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YOUTH ARE AWESOME

Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth. YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them. Youth Are Awesome is a program of Youth Central.

Any views or opinions expressed on this blog belong solely to the author and do not represent those of people or organizations that the blog may be associated with, unless explicitly stated. All content is for informational purposes only.

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AVENGERS INFINITY WAR: A Review (Spoiler Free)

Hilary Guo
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The third Avengers movie recently came out on the 27th and I was lucky enough to watch it without reading any spoilers online. Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep this post relatively spoiler-free as well for those of you who haven’t seen it.

First things first, OH MY GOD. Bring your tissues and inhaler, people, this is going to be a journey. Imagine this as a roller coaster. The beginning of the movie, you’re starting at a 50-foot drop. It’s pretty intense, you’re shocked, it’s over fast, but you’re still shook. Then, it’s fairly smooth, little bumps here and there, not too bad. Next, you start rising. You think it’s fine, oh everything’s okay. It’s not. You keep climbing up the roller coaster. You think you’re going to stop, but you don’t. For basically half the movie, you’re going up that roller coaster and in the last ten minutes of it, that’s when you fall. Down the roller coaster you go! Oh, but you thought you were going to land safely back on the tracks? Sike, you thought wrong. Your roller coaster cart has flown off the rail and has dived into a volcano. You are now dead. Congrats, hope you liked the film.

Getting to the specifics though, this was honestly such a fantastic movie. So many things are happening, you almost can’t keep up, but that’s the beauty of it, you get to see everyone (literally everyone) in action. And it’s also SUPER funny. The reactions everybody has with meeting each other is absolutely hilarious. But at the same time, it was also so awesome. Everybody teamed up with each other and fought together. It was beautiful and I honestly live for that.

I don’t remember a single dull moment in the movie. Every second was either action-packed, hilarious or making me cry. Also, each of the characters, just WOW. Wonderfully portrayed, as always. AND, the special effects of this movie? Whole other level of WOW. But, you know what? Marvel, I see you trying to make this movie so good that we wouldn’t mind the ending. I see you and it’s not working I am still upsET. Marvel really did do us dirty this time.

I’m afraid I cannot say more. The main areas of conversation revolve around the deaths in the movie, but obviously, I’m not going to be a jerk and tell you who dies. Let me be as vague as possible. It’s heartbreaking. Of course, what character death isn’t heartbreaking? Yeah, but it’s that heartbreak, times twenty. That’s Avengers: Infinity War. You’ve never wanted to sue Marvel more.

BUT, more about that ending. Let’s talk about that ending. So, let me just say: EXCUSE ME???? WHAT???? You can’t just leave me like that!! I can’t say what happens because I don’t want to spoil it for you, but whatever you think it is, oh, it is so much worse. This cliffhanger ends all cliffhangers. There was nail-biting, foot tapping, loud weeping and smeared mascara. Everything hits you all at once, like a truck. Like a big ‘ol, emotional, psychologically damaging truck.

Personally, the saddest part was when ______________ died. The tears just started falling and they didn’t stop. It actually pained me to watch. When _____________ died, they just fell into _______________’s arms and they said “I don’t want to go, __________, please, I don’t want to go. I’m sorry.” I just sat in my pool of tears in the theatre and said “wow” like that gif. I will never be the same again. Neither will you if you decide to watch this movie. But at least, if we’re all hurt, we can hurt together.

Image result for wow crying gif

Here are some spoiler-free posts I found about Infinity War that I relate to on a spiritual level.

Friendly reminder that Avengers 4 doesn’t come out until May of 2019! Happy crying everyone!

sources: x x x x x x 

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Trekking in the Himalayas (Part 2)

Alex Dong
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Trekking in the Himalayas (Part 2)

This is a continuation of my Himalayan trek blogs.

To see the first part, click here: PART 1

Day 2 of 3: Today we woke up early to the sounds of chirping birds, and watched the sunrise peacefully. For breakfast, we had traditional Nepali bread and eggs. We then said farewell to our welcoming teahouse and left for another day of trekking. In the morning, we trekked around several mountains, before coming down into a valley for lunch, at Landrung. Here, we witnessed the hunting site for “honey-hunters”, which was very interesting. Afterward, we ascended thousands of steps up a neighbouring mountain. It was very hard work, especially because we were all carrying large packs filled with supplies. By late afternoon, we arrived at a Himalayan village, Gandruk. This small village was very homey, and had a school, along with many houses and teahouses, which were over 500 years old! We settled in at a beautiful teahouse, explored the village a bit, and took some amazing photos. Even though we only trekked around 10 km today, the constant uphill made everyone exhausted so we went to bed soon after.

Day 3 of 3: This was the final day of our 3-day journey. We woke up at around 5 am today to see the sunrise, and had black tea and breakfast shortly afterward. We explored our village for a while and saw pack-carrying donkeys which were really cool. We also saw at least 10 cute dogs that looked exactly the same! After this scenic walk in the mountaintop village, we started our descent, which meant more stairs. We had lunch at the Syauli Bazaar, where we had traditional home cooked Nepali food. In the afternoon, we continued our descent, winding through the mountains. In total, we descended around 1500 meters today! Around 5 pm, we arrived at our pickup spot, Birethanti, where our bus took us back to Pokhara for a well-deserved rest.

 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my memorable and exciting journey to the Himalayas! It was certainly quite the experience, and made me reflect about nature’s true beauty. I was able to experience the culture, traditions, and language of the unique Nepali people in the mountaintop communities, and am truly thankful to have had the opportunity to ascend these mountains and see the “bigger picture” of life.

The Mask of Compassion

Gavin Dan
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The antics of leftists, labeled progressive, seem to be increasingly pushing for something entirely different from the “progression” of mankind – a future that values falsehood and willful blindness over truth and genuine attempts to reconcile the irrationality of the world with our own lives.

How often have you heard beautiful music at a concert, or witnessed an incredibly artistic figure skating performance? What about watching an athlete that just seems natural at what she does? Have you read a heartwrenching novel that tugs at some string deep inside you, the experience of which can’t be expressed in words? How often have you heard the creators of these things referred to as “talented”?

“Talent” is widely accepted as a complement that seems to explain one’s performance in worldly endeavors while validating their strengths. But in its use, there’s the implicit suggestion that certain people are born with skills that help them achieve things beyond those of others – in other words, that certain people are predisposed to perform in a manner which is valued more highly by the world. And that should be obvious; hardly any two people are the same, possessing discrepant abilities – which inevitably means that there will be some difference in value between the two. (I’m not talking about quantitative value, as that’s impossible to assign to different types of competence, since nature – the chaos which surrounds our hierarchies of order – is always shifting, so the rubric by which our evolutionary essay is “marked” is itself changing.)

Devaluing the differences between people risks the homogenization of society into a faceless crowd

In modern liberal politics, one of the tenets of “progressing” is accepting the notion that all humans are equal. Why do we accept a concept that is so self-evidently false? It seems ethically “correct”; all the more reason to look at it critically. People won’t start out in life the same, no matter how hard we try to create such a world, because Nature doesn’t bend its will to fairness. People are born different. We value the uniqueness of the individual spirit, and yet declare that everyone is equal: are we not creating artificial hierarchies of value? We can force this farce of a moral parade all we want, but our the complexities of our basic biology won’t be fooled. We choose certain individuals to be our friends, and there’s a reason we’re attracted to certain people more than others. Sexual selection is a discrimination against equality. So is the act of choosing employees from a pool, or selecting students to study at an educational institution. Selection is what Nature does, and it’s a process that innately favors more valuable traits, where the value is determined by the demands of the environment – whether physical, social, or economic.

The façade we throw over  Nature’s form is arguably the result of the harshness of reality. It’s difficult – maybe even impossible – to fathom the notion that our success in the world can be orchestrated by things beyond our control, which the efforts of hard work cannot hope to unseat. That’s the absurdity of the human condition: the existence of a world in which labors can be fruitless is a disparagement of the human spirit, which voluntarily shoulders suffering and walks forward in spite of that. And maybe it’s our unconscious rejection of this terrible truth that is responsible for our predicament – the wearing of the mask of compassion for those who possess traits that the world deems less valuable, through no fault of their own. But therein exists a paradox: a world where everyone is truly equal, or exactly the same, is the savior from the anguish of Nature’s reality, and simultaneously the worst purgatory for anyone to exist in.

We must have the meaning inherent in a profound system of value or the horror of existence rapidly becomes paramount. Then, nihilism beckons, with its hopelessness and despair.

–12 Rules for Life (2018) Jordan B. Peterson; Overture Pg. xxxi

In the 20th century, radical leftists who pushed for the notion of universal equality – the rejection of the selection of value – also advocated a system in which the predications of Nature’s selection existed, to an almost brutal extent. Denying the notion that some things could not be changed by human efforts, like genetic predisposition, and instead assuming total equality led to the creation of states which would (supposedly) redistribute wealth. All your possessions would be taken from you regardless of how hard you work, which labels the human struggle as meaningless – which Nature sometimes does, and ironically the very thing that leftist ideologues seek to avoid through dramatic measures.

A poster celebrating the USSR’s 16th Congress

Willful blindness towards the nearly infinite evidence that people aren’t the same can be found in modern trendy movements, such as the rejection of men and women being different. (For instance, men are generally more muscular, and women possess higher degrees of trait agreeableness and neuroticism, on average. Recent scientific studies are making more progress into mapping these kinds of differences into interpretable systems.) Similar denials of the structure of reality for one’s own benefit does everyone a disservice, rather than a favor. And that brings me to my final point: before developing aspirations for what’s perceived as a “better world”, it’s necessary to look at what’s right in front of us – because sometimes, the best hiding place is in plain sight.

Images: Featured/2/3

Concussions in Animals

Madina Shaykhutdinova
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After scooping up a spider into a tissue and flinging it outside a few days ago, I began to wonder if insects can have concussions too. Yes, I know that spiders aren’t insects, but this question lead to further research of concussions in other animals. It was about a metre drop for the spider, which is about 100 times its body length. Imagine falling a distance of 100 times your body length. That can’t possibly be healthy.

It turns out, concussed fruit flies have been investigated before. Fruit flies have brains similar to humans, with a hard casing around it and cerebrospinal fluid cushioning. The fruit flies experienced brain damage and had symptoms just like humans, such as loss of consciousness, loss of coordination, and an increased risk of death. The negative effects depended on the severity of the impact, age, and genes.

On the other hand, woodpeckers don’t get concussions. Woodpeckers peck at about 24 km per hour to search for insects, build a nest, and emit a mating call. However, the woodpecker’s brain is packed tightly in its skull, with little cerebrospinal fluid to slosh around in. This reduces the effect of shock waves, which protects the brain from damage.

Now, what about snakes? A snake strike lasts only 44 to 70 milliseconds. A human would lose consciousness if they tried to move that fast. Since the snakes move so quickly, they can experience up to 30 times the force of gravity. Fighter pilots doing extreme maneuvers in short periods of time can lose consciousness at 10 times the force of gravity as blood cannot come back to the brain quickly enough to oxygenate it. How can snakes do it? Snakes have very mobile skulls with many joints, which allows them to absorb the shock and displace the impact of the strike. This allows snakes to prevent getting concussions even as they strike at incredibly high accelerations.

So there you go. Something to think about next time you flick a bug away.

 

Image source: 1

Trekking in the Himalayas (Part 1)

Alex Dong
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Trekking in the Himalayas (Part 1)

Honestly, I never imagined traveling to Nepal. It is a very poor third-world country, with around half the population living on only $1 per day. Located halfway around the world landlocked between China and India, Nepal is home to almost 30 million people in 147,181 square kilometres. My trip to Nepal was 2-weeks, spent at Kathmandu, Pokhara, and the Himalayas.

My highlight was the 3-day trek in the Himalayas, even though it was arduous. It consisted of tens of thousands of hand-placed stones that served as stairs! What I trekked was a 35 km segment of the a trail called the “Annapurna Sanctuary Trail”.

Day 1 of 3: We started our trek at Khande, which is about an hour’s drive from the touristy city Pokhara. There was not much ascent at first, but soon came the stairs. All of the “stairs” were large, hand-placed rocks, so none of the step sizes were uniform – there were some stairs that were triple the height of others! After around 5 km of trekking under the beating sun, we stopped at Pothana, where we were served a homemade lunch in a kind local’s small Himalayan home. Here, there was a very nice view of Mount Annapurna and the surrounding Himalayan peaks. After taking some pictures for the gram, we continued to trek for 7 km to a small village named Tolka. We stayed for the night at a teahouse called “Namaste Guesthouse”. This teahouse is a family-run “guesthouse” with basic accommodations. We had next to no electricity, a small room, a shared squatting toilet, and an outdoor common area. Despite this, the Nepali people there were very friendly and kind, and the view of the mountains was awesome. A delicious dinner and a hot cup of tea concluded our 12 km trekking day.

 

 

Mayor’s Youth Council Art and Writing Contest

Lucy Han
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With the upcoming long weekend, Youth Central’s Mayor’s Youth Council has an exciting opportunity for youth artists and writers alike! This year, the Calgary’s MYC is organizing the first annual Youth Art and Writing Contest.

Why join? If you’re passionate about art/writing already, you can submit one of your previously created pieces or make a new piece for judging and a chance to showcase your work in Calgary’s City Hall! Award certificates will also be given to winning artists.

Calgary’s Beautiful City Hall, on a sunny, snowless day!

Rumor has it that Mayor Nenshi will even be present at the showcasing of the winner’s piece. Whether that is true or otherwise, why not give it a shot?

The only requirement is that your piece must fit on a flat, letter-sized sheet of paper (aka your regular sheet of printer paper). This means submissions from drawings and paintings, to photographs and poems are all fair game!

The theme for this year’s Art and Writing Contest is to create:

[an] original, and authentic representation of the youth experience in Calgary

This is open to all youth between the ages of 12 and 18 and the deadline is June 1st, 2018.

Interested? Head over to the official Facebook page to get more details on how to submit and receive notifications of any updates.

Calgary’s MYC has been working hard this year to get youth of all walks to get involved, so artists, writers, photographers, it’s your time to shine!

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ICEY: a fantastic game to pick up

Gavin Dan
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One game that’s quickly become one of my favorites is a pseudo-action game called ICEY, available on PlayStation, Steam, Android and iOS. I call it pseudo-, because although it’s cleverly disguised as such, the action is not what the game is truly about – at least, if you want it that way.

ICEY’s a classic 2D side-scrolling type game, combining a thrilling soundtrack with excellent graphics and gameplay mechanics, which is incredibly immersive once you get the moves down. There are two levels of difficulty that caters to both those who prefer immersion in the storyline and the avid combat fan, and there’s a monetary system rewarding the slaying of the futuristic creatures, allowing for some upgrades without taking over the precedence of the game. There are a variety of uniquely designed boss battles, but interestingly, the game lets you skip some of them if you play your cards right – a testament to the prevailing theme of discontinuity with preset rules.

I’m showing the Android version for the game, which has onscreen controls. I was using “Low” on the graphics settings; it can be much better than this

The game is eponymously named after the main character, who’s introduced with a defined purpose, guided along to her ultimate destination by the voice of a narrator. You control Icey, slaying hindrances along your way, and exploring the obscure identity of the “Yellow King” – a reference to the famous play by Robert W. Chambers. The full narrative is gradually pieced together by scarce, cryptic messages found. I find the most fascinating aspect to be the huge variety of choices available in the game, some of which “break” the game – even surpassing the fourth wall, it occasionally feels as if the narrator is in a headlock with the physical player, rather than the controlled character; in this sense, ICEY surpasses conventional games, by challenging the authority of the predestined goals of always permeating the plot and gameplay.

 

 

This game is most rewarding if you play it independently, without the assistance of online help (as, I’m sure, many enlist) to discover its secrets, because in this way, the unpredictability of the consequences to your actions is taken to the max. The presupposed ending to the game is straightforward enough to reach, but it’s a real challenge to collect all the achievements, given sparingly in return for beating bosses or – more significantly – breaking the rules.

In essence, ICEY is a classical action title that incorporates some very unique quirks – or maybe it’s just a quirky game that has little bits of action woven in. The choice is yours.

Nope, it’s not a glitch or a bug

 

Don’t worry, this isn’t the actual ending to the game ~

Images: Screenshots taken from ICEY for Android

Disclaimer: I don’t own any rights to the photos in this article, which belong to Fantablade Network and X.D. Network Inc. Please support the original release.

How to get a better night’s sleep!

Lucas Ion
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As exam season approaches and time seems more and more like a valuable commodity, many students (including me) and adult’s fail to get a solid, good night’s sleep. Sleep is an incredibly valuable thing, and even though many of us want it, very little of us actually get enough. Here are some great tips, to help get a better sleep.

     1. Try to aim for consistency

In order to get a good night’s sleep, it is better to try to go to bed at the same time roughly every night, this helps you sleep better and more consistently. By going to sleep at roughly the same time each night you ensure stability in your body’s internal clock.

     2. Observe the lighting

Blue light, the type which is emitted by LCD displays or OLED displays on phones, can affect your ability to produce melatonin and thus sleep effectively. Therefore if your phone such as an iPhone has a “night shift” options, you can turn that on to improve this exposure to light.

     3. Take time to clear your mind

Meditation and Yoga can be great ways to clear your mind of the crazy stress in your life. By simply doing a small amount of meditation, you can help mitigate the stress and chaos which inhibits your ability to get a good night sleep.

*You can try using essential aroma’s or oils such as Lavender oil, to help calm down and fall asleep faster. Aromas can also help someone calm-down, making it easier to fall asleep*

     4. Keep your room a comfortable environment

Make sure that before you go to sleep, you are well hydrated and are mentally ready for bed. On top of this, ensure that your bedroom is at an adequate temperature and that it is free of any possible mental distractions such as a computer fan, a ticking clock, or a vibrating cell phone. This will ensure that your brain will stop focusing on external distractions, and rather focus on just sleeping!

 

 

Information Source:

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/getting-better-sleep.htm

Image Source 1/2

Featured Image Source :

https://s-i.huffpost.com/gen/1764414/images/n-TEEN-SLEEPING-628×314.jpg

 

Unsolved Mysteries That Keep Me Up At Night

Hilary Guo
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If I were a ghost capable of time travel, there’s no doubt the first thing I would do is go back in time to various scenes of unsolved mysteries to witness the truth. Nothing would satisfy me more than to finally know what really went down. Don’t you want to know what happened? The suspense is too unbearable, I need to know! Universe, tell me! What happened to Elisa Lam? Who’s the zodiac killer? 

Image result for jonbenet ramsey

The first place I would go is Christmas, 1996, Colorado. That’s right, probably one of the most infamous murders: JonBenét Ramsey. JonBenét Ramsey, if you didn’t know, was a child beauty queen who was murdered in her own house in 1996. Her body was found by her parents in the basement. The cause of death was of strangulation and a blow to the head (she had a broken skull). Earlier, there was a note found on the stairs in their home addressed to Mr. Ramsey. It requested $118000 in exchange for his daughter’s life. The note was specific that he not contact police or friends about it, but Mrs. Ramsey does it anyways. When the police arrived, they searched the house but didn’t find anything. Later, another search was conducted and found the girl’s body behind a latched door. JonBenét’s immediate family (mom, dad and brother) were prime suspects but were later ruled out. To this day, no one knows what happened to 6-year-old JonBenét or who was her killer. x

Related imageNext, I’d take a little visit back to 1587, the year of the second establishment of the Roanoke colony. Some background information, the colony was Queen Elizabeth I’s attempt to have a permanent English settlement in “the new world” in present-day North Carolina. However, things would not go as planned. The first one happened in 1585 but didn’t last because its colonists were not living well due to conflicts with the natives and food scarcity. Everybody returned to England. Later in 1587, another group, under John White, travelled back to Roanoke Island to retry the whole colonization thing. They were doing pretty okay, John White’s daughter even had a child in Roanoke, making the child the first English person born in America. Shortly following, John White would return to England to retrieve supplies for his colony, only to be stopped by a war between England and Spain. The war lasted 3 years, so John did not get back to his people until 1590. By the time he returned, not a soul was to be found. The entire colony had seemed to disappear into thin air! It’s often called the “Lost Colony”. The only thing left by them was a carving on a tree, reading “CROATOAN”. It’s unsure of how a group of 100+ colonist simply vanished without a trace. As a ghost travelling back to the 16th century, I’d gladly stay the whole three years during John White’s absence to see exactly where the lost colony went. x

Image result for alcatraz escape

June 1962, San Francisco is my next destination. Many of you might already be familiar with its popular tourist attraction, Alcatraz Prison, but do you also know of the famous Alcatraz escape? I mean, it’s a Clint Eastwood movie. As the name suggests, June 1962 is the date of a great escape from Alcatraz. The men in the incident were leader Frank Morris, and brothers John and Clarence Anglin. June 11 was the big day. The Anglin Brothers and Morris had created paper-mâché heads and tucked them in their cell beds on the night of the grand departure. In the months leading up to that day, Morris and the Brothers had used spoons stolen from the cafeteria to scrape the side of the vent opening situated inside their cells to help enlarge the hole so that they could climb through it. On the night of June 11, as the guards came by to do their nightly check on the inmates, they were fooled by the phoney heads that were placed in the beds of Morris and the Anglin Brothers. They, at the time, had already squeezed themselves through their vent opening, leading to a small, unguarded utility corridor. From the corridor, the three felons climbed to the roof of the prison. There, they used 50 stolen raincoats and a bunch of other materials to create a makeshift raft to help them cross the San Francisco Bay. After 10:00 that evening, they were gone. Nobody knew what became of the escaped prisoners, their bodies were never found. There have been many controversies surrounding it. Many believe they drowned during their fatal attempt, others believe they made it to land and lived low-profiled lives, perhaps in another country. This has been a centre of my interest for a few years now; I’d really like to know what end Morris and the Anglins had met. x

Image result for black dahlia
Probably one of the most mysterious and gruesome murders ever, the Black Dahlia. January 14, 1947, Los Angeles is where I’d want to be. The morning of January 15, the body of Elizabeth Short (Black Dahlia) was found in a park, naked and cut in half. There was a cut on her face from ear to ear, giving her a permanent (and creepy) smile. Her body was entirely drained of blood and was posed with her hands over her head. Elizabeth Short had been a waitress in LA. She moved there in 1946, so she didn’t know a lot of people there prior to her death. After the police began the investigation, there were anonymous letters sent to various newspaper companies regarding Elizabeth Short. They had some of her belongings but everything had been cleaned with gasoline, therefore removing any fingerprints the police could’ve used. The police had gone through numerous suspects but none seemed to check out. The Black Dahlia’s murder still remains an unsolved case today. x

Image result for elisa lam

More of a more recent unsolved mystery, only going back to early 2013. Perhaps since it wasn’t so long ago, you’ve heard about this one in the news; the death of Elisa Lam. Elisa Lam was a Canadian student who was found dead in the water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in LA. She had gone missing on January 31, 2013, and was not discovered until February 19. Nobody knew what happened during that three week period. It was said that Elisa Lam had had problems with bipolar disorder. There’s been a video of an elevator surveillance camera, catching Lam acting strange. She appears to be hiding from something then talking to somebody who the camera doesn’t film. She then proceeds to press all the buttons on the elevator. You can watch the video here. The circumstances of her death are unexplainable. It’s not known whether it’s a murder or a suicide, but I want the answers. x

Image result for the zodiac killer

The Zodiac Killer isn’t Ted Cruz, okay? The only way to find out the truth is to go back to late 1968, California. The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer during the 1960s-1970s. He sent multiple letters to the press, using code. He is said to have murdered between 20 and 28 people. His identity is unknown, even though there’s a sketch of him. So, who is he exactly? I wanna know. x

sources: x x x x x x

Senioritis

Nikoo Givehchian
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It’s real.

I used to laugh at upper years who had told me that after you get accepted into university, and shortly before IB exams/ diplomas and impending doom, high school seniors will lose their motivation. I will find I cannot study as well as I used to, they said, and I will also be okay with excusing it on the basis that all I need at that point is to pass, since I’ve already made it into uni. By mid-April of Grade 12, it is apparently normal for the exhaustion of the last couple years to catch up with high school students. I laughed so much at that, and I really was sure that I would never succumb to such a weakness- after all, even if I technically don’t need the marks to get into uni, I need them to fulfill my own sense of pride.

But curse my luck, I’m beginning to feel it. I haven’t lost all motivation- my pride is important to me, and though it may not be great, I care about getting high marks in everything- but I’ve been finding my working habits are a little lacking lately. I’ll go home after school, waste a couple of hours settling in and getting a snack, and just when I’ve start working, I’ll remember some urgent and time-consuming task I have to do right then. Then I’ll get sidetracked with dinner, and by the time I’ve finished taking my time in the kitchen and wrapped up all my long-winded conversations with everyone in my household, it’s 8:30pm. And I’ve done nothing. So I start… but I need tea, gotta waste 20 minutes getting that… and the time quickly hits 10:00, at which point I begin to think about work I cannot finish unless I sleep late. I decide that I ought to start being good to myself and prioritize sleep, so I’ll leave my work for the next morning. I stop working with the intent of going to bed early, but somehow I manage to waste time doing who knows what and go to bed at 11:00 at the earliest, only to wake up at 5:30 the next morning, exhausted for nothing.

…yeah, not what you’d call the best use of time… and though such bouts of un-productivity did happen occasionally in the past, I’ve been finding this sort of thing happens more and more often these days. And what’s scary is, there are times- more than I care to admit- that I’m actually okay with it. The arguments about my not needing anything more than to pass really do start to seem valid when I’m sitting at my desk, trying not to look at the half-written essay calling me… High school begins to seem less important than university, which is a thing of the future, and I think about how hard I will have to work then. Right now, all I need to do is enjoy life until uni hits and I die, right? Wait- NO. Wrong. I can’t expect to do well later if I can’t bring myself to do my best now …I keep telling myself that, and I do believe it, but there is a part of me that is also okay with my relaxing a bit more than I perhaps ought to, taking things a little more calmly and not being so paranoid about being perfect in everything.

Ah, senioritis. Just like my experiences with procrastination, I really did think you wouldn’t bother me… And you don’t. I won’t let you. I cannot allow you to take over. I will defeat you.

(do I sound convincing yet?)

It’s kind of nice to know I’m not the only one suffering from this affliction, but at the same time, seeing how my peers are also getting tired is a bit saddening. I suppose it is times like these that we really do need to sort out our priorities, and decide for ourselves what our motivation is to maintain effort in our classes by the end of the year.

Do we want to do well for our own sake? Do we need high marks to feel good? Or, do we want high marks to attest to the great things we have learned and achieved in high school? Is it a pity to let ourselves go now, to allow ourselves to develop this habit of stopping our efforts when we have reached our goals? Is there nothing else to gain or achieve by learning to maintain an effort even after it seems like we don’t need to? Or would that be pushing ourselves too much? Do we deserve a break? But isn’t there one coming, after we’ve actually finished high school? What do we hope to gain by either pushing hard until the end, or loosening up our efforts a bit?

Actually, there is another important point to consider- scholarships still haven’t come out, and considering how my friends and I are always complaining about university tuition, a couple of those would be nice. Well, gotta maintain high marks, then.

Thus far, all I’ve considered is the motivation to maintain an effort in our classes. But it’s wonderful that in the society we live in, marks aren’t everything, and each of us has many involvements besides school that we have also worked at for these last couple years. Unfortunately, motivation in those can also be hit by this ‘ailment of all ailments’ senioritis, and we have to be aware of how our performance in each of those can be affected by this attitude of ‘eh, doesn’t matter’ that it encourages.

The reality is, we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to senioritis. Rather than allowing it to defeat us, we have to take a step back, realize what we hope to accomplish by the end of high school, and pursue that. Whether it be high marks or even something else at this point, each of us still has something to work for, so we might as well find out what it is we want to do and give it our all!

I suppose everyone’s priorities now are different, but personally, I find that I really do still care to maintain high marks. My pride, if anything, cannot be damaged at this point, and I like the idea of going into university knowing I did my best until the end of high school, and will be able to maintain that sort of discipline in university. Furthermore, I want scholarships… and honestly, I want the learning. My classes have taught me so much in a variety of fields, and now that I’m actually feeling a lot more decent about writing English essays, for example, why wouldn’t I want to finish my year with the best marks to attest to that? …so stop slacking, me! Knowing what I want is half the battle- I know I want to maintain my marks, but I actually have to do it now. Hence, a need to tighten up my discipline, and give it my all in the last couple months of school. Senioritis is an affliction I will have to defeat to reach my goals, the final obstacle in my way (apart from IB exams and diplomas 🙁 ). I really do hope I can maintain such an effort, given my failure to do so lately.

As for you other seniors out there, be sure to think about what it is you want, and ensure your actions align with your goals. If you want to end strong in school, don’t stop your effort now. Whatever your goal is, be sure to do something to pursue it and don’t stop the effort to do something useful for your future now- we only have so much time until the future becomes present, after all.

That being said, I ask you to also be considerate before succumbing to the temptation to loosen your efforts in class. You’ve worked to improve your marks, you’ve proved you can do it- so why not maintain them? You have braved most of high school, accomplished much during your time here, and you are ready to move on to greater things. Let it not become your habit to drop things before you’re finished; rather, keep going strong until the end. I know you can, and I know I can too, so let’s finish this year on a strong note together! And here’s to greater things later on 🙂 .

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Quick Reviews of Some Banana Breads

Madina Shaykhutdinova
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Many people seem to like banana bread. I tried out four different recipes so you don’t have to.

I did not include banana bread with add-ins like nuts or chocolate. All of them contain three bananas. Click on the links to find the full recipes.

1. To start, there’s a recipe from Mr. Breakfast. Please note that I did not make this recipe at the same time as the others.

This banana bread surprised me. It was very soft, almost fluffy. This may be because this one contained less flour than other recipes. I baked it in a square pan (larger than a loaf pan), which is why it isn’t very tall in the image.

If you’ve baked banana bread before, you may have noticed that it tasted better the second day. This one tasted great from the first day. The flavour didn’t seem to improve on the second day. However, it definitely did not worsen. Overall, this is a very good recipe for a banana bread with classic flavour.

Next, I baked three different breads on the same day to be able to compare them with each other.

2. First, I baked a banana bread from Jamie Oliver’s website. I was intrigued because this recipe contains apple juice and honey, but I was also skeptical, especially since there were mixed reviews in the comments. Maybe my skepticism set this recipe up for failure, but it did not turn out great. The bread didn’t rise (it was baked in a loaf pan), and it was very dense. It’s possible that I did not properly convert 250 g of flour to cups and added too much. While it was sweet, the flavour was a bit bland, probably since this recipe does not call for white sugar. Also, it was very oily. It seems like 40 minutes is not enough baking time for this banana bread, although this may be different with different ovens. The only redeeming quality was that it smelled fantastic, but this doesn’t make up for the fact that it isn’t very fun to eat.

3. Next was Bobby Flay’s banana bread. This one contains both white and brown sugar. The blogger who posted this recipe mentions that they omitted cinnamon but doesn’t say how much is supposed to be added, so I put in about ¼ tsp of cinnamon.

The result of this recipe is something that doesn’t really belong in the direct banana bread family but is more of a cousin. The brown sugar adds a different kind of sweetness to it, and it lacks that characteristic banana bread flavour. However, it’s not a bad different. It’s soft and rises nicely (this one was baked in a square pan, not a loaf pan). This is a good dessert that I recommend trying out.

4. Finally, I baked my go-to banana bread recipe that I got years ago. I love this one because it has a very nice taste that only gets better on the second day. However, this one also contains the most amount of sugar, which is why it tastes so good. The middle may take a bit longer to bake through, but be careful not to burn it.

The recipe says to use two bowls and to start with a large bowl. You will end up pouring the contents of the first bowl into the second bowl, so the larger bowl should be the second one.

 

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a good banana bread recipe with classic taste, I suggest going with the first or fourth recipe listed above. The third recipe is a good dessert, but doesn’t exactly taste like banana bread. I will likely not be trying the second recipe again.

Tips:

  • If the banana bread has been in the oven for the maximum baking time but it isn’t baked through yet, turn off the oven and leave it inside. This minimizes the risk of it getting burnt.
  • A shallower pan will lead to more even baking.
  • Baking banana bread in a Bundt pan gives it a fun shape and supposedly distributes heat more evenly. I recommend trying it out if you have one.
  • Put bananas that are brown and mushy in the freezer. Unfreeze them when you are ready to make banana bread. They are perfect to use in baking.

Have fun baking!

 

All images are my own

Some Ideas for Productive Free Time

Madina Shaykhutdinova
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I hate being unproductive. While it’s important to take breaks, I don’t like wasting away my day doing something that isn’t useful or interesting. Here are some ideas on how you can take a break without feeling like you’ve wasted it.

  1. Take a break from social media. This is probably the most important one. Sure, it’s nice to be on social media for a bit of time. But a bit of time can easily turn into a lot of time. And it’s not like it’s fun, you know? It’s definitely addicting. Maybe you go check Instagram because you’re bored. Then, once you’ve been on it for a while, you feel bored because there’s nothing new to see, but you stay because you’re bored. Afterwards, you feel bad about it because you’ve wasted your time and you’re still bored.
  2. Go outside. Maybe walk around or something. Exercise is good. Oxygen is important for the proper brain function. Get that vitamin D.
  3. Finish reading a book. I am guilty of being in the middle of several books, which means that there may be a period of a few years between the time a start reading a book and the time I finish it. But finishing a book is so satisfying and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
  4. Clean your room. This one is great for feeling productive. Organize the books that are falling over on your bookshelf. Throw out the little bits of paper that are littering your desk. Remove the clothes that you’ll never wear anymore from your closet. Maybe take a look at what’s in that box that’s been in the corner for years. Once your stuff isn’t at risk for falling down if breathe on, you can actually see what colour your desk is, and you can successfully close the drawer without ramming into it, you’ll feel pretty proud of yourself.
  5. Do that thing you’ve been avoiding. You know which one. Maybe you have a pile of homework you’ve been putting off. Maybe you need to update your resume. Maybe you need to rename the files on your computer because they’re all named random numbers and letters. Whatever it is, it probably needed to be done ages ago, and you really need to start.
  6. Do something you really enjoy. How long has it been since you’ve last danced? Volunteered? Spent time with a friend? Baked four loaves of banana bread? Played kazoo? Doing something you love to do will fill up your time in the most enjoyable and memorable way.
  7. Seriously, please take a break from social media. Even just a short one.

I hope this gave you some ideas!

 

Image source: 1

Haley Blais on Visual Aesthetics, Songwriting + New EP

Emily Donville
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The first time I heard Haley Blais, I was struck by her authenticity and ability to convey what other humans are feeling through her music. Just take the lyrics from her song Late Bloomer for example, which present themselves as the soundtrack for those navigating a budding relationship. The Canadian folk-pop singer is based in Vancouver, BC and like many musicians, she’s proof that a little hard work and ingenuity can get you far. Before relocating, she lived in Kelowna, BC and traveled through Europe, New York and Canada singing classical opera, which she admits not a lot of people know about. Now, she’s a musician and YouTube content creator. Her debut EP Late Bloomer (2016) was released independently online by demand of YouTube subscribers and now she’s gearing up for her latest release, Let Yourself Go, a 5 track EP set to be released on April 7, 2018. I was fortunate enough to have the chance to talk to her amidst her pre-album buzz so keep reading to learn more about the process of songwriting, relocating to Vancouver, her YouTube channel and making music videos.

YAA: How would you describe your music to somebody who has never heard it before?

HB: Technically, it’s a mix of indie pop and folk. Right now I’m writing a lot of my music with a “rock chick” head space and I really just want to scream, but all that comes out is folky flutters. I’m working on it.

YAA: You relocated to the coast from Kelowna a few years ago. How has this change in scenery affected both you and your music?

HB: Kelowna is such a small town, it was hard to find inspiration in it. Being in Vancouver, and completely independent, there’s a lot of room for me to (sorry for what I’m about to say) spread my wings, and collaborate/meet so many creative and like minded pals. I can’t even imagine what I would be doing if I still lived in Kelowna and I really don’t want to think about it. Actually, I would probably have a lot of money because Vancouver is expensive as hell. Now I’m depressed.

YAA: Who influences you the most in terms of your sound?

HB: Oh man, that’s so hard. A lot of the times it’s whatever band I’m obsessed with. Right now it’s a mix of Sunflower Bean and The Byrds. It’s always changing, I’m constantly influenced by artists.

YAA: You released your debut EP “Late Bloomer” in 2016 along with a video for the EP’s title track. In it, you feature several references to popular culture such as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and the movie “The Breakfast Club” and you’re always heavily involved in the process of creating these videos. I especially admire your video for “Severance Pay” which features a vintage feel. How important are aesthetics to you and are the visions behind these videos done solo or in collaboration with others?

HB: So important. The music video to a song only enhances your experience of it, so if it’s not on par with the vibe of the song the whole thing falls apart, obviously. Sometimes when I’m writing a song, I’ll see it play out it my head that idea can then be hard to then communicate with collaborators/directors – and that’s why the videos I’ve put out thus far I’ve directed because I have such a specific vision in mind. I’m excited to branch out and work with others, though, and see who like, “gets” me lol

YAA: What song are your most proud of writing out of all of your songs?

HB: Musically, I love the way Small Foreign Faction came together; I’m really proud of it. There’s some stuff I’m working on currently that I can’t wait to get into the studio and see how they form. I think since forming this full band, the music can only get better.

YAA: What song or lyrics that you’ve written are you most emotionally connected to and can you take me through your song writing process?

HB: There’s a lot of songs I’ve written super recently that I think are extremely personal. “Late Bloomer” is up there too. I used to mainly write songs based off fictional instances I made up in my head because nothing had happened to me worthy of a song yet, and I think I was scared to look into myself that deep. Only in the last year or so have I dug deep emotionally and it’s a really therapeutic experience. Who knew. My writing process is very weird; if I can’t write a song in 10 minutes, it won’t make the cut. It’s rare for me to sit down and say, “okay, I’m going to write a song now”. Usually it’s when I’m in the shower or washing the dishes and a phrase will suddenly pop into my head, I’ll grab my uke, and the whole song pours out of me.

YAA: Your first single from your upcoming EP was released a few weeks ago and I’ve noticed tons of people associating “I never wanted anything / And I never got it” with memes of people crying which, if I’m being honest, was my first reaction to the song. It’s delicate and soft but heart wrenching at the same time, which I think only great songwriters can accomplish. That being said, I wanted to ask you about your experience writing the song and the inspiration behind the lyrics?

HB: The reaction to Small Foreign Faction is so funny, I love that people are associating the song as an anthem to angst and loneliness, which don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that was there when I was writing it, but I didn’t even (intentionally, at least) think about myself when writing it. The song is actually inspired by the case of Jon Benet Ramsey. I was at home one day and I remembered the phrase from the ransom note they found in the Ramsey’s house, “small foreign faction”. I did a quick Google search and it yielded the chorus: “I’m just a foreign faction, irreconcilable conflict at parties”. Seeing the word “parties” made me think a lot about Jon Benet and how she never had the chance to live a full life, and everything she deserved to learn. A recent review of the song said something like “it’s a beautiful ode to what happens when you take a reflective and honest look at who you are and what you’re doing”, which I like better than the murder of a child beauty queen.

YAA: Why did you choose to title your next EP “Let Yourself Go”?

HB: It’s titled after a song on the EP that I was initially going to cut, that’s about society’s perception of beauty, and how someone who doesn’t confine to the constructs could be seen as unattractive or they’ve “let themselves go”. The phrase, let yourself go, kind of took on a new meaning that felt a lot more like a statement of total freedom, and I loved that.

YAA: How are you planning to celebrate the release of the EP?

HB: We’re having a big ol’ release concert the day it comes out, and it should be a party.

YAA: You’ve been posting videos on YouTube for several years now and have amassed 140k+ loyal subscribers. What influenced you to start your channel?

HB: I knew it would be a great way to get myself out there. I wanted to not only use YouTube as a platform to share my music, but let people actually meet and connect with the person they’re listening to. I think that the connection between creator and listener/viewer/supporter, whomever, is so integral, so having my channel to make personal videos about my life only strengthens that.

YAA: How do you balance your YouTube channel with your music career? Do you ever have to sacrifice one thing for the other?

HB: Not really, it’ll take me maybe a day (or two if I’m busy or lazy) to film, edit and upload a video; the production isn’t very time consuming so it’s easy right now to balance the two.

YAA: In terms of your content, you’ve posted a lot of covers. My personal favorite is your cover of “I Love You So” by The Walters, but I wanted to ask you what song do you love covering the most?

HB: That one is up there for me too, along with a Beatles cover I did a year or so ago of “In My Life”. At a recent show we did a cover of “Dreams” by the Cranberries and that was a blast too.

YAA: What’s one song you can think of that you wish you wrote? Does it hold any significant meaning to you?

HB: Oh my god so many. I literally have a Spotify playlist I made called “*pretends I wrote these*” hahaha. I think songs that can be vague in their context, but still evoke deep emotion and a feeling of familiarity without being so transparent in their meaning is so impressive. Did that make sense? “Sister” – Angel Olsen, “Iceblink Luck” – The Cocteau Twins, “Masterpiece” – Big Thief, “Green Light” – Lorde, to name a few.

YAA: If you could open a show for anybody, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

HB: I did a small acoustic set last week, and literally had to run off the stage to get to a Lorde concert, so it almost felt like I was opening for her in an extremely round about way. Could you imagine if I opened for LORDE? I saw that Mitski is opening for her on the last leg of the Melodrama tour. That’s insane.

YAA: Finally, any parting words of wisdom?

HB: I am not very wise, so my default to this question is to always drink water. And please listen to my EP. Both will hydrate you.

Huge thanks to Haley Blais for sparing some time to talk to me! Interested in her music? Keep up to date with her latest ventures by following her on social media.

Bandcamp | Youtube | Instagram | Twitter

(All photos received were shot by Kolton Procter)

Calgary Composting Program

Asha Nenshi Nathoo
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The City of Calgary Composting Program, which has been implemented all across the city for just over six months, is definitely an extremely environmental initiative, but the question is how effectively are Calgarians using their green bins?

While some citizens do have personal yard composts, providing every Calgarian with a green bin and scheduled compost pick-ups was something the municipal government had been talking about for many years. The pilot program was implemented in March 2012 in the four neighbourhoods of Abbeydale, Brentwood, Cougar Ridge and Southwood. In just those four communities, in the past five years – more than ten million kilograms of compost have been picked up. Which is why from June to September 2017, the remaining communities in all four quadrants of our city received their carts and started their scheduled compost pick-ups. Currently, every citizen, whether they are using their green bin or not is paying $6.50 per month in order to cover costs of this new program.

If Calgarians use their green bins to the degree the City has hoped they will, it is estimated we will keep 85 million kilograms of food and yard waste out of our landfills every year. Not only are we able to generate nutrient rich compost to help with the growth of plants, we are also working to protect our priceless land, air and water resources. Not to mention, the great long term economic benefits of avoiding extravagant landfill costs that come with the implementation of the green cart program.

 So, why is it then, that many Calgarians don’t seem to be taking full advantage and getting rid of their natural waste in this environmentally friendly way? In some cases, it’s as simple as practical issues such as lack of storage area in small alleyways to keep their green bins. It also takes some time and work on the part of citizens. They must set up pails in their kitchen, line these pails, fill the green carts, and then start adding waste to them. After so many years of putting everything in the black carts, this new process definitely takes some getting used to. Finally, there’s also the problem of fear of the unknown. For those who have never heard about a compost program, it brings about the worry of unpleasant smells and attracting unwanted rodents such as racoons and maggots.

The new schedule which has green and blue bins being picked up once every week, but garbage from black bins being picked up only once every two weeks definitely creates a need for Calgarians to use their green bins more extensively, as likely not all of their garbage will fit in the black bin. As we move forward, we must continue to educate and provide helpful tips and resources to our fellow citizens so they too can continue to use their green bins to the best of their abilities. As cliche as it sounds, together, we can create phenomenal changes for the betterment of the environment.

Image Sources: 1/2/3

Spring Reflections

Alex Dong
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Blossoming trees, flowing rivers, fresh air:

a small leaf, growing from a branch

a small flower, sprouting from the ground

a small child, dancing in the rain

Springtime.

 

Nature surrounds us.

Its frosty winter breath is beginning to fade,

replaced with the warm, caressing touch of sunlight

reflected on icy ponds beginning to thaw

rifting, then melting into still, reflective pools of water.

The bright snow melts away,

leaving green bursts of colour

lifting a soft blanket to reveal blooming flora

lessening the brilliant white of the world.

All around us, the birds chirp and twitter, as if awakened by the coming of a new season

Singing beautiful songs, they announce to the whole world a new beginning.

 

We walk on the trail;

grey hoodie, blue pants, white runners.

We are the only ones here.

Starting to walk faster:

eyes searching for hidden beauties, but our legs keep moving.

We start to jog.

The forest is no longer filled with the chirps of the birds, nor the rattling of the leaves.

We can only hear our own footsteps, our own heavy breaths.

We are running now, oblivious to our surroundings.

Everything is a blur of white and green.

There are no trees, no birds, no snow.

Only streaks of disproportionate colour.

 

Slow down.

We must slow down.

We can see the trees now, and the snow, but the air is still filled with our footsteps.

Slower.

Everything takes shape.

Even slower.

Observe our surroundings. Gaze through the trees.

Stop, and stay still.

 

Watch as the forest comes to life.

Birds here, squirrels there.

Everything has shape, everything has colour.

Dark mahogany, light oak, dark green, bright yellow.

 

Reflective puddles of water at our feet.

Those pools of water are mirrors.

Looking at ourselves, we know we must slow down  to enjoy the moment, and to enjoy life.

 

 

Image sources: 1/2

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Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth. YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them. Youth Are Awesome is a program of Youth Central.

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