#fridaysforchange
By: Carissa Wiens
I attended my very first protest this weekend. In front of the Abbotsford City Hall from 2-4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, a crowd of us locals protested for our leaders to take action towards the state of our environment.Â
Two local girls were the ringleaders of the protest. They whipped up several chants for the crowd to join them in. These girls showed no hesitation in their actions as grungy men in large trucks shouted angrily at them while they drove by. These girls wore green shirts. These girls were eventually given a bullhorn to make their statements louder.Â
These girls are the people who are teaching us adults how to get angry at our leaders’ failures. They’re teaching us how to drop our commitments, even for two hours, and fight for our rights to a future. These girls are my inspiration going forward.
Summer project
By: Andrea Sadowski
I often retreat into my phone during breaks, not to scroll through Facebook or Instagram to look at other people’s exciting lives, but to take a mini vacation in my camera roll to bring me back to the summer.Â
I worked on a fishing lodge that floated on a barge about two hours away from Bella Bella. I had two summer projects: read the  Lord of the Rings trilogy and grow out all my body hair. I could not make it through the classic works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but I did manage not to pick up a razor all summer. It was amazing. It’s a strange feeling to return to society and need to once again conform to its beauty standards. I loved not shaving so much that maybe I’ll turn it into my fall project, and winter project, and even spring project. Let’s just see how long my armpit hair will grow by the time summer rolls around.Â
On the edge of being homesick
By: Aneesha Narang
Sitting on the edge, the edge of your thoughts, the edge of your mind; feeling lost in your thoughts. Missing the homeland that is refreshing and nourishing. Letting everything out with emotions of joy, tears, and safety. I am so lost in the world I am in, wishing to grow up as I age, but then reminiscing on childhood memories, wishing they could last a bit longer. The eager moments with family and loved ones that we wish can be with us in the moment. Some may call it a distraction to get away from school work, while others feel the true meaning of being homesick.
In the end, we are all stuck in the same place doing what we think is best for our future, but does feeling sad and lost in a place for over four years bring any joy or laughter? Probably not. The only thing that keeps you going is the perseverance of getting through your degree to accomplish better things. However, the time until it comes can become dreadful and saddening at times, leading to mental health issues ?— feeling lost upon the clouds.
Lesbian icon: Gomez Addams
By: Mikaela Collins
Lesbians can’t agree on a flag, but we can agree on one thing: loving Gomez Addams. Why do we love this mustachioed, maybe-Spanish, Gothic casanova? Why does he speak to the depths of our souls? Dear reader, I know why: because he loves his wife.Â
Gomez Addams absolutely, incontrovertibly, passionately, and earnestly loves his wife. The Addamses have always reversed the ubiquitous ball-and-chain trope, where the useless husband and his nagging (read: overworked) wife say that they love each other, but don’t seem to like each other — and when you’re a woman who is alienated by that model, which is one of the most common ways attraction to women is reflected in our media landscape, exceptions are important.
Gomez and Morticia are a happy, healthy, supportive married couple. The thought of even looking at another woman is inconceivable to Gomez; the thought of not supporting his wife in her endeavours to seek out the forces of darkness and join their hellish crusade, even more so. And so, Gomez stands, breaking the waves of a sea of unhealthy media portrayals of attraction to women, and we lesbians answer with a single, resounding cry:
Mood.Â
Illustrations: Kelly Ning/The Cascade
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
