Against Checklists
I hated Laurier the moment I set foot on campus. It was too small, modern and ugly and I couldn’t be bothered to socialize amongst sorority and fraternity kids because I thought that was all this place was made up of. It was populated with over tanned girls carrying oversized Aritzia brand TNA bags, pashminas, UGGs, and they outnumbered the guys approximately seven to one.
The Lasagna Manifesto
Two weeks ago, I became a woman. With an apron tied around my waist, clumps of flour wedged beneath my fingernails, and determination as my motive, I stood beside my mother in her most-of-the-time off limits kitchen, mimicking her every move as she constructed a lasagna masterpiece from the dough we started making at the crack of dawn.
University as Education
Education is something you pick up, day day by day, for just as long as you are alive. Or, perhaps better: Education is whatever understanding and attitudes you are wise enough to absorb, making them a part of your existence, during the relatively short time between your birth and your death.
Post-Grad Gratifaction
There’s nothing wrong with using others as your motivation to succeed. As I continue trudging through the second decade of my life, I realize that these individuals often come in the form of lackadaisical peers who doddle through their early twenties in a nostalgic effort to relive their former glory.
Law School Confidential
One of the greatest things about moving on to university is the ability to specialize in a program which corresponds to our interests and skills, and thus never again having to worry about the stuff from high school that we just plain sucked at.
To Walk On The Hawk
One of the most pivotal moments in life is the realization that you can actually have a say in the way it plays out. Up until that blessed eighteenth birthday we are children; constantly being told what to wear, when to be home and what we should do with our lives. While we may resent our parent’s over-protectiveness and endlessly struggle to bask in the glory our own independence, it is that little direction which often keeps us sane.
Pep Rally Blues
Contrary to popular belief, or my countless “I hate retail” rants, I like people. Really. I’m a social person, I love friendships and I’m an extrovert to the point of having been kicked out of class all through high school for talking too much or making inappropriate comments. That, in all fairness, were relatively funny – just not appreciated during Canadian law class.
Top Twenty Pieces of Laurier Advice
I came. I saw. I conquered. That is not what veritas omnia vincit means, but it is how I feel after over five years at Wilfrid Laurier University. I experienced it all – late nights in the “libe”, running out of money on my OneCard, three years at a student job on campus, getting involved with student groups and services, sitting on boards, writing for a student publication – and somehow I’m managing to come out of it all with a degree.
Accessibility, Equity, and Support
I had always prided myself on being adaptable. Moving around a lot as a kid was certainly hard at times, but I always found myself succeeding fairly quickly after a brief period of transition; I made friends, got good grades, and found my place in a new environment.
Why Protest?
I’m having yet another bout of panicky frustration at the fact that no one is really doing anything about the whole we’re-destroying-the-planet-and-we’re-all-going-to-die-but-less-privileged-people-first thing. Mostly I get frustrated that almost no one seems to care at all – and that the people who do care get vilified and punished for it. For trying to save the planet and everyone’s lives.
Letter From Post Secondary
Dear intellectually cornered friend,
It feels like it’s been a long time. I guess it hasn’t, really. I saw you last summer, and the Christmas before that; I saw you in Montreal when we were both visiting. How is your novella coming? I loved that Haiku you messaged me on Facebook.
From A to B
I imagine my beginning on the precipice of a fine land. Lines stretching to the horizon and paralleling its expanse. A tartan of social synapse waiting to be walked, talked, navigated. Baby steps do little to discover the distance.
Boxes and Other Uneasy Things
Boxes are piled high, to the ceiling
They’re full of things I might never use
Boxes are from grocery stores
I’m too cheap to buy them
And coincidentally, the boxes are beside the door
Beholder VIII
I seek the gray oracle. Weeks I’ve journeyed. I’ve slept twice upon these steps alone…
