just left pretty shocked on how just one month really changed my life. As cheesy as that sounds it really did but even on some days it can still be hard but I think I’ve kinda nailed down the activities that make me feel good and things that I can do without drinking. 

Walking

I’ve never got this many steps in my life. It makes me feel so good too. I’ve always been a pretty anxious person but I think walking is just helping clear my brain and making me feel so refreshed. I try to get out somewhere scenic like a nice trail walk or the seawall but even when I don’t have time for that  a nice walk around my block does just fine. Waking up on a Saturday morning feeling refreshed without a headache and going for a walk while you know a lot of people are in bed aiding their hangovers is a good feeling (boosts the ego a little bit as well). 

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Cooking At Home

I’ve never really been the best at cooking, I mean I know how to cook basic meals and it tastes pretty good but it’s always just simple classic comfort food. With my weekend nights freeing up I’ve got super into learning new recipes and making some more challenging dishes. And instead of cooking with a glass of wine in hand I’ve swapped that out for a lovely diet coke. 

Hobbies

When I was really in the height of my partying phase I feel like all the hobbies I enjoyed went out the window. My free time was spent drinking and then aiding a hangover so there was just no time to do the things I loved. Now with all this time on my hands I’ve been able to spend more time doing the things I enjoy which I promise you is a lot more fulfilling then having some beers. I’m back into bike riding and painting which are things I kinda gave up for awhile. 

As for things that I would do that normally involve drinking I’ve kinda just learned to slow my roll down and stick with just a couple casual beers. My friends and I love to get together to watch hockey games and that generally involves some drinking so if I just bring 2 along with me then I know I can still enjoy my time with friends and not feel pressured to get drunk and really party (and if you’re surrounding yourself with friends who pressure you to drink, that may not be the right group to be around). It’s still good to enjoy yourself, it’s just about finding those ways to handle those situations and what works best for you. 

At the end of the day, stopping or even just cutting back on drinking is not an easy task but I’m kinda just proof to myself that it is totally possible too and I haven’t felt like I’ve missed out on anything at all. Birthday’s, celebrations, and parties are all things I’m still going to go to and enjoy but for the most part I just don’t feel the need to be as excessive as I used to be. Life is good and I’m feeling happy. I’m not going sober for life by no means at all but having this balance in my life has totally made a positive difference. If you’ve been curious about life with cutting back, give it a try! Literally nothing bad can come out of it. 

 

The Highs And Lows Of Working With Your Mom

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Have you ever had to work with your mom before? Well I have. It was an experience for sure, neither great nor bad. But it happened. Whether this was your choice, a random coincidence, or the result of a desperate job hunt situation, if you’ve ever worked with your mom before, welcome to the club (extra points if you still lived at home while working with her). Working with your mother is one of those experiences that can range from “this is the best thing ever” to “I am about to throw a stapler across the room.” But before you start to draft up that resignation letter, I’d like to point out that it’s not all bad, there can be some pretty good positives too. 

Office

So around 2 years ago now I was employed at the same company as my lovely mother. She actually got me the job. And although we worked in different departments it was a super small company and office space with about 10 employees and she basically oversaw everything I did. It honestly started out great, things were going fine, we tried our best to leave work at work so when we came home she only played the role of being my mom and not my boss. But to be honest, it wore me out quickly, and for a college student living at home while all of my friends were off across the country at college, working with my mom was kinda just the icing on the cake. Long story short I left, buttttt it was a good time while it lasted, and if you’re in that same position that I was in there are definitely some perks to it all.

Carpooling 

Let’s face it. Gas is crazy expensive and parking around Vancouver is just a disaster. If you’re not paying upwards of $15 a day you’re probably just getting towed, but that was all eliminated when I got to drive with my mom to work. I mean yes, sometimes she’s yelling at me to run out the door because it always seems like I’m making her 10 minutes late and yes she likes her car freezing in the morning to wake her up (gross right) but it saves me from paying crazy parking prices, and let alone the actually parking part (me and parallel parking are not a match made in heaven). On good times she sometimes even lets me have the aux cord:)

Lunch Breaks

To be real, I’m not the best at making new friends. I’m just a bit lazy when it comes to the whole meeting new people small talk thing, but I don’t like to be the person who spends their lunch break alone, or worse, hiding out in the bathroom, eating with my mom solved this all. I liked eating lunch with her but I think she was secretly annoyed all along. Sometimes her department would go out and I’d always just be tagging along and having nothing to add to their financial analytic conversation, but hey I think I made it fun. 

Coffee Stops

I love going for coffee. A good Starbucks latte or matcha just hits sometimes. But you know what doesn’t hit. The amount of money it costs and how it seems to just add up so fast! But like mother daughter, we share the same coffee and matcha addiction and 6 out of 10 times, it was on her! I mean hey don’t get me wrong I’m not a freeloader, she was offering and I’d slip in the occasional coffee run offer too, but all in all let’s just say we got our hands on a good amount of caffeine throughout the week. 

#coffee

The Comfortability Factor

I don’t know about you but I despise having to start out a new job. I mean it’s just the worst. You feel so out of place, it’s hard to get into a good rhythm and flow, and you feel like such an outsider. But when I started at this new job the whole settling in process just felt a lot easier. She introduced everyone to me, showed me the ropes, and even where the office kitchen snacks were. I felt super comfortable within the first week on the clock but it probably would have taken me a lot more time to reach that point if I was working elsewhere. 

Don’t get me wrong. It was not all positive there was quite the fair share of negatives that came with it. I mean it was kinda bound to happen, I just turned 20, I was living at home, not in school, and worked with my mom, while everyone else my age was out living on their own and figuring their lives out, I just felt a bit…. well… trapped. 

No Escape From Mom Mode

To get things straight me and my mom were not in the same departments. Actually in quite different ones, but somehow, someway, even on just the smallest slip up, she found out and she was mad. And not like a boss mad where it’s a sit down conversation, she was mom mad. Now I know she practically got me the job and I can’t let her down but c’mon everyone makes mistakes from time to time right?

Personal Business Was Not Personal

During my time at this job I was actually going through a breakup. And when I tell you the whole office knew every little detail. The whole office knew every single detail. I get she’s my mom and if I wasn’t working there she probably would still be talking about things going on in my life (as moms do) but this crossed the line. For weeks I had random people checking in on me, telling me everything was going to be okay, and offering me snacks when all I wanted was to be left alone. There was really no escaping this one either. It was awful, miserable, and I was hysterical.

What’s Work Life Balance?

There was no work life balance. Home came to work, and work came home. This is obviously not a healthy mix. Work life balance is the key to not getting burnt out in my opinion but this just really wore me out. We’d always bring up little things about work at home and visa versa and it felt like I was just always “on”. 

Working with your mom is not for the weak. It’s not the easiest thing but it’s also not the hardest thing. I don’t regret it at all and I actually was able to learn a lot about her and I got a lot of experience working in my first corporate-ish job. It was fun to see the work side of her (especially the work side of her at the Christmas party…)  For a while I felt a little bit behind my age group for working with my mom but honestly at the end of the day work experience is work experience and we had some pretty good times. Do you think you could ever work with your mom?

Katy Perry Is Going To Space?!

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Picture this. You get an email from NASA, Space X or one of the crazy private space travel companies and they offer you a trip to space. No strings attached. You get to hop on this spaceship and go into space. What do you say? Do you take the chance and go? I mean it is a once and lifetime chance right? Or do you play it safe and keep yourself grounded on earth? It’s the final frontier, the infinite void, and the place where billionaires go when they get bored. To be honest, I do have a lot of fears but one of my top 5 worst fears is space. Everything about. I’d never even considered going into space, it’s a thought I don’t even want to think about but recently I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw that Katy Perry along with some other notable female celebrities, are hopping a jet and heading into space. I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the post, but to be fair everything is so insane these days I feel like I’ve become numb to all of this crazy celebrity info. But it did get me thinking more about my fear of space and just Katy Perry going in general. Like doesn’t that just sound so insanely random to you? That is just an insane out of this world risk to me. And she has kids! Doesn’t she want to protect herself for her family at all costs? Or is this just something that’s an absolute no brainer “I have to do it” thing for some people? For centuries, since the beginning of time the curiosity of space has always been there for people and I guess this year we will get Katy Perry’s take on space. 

I don’t know about you but I had this understanding that only astronauts could go to space. I used to think of astronauts as the peak of human intelligence and training, brilliant scientists spending years studying, physical conditioning, and eating weird vacuum-sealed food just for the chance to float in zero gravity and collect valuable information to bring back down to earth Now it seems to me If you’ve got a fat enough wallet (or the right connections), you can book a trip to space like it’s an all-inclusive resort. Since when did space travel become so accessible and acceptable? I honestly for the life of me cannot wrap my head around this. Katy Perry is going to space. I feel like I’m viewing space travel as a trend right now, it’s kinda just like the Cyber Truck to me. Something that people want to take a ride in just to say that they have done it. It’s some sort of weird validation thing I think. Everyone is always looking to be first in something or have things that other people don’t and I think going to space is a pretty unbeatable way to one-up a crowd right? It’s the ultimate way to get ahead and show that you’ve done something that other people can only dream of. Or maybe I’m looking into this too far and Katy Perry is just truly interested in going into space and seeing what that whole zero gravity thing is all about. 

All jokes aside, why is Katy Perry even going anyway and why does it matter and why am I so enthralled with it? This will actually be the first all female group to go to space in the last 60 years. 60 years since an all female group has gone past the Kármán Line (which is the internationally recognized boundary of space). The last recorded female flight was actually done solo by Valentina Tereshkova who was also the first woman to go into space. Alongside Katy Perry will be Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez (who also just happens to be engaged to Jeff Bezos). These ladies will be jumping aboard a Blue Origin rocket making it the 11th human flight. And if you are anything like me and panicking at the idea of these ladies heading into space without any NASA people on board don’t worry because they will be joined with bioastronautics researcher, Amanda Nguyen, NASA rocket scientist, Aisha Bowe, and movie producer, Kerrianne Flynn. The exact flight date has not been named yet however you can expect this all to happen sometimes in the Spring. 

I guess putting all my fears aside I could say I get the appeal. You’d get to float around in zero gravity, look out the window, and see our beautiful blue planet from a view that only a handful of people in human history have ever experienced. I bet the feeling once you’re looking down is just a surreal moment. Everything would get put into perspective too, on earth you’re really just a tiny human wandering around, and besides planet earth, there is so much to explore. To be honest I have wondered what floating around in zero gravity is like so I guess that would be super cool to experience. Just drifting through space floating around weightlessly next to Katy Perry, sounds like a once in a lifetime chance to me. It’s the closest thing to being a superhero, and it looks like pure fun. I grew up (still am) obsessed with Harry Potter. Like so obsessed. So you can imagine my reaction when I went to visit Harry Potter land in Universal Studios in California. I was in my element, probably one of the happiest days of my life, I was shocked, amazed, and just so happy. I know there’s people out there who feel the same about Star Wars so maybe space to them is just how I felt about being at Hogwarts. 

So back to my first question, if you got that text from NASA, would you choose to go? When you weigh all the pros and cons, the answer really depends on what kind of person you are. If you live off of adrenaline and taking risks it could just be a no-brainer yes for you and totally worth all the risks that space travel brings. But if you are someone who gets nervous at just the thought of a roller coaster, then it might be best to sit this one out. To be quite frank, my answer would be a hard no. I don’t even have to think about it. I literally have no desire to go to space and experience that. And yes, while I agree it’s cool and interesting, I just wouldn’t want to willingly put myself in a scenario where I feel that level of risk to my life accompanied with high levels of my anxiety and my heart probably beating out of my chest. So, would you go? 

Immortality? Yes Or No?

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When I was younger I used to be so afraid of dying. I’d think about my death, how I’d want to die, and hope that it wasn’t painful. I thought a lot about the afterlife too. Is there a heaven? Or is it just nothing? I think a lot of these thoughts stem from my Catholic school upbringing. I mean really it’s most of what we talk about, living our best Catholic lives on earth so that when we pass on we can go to heaven and have the “eternal happy life” I was taught about. But as I’ve grown older and come to my senses, I’m not too afraid of dying anymore. I mean it happens to everyone at some point right? So why fear it? Me and my friends like to chat about this subject from time to time, maybe we’re weird but we always come up with a good ol’ pros and cons list for immortality. Like if you really could, would you want to live forever? It’s honestly a pretty complex topic, but also maybe it’s not for you. Maybe you’re completely set against it or on the other hand maybe you’re constantly researching new technology and following all the latest health trends to make your life longer. Either way it’s an odd topic but one I just can’t put down and I’m always super fascinated to hear what other people have to say about it, but here’s what I have to say about it all. (And I will play devil’s advocate here and go on either side of the picture.) 

DEATH

How many times have you heard the phrase “Life is too short”. I bet a ton right? Maybe everyone who says this is right – maybe life is too short. Having a never ending lifetime would mean the possibilities are endless. But if the possibilities were endless and you had 365 x infinity days to learn every language, try every sport and visit every country then would you even be motivated to get it done? If there is no time constraint then maybe you would get lazy, maybe you wouldn’t make the most of your days and you’d take life for granted. Having a limited amount of days means you need to make the most of the time you have, I think having no pressure would just make you less motivated to try new things and live your life to the fullest. 

But if you had the rest of forever, think of all the cool stuff you’d get to see. I always think about how my grandma grew up without phones or internet and now she has a full on Instagram account. She got to see a whole technological growth right before her eyes, but it would just keep getting cooler and more interesting as time went on. You could see the rise and fall of entire civilizations, geographics change, and watch the whole world grow right before your eyes. That could either be really cool or really scary. What if everything is going to start to change for the worse and right now is your primetime of life, would you really want to watch the world go downhill and live to be a part of it? 

You know that feeling when you finish a TV series and suddenly don’t know what to do with your life? It’s like the one thing you were really into at the moment and now what do you do? You have to find a new show but at the moment you feel like nothing can compare. Now imagine that feeling on a universal scale. After you’ve done everything, seen everything, and experienced everything, what’s left? What if eternal life just becomes… dull? Would life lose meaning if you had unlimited time? Would you begin to take it for granted or would you still live everyday with a positive attitude. I feel like your attitude towards it all has to do with a lot of it. If you’re going into it with a positive vibe everyday then I guess that would make it less dull but if you have the mentality of “ughh here we go again another day” then I think after a while it would wear down on you. 

One point that I always keep going back to is how you’ve seen first hand just how much the cost of life has risen, so if it just keeps going up and up would you have to keep working forever? And what about the retirement age? Technically that wouldn’t affect you cause you wouldn’t be physically aging and still in good working condition. Say you’re going to be 33 forever. And you’d have to work the same day job forever until you die to afford to live. I’d not like that one bit. I’d much rather work till I’m 65 and be able to retire and live out the rest of my days in peace spending time with family and friends. Wouldn’t the 9-5 life become extremely mundane? I mean for the most part a lot of people in the world are eagerly anticipating the retirement age, so if you never got to reach that would you really be enjoying your life? 

What if it was only you who got to live forever? I think this one single point has the power to change the whole debate. It’s totally different if everyone got to live forever. Then you’d all be in the same boat and it’s all you know. But if it was just you living forever alone I think that would be so hard. You’d have to watch so many people come and go. Generations of friends, family, and loved ones pass away. Over and over. How many heartbreaks could you go through before you start emotionally detaching from everyone? Would relationships even feel the same if you knew they had an expiration date while you didn’t? I think this one point is my deciding factor. You’d get to watch so many nieces, nephews, grandsons and granddaughters be born and just know that one day you’ll have to go through the heartbreak of losing them. I’d rather not have to deal with it and be content with knowing that we’re all on the same cycle of life and I won’t be the only one left alone time and time again. 

So, if you had the choice to live forever would you do it?  It’s tempting, especially when you think about all the unfinished business you have in life. And of course if you have a big fear about what comes after life, I guess it would be nice to avoid that fear entirely right? But would it really be worth it if we had to watch everyone we love disappear, or if we ended up feeling like a relic of a past world? I think that’s what’s special about life, that it is limited. That makes us want to live everyday to the fullest and get out there and make those special memories. You don’t want life just to pass you by So, what do you think? Immortality, yes or no? And more importantly, how would you spend your extra centuries if you said yes?

Spending The Summer In BC

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Summer is just around the corner. Well, not just around the corner, you do have to get through spring first buttttt time flies and before you know it the sunny weather will be here. As a college student I always like to make the most of my summers. I mean us students are practically locked in a library and glued to our computer screen for 8 months out of the year so when the summer comes I’m ready to get outside and go away. Throughout the year I’m always patiently waiting for the summer. Dreaming of the days I can shut my textbook and write that last final and just be carefree for the summer and go off on adventures. But then the summer comes around and what money do I have to spend for these adventures? Basically none. It makes sense though, I had barely any time to work and the little money I did make was spent on textbooks, tuition, and caffeine. But as a third year college student living in BC I’ve cracked the code to making summers fun within the province. And even though my TikTok and Instagram feed is always filled with people living out their Euro-Summer dreams once June rolls around, I’ve learned to make BC summers just as fun. I think the recipe for making the most out of a summer are weekend getaways. Just little trips you can do for a change of scenery are the best. I mean BC is such a beautiful province and there is so much to discover. 

Victoria 

Taking the ferry to Victoria for a weekend getaway, or even just a day trip, is always a  cool experience. The city has so much to offer, and what makes it truly special is all the different vibes it has. For those who love the outdoors, Victoria has a laid-back island feel, with stunning beaches. You could easily spend an entire day wandering along the shore and exploring all the beaches. Some of my go to’s Willows Beach and Spiral Beach. 

If you’re more of a city adventurer, downtown Victoria has a vibrant energy with its mix of charming boutiques, lively pubs, and good eats serving everything from fresh seafood to classic comfort food. The Inner Harbour is a must see, where you can watch street performers, check out the famous Fairmont Empress Hotel, or hop on a water taxi for a different perspective of the city.

Victoria is also rich in history and heritage, giving it an old-world charm. If you’re fascinated by history, the British Columbia Parliament Buildings are a great thing to spend the day exploring.You can take a guided tour, or even just standing outside and catching a glimpse while sipping on a coffee is super cool too. 

BC Parliament, Victoria

Tofino

Since you already took the ferry over from the mainland, why not extend your trip? One of my favourite places in the world is Tofino. It really is the “Hawaii of Canada”. Whether you’re looking to catch some waves or just walk along the beach with a good book, nothing beats the Tofino vibes. 

If you’re looking to embrace the laid-back island lifestyle, Tofino’s beaches are the perfect place to start. Long Beach, Chesterman Beach, and Cox Bay are all stunning spots where you can spend the day walking along endless stretches of sand, getting a tan, and watching the surfers carve through the Pacific. 

Beyond the beaches, Tofino is a dream destination for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. You have Pacific Rim National Park right there which is honestly breathtaking. There are so many trails to explore and it’s unbelievable how gigantic the trees are, simply stunning. 

Tofino is so quaint and has so much charm with amazing local restaurants, coffee shops, and markets. Whether you’re grabbing a famous Tacofino burrito, warming up with a cozy cup of coffee from Rhino Coffee House, or enjoying some craft beer from Tofino Brewing Co, the food and people are unbeatable. 

No matter what kind of trip you’re looking for, an outdoor adventure, a peaceful escape from the city, or a mix of both, Tofino offers a one-of-a-kind experience that will make you want to return again and again. There are loads of amazing campsites and hotels scattered along the coastline to choose from.

Tofino Seas

Bowen Island

Continuing with the island vibes, Bowen Island is the perfect place to get away from the city if you’re just looking for a day trip. There’s so much to see and do but it’s small enough you can get away with seeing it all in just a day. Bowen is so quaint and cute you find so many cute shops and cafes to wander in and out of, grab a nice meal, and if you’re feeling adventurous and wanting to get some steps in there are so many trails around the Island, and of course you can’t forget the beautiful beaches. 

Whytecliff Park

Wanting to stay local but still looking for a relaxing escape? Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver is the place to be this summer. It’s absolutely gorgeous with a main beach, grassy field, cliffs to jump off of, and when the tide is out there is even a rock you can walk out to and climb up and explore, it’s super cool. If you’re lucky you might even be able to catch a couple of whales splashing around the ocean, I’ve been able to see some orcas a few times there. 

Lynn Canyon

If you’re looking for a chance to cool down this summer Lynn Canyon is my favourite spot for a cool dip. The water is so clear and so refreshing there’s no better place to go for a dip than Lynn Canyon. There are also a lot of spots where you can climb into the water too, just walking up and down the trail along the river you will be able to find a good little spot to get in. My go to is always bringing some snacks and spending a hot July afternoon at the canyon with some friends, the perfect North Vancouver summer afternoon. 

Spanish Banks

If you love a good sandy beach then this is the beach for you. Spanish Banks in Kitsilano is probably the best sandy beach in Vancouver. If you love to skimboard or even just want to get into it then this is the perfect spot to break the board out and give it a go. There are a lot of concession stands for those snack breaks as well. I love to throw a football or toss a volleyball around with friends, play some cards, and get a tan on. It’s really just a slice of heaven in the city. 

You have to admit, BC summer’s are pretty unbeatable, I mean we got it all. Whether you’re staying on the mainland or adventuring out to the island there is so much to see and do. So once June comes around and you’re looking for summer activities to get there and take in the sun before Raincouver comes back, then check some of the ideas out and I’m sure you’ll be having a great summer. 

 

Dissecting Taylor Swift Lyrics: Part 2

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Two weeks ago I wrote a piece on dissecting lyrics. Sometimes I only listen to a song for the beat. If it’s catchy and fun and puts me in a good mood then maybe that’s all I need from it. But from time to time I’ll be listening to a song and the lyrics really hit me. “Did they really just say that? They are a mastermind!” I love the process of going through lyrics and lines in a song and uncovering what they are really trying to say. Getting in the brains of other people is fun right? I think so. Trying to uncover secret meanings and get inside the mind of artists is so interesting to me. One artist in particular really makes it fun to dissect her lyrics for me. This artist has 404 songs, that’s a lot to cover, obviously I wasn’t able to get that done in one piece. So welcome back to Dissecting Taylor Swift Lyrics: Part 2. 

Taylor has always been prominent in pop-culture but In the past couple of years she really has taken off, releasing 4 brand new albums since 2020, going on tour for her iconic Eras Tour, with 149 shows spanning 5 continents, and of course, she’s in the spotlight in the sports world for dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce. From a non-Swiftie perspective I can (sorta) see why there can be a misunderstanding with the type of artist she is. You may know her from “Love Story” or “You Belong With Me” but I’m here to show you that she has evolved a lot since those days and her lyrics are more meaningful then “it’s a love story baby just say yes”. 

Along with dissecting lyrics I’ll also touch on ones that are just clever. Lines and lyrics that make me think “how did she even think of that”. The ones that bring me chills because how can a person create such interesting and engaging lyrics to relate to everyday feelings. Basically I want to prove to you that Taylor Swift is more than just a pop artist who sings about breakups, she is a lyrical genius. 

DISCLAIMER: I will use the word presumed because obviously we cannot get into the actual mind of the one and only Taylor Swift, this is just what is presumed.

Last April, Taylor Swift released her latest album The Tortured Poets Department. The title of this album matches perfectly with the music. It’s a melancholy feeling yet it is so poetic. So it’s only right I start with some songs from this album and the first song I’m going to touch on is one that really gives me chills and is so clever to me “How Did It End”

“Say it once again with feeling/ How the death rattle breathing/ Silenced as the soul was leaving”

Have you ever had something happen to you that leaves you literally breathless and trying to catch air. It’s like when you find out or see something that you didn’t want to know and it leaves you so shocked your system can’t keep up with your brain. How Did It End is a song that looks back on the past really questioning what went wrong and how did it all end? It’s also almost like a goodbye, with the “silenced as the soul was leaving”. 

When I was little with friends a core memory is singing those rhymes “Jessi and Daniel sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G” it used to have us laughing in tears after, to little girls it’s hilarious at the time. I grew up listening to Taylor Swift, so as she has gotten older and the music matures so have I. When I heard this next lyric in How Did It End, it kinda left me with my jaw dropped and an anxious stomach. 

“My beloved ghost and me/ Sitting in a tree/ D.Y.I.N.G”

These lines are nostalgic almost and it’s an odd feeling to look back on with growing up and how time flies so fast. One day you’re on the swings singing about your friends in grade 4 kissing and the next you’re a young adult listening to heartbreaking songs that you only wish you didn’t have to relate to. It’s a line that leaves an odd taste in my mouth. I love how clever she was with that rhyme change, but really Taylor, you didn’t have to make me that sad and nostalgic. 

 

Continuing with the Tortured Poets Department, I think one of the reasons I love this album so much is because it’s still predominantly about breakups and relationships but it’s a completely different take than her previous albums. This album is not at all those “Shake It Off” vibes where she’s going through the breakup in a light fun way, you can tell with this album she took it in a mature way, showing that these feelings were painful. 

Have you ever been really into someone or maybe even in a relationship with someone where everyone just disapproves of that other person? It’s an awful feeling and you feel the judgement so hard. I mean after all it’s someone you really value yet other people are just not seeing those same sides of the person that you see. But afterwhile maybe you begin to see why these people feel that way about that person. Maybe they aren’t so good for you, the relationship is thrilling and seems so good to you, you just can’t take that step away. Taylor’s song “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” kinda emasculates those feelings perfectly. 

They shake their heads saying “God help her”,/ When I tell them he’s my man/ But you’re good Lord doesn’t need to lift a finger/ I can fix him, no, really I can.

The dopamine races through his brain/ On a six-lane Texas highway

Taylor is talking about being with someone so exhilarating and exciting but in reality they probably aren’t the best for you, maybe deep down you know it, but everyone around you can definitely see it. 

 

The feeling of getting old to people is something that I know a lot of people can relate to. Once you’re not this new shiny person anymore and people get to know the real you and see your flaws and quirks, if they aren’t your true friend they can get scared and pull away. Taylor hits these feelings of fear of abandonment in her song “Nothing New” right on the dot. 

“Lord what will become of me/ Once I’ve lost my novelty?

So have I proved to you that Taylor Swift is a lot more than just basic song lyrics? I mean I think I’ve laid it out all pretty good right here, she is the lyrical genius I said she was! Even if you aren’t a fan, I think it’s still fun to dissect these lyrics and get into her brain, and who knows, maybe once you check these songs out you’ll be a new found Swiftie. 

Social Media: A Double Edged Sword

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Social media is a double edged sword. On one hand, it’s good. It keeps us connected, keeps us creating, informed, and entertained. But on the other hand, it can make you feel bad, really bad. One minute you’re scrolling through Instagram liking your cousin’s engagement posts, the next you’re wondering if you need a nose job and spiarling into a pit of comparison, dread, and jealousy over your high school bully being accepted into law school. It’s no secret that social media plays a huge role in your daily life, it’s just ingrained in us now, almost a part of us. I bet the first thing you do when you wake up is check your social media accounts. And hey, to clarify, I’m not judging, because this is what I do, I wake up, actually not even fully awake, and I’m already scrolling through Instagram. What a nice wake up call right? Be honest, social media doesn’t leave you feeling any better than you were when you got on right? So are you putting yourself into the position of endlessly doom scrolling into stress and self-donut? Or do you get off social media feeling like this new and improved best version of yourself?

The phones

Before I completely trash social media and tell you that it’s doing you absolutely no good (and I know, I know, I use it too, I’m guilty of all of this) I can give it credit for the good things about it. As someone who’s family lives all over the world, social media is a way to connect us. I get to see what my little cousins are up to from their parents’ social media, or what my crazy uncle has been re-tweeting, it keeps me in the know of their lives from quick day to day scrolls. It feels good not to be totally cut off from them and be able to see what’s going miles and miles away. Social media can also be an educating thing. Whether it’s mental health awareness, political movements, or social justice causes, social media platforms like X (Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok have changed how we can get in the know of important things going on around us. It’s also such a great way to get creative and connect with people. Podcasts for example, there creative, educational, and inspiring 10s across the board from me. 

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Social media can be extremely harmful for you and you might not even notice it. It’s a trap. It sucks you right in and you get addicted to scrolling and you just dip yourself into a hole deeper with each swipe and click. Scrolling through Instagram can make you feel like everyone has a better life than you. Someone’s on vacation in Greece, another person just graduated from college, and your high school crush is getting engaged. Meanwhile, you’re still trying to figure out how to fold a fitted sheet properly, let alone put it on your bed first try without realizing you got the wrong corner. It’s the comparison trap. You start by comparing lifestyles, then maybe you compare material items, like other people’s bags, clothes, and jewellery, and then you start to compare your physical image to others. You just wish you were them, and it sucks but you just can’t put the phone down. But what you have to realize is Instagram and social media is just a highlight reel, that perfect couple you see posting all the time is probably in some stupid argument all the time, and that person vacationing Greece could have a lot of stuff going on behind the screen that you just don’t see.  They’re not showing their bad days, their financial struggles, or the 100 attempts it took to get that “candid” selfie. Everything can be edited so you have to remember, you aren’t seeing the photo be taken right then in person, so how can you be sure it’s real? Social media can force you to compare your life to other peoples and create some serious FOMO. Even if you’re perfectly happy staying in on a Friday night, one look at a Snapchat or Instagram story can make you feel like you’re missing out on the best night of your life. Seeing other people constantly doing fun things can make you feel like your life isn’t exciting enough, even if you were totally fine five minutes ago. It gives you that feeling that you’re doing life all wrong, that you need to be living by other peoples standards and ways of life to truly be fulfilled which is all so wrong. 

Social media doesn’t just affect your mental health by way of comparison, there’s doom scrolling too. Ever spend an hour reading bad news and then feel like the world is ending? That’s doom scrolling, and it’s a major problem for mental health. Social media is great at keeping us informed, but the constant stream of negativity can make the world feel way more chaotic than it actually is. This just brings you to feelings of crazy anxiety, stress, and a feeling of helplessness. It’s like your finger is stuck on auto pilot, just swiping and finding the worst each time, it’s an awful cycle. But it’s not entirely your fault, social media apps are literally designed to be addictive. The endless scroll, the notifications, the random rewards of likes and comments, it’s all meant to keep you hooked. There has even been research done on the colour of the buttons and notifications on which ones get the most clicks. It’s absolutely insane, no wonder the whole world is glued to a screen, social media was built for us to become addicted. 

Debating School Social Media Policies

The internet can be a brutal place, but people just feel way more comfortable and confident behind a screen, but with this comfortability, it can lead to people just feeling way more comfortable to be mean behind a screen. Cyberbullying is a massive issue, from comments under posts to direct messages cyberbullying is out there more than you know. Even if you haven’t been directly affected by cyberbullying I’m sure you’ve seen a comment under a post once or twice that is just so appalling and unnecessary, you wonder who could ever say those things. 

Like I said before, social media is a double edged sword. A blessing and a curse. It can connect you but at the same time isolate you.. Inform you, but at the same time overwhelm you. It can entertain you, but at the same time, it can really drain you. Again, I’m no saint and I really should be listening to what I’m saying, but it’s addicting, it’s hard to stop. But the trick is to use it as mindfully as possible, which isn’t the easiest task. So, next time you find yourself deep in a TikTok hole at 2 AM, ask yourself “Is this actually making me happy?” If the answer is no, maybe it’s time to put the phone down and go catch some probably, much needed Z’s.