There is a young guy in one of my classes that has been driving me crazy. He’s in my TA group and he talks a lot. It’s not just that he talks so much that bothers me, it’s not that he cracks stupid jokes or that he repeats himself. What really bothers me is that …
My teen years in books
I was reading Lynn’s blog, and she posted about something Nicole had done, so I read Nicole’s post and both got me thinking about all the books I read when I was a kid and all the books I rushed out to get when I found out we were having baby, and then a baby girl …
The funky music
One of the things that I need to help me get out of my ennui, I think, is music that fits my moment. It seems like every time I have gone through a period of intensity or change in my life I have had some bad that really speaks to me in that moment. When …
A right
Today the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously that Canadians have a right to ask their doctor to help them die. The decision was in response to a challenge from the BC Civil Liberties Association. From the Globe and Mail: “Canadian adults who are mentally competent and suffering intolerably and permanently have the right to …
A letter
Dear Cancer Care Ontario, I just wanted to say thank you for the lovely letter I received today in my mailbox thanking me for getting a Pap Test at my annual physical last year. I have to say though that I haven’t actually read the letter all the way through. You see, I have Polycystic …
Talk About It
Today is #BellLetsTalk Day. There have been criticisms about the campaign, but overall it gets people talking openly about mental health, and it gets money to mental health services, two things that we desperately need to really help people. My first mental health crisis came when I was about 15 or 16. I don’t know …
My year in books
At the beginning of 2014 I told myself that I wanted to read 50 books through the year. It was a challenge to myself because I used to read all the time and at some point I started spending my time in different ways, but I still love a great book and I wanted to …
An ode to the mature student
In my first semester at school – now over except for one more exam – I have had the privilege of meeting some other students with great stories. Mature students – student who have lived more outside of university than in – have lived varied lives and they seem to understand better what’s at stake. …
We are, we are
It has been a tough few weeks for watching the news. There has been a lot of bad stuff – really bad stuff – happening all around the world, here in my city. I’ve also been involved in a conversation about how white people raising children can create change for black people in the future. …