Stressed to Shingles

Stressed to Shingles

The Itch It started small; a spattering of circular bumps on my right breast. I assumed they were mosquito bites—it was summer in Yellowknife, a time when mosquitos infest the city. Bites were unavoidable, the bugs always managing to get you in the most uncomfortable...
Teaching Online Safety

Teaching Online Safety

It’s 3:20 p.m. on a Wednesday in late February, and students file out of Oak Bay Secondary in Victoria, B.C. Just moments after the final bell, they pile out in clusters, adjusting their backpacks and chatting to one another. In the middle of the pathway, a...

Valentine’s Day: stress in a heart-shaped box

Ever since Grade 2, Valentine’s Day has been an occasion of dread for me. That year, my class spent an hour hand-making our Valentine card holders; mine was basically an envelope with a few glued-on feathers. Then we were given the speech that we had to bring in...

Chewing gum addiction: a sticky problem?

I travelled to Greece for a month last summer. A small crate holding 26 packs of Trident Layers weighed down my backpack. By day 23, I had exhausted my stash, only to discover that it’s not available in Greece. I didn’t know what to do; for over two years, I had...