Our year of (un)wellness and chaos

JANNA ABBAS RION LEVY

JANUS KWONG

VICTORIA ALLDER

ADAM LAM

MAX LEES ROY SH

ABI AKINLADE

SAM ROSATI MARTIN

KIERAN GUIMOND

SARAH ABERNETHY

FAITH WERSHBA

EMMA MACKENZIE ISHIKA RISH

ROENSA SAL JA

CHLOE LOUNG

KELSEY PHUNG

SHELLEY YAO

JERICO RAGUINDIN

ISHA RIZWAN

RIYA UXA

ROMINA EMTYAZI

SAKURA ARMSTRONG

OPINIONS KALLIOPÉ ANVAR MCCALL

SCIENCE

YUNA LEE

STRANDED VACANT

DESIGN WENDY WAN

PODCAST VACANT

Relaxation? We hardly know her

JANNA ABBAS AND RION LEVY EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

You must be surprised by the title… Us university students don’t even know what wellness is! As UofT students, we’re used to being problem solvers, but when it comes to guring out a healthy work-life balance, we just can’t seem to make it work. From procrastination to blatantly not doing the work, when it comes to unhealthy coping mechanisms, we have those down. Shockingly, no amount of health and wellness packets have been able to help. So, this issue is our attempt at guring out what wellness means to us, not just as students at UofT, but at Victoria College as well.

e start of this semester has felt more chaotic than usual; having to rush from Vic to Robarts in the snowy weather to complete a mountain of readings has really been taking a toll on us. Because we know you might be in the same boat, here is a Janna and Rion-approved week’s worth of wellness activities at Vic to make your day just a little bit better: ursday: Souper Soup in Goldring!

Monday: Avoid the Ned’s pasta and yogurt parfaits. Instead, try the cherry yogurt danish (you’ll thank us later).

Tuesday: Order a lavender London fog from Ca ends because you deserve it!

Wednesday: Pick up a plate of VOCA pancakes in the Cat’s Eye.

Friday: Skip all of your classes–for your well-being, of course–but attend your weekly Strand meeting.

Do these activities actually help us get our work done? Debatable. But do they add some wellness to our lives? De nitely.

If you can tell that we are at a loss for what to talk about in this editorial, you are right. Wellness really is a foreign concept to most of us in our early twenties—it’s seemingly expensive, time-consuming, and, ironically, downright exhausting. We don’t know about you, but we’re getting really sick and tired of being told that [insert exorbitantly expensive new product] is gonna x all of our problems ‘cause now we’re all out of money, but our problems seem to be going nowhere…

In our little guide to rest and relaxation, you can pick up a warm cup of tea and sit down with Stranded’s 10 tips for better mental health. If that’s not your speed, head over to Features where Zoe Lazaris, Shane Joy, and Kate Haberl go over the history of Vic’s not-so-secret Stephenson House, followed by a News update on Toronto’s housing crisis. Of course, if reading feels like a bit too much, just turn on Arts and Culture’s Wellness playlist, draw yourself a bath, and remember that amidst the chaos of life, taking some time for yourself is a necessity.

Well, there you have it. ese are all of our wellness tips. Give them a try – maybe they’ll add a bit of sparkle to your day. And if all else fails, you know what they say: when life gives you lemons, get high*. See you next issue, we have a feeling it’s gonna be a sexy one.

*on life of course.

ILLUSTRATION | SHELLEY YAO

The Strand has been the newspaper of record for Victoria University since 1953. It is published 12 times a year with a circulation of 800 and is distributed in Victoria University buildings and across the University of Toronto’s St. George campus.

The Strand flagrantly enjoys its editorial autonomy and is committed to acting as an agent of constructive social change. As such, we will not publish material deemed to exhibit racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or other oppressive language.