Columns

Modern computers have existed for less than 100 years. In that time, they’ve gone from monoliths that took up entire rooms to the pocket-sized devices we all walk around with today. Smartphones are said to have 100,000 times more processing power than the computer used by NASA in the Apollo 11 mission. The advancement in […]

Some moments, I am okay, thankfully. Some moments I am good, content, grateful, peaceful. Sometimes, however, I suddenly feel like I’m starving for something. It’s an emotional or psychological something, but it feels like intense hunger, so I might eat something, even though my body is not hungry. This is how addiction works: we are […]

Today I am learning the complexities of navigating vast differences of values while still maintaining relationships. I used to be what folks might call a “doormat.” I had no backbone, no self confidence, no ability to stand up for myself, and I agreed with everyone. This way of being crumbled within me when I decided […]

Should I work on homework or chill out with some snacks and watch Star Trek? If I choose homework, which class do I focus on? Okay, History—which assignment do I prioritize? We do this with everything: all the time, we are putting one thing ahead of something else, prioritizing our tasks. We can only do […]

It is one thing to speak of the past—of where we once where but no longer are. I used to be in a relationship with a violent man, but I‘m not anymore. I used to smoke cigarettes, but I haven’t done that for well over a decade. Our past selves have the quality of being […]

Words are delicate, but they also have power. You must be careful about how you define words and which words you use. One misplaced word and your meaning can be misconstrued. For that reason, I want to make a distinction between beliefs and opinions, and convictions. Beliefs and opinions are similar in that they don’t […]

I asked one of my fellow recovering sex and love addicts what I might write about in this edition of my column, and she said, “write about addiction as a friend.” I had to consider this. I must admit, I still often enough feel frustrated or disappointed with myself. I struggle to get out of […]

Hello. I’m Alexis. This September I became a first-year student in Camosun College’s Indigenous Studies program. The first lessons we moved through in week 1 were about introductions and the importance of them within First Nations culture. In each of my classes I was to compose an essay introducing myself, including information about where I […]

I was told in a History class—I’m actually probably told this every year—that the reason we study history is so we can learn from example and avoid making the same mistakes that the people who came before us did. And I just kind of assumed we had our best people on that, making sure we […]

As a student of psychology, I sometimes feel besieged with the message that science is the superior way of understanding. The scientific method is empirical, rational, as objective and unbiased as possible, and self-correcting. Often enough I find myself annoyed by the tedium and monotony required by such a method. It’s a lot of work, […]