Growing up, I had been different. I usually had fewer friends than other kids and often felt disconnected from the ones I did have. I regularly forgot assignments and exams — teachers would pull me aside and tell me I had so much potential, if only I would do the work. I was beginning to see why.
In my life, there is a Before and an After.
This point in the year is brutal — the 4 p.m. sunset and the thick exhaustion that settles into the darkness. But inside the pool, it’s always bright. The deep water of the lap lane is cool, while the hot tub and sauna are warm.
When my nana was first diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer, we knew keeping her at home would be difficult. But in the middle of a pandemic, we didn’t want to put her into a facility where visitation restrictions could stop us from seeing her if she took a turn for the worse.
my mother’s advice: / ‘there is no box’ / was meant to be kind
I hate to love Vancouver rain. / It makes everything smell like decay. / It rots dirt fissures into muddy pools, / But it’s consistent.
Humans seem to only ever think about ourselves. Why are we only ever thinking about ourselves?
It’s hard to notice when the things you love begin to hurt you, and harder still to leave them once you realize it. Prioritizing my sanity and wellbeing was scary, disheartening and took longer than it should have.
Breaking, or b-boying, has roots in martial arts and gymnastics. Originating in early 1970s New York, breaking is credited to DJ Kool Herc, the first to string together bass-heavy sections of songs and encourage dancers to come forward and express themselves to the beat.
“All art is expression in some way,” said Emerson Landwehr, a musician and student at UBC. “If you have multiple mediums of art, I think it’s easy to, once you get very invested in one of them ... also have that creatively influence other things, and it can create a sort of feedback loop.”
Food traditions connect people to their homes, their histories and to each other. But many students said their options for affordable culturally-specific food — from seasonings and good tortillas to certified kosher meals — are slim.
Our drive to challenge ourselves makes us chase activities that push our physical limits in unique ways — hence, the birth of Storm the Wall. The annual student tradition requires students swim, bike and run before summiting a 12-foot wall.
Vancouver is a hub for fitness classes, but for most students, they aren’t an option because of their price tag. The AMS supports over 50 different sports and recreation clubs, who provide options for students to try disciplines without breaking the bank.
“You start to feel a little bit better, and you’re doing a little bit more, and things are really going great,” Trainor said. “Then you tweak something or it’s not holding up as well. Then all of a sudden, your thoughts are like, ‘Oh my God, this is all for nothing.’”
At a glance, the AMS works a lot like a public body. But look at the AMS from another angle, and it’s a small business owner trying to turn a profit. So, which is it? The answer, on paper, is neither.