The worst breakup I’ve ever had
By Andrea Sadowski
Let me tell you about the worst breakup I ever had. I left this boy because our lives were going in two different directions: he was staying put while I was moving on to bigger and better things. You see, I couldn’t take him with me because he was a cat who belonged to the nice lady who I used to rent a room from.
His name was Hector, and we became best friends the moment I moved in. He rested his bulky frame on my chest, rubbed his face against mine, and in doing so declared, “you are mine now.” He was by my side at every moment of the day or night, save for those two precious points in the day when he would share a tin of wet-food with the five other cats of the house. He comforted me after tearful breakups; he sat on my lap as I was stressing over research papers; he was a constant, calming presence in turbulent times.
It is speciesist to think that we can’t experience a deep love and friendship with an animal just because they don’t look like us or communicate like us. They have complex thoughts and emotions just like we do. You can develop deep connections with animals just as you do with humans — so deep that losing them causes the most intense of heartbreaks. Science may call it an interspecies oxytocin-mediated positive loop, I call it love.
I’ll put it on my tab, please
By Chandy Dancey
I am very particular about how I arrange my tabs on my web browser. When doing research or diving into a topic, I like to arrange my most important tabs on the left so I know not to touch them. Then from there I like to have about… 20 or so other tabs open to the right. Sometimes I even like to arrange different windows on my browser to have different categories of tabs (one being research related, another housing my study music and email, etc.). There’s something so convenient about having all your sources open and available at your fingertips at any moment. I hate closing a tab and having to dig through my references to open it again. I mean, when a detective works, they normally lay out all the evidence in front of them, right?
While some may say a “cluttered” web browser takes up mental space and makes them feel overwhelmed, it actually feels quite natural to me. I’m a proud maximalist, not a minimalist, when it comes to tabs. And the satisfaction of closing all those tabs one after another when you’re done with a work session? Unparalleled. That serotonin keeps me going for the rest of the day. Now, be honest: does it sound like I have a problem?
Baked goods made with stress
By Sydney Marchand
As someone who suffers from an anxiety disorder, I’m already considered a pretty stressed-out person. But during finals season, I hit a different level of stress.
But let me tell you, nothing has calmed my nerves more than my new coping mechanism — baking. Seriously. Cookies, pastries, muffins, cakes, brownies, loaves, bread — oh, the bread; sweet, glorious bread. My house turns into a damn bakery the moment I start to feel panicked. There is something so satisfying about turning on a podcast, flipping through an old fashioned cookbook, and spending an hour or so completely lost in a creative hobby and distracted from reality. Any pressure I feel from professors, work, or myself just doesn’t feel as daunting when I’m measuring ingredients and whisking them together.
Honestly, I think that the mindless act of baking helps to remind me that I am capable of success. I mean, it’s almost like a guaranteed accomplishment. In 30 minutes, I’ll have two dozen cookies. In an hour, I’ll have banana bread to stuff my face with. It’s a predictable (and satisfying) outcome that calms my nerves and self-doubt — and let’s be honest, it’s pretty damn delicious.
Finding peace in the storm of our lives
By Darien Johnsen
I’ve found myself in some pretty interesting situations as we near the end of the semester. At one point when I was up far past my bedtime, agonizing over the woes of life in order to have a good excuse not to finish my final paper, I swear I turned into Jack from The Shining. I just started typing nonsense and laughing at my own jokes with mangled hair and a glass of whiskey beside me. It was not a pretty sight. But this past Sunday was the second week of Advent, and my church focused on peace, which was perfect for me because I often feel like the least peaceful person. And, lucky me, my pastor chose me to present the opening message, so I was forced to contemplate peace all week.
There is a type of peace that comes when we attempt to rationalize our way out of the tough emotions that come along with struggles of life. It’s a type of worldly self-assurance that often only results in a stifling of emotions. But there is also a type of peace that comes from God. Paul said in the book of Philippians: “With thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” By honestly and vulnerably lifting up our problems and burdensome emotions to God, we can access His peace right in the middle of the storm of our lives. How awesome is that?
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.
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.
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.
