Fortissimo: An Original Poem
May you never forget, fortissimo.
Experience Death… Before You Die?
What is this about? Having a society based on pressure for high achievements in all walks of life, reverence for aesthetics, and strict maintenance of the Confucian hierarchy, the Republic of Korea understandably has an annually increasing rate of suicide. It has maintained its second place in the OECD Suicide Rates for a long time.…
TWLOHA screening and panel
Source Last Saturday, Partners for Mental Health held a screening for To Write Love on Her Arms, a film that tells the story of Renee Yohe, a nineteen year old struggling with addiction, depression, self harm who attempts suicide, and how it inspired Jamie Tworkowski to create the organization “To Write Love on Her…
WHOLE Churchill: You Are Not Alone
On a sunny Tuesday morning, four enthusiastic students sat down for an interview about WHOLE Churchill. WHOLE Churchill is a community created by Haroon M., Megan C., Rahul A., and Sidharth S., to promote awareness of mental health for all youth, starting with the students of Sir Winston Churchill High School. Shruti: What is…
Youth of YYC: Anonymous, 17
”I just want everyone to have hope. It might not be the same as The Shawshank Redemption, but I’ve escaped death so many times. Thoughts of suicide is a serious thing and shouldn’t be ignored. You deserve to live and make memories until you’re satisfied. Have confidence in yourself. It’s easier said than done, but…
Superhero Time!
I have been closely following news on superheroes and superhero movies for quite a while, so here goes: Jared Leto to Joker- the Transformation Recently, Jared Leto cut his hair short and dyed it platinum blonde. Finally we get to see Joker resurface after almost a 7 year hiatus. Personally, I’m very pumped for all the…
The youth perspective on assisted suicide
As you all must be aware of, the Supreme Court of Canada has decided to allow assisted suicide in Canada under certain circumstances. Those circumstances are of which: a competent adult seeks assistance from doctors due to an extremely painful and incurable medical condition that causes intolerable suffering, in such a scenario a doctor should…
Leelah Alcorn and the importance of support and acceptance
Several days shy of the new year, a suicide note was posted on 17-year-old Leelah Alcorn’s Tumblr page. Earlier that Sunday, she walked into traffic on an Ohio highway, killing herself. In her letter, Leelah explained how her parents’ unacceptance and lack of support for her coming out as transgender culminated in her decision to…
A message about depression
Disclaimer: This is about a sensitive and serious topic. I don’t mean to offend anyone. My goal is to have a mature discussion and to present a youth’s perspective on this issue. Why am I doing this? In light of Robin William’s death, conversation about mental illness and suicide has resurfaced. However, it seems that…
Depression, explained by a comic
Recently, as I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a page my friend had liked, called Hyperbole and a Half. Out of curiosity, I clicked on it and quickly saw that it was based off a website/blog full of stories told in comic form. I scrolled down the page, and was intrigued…
Article on Self Harm
I know this issue has been brought to attention many times already, but I must admit that I never thought it would happen to anyone around me. I was shocked at how well the victims of self-harm could hide their scars when I first saw the cuts on the wrist of one of my close…
Doctor-assisted suicide no longer prohibited in BC, a good idea?
Death is a harsh reality of life – whether we like it or not, we will be faced with it eventually. Despite its inevitability, however, death need not strip an individual of his or her dignity.
Connection between fighting and NHL player deaths
Derek Boogaard was recruited to the NHL mainly to be an enforcer. After having a record of fighting over 180 times in the Junior Hockey League, he continued this trend as he entered into the big leagues where in his 277 NHL career games he scored a total of three goals and accumulated 589 penalty minutes.…
Music: Leo Ornstein
Being one of my passions in life, I think music is an important factor in the lives of men. As a listener of an extremely wide range of music, I am sometimes distressed to see that many people don’t explore music outside of their comfort zone. I listen to a lot of jazz, rock, electronic…
Discrimination against Gay Youths
There has been quite a big hubbub over gay rights in the past month or so in America, particularly in the army. The question of whether or not gay men can serve in the military has brought about much commotion and ended when the Pentagon declared that the recruiters must accept homosexual applicants. The general…