Last week marked Mental Illness Awareness week, October 10th marked World Mental Health Day, and tomorrow marks this year's Canadian Thanksgiving. It serves as a reminder to us to continue conversation and maybe even tell our stories. With the growth of mental illness referenced in the media, its fortunate that the stigma that so strongly surrounded it became a little weaker. Many approach the topic from a humorous angle, through self-deprecating memes and the glorification of apathetic habits. There's many ways to cope, humour is one, avoidance another. Today, there are so many resources available to us and there is no shame in seeking help. This is why awareness of the matter is so important -- many of us don't realize what we are struggling with, these mental struggles are not 'visible.'

Let's talk about that, lets have conversations that don't shame mental illnesses into a dark place, tell our stories and listen to others with soft eyes, free of judgement. We all know that it takes nothing to be kind but I encourage you to slow down your busy lives and look around. Every busy body around you is living a life just as complex as your own and once we can really grasp the vastness of all that we can experience, what we can learn from others holds no bounds. Recognizing our struggles is no more and no less important than recognizing our achievements. "The sadness in you is just as much as the happiness." As Thanksgiving arrives, recalling our journey and what we have accomplished puts all the pieces of us together.

I probably don't know your story but I can listen, we can listen -- and even then I understand that I will never know it at its entirety, like you won't know mine to the extent that fills every part of me. There's a gap, and in that gap is the the part that we've lived, the consumption of feelings and experiences we will never be able to translate. So we acknowledge that this gap exists and we respect that every individual fills the rest of their story in this area that we can't begin to define for them. In other words, simple respect that you don't know somebody better than they know themselves.

Pay attention and hold your loved ones close but also respect the space they may ask for. There is so much beauty in humanity and our capacity to take care of one another -- often times, we forget that we need to direct this love to ourselves. Look at the souls that contributed to building your own and remind them how beautiful they are. Although it matters everyday, it's always warm to see what makes your stoic dad break into a belly laugh, what makes your tired mom shy away with glee, your insecure sister smile with confidence, it takes nothing and gives everything to reinforce the small things that makes their souls glow. Yours too. So, just be fucking nice man, to those you know and love, to those you don't know at all, and to yourself.

Spring is approaching, and not as fast as I'd like it to. I'm appreciating the little snippets of rising temperatures -- although they remain as teasers nonetheless. Streetwear has been on the rise and a break is not foreseeable for the raging apparel. Something that has caught my eye is racewear - not actually what real race car drivers would wear, i'd presume.. but race-themed pieces. Checkered patterns, flags, and cars decorate silhouettes tight and loose. It isn't a new trend, car brands have been creating apparel for as long as they've been making cars basically. A recent project I've noticed is Honda's work with Forever 21 in creating a whole apparel series - a cool contemporary take on the ordeal. A piece that captured my attention is from the FILA x Sanrio collection -- the whole collaborative capsule surrounds this theme. The piece sports checkered patterns across the front, back and arms with co-branding prints all around. Needless to say, I needed to have it -- like every other little girl, hello kitty was kinda my obsession (tied with sailor moon). Its an oversized silhouette so I am able to wear it tucked in or over a pair or trousers. Here, I've paired it with one of my favourite jeans and sock boots for a simplistic look.


Top: FILA x Sanrio (Urban Outfitters)
Jeans: BDG (Urban Outfitters)
Belt: h&m
Boots: Zara

The topic of this post is rooted from a conversation I had with a friend. We were discussing the questionable ideologies that the media spoon-feeds society. Does media influence ultimately lead towards the sublimation of these socially constructed concepts? Hard to give a definite answer, but easy to say that it does reinforce the concepts. The production of media content is a reflection of the world, a cycle that reinforces one another. Truthfully speaking, it can be difficult to not abide by those narratives, as open minded as we try to be. As humans, we understand this vast world much by association, linking together ideologies to groups we're unfamiliar with because that's as far as our knowledge goes about it. For example, someone unfamiliar with Chinese culture with correlate the vague ideas they have about it and those ideas are usually what the media produces.

I think that the co-dependency of the media and society is inevitable and although that can be dangerous, it doesn't mean we don't have minds of our own. The truth is, even if the media were to produce content of equality and fair representation, there will always be disagreements. There will always be racists, homophobes, people filled with hate and ignorance and that is highly unfortunate but that is reality. The best we can do is to just try our hardest to never bound anybody by constructed ideologies and keep our minds open.

▻Amy

The weather forecasts cloudy days and light showers, only to be proven otherwise by none other than mr.sun☀. June is here, and we have been gracefully blessed with the rising of temperatures and the warmth of sun rays in recent weeks. Residing in Canada, it isn't out of the ordinary for me to doubt the consistency of this glamorous weather, but fingers crossed!

Let's talk about summer tops, and i'm talking super basics - the tube top. It's a bit of a blast to the past when strapless tops dominated in the late 90s-early 2000s. This is a trend that I will happily stand behind because well, i'm a super simple gal and this is a super simple piece. One thing I'm not a fan of though, are strapless bras. Nobody likes to pull that up every ten minutes but nipple covers are a wonderful thing - use it!! A roommate of mine used tape, or even bandaids but hey, whatever works for you.

I've worn them with a pair of track pants for a more casual, sporty spice look in the first outfit (so comfortable). In the second look, i wore them with my favourite pair of high waisted jeans for an everyday, casual look. The best part - the tube top will literally pair well with anything. Free your shoulders this summer and go strapless.

White top: Babaton by Aritzia
Track pants: Adidias
Boots: Oak & Fort
Black top: Babaton by Aritzia
Jeans: Citizens of Humanity (Aritzia)
Mules: Forever21
Jacket: TNA by Aritzia

I still remember pulling up to this large orange building 4 years ago, just two days after I horribly sprained my ankle (how I did is yet another tale..). I was told to stay on crutches for two weeks but.. did I want to be the girl on crutches during frosh week? Hard no. I limped everywhere my first week. I was greeted by a few friendly unfamiliar faces, my first group of roommates.

This was a fresh start for me, I decided to embark on my university career alone without the company of familiarity. Thankfully so, because within these past four years, I have discovered the comfort of family within these roommates I'm about to tell you about. If you guys are reading this - and I know you will. I want to thank each and every single one of you and tell you that I friggin love you gals. We've all grown so much, we've cried in each other's arms, cared for one another, argued with each other, we've failed together, succeeded together - but nonetheless, together. There wasn't just one role that we played, whether it was the mom of the group, the wild one, the optimist and so forth. We were all an abundance of these roles and we were all of these roles for each other, whatever it was that any of us needed. Whenever I was upset, I would find arms wrapped around myself. Whenever I was sick, there would be offerings of soup, medicine and peppermint tea at my disposal. Now, I had a circulation of ten roommates in total these past four years and they were amazing roommates, but there were 4 who really engraved their mark into my soul. Heres to you -



Olivia - my first friend.
Olibear, you have one of the most beautiful souls I have ever come to know. You are so kind and gentle with such a roaring hardworking interior. We only had each other for the first couple weeks of university and we clicked instantly. I will always remember our second night, drunkenly running to school holding hands just yelling about how glad that we have one another. I want you to know that has not changed, I'm just as grateful for you as I was since day one. You have such passion in the things that you do and the people that you love. I'm so happy to watch you achieve your dreams, there is nobody I know that can string together words as beautifully as you do.

Aleena - my longest roomie.
Oh leens, never have we parted and here we are, at paths that separate. Look at how much we've grown, thanks for holding me together all these years especially when things were crumbling. We have shed tears together but even more so, we shared so much laughter (usually at your expense im sorry). You are such a strong headed individual, please never lose faith in yourself because there is nothing that you cannot conquer, do not forget that. There isn't anyone else I'd choose to be by my side for my entire university career. From day 4 (you arrived late) until forever -

Vicki - my partner in crime.
You are such a ball of light and your energy radiates so much that it has uplifted my soul so many times. Thank you for being so selfless, investing in me whenever I needed literally anything. Attached by the hip, we have shared most of our time in this city together - from day, night, dawn. You are the battery behind my night owl self, living it up with me when the rest of the world is asleep. The Laurier world knew it was never one of us without the other - "amy and vicki" "vicki and amy". CS101 gifted me more than just easy test banks to say the least.

Nada - there are no words.
There are really no words to encompass all that you are but god, am I happy to have met you. You are by far one of the most intelligent people that I know and there is always something that I can learn from you. I often find myself asking, how can someone be so grounded yet so adventurous at the same time. We come from a world of opposite minds and I miss staying up til 5am just chatting about our viewpoints. You have infested my mind with the importance of technicalities and mathematics and I have explained to you the openness of creative thinking. You are truly one of a kind.



We all offer a plethora of different personalities and energies, but I would not have it any other way. You have all taught me so much and played such large roles in my steps towards adulthood. I only hope that I have offered you guys the same amount of love and support that you guys have given me. So thank you, for making the past 4 years so memorable, for filling it with love and laughter, for offering endless support, for being your wonderful selves. As we plunge into the scary future, it's going to be okay but I am going to miss coming home to you guys to talk about my day and hear about yours. I wish you girls all the luck in the world on your future endeavours, kick the world in the ass because I know that there is capability in all of you.

Alright, I think that's enough. Love you all and thank you (again) for making it so easy for me to find family in what was once a new beginning.

▻ Amy