No waves
By Darien Johnsen
There’s one important and possibly overlooked hard-hitting news story from the Valley this week: they’ve cancelled waves. I’m not going to rehash what everyone is already shouting about on Facebook by bringing up the amount of rain that’s fallen in the Valley. We’ve all hauled out our arks and gotten to work or school, just to find out that work or school has been closed, and come back home soaked and in need of new socks.
But I went to the Matsqui Rec Centre the other day just to find that they’ve taken the waves out of the wave pool, folks. That’s right, you read that correctly. I walked right into that building and was faced with the most atrocious of signs that read: “No Waves.” They even went as far as to underline it — how bold! It is a wave pool! How could you take the waves out of a wave pool? At first, I was kind of like yeah, okay, we’ve all got enough physical and metaphorical waves in our lives right now; but upon reflection, I was outraged.
Waves are a challenge, for sure, but they can also be fun in a controlled and safe environment that’s surrounded by lifeguards and parents ready to shout at said lifeguards should your cousin drag you down when he’s drowning (totally didn’t happen to me at a wave pool once). This doesn’t mean we should eliminate waves. I advocate for quite the opposite, actually: more waves! They make us stronger swimmers.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
By Steve Hartwig
Every year, after summer has long faded from view and the autumn leaves are finally at rest on the ground, I want it to snow. Not slushy, soak through your clothes kind of snow, but the light, fluffy snowflakes that rest on your shoulders and melt on your tongue. I miss the exciting first days of snowfall. You know, the kind of snowstorm where the streets fall silent, the world seems to stop, and the mountains are calling?
I want winter snow to pile up like I experienced in the Cariboo and on the Canadian prairies. The snow reached between two and three feet high and stayed for months. At first, the focus was on finding the biggest hill to sled and ride crazy carpets. Skiing and snowboarding were almost affordable enough that anyone could do it. In the days after road crews cleared the roads and parking lots, the monstrous piles of snow were dug and shaped to create forts and caves. Snow ball fights were honourable. We played until our parents called us inside.
I can vividly see my mom standing in the doorway as she called to us. It was time to end our adventures for another day and the hot chocolate was ready. Now, I’m the one to put on my mom’s apron, dangle a lit cigarette off my lip, and put my hair in curlers while I call in the kids. Hot chocolate anyone?
Social media woes
By Chandy Dancey
I say this with the utmost respect and love for the internet, but social media is exhausting. I was practically raised by the internet: starting from an early age, I used it to connect with others, ask embarrassing questions, and even used it to learn how to drive. I will be the first to defend the web and say it’s one of the best things to happen to me. And yet, I can’t deny how it’s evolved.
The “algorithm” is this rapidly churning machine of viral content, distilling everything into the most clickable, digestible seconds. Memes are being born one day and becoming outdated the next in a vicious turn over cycle. Social media is almost entirely fake and ends up making you feel worse about yourself and your seemingly boring life. Trends not only turn over fast, but they also feed into overconsumption and capitalism like vampires: you need to buy this, this, and this to be trendy, or you face being irrelevant. Sex sells, and media companies know this and incorporate it into their algorithm to constantly deliver the most banging bodies to your feed — but only the male gaze, obviously. Parasocial relationships are rampant, to the point where it can hinder one’s ability to connect with others in real life.
Why am I in my 20s and already feel like a boomer who can’t get behind social media anymore? Why are we in the most digitally connected time on Earth, yet millennials and gen Z are some of the loneliest generations? Why am I so tired of the internet?
Daylight savings sucks
By Sydney Marchand
Every fall, when daylight savings time comes rolling around, I am reminded of how much the weather affects me this time of year. Although I won’t complain about gaining an extra hour of sleep (for one day), I will absolutely complain about it getting dark out at 4:00 p.m. and me losing all possible motivation to be productive.
Even if I wanted to try to start my day early, it’s still dark until about eight in the morning. So, it’s not like I would be gaining any of the “happy vibes” that I get from sunlight anyway. Finding the motivation to do homework, pick up evening shifts at work, or attend night classes feels like that much more of a task now that fall weather has peaked. I mean, sure, the darkness isn’t the only thing that sucks about this time of year; it’s this whole season of gloom, really. The dreaded rain, atmospheric rivers, hazardous winds, and now tornadoes?! We have promptly passed the prime of pumpkin spice and have been thrown into the season of hibernation and seasonal depression. Anyone else struggling? Less than 120 days until spring and the sweet, sweet sunshine. Just saying.
Images: Iryna Presley/The Cascade
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.
Steve is a third-year BFA creative writing/visual arts student who’s been a contributing writer, staff writer and now an editor at The Cascade. He's always found stories and adventures but now has the joy of capturing and reporting them.
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.
Sydney is a BA English major, creative writing student, who has been a content contributor for The Cascade and is now the Opinion editor. In 7th grade, she won $100 in a writing contest but hasn’t made an earning from writing since. In the meantime, she is hoping that her half-written novels will write themselves, be published, and help pay the bills.
