Embrace Your Inner Child Through Crafting! Posted on April 6, 2022 Image Credit: Unsplash I admit it – I’m a crafter. My obsession began as a kid, when I went through an intense origami phase. Although I was totally unable to follow the intricate origami instructions and could only make a paper crane, all I asked for for Christmas and my birthday that year was beautiful origami paper. Lets just say I made a lot of paper cranes. Next, it was card making. Birthday cards, thank you cards, anniversary cards – I made them all, carefully cutting strips of paper

A Conversation With Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project Posted on April 5, 2022 Image Credit: Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project In my last blog post for SpiritLive, I wrote about a very educational conversation I had with a former inmate of Joyceville Institution in Kingston Ontario, Kevin Belanger. While incarcerated, Belanger had served as the Inmate Committee Chairman and had a lot to say about how the incarceration system was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. When I had initially reached out to Belanger, I had been referred to him by the Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project. This is a volunteer organization that is

What to Watch Until the MLB Season Starts Posted on April 5, 2022 Image Credit: UPI.com/Yonhap The MLB lockout may finally be over, but we’re still a few weeks away from the real season starting, and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably looking to scratch that baseball itch before opening day on April 7th. Well, don’t worry, because there’s plenty of baseball to watch before then. Here are your best options. College baseball is well underway, and as per usual, it’s absolutely electric. If you’ve ever seen any NCAA sports before you’re in for more of the same, but

Book-to-Screen Adaptations: The Good, the Bad, and the Anticipated Posted on April 4, 2022 I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “the book is always better than the movie,” and in most cases, I tend to agree. I often get frustrated at movies or TV shows because they have a tendency to leave out important details or events that happened in the book. On the other hand, sometimes the visual adaptations surprise me and actually do the book justice. Here is a list of my favourite book-to-screen adaptations, ones that missed the mark, and some that I am extremely excited about.

Turning your Playlists Red and White: Spotlighting Canadian Musicians Posted on March 28, 2022 I seem to be very fond of lists and recommendations so here’s another one for you. If you know me, you know I love music and I love looking for music from everywhere in the world but there is a certain level of joy in finding incredible artists from your own home so without further ado- here’s a list of some of my favourite Canadian musicians and song recommendations you can (and should) add to your playlists.  Gowan Image Credit: Wikipedia Ahh Gowan, a classic Canadian

No Longer Human and Its Significance, Almost a Century Later Posted on March 27, 2022 (Please be made aware that this book and blog contains topics such as suicide, depression, depersonalization, social alienation, alcoholism, violence, and sexual assault. Discretion is strongly advised.)  If you have been keeping up to date with TikTok lately, you may have noticed a particular pink-and-black book trending over on BookTok. This book is No Longer Human, written by Osamu Dazai, which is hailed as one of Japan’s best-selling books of all time, and Dazai’s masterpiece. Now, one might ask, why is a Japanese book, published

Queer Representation in Cartoons: A Trip Through Time Posted on March 26, 2022 Recently, The Proud Family was rebooted, and given a fresh, modern makeover on Disney+. One of the characters, Michael, made headlines. In the original Proud Family, Michael had more feminine characteristics, and was occasionally made fun of in the plot of the show for them (although he was never outright identified as gay). In the reboot, the creators leaned into this, and allowed him to openly identify as gay, and gender non-conforming. To me, this is a perfect example of how queer characters have evolved over time,

The Canadian Women’s Hockey Team is Canada’s Team Now Posted on March 18, 2022 Image Credit: Annegret Hilse/Reuters Back in late December when the NHL announced that their players wouldn’t be participating in the Olympics there was some pretty widespread disappointment. People were disappointed that they wouldn’t get to see players like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby play together, but for the most part, the disappointment seemed to be because the Canadian men likely wouldn’t be bringing home gold with all their best players not participating. This came to fruition, as the men’s team got eliminated from the tournament in

How to Deal With Burnout Posted on March 17, 2022 Image Credit: Pexels Almost everyone experiences burnout in one way or another – you may feel mentally or physically exhausted, unmotivated, and have a lack of care. It’s a common, shared experience that many students go through, especially during periods of excessive studying and stress. Sometimes when you are in a state of burnout it can be hard to see a silver lining or a time when things will get better. If you are feeling this way, here are some things you can do to recharge and destress. 1. Go

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Incarceration System Posted on March 11, 2022 Joyceville Institution Kingston Ontario | Image Credit: CSC Over the last couple of years, COVID-19 has forced our society to adapt to a new normal. We moved all socializing to online formats, we implemented social distancing measures, and we started wearing PPE. All in the hopes of keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe. But not everyone had the same privilege and access to resources that allowed our daily lives to continue in a new way. As this pandemic banded our society together, there was one group

Karlie’s Toronto Bookstore Recommendations! Posted on March 9, 2022  If you’re a book lover like me, I’m sure it’s safe to assume that you’ve been meaning to check out some other bookstores within Toronto that aren’t Indigo. With the return of in person classes, what’s a better way to get to know the city than by just touring around?  Well, you’re in luck!  Below, I have listed 5 of my favourite bookstores that are within a decent commuting distance from our school’s campus. These places are great for finding books, both used and new, comics/manga, local works, and more! The

The Best Animated Feature Film: According to Me Posted on March 7, 2022 The Oscars have recently released all the film nominees including those in the Animated Feature Film Catagory. Being a huge animation fan, I took it upon myself to watch all the nominees in the Best Animated Feature Film Category. This is not a ranking, but more so a review of these films to see if the Oscars’ picks are worth it. Encanto Image Credit: Distractify A new Disney classic, and are we surprised? I loved this movie; the music, the animation, the story, everything was so expertly

How Moneyball Captures the Greatness of Baseball Posted on March 3, 2022 Baseball has this reputation of being the “boring sport” and honestly, I don’t blame the people who think that. On its surface, baseball can seem pretty uninteresting. It doesn’t usually have the flashy plays that sports like hockey have or the big personalities we see in basketball. The appeal of professional baseball is harder to describe, but I think that Moneyball perfectly encapsulates what makes baseball so great. It’s also a really incredible movie. Image Credit: IMDb If you’re unfamiliar with the plot of the movie, Moneyball is

How to Cry In Different Media Posted on March 2, 2022 I like to cry.  Obviously I don’t like to be sad, but I find crying can be a very cathartic experience that leaves you feeling refreshed and better for it. I figured now was the perfect time to recommend some tear jerkers seeing as we’re coming up on midterms as well as the post-valentines blues for the lonely souls. If you could use a cry but need a little help, here’s my recommendations in every medium so you can cry your heart out in whatever way works best for

Toronto’s Best Parks (That Aren’t Trinity Bellwoods!) Posted on February 22, 2022 Ah, February. The month where the sad reality of winter truly sets in. This is the time of year when I start to daydream about the warmer days of summer, which now feel so distant.  Fond memories of getting ice cream, biking, swimming at the beach, the smell of sunscreen… and if you live in Toronto like me, you probably spend a lot of time escaping the heat of the city in one of the city’s many parks. Alone or with friends, you can find me at a