Columns

Addicts are masters of defense. We defend parts of our psyche that have been harmed and have not recovered. We, in turn, defend our addictions, which feel like integral parts of who we are and seem wholly necessary for our well-being, or even for our survival. All forms of addiction, arguably, have similar roots of […]

In September, when the editor of Nexus and I hashed out the details of this column, I realized that Unsettled and Striving would benefit me most of all. At that point I hadn’t written anything in 2020, and, like so many others, I was feeling lost and depleted with the strict social-distancing and isolation regulations. […]

When chatting to my biking friends, who are men, in the chairlift, we usually end up in a conversation with them complaining about equality, and how they feel that women pick out only the good stuff about equality. I’m always a bit shocked at this angle of looking at it. What occurs most of the […]

Due to the pandemic, the world put a hold on everything, but we couldn’t afford to put a hold on our dreams. Apparently, this is the reason why many international students still went on to enrol themselves in colleges and universities around the world, attending online classes from their home countries. Myself, I’m currently taking […]

Addiction is not really something one overcomes, in my opinion. Addiction is something to be healed, because its roots lie in trauma, grief, and certain unmet needs. Addiction is a mental-health issue, but it’s also a totally reasonable response to not having our needs met. Bruce K. Alexander’s famous Rat Park study beautifully and tragically […]

In the course I’m taking this semester, IST142: Land, Water, & Stewardship, our textbook is a collection of essays from various authors called Lighting the Eighth Fire. The very first chapter raised an “a-ha!” feeling within me, another puzzle piece offering insight to western society’s disrespect of the land. Writer Susan M. Hill provides a […]

I’ve noticed that how I think of myself changes. I think this is a good thing: if we were always in the same state of mind we would never grow. That said, I can’t help but wonder how the way we think of ourselves promotes and inhibits our personal journey. As a little girl, nothing […]

One thing we hear constantly over the radio, over the news, through any type of media soundbite that crosses our rather constricted paths this past year is talk of mental health. It’s COVID fatigue—people have been walking the same lines now for a year, whether it be the arrows pointing us down which way to […]

It really grinds my gears that people are still looking to land and water protectors with the same condescending, outraged expressions as those plastered across the faces of white supremacists in the ’70s, when “Save the Trees” signs were deemed insignificant, “hippy” slogans, conjured from a hazy cloud in la-la land. Today, more than ever, […]

I am not always an easy person to deal with—either in close relationships or more casually through work, school, and other social networks. I can be argumentative (just ask my instructors), pushy (ask my family), and sometimes I think I know what other people need or want, and brazenly offer my unsolicited advice and all-knowing […]