The Carillon - Volume 65, Issue 6

The unfortunate truth is that little has been done to meet the 94 calls to action put out in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, and the results are salient. Here in Saskatchewan it is displayed in dispropor tionate levels of houselessness, poverty, unor underemployment, overdoses, teenage pregnancies, and suicide for Indigenous peoples, just to name a few.

Many will be spending this Truth and Reconciliation Day in mourning, and if you are someone without reason to we’d urge you to make time to educate yourself on the calls to action and your part in seeing them through.

carillon

the staff editor-in-chief holly funk editor@carillonregina.com business manager jacob nelson business@carillonregina.com production manager shae sackman production@carillonregina.com advertising manager holden norrie ads@carillonregina.com

communications mehrnoush bahramimehr comms@carillonregina.com

technical editor thomas czinkota tech@carillonregina.com

multimedia/graphics editors multimedia@carillonregina.com safal gangwani graphics@carillonregina.com lee lim

copy editor aurel dumont copyeditor@carillonregina.com news editor gillian massie news@carillonregina.com

a&c editor vacant arts@carillonregina.com s&h editor vacant sports@carillonregina.com op-ed editor hammad ali op-ed@carillonregina.com distribution manager chandra wassill distribution@carillonregina.com

staff writer amina salah

staff writer victoria baht staff writer bodie robinson

news writer vacant a&c writer jorah bright s&h writer sophia stevens contributors rayanne gwilliam, amir said, dhruval shah

board of directors holly funk, jacob nelson and honourary members: shiva souri, jorah bright, hammad ali, shae sackman, and amina salah

the paper

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The Carillon welcomes contributions.

Opinions expressed in the pages of the Carillon are entirely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Carillon Newspaper Inc. Opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in the Carillon are those of the advertisers, and not necessarily of The Carillon Newspaper Inc. or its staff.

The Carillon is published no less than 11 times each semester during the fall and winter semesters and periodically throughout the sum mer. The Carillon is published by the Carillon Newspaper Inc., a non-profit organization.

land acknowledgement

The Carillon is written on treaty four territory. As such, the staff recognize that we are living, working, and telling stories on and of Indigenous lands. We recognize that we are on the traditional homelands of the Nakota, Lakota, and Dakota peoples, along with the homeland of the Métis nation. The Carillon understands that it is pointless to acknowledge the land on which we work without speaking to our commitment to telling stories and prioritizing voices that further the return of the land to its place sacred place in the cultures of those that live here.

the manifesto

In keeping with our reckless, devil-may-care image, our office has absolutely no concrete information on the Carillon’s formative years readily available. What follows is the story that’s been passed down from editor to editor for over sixty years.

In the late 1950s, the University of Regina planned the construction of several new buildings on the campus grounds. One of these pro posed buildlings was a beltower on the academic green. If you look out on the academic green today, the first thing you’ll notice is that it has absolutely nothing resembling a belltower.

The University never got a belltower, but what it did get was the Car illon, a newspaper that serves as a symbolic bell tower on campus, a loud and clear voice belonging to each and every student.

the people’s friend; the tyrant’s foe

news

Tuition is rising, parking is impossible, and winter is coming. One student has gone to great lengths to solve the parking problem.

s&h

Step into fall by stepping into some thoughts on the latest hike Victoria Baht has gone on! Nicolle flats in Buf falo Pound has all the fall foilage you could possibly dream of.

The University of Regina Students’ Newspaper Since 1962 september 29, 2022 | volume 65, issue 6 | carillonregina.com Class is back in person, and Amina Salah takes the time to write about les sons learned, expectations dashed, and how to be okay with moving forward when things haven’t gone how you thought they would.

Holly

Emily Ritenburg of Ahora Pride speaks on the lack of access to services individuals seeking counselling are fac ing while existing in systems that are homophobic and transphobic.

Learn more about Sarah-Tai Black’s merging of activism and liberation with artist expression with a look at the Dunlop’s exhibition of each of us, beloved

that car

Learn about what a music therapist does and what music therapy’s approach is in an interview with Morgan Mueller

Demand for affordable queer counselling not being met

gillian massie news editor

After witnessing budgets slashed and programs cut, Emily Riten burg created her own counselling service to suit the unique experi ences of queer people in Regina and the surrounding area. But with many of her clients being students, Ritenburg is concerned that students do not have enough funds to help them get the proper consultation they need.

“We’re not able to offer free services,” said Ritenburg, who created Ahora Pride Counselling & Consulting. “We’re able to of fer sliding scale affordable coun selling to folks. I work with a lot of students because their student benefits cover our services.”

Sliding scale fees allow for adjusted fees depending on an individual’s income. It is an equi table way for someone to pay for different services. Many students may run into trouble because they do not qualify for sliding scale fees. They may work a minimal amount, or not at all. Many stu dents resort to using their benefits through the University of Regina to afford counselling.

“What we’re experiencing is we cannot meet the demand for people who need sliding scale af fordable counseling,” said Riten burg. “We have waitlist for our sliding scale services, because Ahora Pride serves the Universi ty of Regina and the entire com munity. So, students were finding their insurance is limited, and they’ve got enough for probably about five sessions.”

Student benefits are currently around $500 for each University of Regina student per semester. However, Ritenburg said the cost for a session is anywhere between $100 and $180.

“Once they use up their in surance for those five sessions, most of the time they can’t afford to keep going unless they can get it on a sliding scale,” said Riten burg. “The demand that we’re

plained that Ahora Pride sees a large majority of queer students, who need counselling sessions with a focus on the unique ex periences of queer people and challenges they face through ho mophobic or transphobic systems.

The University of Regina currently provides a free counsel ling service to all of its students.

A Carillon article by Hammad Ali posted November 11, 2021 re counted some of the complaints made by students that had attend ed sessions from counselling ser vices on campus. Many students saw long wait times and brief ap pointments that did not achieve goals of the clients. Moreover, many students found counsellors were not prepared to deal with S2LGBTQIA+ issues.

With 30 to 40 per cent of Ahora Pride clients representing University of Regina students, Ritenburg explained it is essential that students have a safe place to work against any microaggres sions, transphobia, or homopho bia they may experience in their day-to-day lives.

“I like to remind people that queer people, whether it’s gender diverse or sexually diverse, don’t experience mental health issues because they are queer or because they’re trends,” said Ritenburg. “They’re experiencing mental health issues because they’re ex isting within systems that are ho mophobic and transphobic.”

Ahora Pride gives people the opportunity to access a counsellor from the comfort of their own home, being a completely online counselling and consultation ser vice. There, counsellor and client can adjust for re-occurring ses sions.

“We’re often talking about things related to heteronorma tivity,” said Ritenburg. “That is the assumption that heterosexu ality and being cisgender are the defaults. Lot of the students I work with are dealing with those kinds of microaggressions where they’re going to a class and their professors misgenders, or their

not able to meet is the affordable counseling.”

The current graduate Social Work student explained that in order to make any progress with clients, they typically need more than three sessions of counsel ling services. More sessions allow for more appointments, rapport building, and better goal-setting between clients and therapists. Furthermore, Ritenburg ex

classmates, misgender them. They’re feeling like it’s not safe to address those kinds of things in class.”

When Ritenburg first began Ahora Pride in in 2018, she had many clients because there was a lack of S2LGBTQIA+ resourc es and a large demand for queer counselling on campus.

“I was turning people away,

and I remember thinking I should just hire another counsellor, but I want to go through the process of like vetting these counselors that I’d be referring people, to make sure that they are queer informed and that they understand sort of the unique experiences of queer people.”

Ritenburg now has four counsellors operating at Ahora Pride and they are able to take on many more clients but, prior to this, they explained they were turning away 10 people every month, which was “really disap pointing.”

The vetting process can be laborious, according to Riten

burg. Many older counsellors do not have proper queer-informed training to responsibly deal with S2LGBTQIA+ mental health wellness.

“I believe that this is some thing that all counselors should be able to do,” said Ritenburg. “But

“It’s really nice when people reach out to me and I can’t help them out. […] That I can refer them to somebody who I trust is going to be understanding of kind of like those unique mental health issues that queer people experience,” said Ritenburg.

When mental health issues remain undealt with, they can manifest and turn into something much more dangerous, according to Ritenburg. Subsidizing coun selling programs is important to Ritenburg so that mental illness can be better tackled, and to work towards the better goals of the patients.

often, they can’t. I went through a process of screening new counsel ors that can join me and I’m con fident with the people that I was able to work with, that they can offer those services.”

Typical hires at Ahora Pride are normally newly-graduated post-secondary students because they have had queer and trau ma-informed backgrounds.

“I would advocate for the Government of Saskatchewan, or the City of Regina, to be ex panding accessibility to mental health services, because right now free mental health services are not cutting it. Expanding that fund ing to at least subsidize or create programs that make it free or more accessible through govern ment funding, where they have a profound impact on the overall health of Saskatchewan.”

editor: gillian massie news@carillonregina.com the carillon | september 29, 2022

Students continue to be without low-cost, crucial services

news

Who’s ready for that special brand of holiday anxiety and depression?

Photo: Lee Lim

“

they use up their insurance for those five sessions, most of the time they can’t afford to keep going unless they can get it on a sliding scale. The demand that we’re not able to meet is the affordable counseling.”

3 Emily Ritenburg

Free Narcan kits welcomed on campus

After an eventful Dis-Orientation week, a different kind of first-aid kit was left on campus for stu dents. Narcan kits are available for free at the University of Re gina. Many consider this to be long overdue in the wake of the opioid crisis Canada is facing na tionwide.

Narcan, which is one of the most popular brands of naloxone, was made available at the Univer sity of Regina for the first time during Dis-Orientation Week 2022. The introduction of the kits was accompanied by an in-person workshop on how to properly use them, which was facilitated by Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG) board member Kale McLellan. The Narcan training description stated that “Saskatchewan has been experi encing a record number of opioid poisonings leading to hundreds of preventable deaths each year.”

Members of the campus community, like First Nations University student Alaska Bigea gle, welcome the arrival of Nar can kits on campus. As an Indig enous Social Work student with a background in harm reduction and community outreach, Bigea gle knows full well the importance of raising awareness about nal oxone and making it accessible.

“More people have died from the opioid crisis than COVID-19 in

Canada. Growing up in Vancou ver and working with Downtown Eastside’s vulnerable population, getting Narcan training is just the standard. I never realized how many people accidentally overdose. Harm reduction saves lives.”

Bigeagle currently works in harm reduction in inner-city Re gina, where she continues to work with populations who are at risk of succumbing to Saskatchewan’s ever-growing overdose crisis.

“Getting students trained in Nar can use is a great start. Education is important to abolishing the stig ma surrounding drug use. People who use drugs are still people, and we must show them kindness and humility.”

Narcan kits are available for free at the offices of the Univer sity of Regina Students’ Union (URSU) and UR Pride on the second floor of the Riddell Cen tre. While reception has been positive overall among the cam pus community, controversy still exists around opioid usage and naloxone. Ariana Giroux, UR Pride’s Interim Executive Direc tor, remains a firm proponent of the importance of naloxone.

“There’s still a lot of stigma around naloxone, around intrave nous drug use, when realistically, people are going to use whether or not you look like a bad person carrying naloxone on you. […]

It doesn’t matter whether they’re an intravenous drug user, let’s just

save their life.”

While many view naloxone as unnecessary and unsafe, and some even believe it to encour age the use of opioids among the population, Giroux vehemently disagrees. “Narcan and naloxone should be a part of first aid train ing in the first place. It’s easy and completely safe. If you make a mistake or give somebody Narcan

when they’re not actually in a lifeor-death situation, it’s still com pletely safe. There’s no real side effects, so why shouldn’t we all be trained and have that opportunity to save someone’s life? […] If you can save somebody from dying, isn’t that a good thing? There’s no reason not to have Narcan avail able for students on campus.”

Students who are interest

ed in receiving their free Narcan kits on campus are encouraged to visit the URSU front desk or UR Pride. Training is easily ac cessible, with naloxone kits and training additionally being avail able for Saskatchewan residents at numerous health-based and community organizations across the province.

Student works around parking prices by hiking from off-campus area

Paved over and priced out

Welcome back to campus. It’s been a traumatic two years. We’ve been through a lot, but thankfully things are becoming more nor mal – whatever that means. Infla tion is at 7 per cent. It hasn’t been this bad in decades. Also, here’s a tuition hike of 3.5 per cent. And, if you’re an international student, thank you for keeping this uni versity financially feasible. Your $10,000 tuition fees per semester certainly go a long way to balance the budget. It’s great to be back, isn’t it?

On top of inflation, tuition hikes, and runaway prices, stu dents are also expected to pay what seem to be exorbitant prices for parking. If you want to park somewhere reasonably close on campus, expect to pay between $650 to $800 a year.

Rising costs of living, tuition hikes, inflation, and terrible wag es make the prospect of attending university more and more unten able. The University of Regina’s Comprehensive Budget Plan for 2022-2023 states that the univer sity is relying on increased enrol ment to make up for the deficit – which is expected to be about $3.5 million this year. But if the university wants to increase en rolment, then why do more and more barriers to entry keep ap pearing?

Many students are expressing frustration at rising costs, espe cially related to parking. By this, I mean students are pissed off that they have to pay over $600 a year to rent a parking stall. $600 a year for a 120 square foot slab of concrete in the flattest part of the western hemisphere. What gives?

When prices get prohibitively high, human ingenuity comes to the fore: Kramer Boulevard and Centennial Street being constant ly packed with cars, more and more people are trying to find ways to skip the parking pass and leave cars off-campus. Nico Sulli van, a first-year Nursing student, explained his experience parking, or lack of, on the campus. For Sul livan, driving his own car is more expensive, but better utilizes time out of his day.

“I have to drive to school,” said Sullivan. “It takes me 15 minutes to drive there. If I took the bus, it would take 40 minutes to an hour. One of the transit routes has two bus transfers; I just decided to drive.”

With high prices of parking passes, Sullivan cannot afford to park on campus. Getting onto campus turf requires a hike each time he needs to attend classes. “I park on a residential street and then I walk about 15 minutes to class on average,” explained Sul livan. “It depends on where I can get a parking spot.”

Sullivan will continue this trend into the winter. He said

this trend will continue unless there is a cheaper option to park on campus. “The cheaper passes are about $55 a month, but that’s nearly half my monthly food bud get,” said Sullivan. “The cheapest pass is about $153 a semester, but the lot is way out in the boonies. So why not just park in a residen tial area for free?”

Even before the pandemic hit and prices went up, Sullivan was still making the great hike through the residential area, past McDonald’s and through the in tersection onto campus, because the price to park was too high.

Thousands of dollars each semester go into attending class es, and students are still getting

gouged by the high costs of park ing. Parking tickets continue to leave students’ wallets a little bit lighter.

The Carillon has reached out to Parking Services for a re sponse, and expects to receive one by next issue.

amir said contributor

A lifesaving skill, with the correct tools to do it

A far more useful resource than the provincial government putting up a billboard that says “Don’t do Drugs.”

Photo: Jeff Anderson via Flickr

The price of a small grocery trip going towards what?

Photo: Holly Funk

bodie robinson staff writer

Media Analysis: a shift in priorities

On September 4, everyone in Saskatche wan learned the name James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN), and a few days later it was overshadowed by the death of only one woman who died at peace in her home.

JSCN is located about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. It has a popula tion of approximately 2,500 people. On that September morning, JSCN became ground zero to one of the worst mass-kill ings in Canadian history. Around 6 a.m., the RCMP was notified of multiple stab bings on the reserve. Shortly afterward, similar calls came from a settler village named Weldon, only 25 kilometres from JSCN. A couple hours later, the RCMP de clared a civil emergency for the whole of Saskatchewan. The suspects had access to a vehicle. By noon, they were believed to be in Regina.

The suspects were two brothers: Damien and Myles Sanderson. It is alleged by the RCMP that Myles, 32, committed all the murders. Damien, 31, acted as an accomplice – a reluctant accomplice, his

10 people and injuring 18 more. There were 13 crime scenes in total. All of the victims except one were from JSCN. The one exception was a male victim who lived in Weldon.

Myles Sanderson had a long history of violence, crime, and substance abuse. In total, Sanderson had 59 convictions for assault, assault with a weapon, assaulting a police officer, uttering threats, and robbery. Sanderson’s parole documents indicate that he began abusing drugs and alcohol in his early teens. The parole documents further claim that Sanderson became rage ful, violent, and erratic when under the influence of alcohol and drugs. He also had a significant history of domestic abuse, especially toward his common-law spouse, Vanessa Burns.

In an interview with Damien Sand erson’s wife, Skye Sanderson, she claimed that Damien frequently felt intimidated and coerced by his brother, Myles. In the months prior to the murder spree, both Damien and Skye were thinking of seek ing help for their own drug and alcohol

drug abuse, it seems that Sanderson’s men tal health was always in very bad condition.

Skye Sanderson claims that the broth ers had been on a drug and alcohol binge before the murders began. Perhaps Myles Sanderson’s mind had become fragment ed, disorganized, and full of blind rage. The motive may remain unclear, but the context of this tragedy is readily apparent.

In an interview with Global News, Skye Sanderson stated she contacted the RCMP the day before the murders began. She told the RCMP that Myles and Damien were drunk and high, and that they had stolen her car. She stated that the only way to prevent the brothers from doing something “stupid” was to put them under arrest for the time being. The RCMP located Skye’s car, but they didn’t find the brothers – until it was too late.

The RCMP were warned about the brothers. Myles was also a fugitive. He had broken his parole months before and he had multiple warrants out for his arrest. Myles had a long history of violence and substance abuse. Specifically, he had a long

Thousands of kilometres away, in a Scot tish castle, a 96-year-old woman was dying. Queen Elizabeth II’s last public statement addressed the JSCN mass-stabbing. On September 7, the queen wrote “I would like to extend my condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the attacks that oc curred this past weekend in Saskatchewan. My thoughts and prayers are with those recovering from injuries and grieving such horrific losses.”

The queen’s death, unsurprisingly, quickly drowned out news about the trag edy at JSCN. If anything, the sudden shift in media attention is an apt analogy. The heinous violence at JSCN was quickly for gotten. The royal drama in the imperial capital flooded the newspapers, at the ex pense of Indigenous people still suffering from colonial violence. Would the news cy cle have looked different if the victims were White? If the murder spree had occurred in Regina or Saskatoon, would the sense less violence feel more immediate, more tragic?

The juxtaposition of the two events

Elizabeth II

family claims – but his role in the killing spree is still unclear.

On September 5, Damien was found dead in a field on JSCN. It is likely that he never left the reserve. Damien appeared to have died from wounds that were not self-inflicted. In other words, he may have been murdered too. On September 7, Myl es was found driving north of Saskatoon. Police arrested him, but soon after he died in custody. The cause of death appears to have been a drug overdose, but it is still in conclusive.

Myles Sanderson is accused of killing

abuse. But, when Myles began turning up at Damien’s house on JSCN this summer, the brothers began another cycle of abuse in their relationship. They began abusing cocaine and crack together. Their condi tions quickly deteriorated, with Myles be coming increasingly erratic, threatening, and violent.

The motive for the mass-killing is still ambiguous. We may never know. Perhaps the motive is itself unknowable. Myles Sanderson was clearly a deeply troubled man. Judging by reports from those who knew him, and his persistent alcohol and

history of domestic abuse. In fact, Sander son spent two years in jail for stabbing his father-in-law in 2015.

Remember that domestic abuse is a strong predictor for future violence. The signs were there. The writing was on the wall. Of course, this could have been pre vented. But this calamity was the culmina tion of many smaller tragedies: the mental health crisis, failure of law enforcement, intergenerational trauma, substance abuse, colonial violence, and so on.

The name JSCN seemed to drop out of the news as quickly as it had appeared.

exposes the Canadian condition. Our at tention shifted so suddenly. For a moment, those people who are so often overlooked, forgotten, and despised came to the fore.

The tragedy at JSCN reminded us that there is still much healing and reconcilia tion left to do. Just as quickly, the people of JSCN were trampled again by images and fanfare celebrating the queen’s life – a pure symbol of settler-colonialism if there ever was one.

Did we forget James Smith Cree Nation?

bodie robinson staff writer

A shift in perspective show where priorities truly lie.

Photo: wikiImages via pixabay and Mariakray via pixabay manipulated by Lee Lim.

““I would like to extend my condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the attacks that oc curred this past weekend in Saskatchewan. My thoughts and prayers are with those recovering from injuries, and grieving such horrific losses.”

arts & culture

What is music therapy and who is it for?

For many of us, music can be enjoyable in many ways. We can use music to help focus on our work, motivate us to workout, break up a long drive, feel a sense of connection to our feelings, have fun with friends, and so much more! Because music can connect with all of us in a variety of different ways, it can be portrayed as being very therapeu tic, and there are even types of therapies that use music to increase people’s well-be ing. The Carillon did an interview with music therapist Morgan Mueller, and we talked about all things music therapy so you can learn some of its benefits.

What is music therapy?

Music therapy is the use of music in a therapeutic environment with the ther apist and the client. […] Using music as the medium […] to achieve non-musical goals. These goals can be focus, attention, turn-taking, and quality of life. It is compa rable to other arts therapies like art thera py, occupational therapy which as well co ordinate in music.

Is this a common, well-known practice in Regina and Saskatche wan?

It appears to be that it is a growing profession. Currently, there is a growing need in our area.

Can you explain the educational process of becoming a music thera pist?

Music therapy right now is offered as a bachelor’s program, only offered at four

different schools in Canada, […] then you can go on to get a master’s if desired, but it is not required to start working. […] Af ter that, you have to do a 1,000-hour in ternship with research and practical hours. Once completed, you write an accredita tion exam where you would achieve the title of Music Therapist Accredited.

What motivated you to choose music therapy as a career?

Music has always been an essen tial part of my life, […] I’ve also wanted to work with people to work together to achieve goals. […] At the first time it was described to me as marrying a psychology degree with a music degree, and using mu sic as your tool to help people.

What is your favourite part about giving people this type of therapy?

My favourite part about giving this type of therapy would be that I get to make music with people. I love music, I’ve always loved playing guitar, singing, piano, […] I just enjoy what comes out of communal music making, whether it’s recreational or in a therapeutic environment. What gets me is that I can do something I really enjoy, and help bring joy and change to others.

How do you hope to go about ex panding your practice?

One of the goals is to bring more peo ple onto the team so that there are more people working with me as a team to pro vide more music therapy to more locations throughout the city, and make it more available to the community.

What are things that people would experience in a session?

In a session I am usually leading with a guitar and singing. I try to get the clients to participate as well by playing with handheld percussion instruments like hand shak er, drums, jingle bells. There as well are body movement involved like clapping that is involved as participation. These activities can help with achieving different goals. I as well like to get the clients up and dance. Do some movement, do some dancing, music making, and creating a communal aspect of this music making for everyone.

What type of people is this typi cally directed for?

Music therapy can be directed for all types of people. The difference is based on what type of goals are you looking for, de pends on what kind of needs you are look ing for. So, music therapy has been used for people with developmental and cognitive delays to help with different goals such as speech, turn taking, focus and attention, repetition. […] I have seen it being used as a method of pain reduction, stress re duction, and anxiety reduction. It has been used for all different types of people, and all different types of things. That is why all different types of people can benefit from music therapy.

What are some different types of accommodations that you make to help others?

The type of accommodations I would make in a session would be to alter the way I am asking a question, delivering a choice to a client. An option would be giving a

client a choice of two songs. […] Then I can hold both cards in one hand and bring their hand close to make a choice by pick ing it up. As well if people have different physical needs, […] I will hold hands and dance with them on the chair or couch, moving their upper body or helping move their feet for them to get some movement in their chair or body.

What types of agencies do you work for?

I work for all different types of agen cies. I work for group homes, school divi sions, daycares, and community support organizations.

Why should someone look into joining or trying out music therapy?

People should look into music therapy if they are looking for any type of positive change in their life. Plus, if they would like to do it in a way [that is] fun, exciting, fa miliar for most people. Music is something that is commonly enjoyed, even if they’re just listening to music. So, it is a great way to make positive change because it is so in nate in all of us.

That concludes our talk with Mueller. He taught me – and hopefully you, read ers – about what music therapy is, some benefits to music therapy, as well as reasons to try out music therapy. I personally have partaken in a music therapy session and have had some personal benefits since, and I have seen that others have benefited from it as well. That is the focus of this article: to teach readers about music therapy so you can learn why it may be beneficial for you.

– Morgan Mueller

victoria baht staff writer

Music therapist Morgan Mueller shares on the area, its focuses and audience, and his favourite aspects

I’ll have what he’s having.

Photo: COR Sutdio

“

I just enjoy what comes out of communal music making, whether it’s recreational or in a therapeutic environment. What gets me is that I can do something I really enjoy, and help bring joy and change to others.”

Dungeons & Dragons for beginners

Dungeon Masters, game instructions, and podcast recommendations - oh my!

jorah bright a&c writer

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a table-top roleplaying game that has seen a resurgence in the last several years. This resurgence has led to lots of new people starting to play the game, and lots of peo ple wanting to play the game, but not knowing where to start. As a D&D player, I often talk about it with people who say “I’ve always wanted to play, but never knew how,” or “I’ve always wanted to play, but have never had people to play it with.” If you’re one of those people, this article is for you.

D&D at its core follows three basic steps: one, describe what your character is going to do; two, roll a dice and add your modifier to see how well you perform what your character tried; and three, the Dungeon Master narrates the outcome of your roll.

The Dungeon Master is the person running the game and leading the story. The players have made their own charac ters for the DM’s world, and you play as those characters as you go about the world, weaving the sto ry of these characters. Characters have abilities and attributes which

follow the rules of the game found in the Player’s Handbook (PHB)

You really don’t need all that much to start playing D&D Lots of people recommend the PHB, the main rulebook for the game, but it’s not entirely neces sary. Most of the information in the PHB can be found online. A full dice set is important, but you don’t absolutely need it because there are online options like apps and websites. All you really need is your character sheet, whether physical or online, and a willing ness to get into the game.

One of the best and fastest ways to learn how to play D&D is to watch someone else play it.

D&D Actual Play shows where people broadcast their D&D games are very popular right now, and can help you understand how it works. I started with Critical Role as many people do, but their episodes and campaigns are long and daunting. If you’re looking for something shorter, I recom mend Dimension 20 for video for mat and Unprepared Casters for audio format. Both have shorter campaigns, and shorter episodes, and are engaging for new and ex perienced players alike.

To actually start playing, you need to find a group; this can be

each of us, beloved

amina salah staff writer

Sarah-Tai Black is a creative who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Their work focuses on liberation and activism intertwined through ar tistic expression. each of us, be loved is an exhibit that has been open for public viewing from July until September 25 at the Dunlop Art Gallery’s Sherwood Village branch. Through my eyes, the ex hibit centers around positive affir mation and self-love.

It is about viewing yourself as someone that is adored; in essence, affirming yourself as a human being worthy of dignity and holding up space regardless of the societal pressures that exist. Ultimately, the most important relationship we have is the one that we have with ourselves. The greatest love you will ever have in your life is yourself. Thus, it’s only fair that we treat ourselves with the same love and compassion we give to others. We spend so much time pouring into other people that we neglect ourselves and for get to fill our own cups. And as we’ve learned from the trials of the pandemic, you cannot pour from an empty cup.

The artist focuses on defying ableism and white supremacy, es pecially their standards for what we should look like and how we should present ourselves. The pieces focus on the world through the lens of Black queer and gen der-diverse individuals. They are serious but also playful. Through them, there is playfulness, fun, but also grief and calmness. The

pieces force us to ponder upon our reality, the freedoms we have, and those that we don’t possess.

It questions what those free doms might look like across the board for different people, what they feel like, and how they are expressed, analyzed, and cri tiqued. As Black puts it, “…the works in both shows [each of us, beloved and for those of us living on the shoreline] act here as ra diant guides in visualizing how we might come to our liberatory movements and acts of care for

the most challenging part. For online games, there are sites like Roll20 that allow you to look for groups, and this is how I got started. There are also Facebook groups and Discord servers for finding and playing games. For in-person, check out your local game store and see if they have any games running, or if your school has a club for it.

The biggest thing when look ing for a group is to know your preferences and play style. D&D has two main features: roleplay ing and combat. Some people prefer roleplaying, and others prefer combat, while some like a mix of both. Once you find what you like, you can look for groups that specifically match your play style. Some groups use safety tools and others don’t; so if you want safety tools in your game, look for a group that utilizes them.

These are very basic steps, and if you have a friend who’s interested too, try and buddy up and look for a group together so you’re not alone. Learning D&D takes time and can seem daunt ing, but it is so much fun once you get the hang of it. Good luck and happy playing!

ourselves and our communities. To bring them together collec tively is a privilege and – even as these artistic practices are per sonal in nature and attributed to their respective individual makers – set in relation to one another they stand as a testament to our connectivity. We must not forget the political function of isolation, of nihilism, of feeling future-less, of assumptions that we are only death-bound.”

The art pieces, in their play fulness, give room for the public

to let go of society’s pessimism, and usher us into an optimistic future where we are able to con template intimacy, care, and cre ative expression. What I enjoyed the most is that the exhibit was cohesive and well-rounded. Some pieces were extremely creative due to the fact that they were made with yarn. Throughout the exhibit, there are hints of yarn and knits in the gallery. All the colors came to life and it made for a very interesting viewing ex perience. I could feel the vibran

cy and the warmth radiating from the pieces. Something I found very philosophical and beautiful was the artist’s belief that “love is a warm quilt on a cold Winni peg night.” This is the best way I could describe each of us, beloved to a stranger. The exhibit felt like a warm embrace on a snowy, cold night with thunderstorms outside. It was a powerful embrace that is very much welcomed in this lone ly, cold world we live in.

An exhibit on self-love that does not hesitate to showcase what makes it so difficult

They’re matched by both colour and number across sets; we admire the organization.

Photo: Jorah Bright

A hand-crafted heaven for those who are (depressed, and) politically involved. Photo: Amina Salah

sophia stevens s&h writer

The Varsity Sports Challenge 2023 is a fundraising effort put on by University of Regina’s athletics to help support Cougar and Ram student athletes. The fundraiser was created in 2020, the year the pandem ic began, as a way to provide funding to U of R sport teams during a period when sponsorship opportunities were limited. The fundraising efforts provide monetary support to U of R teams to allow them to provide more scholarship options to stu dent athletes, and to allow for preseason and offseason opportunities for athletes to compete.

other impact of COVID-19 on small and local businesses affected the teams as well because most of the U of R sports teams work closely with community business and, due to the pandemic, those opportunities for funding and activities were limited. Robertson also mentioned that the cam paign is a struggle this year, which “has to do with inflation. People’s dollars aren’t going as far as they used to, and therefore they can’t be as generous as they used to.”

When asked about why donations are important, Robertson has this to say: “I spoke about the centrally funded or operat ing account. So, my central budget covers

running day camps for future athletes and kids. These fundraising activities provide good monetary support. However, most teams have found that the Varsity Chal lenge has allowed them to receive more funding for their teams. Many student ath letes also rely on scholarship funding to at tend university. Student athletes often have limited time between sports and school to maintain full-time employment, therefore scholarships allow student athletes to focus on their studies and sports without feeling a greater financial burden.

Unlike student athletes in the Unit ed States, full-ride scholarships are pret

who are U of R alumni. Although anyone can donate to the Varsity Challenge, much of the donations come from alumni. The hope is that alumni will be able to give back to their teams and universities.

The points system is dependent on the dollar amount being gifted. Individuals who give $20-$149 will give 10 points to their selected team, and individuals who give more than $2500 will give the maxi mum number of points, which is 1000. If a donor is new, they will give an addition al 500 points to their team, and recurring pledges made will give an extra 1000 points to their team. It is important to note that

When asked about how COVID-19 affected funding to U of R sports, U of R Director of Sport, community Engage ment, and Athlete Development Lisa Rob ertson spoke of two ways that COVID-19 has impacted U of R sports teams. She explained that the administrative central funding was impacted because fewer stu dents were coming to school, which meant that most students weren’t paying the ath letic fee which helps athletics with funding. However, the U of R sports teams did see an uptake in donations at the start of the pandemic due to the generosity that most people felt in wanting to help their com munities.

There was also a lack of sponsorship opportunities due to a lack of availability to advertise at U of R home games because of the cancellation of USports during the 2020 season. Robertson explained that an

the team’s regular season travel, and then it covers a healthy portion of a recruiting budget for our coaches to go out and re cruit student athletes. And it does not cover exhibition travel. So, any kind of non-con ference needs to be paid for from the teams fundraising account, so they need to raise funds for that.”

This means that teams must use their fundraising money for out-of-season and preseason activities, which include trips to other places in order to play the best teams in preparation for their upcoming season. These fundraising efforts also help to make sure that student athletes aren’t paying out of pocket for everything while they are away. For instance, not having to worry about paying for meals while on the road during the preseason or offseason.

Many U of R teams fundraise through out the year by hosting different events and

– Cara Misskey

ty much non-existent in Canada, which means most athletes rely on some form of scholarship money while working a partor full-time job and competing in order to maintain being a student athlete. In a vid eo posted on U of R social media pages to promote the Varsity Challenge, U of R basketball player Cara Misskey expresses the importance of scholarships by saying that “for athletes like me, coming here from out of town, the scholarships I receive allow me to play elite USports basketball while I still can focus on my education and for this, I’m truly grateful.”

The idea of the challenge is that when you donate to a team, they will receive points, and the top two teams will receive prizes of $3500 (first) and $1500 (second). The challenge runs from August 15 to Sep tember 30 and is for anyone who wants to support a U of R sports team and those

only gifts over $20 will give a team points. Points are stackable, meaning that your original donation and the additional points given to new donors and recurring donors will be given to your team. In providing a donation, the name on the credit card used must match the name of the donor in order to receive a tax credit, and to be able to give your team the points that they need.

The leaderboard for the challenge will be updated each week on Friday through out the challenge. The team with the most points by September 30 will receive an additional $3500 and the team in second place will receive an additional $1500. The winners of the challenge will be announced at the women’s and men’s basketball home opener on November 11 against the Uni versity of Saskatchewan, as part of the U Prairie Challenge.

Y’all come back now (to continue giving us your cash), ya hear?

Image: Stocksnap via Pixabay and Michaela Aguilar, manipulated by Lee Lim

Regina hikes series: Nicolle Flats

know you have finished the drive once you come across a sign that states “Nicolle Flats Nature Area” with trees, buffalo, a teepee, and more on the top. It truly is a nice welcome, and a great landmark.

victoria baht staff writer

If you are looking for the perfect little hike this fall season, I think I found the right one for you! This hike takes place in Nicolle Flats Nature Area and is located just in side of the provincial park known as Buffalo Pound. This provincial park is located 20 minutes north east of Moosejaw.

When you arrive at the pro vincial park, it is quite common

that you must pay for a parking pass when driving past the wel come gates, so just be aware.

Now that you have gotten to the park and have been welcomed by the staff, let’s find this path, why don’t we? Finding this hiking path is quite easy. There are a few signs along the road that are brown and yellow with a stick person and a hiking pole; follow those along

the road and you will find your way. This drive takes roughly 10 minutes, and along this drive you will for sure hit some bumps in the road – I mean, quite literal ly, bumps in the road. The road itself is not in the greatest con dition, so just be aware of that as well. As you drive down the road, you may be lucky enough to glimpse some buffalo. You will

Let’s get onto the walking trail. There are quite a few dif ferent ways around this park, and each of them have a unique route and lookouts which makes it all worth it. The first one is known as the Marsh Board Walk (0.3 km). The unique thing about this walk is that it is a path made of a bridge! As you walk along the bridge you are surrounded by some plants that are decently tall, almost makes you feel like you are walking through a corn maze. Some plants growing along the marsh are known as willow, alkai cordgrass, common cattail, prai rie bulrush, phragmites, hardstem bulrush, and narrow-leaved cat tail. As you walk along the path, you can read all about the differ ent types of plants along the path and educate yourself, which is an extra bonus. Once you come to the end of the trail, there are some benches to take a break, then you walk back along the same route.

The second path that you have the option of following takes you along the Bison View Inter pretive Trail (1 km). This is where the bison wandered at some point in time. As you walk along in this crisp fall air you see so many bright colours, which makes it so

enjoyable. You enjoy colours of different tones of yellow, green, red, and orange. As you walk along this trail, you come along to a few pit-stops, which help break up the walk and encourage walk ers to take in the views. There is also a shack along the path that is left open for the public to enjoy if you choose to pack a light lunch or picnic.

If that is not enough, there are a few benches along the way. Some look out towards the water in the distance with the prairie valley in the background, another on top of a short hill where you get to sit on top and look at the beautiful trees in the valley. With all the different fall colours, it’s just breathtaking. You really must go enjoy it yourself to get the full effect! Along this path there are few trails to keep following if you choose. Based on the map that is provided, there are the Nicolle Flats Trail (3.7 km), Homestead (1.5 km), Dyke Trail (5.5 km), and Valley Interpretive Trail (2.1 km). If these hikes seem like the best idea for you, I have to say they are. There are many great hikes to partake in. Plus, the two that I described to you in detail are quite simple and seem to have good access for all levels.

Cougars swim team member recounts competitions

sophia stevens s&h writer

Nataliia Kolesova from the University of Regina swim team had a busy year competing at na tionals, Canada Games, and most recently at the Fédération Inter nationale de Sport Universitaire (FISU), or the International Uni versity Sports Federation, for a triathlon. Kolesova finished 28th overall in the individual sprint race at FISU, fourth at the Cana da Games, and seventh in the elite category and fourth in the u23 category at nationals. She started competing in triathlons in 2016 after competing in competitive sprint swimming for most of her childhood.

Kolesova still feels fairly new to the sport since most of her teammates and competitors have been competing since they were five or six years old. When asked what her strongest event is, she said, “It depends on the race. I would say if you purely break them up into individual sports, swimming would probably be my strongest.” In order to compete at FISU, Kolesova had to register and go through a governing body that looked over her scores, and based it off a points system that allowed her to qualify for the Uni versity World Championships.

It was Kolesova’s first world championships, however most of her in-season events are held

internationally, whether it’s an American Cup or a European Cup. She saw this race as a bit of a gamble, since her triathlon sea son was much longer than it nor mally is for her. She felt as though the result of her race in Brazil wasn’t a reflection of the amazing season that she had. However, she saw her time in Brazil as an amaz ing experience that she learned so much from, saying “every course is so different” and that there are “just those little things that you kind of learn throughout.” Her best takeaway from her time at FISU was that “you do have to swim fast in draft legal triathlons.”

Draft legal triathlons are when you’re allowed to ride your bike very close to each other, which isn’t the case in some tri athlons. This makes it strategical ly important to be the first group onto the bikes, as the front group normally rides the fastest. During Regina winters, Kolesova spends much of her training time in doors, whether it’s for cycling or running. If she is able, she prefers to run outside, especially if she needs to run longer distances. In training for the bike portion of triathlons, she hooks her bike up to a trainer, along with using a bike simulator device called Zwift. She also notes that riding with her brother makes her workouts eas ier, as it’s always nice to have a buddy to ride with.

In balancing a sport-school workload, Kolesova cites that

having a great support system that allows her to focus on her tri athlons and school is helpful. She also sees living at home as an ad vantage as well, since she doesn’t have to worry about other stress ors like grocery shopping, making it easier for her to focus on swim ming and triathlon. Kolesova’s advice for students who want to get involved in triathlon is that “You don’t have to train twenty hours a week. You can swim once a week. You can bike and run once a week, and you can do a triathlon.” Also, that “You don’t need fancy equipment.” If the equipment you’re using works, then that’s perfect.

Kolesova is taking some time off from triathlon training to focus on her season with the Cougars, and then will transition back into triathlon training as she will be competing next March in Florida to start off her new triathlon sea son.

Making an international splash yet again.

Image: CIker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay, manipulated by Lee Lim

With every leaf beginning to change, fall is the perfect time for a simple Sask stroll

From sprints and swims at home to full triathlons in Brazil, Kolesova’s ready to try her hand

I’m getting “Nicolle Moderate Inclines” more than “Nicolle Flats,” but what do I know?

Photo: Victoria Baht

First semester in the flesh since March 2020 COVID changed everything, including the college experience

During the summer of 2018, I was getting prepared to start university in fall of the same year. Excited, I made sure to purchase a planner, a new wardrobe, to re-decorate my room, and attempt to plan my future in university. By the fall of 2019, COVID was slowly spreading, although classes were still in person. March of 2020 was a life-chang ing moment for everyone I know, as it was when classes switched to online. Further more, we went into a pretty extensive social distancing period.

I went into university expecting the traditional model of academia, and all I received in return was a few lousy years of online classes, increased tuition, infla tion, and depression. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would have to wake up every morning to attend class es on Zoom university, yet there we were (and still are, for some of us, as classes are not yet fully in-person). The last two years still feel like a fever dream to me. I’m still getting used to in-person classes. I have no idea how we all did in-person exams with out any hassle.

Today, the very idea of sitting in a room with cameras for three hours doing an exam meant to measure my worth sends shivers down my spine. Proctored classes are even worse in my opinion. I would rath er mow the lawn with tweezers than take a

proctored class. Scratch that, I would rather mop the ocean with a toothbrush than take a proctored class. I can’t think of anything more anxiety-inducing and disturbing than having an AI watch my every move. Now that I’m taking an in-person class, I still have no idea how the in-person exams will go. I can only hope that I don’t have a pan ic attack in the middle of a multiple-choice question. Only time will tell.

The best way to prepare for a new se mester is to plan ahead. I love using plan ners, as they help me stay organized; it’s how I keep track of all of my due dates. If you prefer doing things digitally, Notion is a wonderful platform to stay organized and be on top of your work. As a fourth-year student, I’m already in the middle of as signments, papers, and projects. I have seen so many people focus on having the college experience as shown in films and on TV, but the truth is that those are all fantasies. University is different in real life, and no body should aspire for it to go the way it is televised on the big screen.

Moreover, I wish people would just let go of the concept of a college experience altogether. It creates unnecessary pres sure. As we’ve learned from COVID, the college experience varies from person to person. It will never be the same for any two people. The important thing is to re

alize that, although it is important to forge bonds, connections, and network, you are mostly there for your degree – everything else is an added bonus. Take advantage of the money you are paying by maximizing your potential and focusing on yourself and your goals. For many immigrants, we are the first people in our families to go to university, and that is a role that should be taken very seriously.

However, it is important to find time for yourself daily. A lack of self-care and rest is the quickest way to burn out in the middle of the semester. It could be watching your favourite show for an hour, or cooking, or taking a nap in the middle of the day to refresh your brain, or buying your favou rite Starbucks drink as a treat. University is a chapter in life that is extremely chal lenging. It is emotionally, mentally, physi cally, and even financially taxing. Although I’m in school every day, I will often check my calendar and take a day off whenever I can to stay home, sleep in, and get some much-needed rest. It’s difficult for me to work when I’m tired. My best ideas come when I’m well-rested, and my brain works better on more hours of sleep whenever I can squeeze some in. Of course, there will always be days when all-nighters are nec essary. On those nights, I focus on doing the best I can, avoiding heavy meals that

will put me to sleep. Instead, I focus on my energy uptake. After an all-nighter, I make sure to get some much-needed rest the next day to recharge my batteries. Ultimately, we are all going through this at the same time, collectively. It’s a human experience and there is definitely a learning curve. The more you know bet ter, the more you will do better. First-year me and fourth-year me are two complete ly different people. If there was one thing I could tell current freshman students, it would be to make use of the advisors avail able to you, hone your cooking skills, or learn to cook if you don’t know how to (it’s a life skill), talk to professors in your faculty to build rapport with them, and just take it easy. Relax. You don’t have to have it all fig ured out, most people don’t. Embrace the process and you will learn to adapt to the change and all of its nuances. COVID has changed the lives of millions, and we are still dealing with the aftermath to this day. It has made the already complicated model of university even more complicated. Thus, it is incumbent on everyone to understand that what we are going through is not nor mal, and it is okay if it has changed you. Moreover, it’s okay to miss the person you used to be pre-COVID. The good thing is now we have the space to cultivate the best version of ourselves we want to be.

Photo: Lee Lim

amina salah staff writer

While the human connection of an in-person semester was much missed, we could have done without the long lines at Tim Horton’s.

Musk buys Twitter (but not really)

rayanne gwilliam contributor

Elon Musk is a multibillionaire who is very well known for many things, such as creating Tesla, being CEO of SpaceX, and once trying to make a deal with the United Nations in a mission to end world hunger. However, most recently he is known for be ing in a “war” against Twitter after trying to back out of a contracted deal for him to purchase it in July. Soon thereafter, he decided he wanted to back out of the deal in which he had agreed to pay $44 billion for the social platform.

This was met with criticism in various forms regarding both the price and the fact that while Musk was very public about his concerns around people keeping their right to freedom of speech, two of the other richest people in the world also own similar social media platforms. Think of Jeff Bezos owning the Washington Post, for example. Due to this, it was logical to see this as a publicity stunt or as an attempt at feeding his ego and keeping up with others in his tax bracket.

There are also those who grew very upset over the price agreed upon, espe cially considering the fact that the United Nations only quoted Elon Musk $6 billion in order to solve world hunger, and he dis agreed with their proposal and didn’t move forward. This can come off as insulting, because even if that number or proposal wasn’t well-constructed enough, it could be seen as not being worth the investment, yet Twitter is valued at over seven times as much which is inflammatory to many. Therefore, it’s possible that Elon Musk de cided to try and renege on the deal to avoid a possible public backlash.

Furthermore, his getting cold feet could also possibly be due to an ignorance regarding the state of the platform from a financial standpoint, and his ability to re vive it and keep it popular and worth the investment from a business perspective. This is especially relevant considering how he’s recently stated he was provided infor mation from an ex-employee who said that “the company misled regulators about its poor cybersecurity defences and its neg ligence in attempting to root out fake ac counts that spread disinformation”. Twit ters response was as follows: “based solely on statements made by a third party that, as Twitter has previously stated, are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack important context”.

It’s arguable that both parties are at tempting to do damage control and end up with the least amount of collateral damage possible – Musk with his money into the company and the bad publicity, and Twit ter with their concerns about loss of rep utation and stock value due to the allega tions and bad publicity. As a result, Twitter is suing Elon Musk for trying to back out of the deal and breaching his signed con tract, as a means to try to force him to go through with it. For obvious reasons, from this point further, any underlying problems or negative impact on the platform become his problems, not those of the current own er. Meanwhile, Elon’s goal is to prove that the deal was made under false pretences, which motivated his decision to back out from his purchase in light of new informa tion. Ultimately, we will witness this trial and its news coverage when it begins on October 7.

Minimalism with essentialism

Have you ever tried being a minimalist? It’s fine if you have not. If you have, you either enjoyed it or failed at it badly.

Minimalism is the pursuit of using less, possessing less, but at the same time also not giving up on the essentials. Let me start out with an example.

A while ago I was talking to a friend who tried being a minimalist once, but was unsuccessful. My friend only kept a single pair of shoes and got rid of the rest. As it happened, they also got rid of their winter shoes, which are an absolute essential for the winters in Regina. When being a min imalist, you also have to be strategic about your needs. Thus, what you should strive to be is an “essentialist.” This means you do

not have a dozen pairs of shoes, but instead just the ones needed, without compromis ing anything on those needed.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast where the guest speaker was talking about not being a minimalist, but instead be ing what he called a “functionalist.” The speaker specified himself under this cate gory, where he keeps everything in his life to fulfill some function. For instance, he has kept some of his shirts from back in high school to feel nostalgic. What we can learn from this is that being a minimalist is not everything; you can have more than the minimum number of possessions, but ev erything you own should fulfill some func tion or at least a purpose in your life.

Minimalism, in the broader context of essentialism, can also help manage every day life, be it personal or professional. Ever wondered why you are always at work till late in the night or maybe working late at home? Ever felt like you are always busy with something? Did you feel like you were compromising with your sleep? Found yourself studying until late night before the test? Have you ever taken some time out of your daily routine and focused on your health?

If you felt any of the above being your situation, then you might find the essential ist approach towards life useful.

Recently I read a book in which the author explains the benefits of saying no to the things you don’t think are absolutely essential. Let’s say that you have to meet a friend for dinner, but you are bailing out on your friend because you just want some extra money by working more hours. You could simply say no to that opportunity to

earn, and instead enjoy the time with your friend, which is an essential component of living a well-balanced life. However, this doesn’t mean you skip work during office hours and go hang out with friends! The author gives an example where he had to ignore his sick wife just to attend a meeting at work.

We have to realize what is essential for a healthy living environment, and not com promise on the important things. We need to prioritize what is essential. Sometimes essential things are things you wouldn’t like to do at all, like studying for an exam or cleaning up your place.

There is a concept called “sorting out the noise” which is an essentialist ap proach. This means excluding the non-es sential things from your life. There is a lot of difference between when you listen to a singer’s album on your phone and when you listen to them live. The live concert re veals the mistakes and the crackled voice of a singer. The songs that are released on CDs are digitally auto-tuned (“sorting out the noise”). They remove the non-es sential things from the audio and make it sound better. So, think of it as such – when you auto-tune your life by sorting out the non-essential things, your life will be as good as an amazing song!

Minimalism doesn’t have to mean liv ing in a small house, driving a tiny car, and compromising on everything. Minimalism can mean only using things that are essen tial. You will feel less chaotic and stressed when you live life with an essentialist ap proach.

Keep it simple, folks!

Elon Musk always champions free speech (except when he doesn’t)

Choose your fighter!

Image: Thomas Hawk via Flickr, manipulated by Lee Lim

are

a shame that those lovely mountains might distract

from the latest Netflix drama.

Photo: jeanvdmeulen via Pixabay