It’s more than likely that you’ve already heard the news: a massive wildfire in northern Alberta community Fort McMurray has resulted in the displacement of over 80,000 residents and has over 1100 firefighters, 145 helicopters, 138 pieces of heavy equipment and 22 air tankers hard at work trying to douse the flames. Over 1600 buildings have…
This last Wednesday, my fellow blogger Emily and I had the chance to attend Wordfest and hear author, writer, host, feminist, and geek extraordinaire, Sam Maggs in conversation with Shelley Youngblut, General Director of Wordfest. If you read my last post, you may know that in addition to writing for many publications across the internet…
It’s a warm Friday afternoon at the end of April and as I begin down the steps from Victoria Park Stampede Station, I see the crowds for the first time and I wonder, “What did I ever get myself into?” After walking all the way across the grounds before realizing that I had gone the…
BALANCE. EMPOWER. ACTION. MOVEMENT. These are the principals of BEAM. Are you free this Sunday? Then you have no excuse not to attend BEAM Festival! Created by the founders of Little Hippies Kids Yoga, BEAM is a full-day event for teens ranging from 12-18 focusing on mindfulness and mental health through music, yoga, and the arts. Does Little…
Imagine yourself cheerfully living your life without producing any garbage whatsoever, in your house and outside. Furthermore, imagine yourself creating your own homemade, chemical-free, hygienic and cleaning products, including makeup, shampoos, and toilet cleaners, with the comfort of knowing that you aren’t polluting the world. The zero waste, or waste-free, lifestyle is defined by…
In an amazing performance done on “The Queen Latifah Show,” three teenagers (Zariya Allen, Belissa Escobedo and Rhiannon McGavin ) presented the poem: “Somewhere in America”. This poem discusses the problems in society and the harsh realities facing our current generation. In their performance they discuss rape, censorship, poverty, LGBTQ rights and the ignorance presented by society. Check out…
Thursday morning, April 21, 2016. Paisley Park, Minneapolis. A panicked call to 911. An unresponsive male in an elevator. Paramedics rush to the scene, performing CPR, but alas it is too late. Prince Rogers Nelson is pronounced dead at 10:07 AM. The world goes into shock. At only 57 years old, a legend has died.…
The other day, I was lucky enough to come into contact and interview author, writer, host, feminist, and expert in all things geek, Sam Maggs. In addition to writing for a gaming company, having her work featured across the web in publications like the Mary Sue, and hosting the Cineplex preshow, Sam has recently taken the…
On Saturday April 9th, I boarded a plane destined for Ottawa with one of my best friends in tow (shoutout to Furyal!!). I think it’s safe to say that I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into at that point. Two months prior, Furyal approached me about Encounters With Canada over Facebook Messenger,…
So I wanna quit piano. And you’re probably reading this right now thinking “Big deal, you want to quit. Why do I care?” Well, I should probably give you some background info. You see, piano was the first instrument I learned. My sister played it, and she taught me a few basics,…
Introducing: Hafsah Syed, April 2016 Blogger of the Month! Not too long ago, I had the enlightening opportunity to get to know outstanding Youth Are Awesome blogger Hafsah Syed. (actually, we chatted on her 17th birthday!) We sat down at Good Earth Coffeehouse, and didn’t end up eating or drinking anything, but I still learned…
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Storybook Theater’s rendition of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. I walked out of the theater with a single collective emotion: horror. The audience was able to journey with the characters through their spiral into insanity and with the close proximity of the actors to the audience,…
Last Friday, April 8, the dynamic duo by the name of Twenty One Pilots put on an incredible show at the Big Four Building right here in Calgary as part of the Canadian installment of their Blurryface tour, Calgary being their second last stop in Canada. The band, consisting of drummer Josh Dun as well as…
Happy Army Day everybody! Did YOU know that today is Army day? I posed this question to a lot of my friends, and their answers mainly consisted of… “no”‘. I was also unaware of this day of appreciation until recently, and it’s safe to say that the significance of those who form the army is…
We’ve all been there before; in fact, I’m there right now. With the summer approaching with no concrete plans for vacations, I’m on the scourge for meaningful ways to spend my time. While it’s easy enough to want to find opportunities to fulfill that, it is suddenly 10x more difficult when you think about just HOW…