Decor days
By: Carissa Wiens
Homesense is the best place to get Christmas decorations for one’s home. There’s no question about it. The aisles manage to be decked with a massive selection of decor without being overwhelming, and it’s all adequately priced. Unfortunately, going during the day is saddening. Every person in the store during daylight hours falls into one of two categories: an upper-middle class, white, stay-at-home mother; or her child, sitting in the cart, greedily grabbing items off of the shelves.
When I visited to get some Christmas goodies last week, I felt out of place, not only because I didn’t fall into one of the categories, but because I have no intention of being a middle-aged mother who spends the work day blowing away cash at Homesense. I just want to stay in my 20s, spending the work day skipping class and blowing away my minimum wage on moderately priced Christmas decor.
Are you living or surviving?
By: Harpreet Singh
How does someone know they are living? Do they know that they are alive because they are breathing? To me, life is worth more than studying, working, breathing, etc. We have a life that is balanced. Isn’t everything in life all about perspective? Life is how you want to live it. We’ve got so much in life that we just don’t realize until we lose it.
Lift yourself away from the things that don’t matter. Be grateful for the things that you have in life. Stop for a moment, look around you, and look within you. Try to find something that you are thankful for and appreciate it, cherish it. Try to look at life from a fresh angle: adjust your focus, change your perspective, and take hold of your life.
You have the ability to steer your life in any way you want — you are the captain of your ship and can decide to set sail in any direction that you want. It is your mentality that matters. It is your attitude that matters. Life is a bumpy ride, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.
What cheers me up when I’m feeling crabby
By:Chandy Dancey
A recent development on the third floor of Building A is a biology lab with newly installed eye candy: an aquarium in plain sight. Every time I pass by I can’t help but slow down and appreciate the starfish that has moved to a new rock, the snails meandering up the glass, or the sea anemones swaying in the current created by the filter. My favourite though is when I catch a crab grabbing a bite to eat. It’s a lengthy and deliberate process of them cutting little bits of plant, very gingerly gripping the morsel in their pincers, and bringing it in slow motion to their mouths. There’s just something so endearing about their calculated movements and beady, little eyes. It seems like every time I stop by I’m catching sight of a new sea critter friend, like the hermit crabs or the miniscule minnows I noticed the other day. Screw Disney+, now I can watch snippets of The Little Mermaid anytime I want on campus.
Capitalism is still capitalism during the holidays
By: Darien Johnsen
It’s shocking how some people vigorously and aggressively defend capitalism and their “right to shop” on Black Friday. Just because you have the option to shop, it doesn’t mean you should.
Much of our stuff comes with a bloody price tag. Labour conditions continue to be a problem in places where the minerals for our laptops and iPhones are mined. Garment workers are still struggling for their rights in countries where our clothing is made — how is it that we all feel so entitled to buying cheap stuff that we literally do not care if people die or suffer to make it? Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Capitalism has brainwashed our society into thinking we need things we don’t need, and it’s sad to see people not just accept it, but defend their “right to shop.” People are vigorously defending a system that is leaving them broke. Is there really no compassion anymore? No care for our environment? This is just selfish, indulgent, harmful overconsumption — and it is heartbreaking.
Illustrations: Kelly Ning
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after.
She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.