I always freeze up whenever I’m asked to describe myself. From introducing myself at the beginning of each elementary school year to writing college essays in high school, I consistently clam up in confusion when forced to encompass myself in a short paragraph. While basically everyone I know has experienced[Read More…]
Features
From feminism to feminisms
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve brainstormed the perfect slogan to scribble on my cardboard sign right before a protest. Almost always, I end up settling on something I deem to be just so-so. The same thing happened in January 2017, a day after Donald Trump’s inauguration,[Read More…]
Coping by cat spotting
Picture a circus tiger. Beholden to the cruel whims of circumstance, ensnared in a system that renders its life to nothing more than spectacle, it prowls the perimeter of its cramped cage with Sisyphean contempt. Here is a tortured—though cool as hell—soul. But Jackie, you say, you’re a university student[Read More…]
Say my name (right)
At the start of every school year, my high school held a special assembly to honour seniors. Every senior was called up one by one by the principal to grab special red ties, meant to symbolize their maturity. In my last year, I was so excited for the assembly. But[Read More…]
The human cost of a warmer future
This summer, I spent most of my time working and hiking. If I wasn’t running around helping a client find something at the pet store I worked at, I was running around the woods with a backpack full of snacks, coffee, and water. I ventured past the city of Montreal[Read More…]
Orphaned tongues
A few months ago, I taught my parents a gesture known as the “finger heart.” To make it, you gently cross your thumb and index finger. Selfies featuring this gesture have become a staple of our text conversations, and I hoard a precious collection of screenshots that document this phenomenon:[Read More…]
The darker side of pre-med
For many pre-medical students, dreams of practising medicine have been playing through their minds since they were children. It’s the allure of being able to save someone’s life, help a person feel better, or finally provide that answer a patient has been searching for. Of course, some people have other[Read More…]
Subbed or dubbed?
How anime spread its roots into mainstream culture
The art of companionship
As the ending of the 1994 award-winning novel //Snow Falling on Cedars// says, “accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.” While I have come to accept that life is unpredictable, I realized that at the very least, we can choose how we face[Read More…]
The women behind the headlines
Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, there have been 14 reported cases of femicide in Quebec. A femicide, sometimes called ‘feminicide,’ is the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender. Despite the recent spike in reported femicides, this kind of gender-based violence has[Read More…]
