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This Is Us Kaila Gallacher
Hunter Weaymouth
Victoria Venpin Melanie Gazvoda Roshni Nayar Carly Balestreri Marvin Darkwa Julia Usher Cassie Weir Avery-Rose Hamilton Teodora Vilotijevic Victoria Ann Kaila Gallacher Eduardo Guerra
Kaela Cordero Nicole Moos Pyper Johnston Reann Bast Megan Desousa Inna Gordeyeva Joshua Cea Melissa Nicole Amelia Calo Megha Rethinasamy Shamus Quinn Nima Salimi
Kalli Jones
Amelia Calo
Jena Angra Meaghan Gonsalves Ha-Yun Holly Yoon Sharyl Man Victoria Collins Thanh Dang Khadija Bari Zornitsa Stoimenova
Bailey Paniszczyn Daniel Fong Maria Guna Abigail Wiley Laur Brewin Daye Oh Matteo De Sanctis Maria Elizabeth Muia
Thanh Dang Sarah Shahab Eliza Szymak
Yuhan Shi Hashneet Choudhary John Sanchez
Nicole Williamson Laura Bourbonnais Siddharth Koyal Kamesha Ramnarine Erin Dagenais John Doyle Caroline Febbraro Miske Ahmed Serena Lam Thanh Dang
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A Peek Inside Letter From the Editors Nov/Dec SoCul Calendar
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January Creative Challenge Poppies
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What the holidays look like to me Home Once Upon a Holiday Hot Coco Beacons New Year’s Resolution The Distance between our Loved Ones The Unattainable List I Don’t Believe in Resolutions, But I Believe in Change-
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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
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FROM OUR EDITOR-IN CHIEF
WELCOME TO OUR November/December double-issue readers! read about in this issue, can be just as semester is already so close to being have already ended.
are still so many unknowns.
With the coming holiday season, our lives start revolving less around school work and homework, and more around the
In this issue we have some incredible poetry and writing to share with
-whatever that means to you. It becomes
Remembrance Day, thought-provoking meditations on what the holiday season means, and questions about New Years
around us, but on slowing down and season--however you celebrate and the New Year. many, we here at the Artichoke want Kaila Gallacher (she/her)
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FROM OUR ASSISTANT EDITOR
HEY FOLKS, Winter is here! I don’t know about
to every year. We’ve got a special double issue coming out this month, so be sure to check out all the holiday themed content coming your way, as well everything you need to know about Winter time at York. Plus, the Artichoke challenge is back again this month. Be sure to check it
our social media! Stay warm, Hunter Weaymouth (he/him) Assistant Editor
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FROM OUR DESIGN EDITOR
HEY WINTERS, We are delighted to bring you this holiday double issue that will include up-to-date, high-quality, and original winter themed contributions. The holiday season is something we all know and love, gatherings, or simply a much needed school break. As colder days come near, you with warmth and motivation, maybe even enough so to participate in our next creative challenge! Happy holidays, Kalli Jones (she/her) Design Editor
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BY JOHN MAYBERRY, ETC.
ndar
So C u l
a C le
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Nov 15th 8pm-11pm
TBD TBD
Nov 24th
Game Night
Salsa Sunday
8pm-11pm
Holiday Jam Sessions w/ CASA
Nov 29th
Holiday Word Night
Dec 3rd
Holiday Murder Mystery
8pm-10pm
7pm-10pm
Dec 7th 8pm-11pm
Holiday Hangouts/Gingerbread House Making (Chill Event)
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JANUARY PROMPTS CHANGE& GROWTH CREATIVE CHALLENGE:
in our upcoming magazine and on our social media. “Challenge and Acceptance”
sometimes. It’s good to question where we are and where we want to be. Or trying to learn to accept challenges as
“New Year’s Intentions” Will you be making any changes in the New What New Year’s resolutions or intentions
CREATIVE
Guidelines: • There are no rules as to what you can create • Write, draw, take a photo, or create in any medium you choose • As long as it is inspired by or addresses the given prompt(s) you may get an opportunity to have your entry published in the Artichoke! To Enter: • Either send us a message or tag us on • Alternatively, email your entries to wintersfreepress@winterscouncil.com
reach out.
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POPPIES
CREATIVE
BY INNA GORDEYEVA
OPEN POPPIES Broken hearts Remembering Times in the dark Ascended soldiers Looking down And their commander Is so damn proud The generations In this round Look at the poppies On the ground They make no sound But speak so loud They are the souls Which once came down
Oh, thank you poppies! See you around
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what the holidays look like to me
BY CAROLINE FEBBRARO
LIFESTYLE
SIPPING HOT COCOA
and presents waiting to be torn apart.
garland and tinsel strung across the evergreen tree, carollers in the streets singing merrily. candles glowing in every home,
but, the holidays are more than just these heights, they are not just about sugar, ribbons, and pretty lights. and giving to others so they too can celebrate happily.
and tell people you know you love them galore. it is time to consider what more you can do.
that is what the holidays look like to me.
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HOME ONCE UPON A HOLIDAY
LIFESTYLE
speakers, her backpack slung over a kitchen chair,
practice.
sparkles during the season, hallway, hand decorated postcards and letters strung around the stairs,
mom curses dad out in the attic, ornaments old and new breaking on the way down, heads and egos bruised alike,
when dad plugs in the lights outside, up on his ladder; he waits, knees wobbly with vertigo.
better go back up to the attic to
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HOT COCOA
LIFESTYLE
BY JULIA USHER
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON and just enough snow to put a skip in your step. The lights on the tree will shine brighter this year,
playing ball hockey on my driveway, and laughter that hurt so good,
I’ve always been a winter person,
with a lit scented candle that smells like hot cocoa,
The holidays come and go like leaves on the trees; We must cherish every happy moment until we take down the Christmas lights,
Then comes January,
I like to take things day by day, pop some champagne and bring in the new year with great expectations, surrounded by the people I love.
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BEACONS BY KAILA GALLACHER
LIFESTYLE
TWINKLING LIGHTS ON dark, icy nights show there is immense power in bringing your own light to the darkness
how it hurts we will always be children playing make believe holding warmth on empty streets.
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LIFESTYLE
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION BY INNA GORDEYEVA
IN THE MIDST Accepted what I should release Inviting rays, give them permission To warm my heart, let the cold cease I play no part, I only witness The sun showers me in kisses Nothing here and nothing missing
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THE DISTANCE BET OUR LOVED ONES
LIFESTYLE
ETWEEN
BY: JOSHUA CEA
ONE OF THE directed towards our parents and
topic: Coronavirus and the disruption it has brought to our relatives. We’re two years into this pandemic,
time as a child is stuck in school, let’s be honest with ourselves, how with those who were our classmates
we knew or through secondhand experience. Coming to grips with death has always been something we lives, yet we never come to expect it to
like a revolving door, as people
in our lives, seeing us develop and as we grow older, our parents age, becoming more vulnerable and
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Most young people living in this country a loved one pass away is something that no one should experience yet the world, and with globalization coming to a gripping halt, travelling to see those
go through a similar situation every religion. Covid-19 has made us aware there are some who still stubbornly express otherwise either through
LIFESTYLE
It’s hard saying goodbye when you’re behind a phone/tablet, as nothing will ever replace being physically there as you see
eternal 2020, I and many others who I have gotten worse as we progress deeper into
is living to see a new tomorrow, because in all honesty, how many people did not get
Today, embrace those you love the most
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The Unattainable List BY MISKE AHMED
THE YEAR IS ending. The anxiety is building. The list is appearing.
same resolution that I wrote last year. Yes, call me a dreamer. I am an expert on how to dream but achieving is the part that I never reach. December is the
The year is ending. The anxiety is building. The list is appearing.
LIFESTYLE
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LIFESTYLE
I DON’T BELIEVE IN RESOLUTIONS, BUT I BELIEVE IN CHANGE BY MELANIE ROSE GAVODA
TIME IS NOT to be rushing by at an alarming rate this year: my last year at York University. There is something so
Although some may disagree (‘some’ including me), New Year’s resolutions are not tangible. I cannot trust resolutions, but I believe in change.
thing is, they actually believe in it. I don’t mean to be so pessimistic, but with the way our current society is progressing into the digital realm, with Instagram celebrities who seem to do it all, it is hard to believe that us individuals are growing. It seems like every new TikTok is innovative. This bleeds into killer
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these tasks, like completing a book. Have a set
talk. This will not motivate you. Only words and
LIFESTYLE
My advice: just be. Change comes whether we like it or not, but improvement comes when you accept what is and who you are. I’m sure you’ve heard it takes close to a month to develop a strong habit. A healthy,
writing, etc. every single day. Do what you can and
days you can’t do something. You will get there
I don’t believe in resolutions because they only last a week, yet I think we all better ourselves in time, with the right mindset
“CHANGE COMES WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, BUT IMPROVEMENT COMES WHEN YOU ACCEPT WHAT IS AND WHO YOU ARE.”
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