Things I Wished I Knew at the Beginning of my Degree Posted on April 13, 2022 I moved to Toronto nearly 5 years ago. I was 17, had only left my province a couple of times, and was absolutely terrified. Not only was I nervous to start university, but I was overwhelmed by the big city of Toronto and all of its beautiful chaos.  I’m now 22, and only a couple of months away from graduating. It’s been a long and difficult journey: after two years at X, I took some time off from my degree to travel and work […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

English Readings That Changed My Life Posted on February 5, 2022 If you’re in university like me, chances are you’ve had to do some readings for class. Actually, chances are you’ve had to do a lot of readings for class, most of which you probably forgot about shortly after completing them.  I’m minoring in English, which means that I’ve had to get through a pretty large reading list during my degree. I definitely struggled to get into (or even really get through) some of those readings, and they have faded from my memory. But there are also certain readings that […]

How To Make Budget-Friendly Crocheted Gifts This Holiday Season Posted on December 12, 2021 Happy December, everyone! While this time of year is exciting and nostalgic, it can also be extremely stressful for students. Not only are we stressing about final exams, but on top of it, we need to worry about gift shopping for our friends and family! For those of us with smaller budgets, this can be an added challenge.  When money is an issue, a great option is handmade presents. They show your friends and family that you care, and they are usually much cheaper than buying […]

How to Judge Books By Their Covers Posted on November 26, 2021 Like many other queer kids, when I was younger I was obsessed with Glee. It was the first show I ever watched that showed multi-faceted queer characters, and I remember really connecting to Kurt, Blaine, Santana and Brittany.  Another obsession ensued when I discovered Rupaul’s Drag Race. Something in the campy performances and over the top runways stuck with me, and I idolized queens like Bob the Drag Queen and Katya.  These characters and performers were people I could relate to and look up to, slowly helping me […]