Grip - Fall 2011

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Where to turn for the feelings you face

Stop Stressing

Tips to manage even the busiest schedule

Risky Business Take advantage of life with smart risks

PLUS: A teen with big ideas, Alberta’s bully-free campaign, your questions answered, reviews and more The Provincial Archive: Where banjos, an accordion, guitars and a mandolin meet Publications Mail Agreement #40020055

Grip magazine is currently seeking writers, journalists, illustrators and photographers between the ages of 13 and 18. Join the conversation and help Grip cover issues that are important to you. Articles, poetry, short stories, illustrations, comic strips and photography will be considered. Send questions and samples to creative@griponlife.ca. You will be paid. Really. Not a lot, but it’s still money.

17 what’s inside

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

The Beyond Sad Issue

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Depression is common among teens. Despite this, it’s not something that we often talk about. We change that in this issue of Grip, as we ask questions and get answers about mental illnesses. What are they? Who do they impact?

And where can you seek help?

Which is Which?

Depression, anxiety and sadness may seem similar, but distinguishing between them is important

BY ERIC ASTLEY

Risk Taking Done Right Learn how to manage risk to prevent injuries and save lives

BY JENA TANG

After the Diagnosis Finding out you have a mental illness can be made even more difficult because of stigma, misconceptions and stereotypes

BY JENAH MCPHERSON

Learning to Cope Prevention is the only solution to suicide and prevention comes through examining and talking about the topic

BY ALIX KEMP

The Story Behind My Poem A teen writes about her struggles with an eating disorder

BY LEANNE KLIMEK

A Healthy You There are many factors that contribute to your mental health. What are they and how can you address them in a positive manner?

Address Your Stress Stress is a normal part of life. It’s what you do about it that matters most

BY VANESSA STEWART

When Status Falls Short The limits of social networking sites

BY SANDY XU

Debate: Separating Education by Gender Should classrooms be gender-specific, a place where boys learn with boys and girls learn with girls?

BY ZOSIA PRUS-CZARNECKA AND CHRIS BERTHELOT

18 21 24 26 28 30 32 34 36

A Message from one of Grip’s teen writers, plus meet three other contributors from across the province

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It Happens Natural stress relievers; Walking from Calgary to Edmonton; Snack on this; Tips to catch some extra sleep.

Plus! Music, book and video game reviews

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Off the Wall Links for laughter and learning

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Help Wanted You asked, we answered

COVER ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT CARTER

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Fan Fare Meet Edmonton-based band The Provincial Archive and its four members, all armed with an ever-growing abundance of instruments

BY CHRIS BERTHELOT

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This is … Gary Kurek How does a teen from small-town Alberta invent a walker-wheelchair hybrid, start a business and win a $100,000fellowship, all before the age of 20?

BY JUSTIN BELL

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Portfolio Art, photography and words from creative minds across Alberta

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Dodge What happens when Sonny’s sister starts to feel blue?

A Bully-Free Alberta A Grip writer explores what bullying is, why it happens and what’s being done to stop it

BY ZOSIA PRUS-CZARNECKA

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The Last Word How to be prepared for anything and everything

BY GABRIELLE MCKINLEY

Get Organized An alphabetized list of top time management tips

BY JANINA VALENCIA

Find Grip on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/GripMag

griponlife.ca grip onlife.ca

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04 From a Grip Contributor

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ello Alberta. Welcome to the fall edition of Grip, where Grip’s contributors take an honest look at depression and other mental health issues. Depression is a common mental health problem that often occurs during adolescence. Yet despite being common and affecting so many teens, depression is still not something we often talk openly about.

In this issue of Grip, teens from across Alberta attempt to change that. Grip’s contributors share stories, ask questions and find reliable resources, all with the aim of helping anyone affected by mental illness realize they are not alone and learn where to turn for help.

The creative minds at Grip have also been busy researching and writing about a variety of other topics. Since Grip is written for teens and by teens, you’ll find thoughts and advice from people who know exactly what it’s like to feel the pressures from teachers, parents and even friends.

The first time I read Grip was when I was in Grade 9. I quickly noticed that the format of Grip was different from the generic brochures and pamphlets my school often handed out. Grip caught my attention right away.

It was a breath of fresh air to be handed a magazine that was relevant to my life. As soon as I got home that night, I wrote a handful of poems and quickly submitted them to Grip, hoping for the best.

It seemed surreal when I later heard I had been chosen to be in the portfolio section of Grip. I’ve continued to contribute to Grip and in this issue, I write about how you can address your stress.

I hope that you, and every other reader, find something in this magazine that ignites a spark in you and maybe even inspires you to submit your own work.

Whether you’re looking to change the world, or just share a simple poem, Grip is the place. Open this issue to read about topics that are important to you, covered in an informative and engaging way by people just like you. Enjoy.

Vanessa Stewart

GRIPMagazine

Contributors Fall 2011 | Volume 5, No. 2 PUBLISHER

Ruth Kelly

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Joyce Byrne | comments@griponlife.ca EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Beth Evans

MANAGING EDITOR

Cailynn Klingbeil | creative@griponlife.ca ASSISTANT EDITOR

Michelle Lindstrom | creative@griponlife.ca EDITORIAL ADVISORS

Kim Cochrane, Dr. Jorden Cohen, Dianne Drummond, Dr. Jonathan Eustace, Jennifer Hayley, Jackie Herman, Lindsay Hope-Ross, Cheryl Houtekamer, Tammy Kille, Dave MacLeod, Caroline Missal, Tammy O’Quinn, David Rust, Harriet Switzer, Barb Olsen, Taryn Pawlivsky, Erin Walton, Dr. Chris Wilkes

David Ly currently lives in Innisfail, Alberta where he spends the majority of his free time writing stories in hopes of completing a novel and possibly publishing it in the near future. David practises martial arts and his other hobbies include gaming and drawing.

His favourite band right now is Slipknot. If David had it his way, he would spend his life on his laptop.

David’s favourite animal is the leopard seal. Read David’s video game review on page 14.

ART DIRECTOR

Charles Burke

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR

Grade 11 involves a demanding schedule for Edmonton teen Zosia Prus-Czarnecka. She’s starting a two-year International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program and although she’s academically busy, Zosia manages to leave room in her schedule for acting, basketball, guitar and photography. In the future, Zosia hopes to leave Edmonton for university and pursue a career in medicine and research. For this issue of Grip, Zosia argued in the debate on page 36 and wrote a feature on how Alberta is putting a stop to bullying on page 44.

Andrea deBoer

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR

Colin Spence

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Vanlee Robblee

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Betty Smith

DISTRIBUTION

Jennifer King | getgrip@griponlife.ca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Eric Astley, Justin Bell, Chris Berthelot, Himmi Cheruvu, T.J. Gallant, Alix Kemp, Varda Khan, Leanne Klimek, Ann Lee, David Ly, Meenakshi Malik, Gabrielle McKinley, Tia McLean, Jenah McPherson, Zosia Prus-Czarnecka, Abby Riehl, Emily Rogers, Nicole Sagen, Mahmuda Sheikh, Kelsey SmithParis, Vanessa Stewart, Julia Tan, Jena Tang, Janina Valencia, Sandy Xu CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS

Robert Carter, Eric Gavel, Ryan Hidson, Taylor Kushniruk, Heff O’Reilly, Christian Thiessen, Sandy Xu, Alanna Yee Grip is published by Venture Publishing Inc. for Alberta Health Services

The content of this magazine is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to replace consultations with your doctor or to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any personal medical and health questions that you may have.

Printed in Canada by Transcontinental LGM Graphics Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40020055 Contents copyright 2011 by Alberta Health Services. Content may not be reprinted or reproduced without written permission from Alberta Health Services.

Venture Publishing Inc. 10259-105 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3 Tel: 780-990-0839 | Fax: 780-425-4921 | Toll-free: 1-866-227-4276 circulation@venturepublishing.ca The views expressed in Grip are the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Alberta Health Services or Venture Publishing

Janina Valencia always tries to make the impossible, possible.

She is a bespectacled girl who enjoys photography and a busy school life and becomes easily engrossed in murder mystery novels. In Janina’s opinion, House, Glee and Big Bang Theory are the best shows ever. Volunteerism is a fun hobby for Janina. She wants to be a doctor someday and she’s always wanted a cat. If she has a cat in the near future, she will name him Ludwig. Read Janina’s tips for getting organized on page 46 and her review of a book on page 11. griponlife.ca

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it HAPPENS | News

News

TOP WAYS TO CATCH YOUR ZZZZZs

By Julia Tan

g good If you had to choose between your social life, gettin e? choos you would which grades and getting enough sleep, academics music, , sports in d involve very are ts studen many Today, to juggle le strugg teens many , and much, much more. Unfortunately sake of their the for sleep forgo to decide often and lifestyle this active I know I was. social life or good grades. Are you one of those teens? the next exam huge a have you a.m., 12 it’s rio: scena Picture this should What ing. everyth g day and you’re nowhere close to coverin but it’s idea, good a like sound might ter all-nigh an you do? Pulling brains work to not. Researchers have found that while we sleep, our stick. So even store what we’ve learned, which allows information to likely forget if you stay up cramming chemistry, without sleep, you’ll awake and alert be to better always it’s Plus, most of the material! during your test. you don’t Your grades might not be the only things that suffer when fatigued and get enough rest. In general, lack of sleep makes people loved ones grumpy. You’ll likely be more prone to snapping at your things. trivial ise otherw at ed annoy getting and So, how can you get more sleep? Here are some tips: have the Don’t Procrastinate: Be honest, is it really that you don’t of instead TV ng watchi or ter time? Or is it that you’re on the compu have and break a take to OK nitely defi It’s ork? homew doing your time effifun, but cutting down on Facebook and managing your . before existed t though never you that hours up ciently will free and wake Set a Regular Schedule: Try your best to go to bed body is up around the same time every day. Biologically, your yourself, for pattern a set you If cycle. l natura a inclined to follow you’ll find it’s easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.

Relax Before Bed: Teens have to deal with an abundance of worries. Addressing these problems is important for your mental and physical health.

That being said, it’s not a good idea to mull over these things before bed. These problems might make you feel anxious or sad and prevent you from getting the rest that your body requires.

GRIPMagazine

Natural Stress Relievers

By Jena Tang

The 24 hours of each day doesn’t seem to be quite enough anymore. In that time period, we’re constantly searching for stimulation, balancing different roles and reacting to life’s many challenges. All this can create stress, which is a normal part of life. Feeling overwhelmed is a natural consequence of living the lives that we live, where we try to squeeze as much as we can into the 86,400 seconds of each day.

Learning to manage our responses to stress effectively will help to prevent stress from taking control of us and our lives. Here are some cool, creative ways to help handle stress and make the most of each day: Bubble Bath: A luxurious and free way to destress and feel calm. Add candles or music, sink into a multitude of bubbles and let the calm wash over you, literally.

Giggle Fit: Have a comedy night with a great group of friends and your favourite snacks. Indulge in funny films and comedic friends for the best antidote to stress – laughter. Laughing naturally releases endorphins, which are the “feel good” chemicals that help you feel less stressed. Laughter truly is the best medicine.

Get Active: Prolonged exercise produces an abundance of endorphins that fight anxiety and general stress. Running, aerobics and cycling are most effective. Simply going for a walk has been proven an effective stress reliever.

Relax: Take the time to get refreshed at any point of your day. You’ll feel instantly relaxed and rejuvenated for many hours after. An added bonus is that taking time to relax can help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure.

Find a Hobby: The best form of mental distractions can come when you’re absorbed by the things you love doing, be it listening to tunes, exercising your green thumb, sewing or sketching.

Recommended

Meet a young band that’s worth the listen

By Chris Berthelot

If you’re looking for some new music to listen to then you should check out the Edmontonbased band Skylines. Skylines is an alternative rock band that has been playing together for the last three years. The band is made up of members Jared Kleckner (vocals), Stefan Misko (lead guitar), Ryan Alexandruk (bass) and David Carnduff (drums).

I sat down with Skylines’ Ryan and Stefan for the scoop. They’ve played three different battle of the bands, the latest being at the Edmonton nightclub The Nest. There, says Ryan, they played two original songs and three cover songs for the finals of the battle of the bands. The group is increasingly focusing on their own material and an EP released in September included seven original songs.

With regards to the name Skylines, Stefan says, “We were just spitballing. We were looking for names on the Internet but then we got bored and decided to just start throwing names out.”

The band’s music style is diverse. “Stefan brings in his U2, Killers, Muse background,” says Ryan. “I’m more of your modern rock, Three Days Grace stuff. David is the metal core, screamo band and Jared is a bit of everything. We each bring our own piece and put it together and see how it works.”

Skylines music, and videos of the band’s latest gigs, can be found on their Facebook page or Myspace page at www.myspace. com/556861055. They’re a fresh band whose great energy gives a new twist to covers and a great style to their original songs.

griponlife.ca

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it HAPPENS | News

MY DUSTY BOOKSHELF Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie

Reviewed by Ann Lee Picture this: you are a passenger returning home aboard the Orient Express after solving a case in a far away land. In the dead of the cold winter night, you awake to discover that a fellow wealthy passenger had been murdered. Even worse, the assassin is still on board. If this plot has you hooked, you’ll love solving this mystery with clever hero Hercule Poirot.

This book’s adventure starts when the tired Belgian detective Poirot boards the luxurious and unusually loaded Orient Express. In the middle of the night, Poirot is jolted awake by a loud groan. As he peeks out his compartment door, he watches as a conductor asks the man in the room next to him if he is OK. When the man replies, the sleuth assumes that there is nothing wrong and goes back to sleep.

The next morning the train is stopped because of a snow bank.

Poirot is alerted that there is an emergency. The passenger, who was occupying the compartment next to Poirot, was murdered.

The body of the man is identified as a rich American who was travelling with his valet and secretary. One by one, the passengers are all interrogated and the victim’s true identity and social ties are revealed.

Grade: A This classic detective story has a fair share of excitement, mystery and drama. It has a few interesting twists that make for a complicated, but excellent, read.

GRIPMagazine

P P E E T T S S Y Y B B P E T T S S What started out as a walk with a goal of raising $10,000 ended 303 kilometres later, with an incredible $60,000 raised in just three weeks.

Behind the fundraising feat are nine young Somali-Canadians between 18- and 27-years-old.

They wanted to raise money and attention for the many Somalis walking for kilometres in the drought, often without food and water, to refugee camps.

They formed Step Up for Somalia and decided to walk from Calgary to Edmonton. The group completed the walk in early August and raised $30,000, which the Canadian government is matching dollar for dollar, resulting in a total donation of $60,000 to Oxfam Canada for East Africa.

Grip interviewed 18-year-old Fartoon Siad, one of the walkers and organizers. Fartoon and her three sisters, who were all born in Somalia, were joined by five cousins for the walk.

GRIP: Why did you decide to do this?

FARTOON: We know that in a famine and drought we have to act quickly because lives are continuously being taken. We’re all human beings and nobody should be suffering. We want to live in a world where we don’t see famine and nobody goes hungry.

GRIP: What was the walk like?

FARTOON: It was phenomenal, tiring and inspiring. Everybody was tired and our legs were hurting. We had blisters and cuts and sores, but every time we made it to another town or city, the reaction was just phenomenal.

Snack On This It’s recommended that you eat a snack or meal every three to four hours in order to give your body the energy it needs. Choosing the right foods is an important part of healthy snacking, which is why Grip has compiled the following tips for you:

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• • •

A healthy snack includes food from at least two food groups. (Refresher: the four food groups are vegetables and fruit, grain products, milk and alternatives, and meat and alternatives.)

Water is the best drink to have with snacks.

Carry healthy snacks with you to eat when you get hungry. Trail mix or granola bars are quick snacks that you can keep with you.

Healthy snack ideas include hummus and pita chips, a fruit smoothie, low fat cheese and low fat whole grain crackers, blending yogurt with fruit and freezing it for a frozen treat, making a mini pizza with a whole wheat English muffin or pita and topping with tomato sauce, vegetables and cheese, or mixing dried fruit with cereal.

GRIP: How long did it take?

FARTOON: It took us four days. We took turns walking, with others resting in a car. Each of us did about 15 kilometres two times a day and then some of us did extra because we had miscalculated a few distances.

GRIP: How much money did you raise?

FARTOON: We raised over $30,000 in three weeks. That sum was a total surprise and we’re still amazed. It just shows what we can do and how we can make a difference in this world when we set our minds to it.

GRIP: What’s next for the group?

FARTOON: We’re so glad that we gave Somalia the positive type of attention that it needs. Usually, there is so much negative attention in the media and people think Somalia is a forgotten country and that nobody cares. Since our walk there’s been many other walks organized around the world and people are contacting us and asking how we did it. We’re all humans and we all deserve the basic rights of food, water, shelter and the right to feel safe in our own countries. We’re hoping to do more on this platform. griponlife.ca

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Books for Fall, Books for All there’s the secret she keeps very close, since being warned that knowledge of it could lead to her death.

Divergent is a thrilling novel that is absolutely impossible to put down. It provides excellent insight into what it means to be human, including the suggestion that strength in multiple virtues can defeat a divided focus.

Grade: A+ Divergent welcomes readers into a captivating world full of interesting characters filled with both strengths and flaws. There’s also an excellent balance of action and romance.

Full Dark, No Stars

By Stephen King REVIEWED BY VARDA KHAN

Divergent

By Veronica Roth REVIEWED BY EMILY ROGERS

While it’s easy to compare Divergent to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games, this new teen dystopian novel has a unique flavour of its own. The book immediately introduces main character Tris and offers a peek into life in Abnegation, one of the five factions that divide society. Each faction focuses on one virtue and its population is continually living up to standards set by that virtue.

Raised in Abnegation, the faction of selflessness, Tris finds it difficult to live up to the expectations around her. There’s also the challenge all 16-year-olds face in this world, when they must choose one faction to call home for the rest of their lives. For Tris, this means choosing between family and new adventures in a place where she might finally fit in.

The struggles don’t stop there. Tris also needs to monitor her place in a ranking system that will determine the quality of the rest of her life. Plus, she’s balancing a confusing, and often complicated, relationship with a mysterious boy. Then

GRIPMagazine

Have you ever noticed another person hidden within you? Has it ever surfaced at some point, or is it maybe controlling you at this very moment? If you’ve never asked those questions before, you likely will after reading Stephen King’s Full Dark, No Stars.

The book, four stories based on the theme of identity, will stretch your mind to the max. The first story within the book, “1922,” is about the confessions of a man who murdered his wife and unleashed a stranger inside him to cover up his deed.

The second story is “Big Driver,” in which a woman gets raped while going home. She then enlists the help of her new self to seek out revenge on those who wronged her. The next story, the shortest, is called “Fair Extensions.” In it, a man with cancer makes a deal with the devil to increase his life. Not only is his cancer gone, but he must meet with the person inside him as his future unfolds.

Finally, “Good Marriage” tells the story of a woman who suddenly realizes that she wasn’t married to the man she loved but to another that was residing deep within his very existence. Like most of his novels, Stephen King never fails to offer a reading experience where the very story makes you shudder or smile in its irony.

Grade: A The stories are well-written and the plots are very easy to follow, but they’ll still have you on the edge of your seat. Be warned, though, that the content can be gruesome, as is typical of this genre.

eviews Don’t get buried in textbooks. Instead, check out these crisp autumn selections reviewed by Grip’s team.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

By Malcolm Gladwell REVIEWED BY SANDY XU

It’s hard to get by today without being a little stereotypical. We’re surrounded by a fast-paced world and everyone seems to have at least one neuron that’s ahead of us at being judgmental. But forget about the first-impressions-are-everything. How about one blink?

This book offers a backstage process of our brains, which work subconsciously to filter,

Room

By Emma Donoghue REVIEWED BY JANINA VALENCIA

Room is a moving and unforgettable story of Jack and his Ma. It is told in five-year-old Jack’s point of view. The youngster is a very eloquent and endearing little boy. He was born in Room and he grew up in Room, an 11- by 11-foot space.

Together with his Ma, Jack sleeps, eats and plays in Room. Jack’s life has only ever existed in Room. He loves it and considers it his home. But for Jack’s mom, Room is the hellhole where she has been held captive by her kidnapper.

This novel explores the incredible power of the relationship between a mother and child. Room is written beautifully and from the very unique perspective of a five-year-old.

On the other hand, the physical and emotional pain of Jack’s mom makes parts of the book heartbreaking. Ma, as she is called, has lived for seven years away from the life she once knew, instead held captive in a tiny room. Her anger, frustration, love and suffering are all felt by the reader.

Room is an extraordinarily insightful novel.

It’s a marvelously written masterpiece that you’ll want to devour in one sitting.

Grade: A+ Room is brimming with the horror of crime, the power of love, the fear of captivity and the wonders of life.

blend, isolate and analyze data to create instantaneous conclusions. Ultimately, Blink is all about these critical two seconds. We could be going for an interview or on a date and in each situation, we subconsciously absorb small details and predict an astonishingly accurate conclusion.

In the book, Gladwell combines fascinating stories and various accounts of research. That includes the example of John Gottman. Since the 1980s, Gottman has worked with more than 3,000 married couples. Gottman has been able to predict with 95 per cent accuracy if a couple will be married 15 years later, just by videotaping everyday conversations between the couple. The research has determined that usually, only three minutes is sufficient to predict the future of the newlyweds.

This is just one of the many examples Gladwell expertly explains in the book. So next time you’re in a conundrum, stop thinking, because you already did.

Grade: A- It’s hard to wrap your mind around this book’s concept, but Gladwell’s eclectic examples and witty anecdotes definitely help.

Before I Go To Sleep

By S.J. Watson REVIEWED BY HIMMI CHERUVU

This novel shares the story of Christine, a woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury at 29 and awakens each day with no recollection of what happened afterwards. Each day, she is shocked to find herself middle-aged and next to a man who must continually explain to her that he is her husband and has loved her for the past two decades.

Christine receives a phone call from her therapist that directs her to a journal at the back of her closet, where she has been recording her daily activities. By going through the page, she finds out that the people around her, including her husband, haven’t been telling the whole truth.

The information that is being left out could hurt, or even kill, Christine.

The author has created a character, Christine, who is easy to identify and empathize with. While you may see what the book is ultimately building towards, it won’t diminish your enjoyment. Before I Go To Sleep raises thought-provoking questions about how much of who we are depends on our memories and how much we can trust the people around us.

Grade: A Before I Go To Sleep is a novel you won’t want to put down. It’s a fabulous psychological thriller and is extremely absorbing.

griponlife.ca

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Fall Into These Sweet Sounds With homework piling up and bus rides aplenty in your future, here are some recommended tunes for your listening pleasure Hands All Over

By Maroon 5 REVIEWED BY TIA MCLEAN

Departing

By The Rural Alberta Advantage REVIEWED BY T.J. GALLANT

The Rural Alberta Advantage’s sophomore venture, Departing, is a followup to their 2008 debut.

It features an even stronger collection of tracks with the band’s unique staple: acoustic and soft electric guitar rhythms reminiscent of Canada’s traditional folk scene. The band also has hauntingly subtle keyboard melodies and drum fills that can only be performed by those with four or more arms, all tied together by dark, brooding lyrics sung by a narrator who can’t decide if he needs to be held close or torn apart.

The album art for Departing is perfect for visually representing what the listener will experience audibly once the album has been played. The cover shows the headlights of an oncoming vehicle wandering in the middle of a highway, likely somewhere in Alberta experiencing white-out, winter conditions. Nearly every Canadian is familiar with that sullen, atmospheric imagery.

On an interesting note, the band was actually formed in Toronto.

The namesake of the band was drawn from lead singer and guitarist Nils Edenloff’s childhood: growing up in Fort McMurray and Edmonton. During Edenloff’s high school years in Edmonton the city experienced its infamous Black Friday tornado in July of 1987. Departing’s hit single, aptly named “Tornado ’87,” is about this event.

The band’s sound may at first come across as an interesting medley of other artists such as an earlier Smashing Pumpkins or Arcade Fire, with a more modern “folkster” vibe thrown in the mix for added Canadiana. Upon further listening, however, it is understood that The Rural Alberta Advantage has a sound, brand and soul that is very much its own. And they own every bit of it.

Grade: A The Rural Alberta Advantage get points for having talented musicians working with equal respect and responsibility to each other to make great music. And, for having an awesome band name.

GRIPMagazine

So you think you know all that Maroon 5 has to offer? Think again.

Their 2010 album Hands All Over exposes a new side of the group that will get you hooked on the catchy songs and alluring lyrics in no time. Don’t let their two currently, most played hits fool you: Maroon 5 has a lot more to offer than track five “Never Gonna Leave This Bed” and the most recent ear-bug, track 13 “Moves like Jagger.” (Though they’re both great to listen to.)

Hands All Over also features some finger-snapping, sing-alongs, such as “I Can’t Lie” and “Stutter.” Both will give you an extra hop in your step on sunny days. The album is also complemented beautifully by some slower heart break, romance tunes like “Out of Goodbyes” featuring Lady Antebellum. They have been demanding attention on country and pop stations everywhere and have helped increase the CD’s appeal to a much broader fan base.

This album is a good pick for all audiences, sure to gather the band a new group of followers. So if you are not yet familiar with Maroon 5, there has never been a better time to introduce yourself to their exciting music. If you are already a fan of Maroon 5, don’t worry. Even though they have introduced some new spice into their already brilliant flavour, it hasn’t completely changed the taste of their music and allows existing fans to love their new releases as much as the older ones.

Hands All Over is a 14-track masterpiece – a brilliant combination of Maroon 5’s already impeccable style with a hot new twist. Whether you are falling in love, getting over a heart break or just wanting to get up and dance, this CD will fit the mood. Hands All Over is sure to grab attention and praise for all of its musical variety and catchy rhythms.

Grade: A Both teen and adult audiences will like Maroon 5’s latest album, Hands All Over. It is a splash of variety for anyone’s music library.

views Masterpiece Theatre

By Marianas Trench REVIEWED BY JENAH MCPHERSON

Marianas Trench is a punk rock band that, unlike many others, does not digitally alter their sound.

They hit the scene in October 2006 with their first full-length album, Fix me. The first two singles did not do as well as hoped, but a third single called “Shake Tramp” catapulted them into stardom.

Josh Ramsay, lead vocals, rhythm, guitar and piano, said the band would not fall under the pressures of success and would take their time on a second album.

On February 24, 2009, they released their second album: Masterpiece Theatre. “Masterpiece Theatre 1,” is the basis of their entire album and the final track, “Masterpiece Theatre 3,” quotes lyrics from all the previous songs.

Masterpiece Theatre debuted at No. 4 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and “Cross My Heart” became their second song on the charts to peak at No. 1. The song was nominated for four Much Music Video Awards in 2009 and was certified platinum in Canada. “All To Myself” also reached platinum in Canada and the No. 1 spot on Much Music’s Much On Demand. Marianas Trench is in the process of making their third album “Ever After,” which is set to be released early this fall.

Ramsay uses writing to aid his recovery from drug addiction. Due to his personal experience with such addiction and eating disorders, Ramsay actively speaks out on the topic. The rest of the band – Ian Casselman, drums, Mike Ayley, bass guitar, and Matt Webb, lead guitar, support their band mate’s voice on the matter. “I think that the standard perception and paradigm of mental disorders and illnesses is not really looked at the right way,” Ramsay has said, “... the less we talk about things the more power it gives them over you.”

Grade: A+ Marianas Trench went out on a limb with Masterpiece Theatre. Incorporating lyrics from every song into one melodic “masterpiece” is not as easy as it sounds.

Loud Planes Fly Low

By The Rosebuds REVIEWED BY MEENAKSHI MALIK

If you have not heard of The Rosebuds yet, now is the perfect time. The duo, Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard, is nothing short of talented. Loud Planes Fly Low is their fifth and latest album, which will leave you tapping your toes and humming their memorable melodies. Howard’s smooth voice reels you in, inviting you to listen to the band’s story of heartbreak and healing. Although it is a short listen, the album has just the right amount of material to get you hooked.

This album was inspired by Howard and Crisp’s divorce. The melancholy words and hopeful beat in “Go Ahead” are the perfect blend for their own story. The split made way for the very fortunate beauty that this album contains. Loud Planes Fly Low is different from previous albums that the duo recorded during their years of marriage.

The new tone is evident, through the songs that speak of a new chapter in each of their lives and the difficulty to begin their new journey separately.

Howard’s bittersweet vocals are filled with a yearning for the past, but a hope for a better future. This is most noticeable in songs like “Woods,” which will leave the listener wondering, “What went wrong with the two?” “Waiting for You” is not as bitter as the first few songs in the album, suggesting a journey the former couple took towards a light at the end of their dark and broken

tunnel. In another song, “Come Visit Me,” it’s Crisp’s turn to lead the vocals and have a chance of telling her side of the story.

This album has a universal appeal that is rare to find in the music world nowadays. Fans of Samantha James and Arcade Fire would appreciate the pure and simple way these songs come together.

Grade: A+ The Rosebuds may not be as wellknown as other indie-rock groups, but they seem like a music phenomenon waiting to happen.

If they keep making excellent and soulful music like this, they will be on their way to great things.

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it HAPPENS | Reviews

The Gamer

Off th

Ready, set, game with these Grip picks Title: Portal 2 Platform: PC, Mac OS X, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 Rating: Everyone 10+

REVIEWED BY: DAVID LY In 2007 developer Valve released Portal, which became a smash hit, won over a dozen awards and generated Internet attention. Now, four years later, Valve has released Portal 2 as a standalone game and it’s generating even more acclaim than its predecessor.

The concept is simple: you have a gun which can create orange and blue “portals”, which are holes in reality. When entering a blue portal, you emerge from an orange portal and vice-versa. Using this unique method of transportation, you solve puzzles from a first person perspective. The puzzles become progressively more complicated, requiring expert timing when firing portals or avoiding lasers.

Like the original Portal, your character Chell never speaks. The only dialogue in Portal 2 comes from the robots of Aperture Science. Their well-written and well-spoken lines of witty banter will make you laugh out loud, further immersing you within the world of Portal 2. This style of storytelling also creates a rich plot without distracting cut scenes plagued by other first person games.

Portal 2’s co-operative mode is a welcome addition that allows you to solve brand new puzzles in either split screen or online with a partner, playing as two likeable Pixar-esque robots. These puzzles are designed to require attentive co-operation.

Grade: A Portal 2 is mentally stimulating but is also an excellent family game with a smart concept and innovative design. Even if you don’t typically play video games, this title would be an excellent place to start, as the playfulness and uniqueness will have you hooked.

Title: Cooking Mama World: Hobbies & Fun Platform: Nintendo DS Rating: Everyone

REVIEWED BY: HIMMI CHERUVU It’s incredibly hard not to enjoy Cooking Mama, regardless of the simplicity of the game. This edition, Cooking Mama World: Hobbies & Fun, is no exception. The game is set up with five different sections in which players learn how to create and style a variety of different objects and jewelry.

There are many games, project and mini-games that you can unlock in Cooking Mama. You are in control of everything you create, from what color materials you use to what types of gems you use on your jewelry. There is a huge range of crafts, from a simple ceramic mug to a xylophone.

Each of the projects involves cutting, sawing, sewing, gathering and constructing an object. For example, when creating a plate you must first take out the clay, knead it with your hands, stretch it out, add some water and shape it into a plate. You can choose how you want to paint it and carry your finished plate to the kiln. What started out as a seemingly simple task quickly becomes much more.

The bright and vibrant projects allow players to get absorbed in crafting some lovely items, objects and jewelry in a clear and concise way. Imagination is still required and the game offers an excellent amount of interaction. It is surprisingly entertaining, considering its very simple concept.

Grade: A This game is both compelling and satisfying. You’ll feel very pleased with what you’ve created, even if it’s just on a screen.

GRIPMagazine

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HELP wanTeD

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Got a question that no one can answer, or that you’re too Got a niggling question that no one that you’re afraid to ask your parents, teacher orcan bestanswer, friend?orSend it to us. too afraid to ask your units, teacher or best friend?

Send it to us.

We guarantee anonymity, and we’re beyond embarrassment.

We guarantee anonymity, and we’re beyond embarrassment.

We’ll find an expert to answer the most persistent question you We’ll an expert to answer the most persistent question you havefind related to any topic: relationships, school, sexuality, puberty, have related to any topic: relationships, school, sexuality, puberty, drugs, love, life and the pursuit of happiness. drugs, love, are life, you andwaiting the pursuit So … what for?of happiness.

So… what are you waiting for?

Question: I’m really shy and I’m starting junior high. I want to be able to try new things and meet new people, but I can’t seem kids to Question: A while ago some shake my shyness.

Anyabout tips? were talking on the bus -Super Shy Stephen whether someone was circumcised or not. (I’m not.) They were talking like being uncircumcised was weird and Dear Super Shy Stephen, gross.

Does it matter?

First off, it’s great that you are recognizing –that Denny Doesn’t you are feelingKnow this way and that you want to do something about it, says Dear Denny, Eustace, a psychologist and Dr. Jonathan It manager doesn’t really matter.

Sure, there are some of the University of Alberta Hosbenefi of beingpsychology circumcised; it reduces the pital’stsclinical services.

One risk of infections and (sexually transmitted of the best ways to STIs overcome shyness is infections).

But that doesn’t mean it’s better or to start with really small steps. moreDr. normal.

Eustace suggests trying to extend “The practice of routinely circumcising your next telephone conversation just achildren to come in and out of vogue,” littleseems bit. Practice your conversation skillssays Dr. Derek Bochinski, anover Edmonton urologist. with family members the phone or “Often the decision to you circumcise or not will face-to-face.

Once feel more comdepend whether the father has been cirfortableon talking to people you know well, cumcised. is not considered reach outIttocertainly other people in your life. weird toFind be uncircumcised.” one or two people at school who Chances are you really friends aren’t aswith, much a you could start to make then minority you think.

It used to beathat branchas out from there.

Joining club or circumcision was the quo. school Now that’s getting involved withstatus your new in changed.

Now that’s changed. some way could also help.

Besides, Dr.small Bochinski, men work report a Start with steps says and then decrease sensitivity after circumcision. towards in bigger goals.

“Share what Good the risk ofelse,” infection in your hygiene goals arelessens with someone uncircumcised guys. says Dr. Eustace, in order to make sure you are following through with them.

Question: parents are religious.

I That personMy could be a school counsellor, used toor like going to church with them, parent friend.

GRIPMagazine GRIP Magazine

Question: My mom drinks a lot.

She says it’s just a glass of wine each night, but I’m pretty sure it’s much more.

It’s becoming tohe’s bring Question: My embarrassing brother told me gay. friends hometoand He’s scared tellI’m ourstarting parents,toasworry my about What I do? dad is her. known to should make the occasional -Concerned in Calgary homophobic remark.

I accept my brother for who he is but I’m not sure my will.inHow can I help my Dearparents Concerned Calgary, family this?

-Keeping the You’re intoa deal prettywith difficult situation because Peace somebody else’s actions, that you don’t have much control over, are causing problems.

Dear Keeping the Peace,complicated by the The situation is further “Your brother a bit of trust in you by fact that it’s has yourplaced mom,quite an authority figure. sharing thisare, information with you,” Dr. Eustace says, There however, things you can do. “so probably be good keep that trust and Talkit would to someone else in thetofamily about not share this information.” what’s going on, says Dr. Eustace. That could thing, says Dr. Eustace, would beThe yourmost dad,helpful brother, sister, aunt or uncle or be to continue to support your brother in any way anyone you trust. thatItyou can and that your knows he sounds likeensure your mom maybrother be in denial, is veryDr. supported by you.

It sounds like to says Eustace,and soloved instead of talking directly you’re a pretty good job of that already, just her, trydoing to approach somebody else aboutso the continue benitely thereis forayour brother. issue. “Itto defi situation where you need “Let your brother knowhelp,” that it’s to him tosays. to seek some external Dr.upEustace choose theare time when he wants to tell your There also support groups thatparents. are set It’s decision to teens when he wantslife to disclose uphis specifi callyasfor whose is affected and he’s the best person to make that decision,” by other people’s drinking.

Check out says Dr. Eustace. www.al-anon.alateen.org – the organization, There are support groupshas thatAlateen can helpmeetyou.

Al-Anon Family Groups, PFLAG Canada (Parents, and Friends ings where teens can fiFamilies nd support and of Lesbians and Gays) haspeople supporttheir groups various understanding from owninage locations Alberta.

The association supports, who are in going through similar diffi culties. educations and provides resources to anyone Also check out www.albertahealthservwith questions or concerns. at www. ices.ca/addiction.asp forLearn moremore information pflagcanada.ca. and resources.assure them that your values

Question: My brother told me he’s gay.

He’s scared to tell parents, dad haven’t changed, justour your beliefs. as Likemy a lot of is knownthis to make thebetter occasional homoproblems, one gets phobic remark.

I accept for who by keeping the people that my carebrother about you isloop. but I’m not sure my parents will. How inhe the can I help my family to deal with this?

-Keeping the Peace Question: I have visible hair on my breasts, and I’m a girl! I’m worried I’m a freak, orthe worse, a guy.

Dear Keeping Peace, –“Your Hairy Mary brother has placed quite a bit of trust

in you by sharing this information with you,” Hi Dr.Mary, Eustace says, “so it would probably be good There arethat more girls with their to keep trust and notsome sharehair thisaround information.” nipples think.

It’s just notDr. something The than mostyou helpful thing, says Eustace, they talkbe about.

It isn’t freaky at all;your it’s totally would to continue to support brother common. canyou be hard when you think in any wayItthat can and ensure that you yourare developing in different ways than yourand peers, brother knows he is very supported loved but don’tItworry. by you. sounds like you’re doing a pretty good canalready, always just leave the straytohair jobYou of that so just continue be there alone: it’sbrother. probably nowhere near as bad as for your you “Let think. your brother know that it’s up to him arethe a lot of when ways to rid oftothe to There choose time heget wants tell your unwanted hair. wayhe is to pluck parents. It’s hisProbably decisionthe as best to when wants to out the rebel tweezers.

However disclose andhairs he’swith the best person to makeyou that approach be careful.

It’s a sensitive area! decision,”it,says Dr. Eustace.

IfThere it’s a real you can have are problem, support groups that canlaser help you. removal, that’ll and costFriends you around $75 a and Parents,but Families of Lesbians session.

Sometimes excessive hair growth Gays (PFLAG) Canada has support groups in can signal a hormonal imbalance.

If you think various locations in Alberta.

The association you’re growing too much you can ask your supports, educates and hair, provides resources to gynecologist to check your hormone Learn levels.more If anyone with questions or concerns. itatiswww.pfl a hormone problem, your periods may be agcanada.ca.

Other resources can affected be foundtoo. at www.ismss.ualberta.ca.

Help Wanted is provided for general informational purposes only and is notfor intended replace Help Wanted is provided generalto informational purposes only and not intended consultations withisyour doctor orto toreplace provide medical consultations with your doctor or to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Always seek the advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice advice of your physician or other qualified healthwith of your physician or other qualified health provider providers any personal medical and health any personalwith medical and health questions that you may have. that you may have. questions E-mail helpwanted@griponlife.ca E-mail helpwanted@griponlife.ca oror mail Help Wanted, c/o Grip Magazine mail Help Wanted, c/o Grip Magazine 10259-105 St.St. 10259-105 Edmonton, ABABT5J 1E3 Edmonton, T5J 1E3

THE BEYOND SAD ISSUE Depression is a common mental health problem that often occurs during adolescence. Yet despite affecting many teens, depression is still not something that we often talk about openly. Teens from across Alberta attempt to change that in this issue of Grip. We ask questions and get answers about depression and other mental illnesses.

What are they? Who do they impact? And where can you seek help?

WHICH IS WHICH?

DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND SADNESS MAY SEEM SIMILAR, BUT DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THEM IS IMPORTANT. GRIP FINDS OUT WHAT’S WHAT – AND HOW TO DEAL WITH EACH

AFTER THE DIAGNOSIS

THE DIAGNOSIS OF A MENTAL ILLNESS IS DIFFICULT ENOUGH, WITHOUT THE ADDED IMPACT OF STIGMA, MISCONCEPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES. A TEEN SHARES HER STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED AFTER SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH DEPRESSION

A HEALTHY YOU

THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. LEARN WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO ADDRESS THEM IN A POSITIVE MANNER

WHEN STATUS FALLS SHORT

FIND MORE DIRECT ROUTES TO THE RESOURCES YOU SEEK, INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR HEALTH-CARE INFORMATION ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES.

18 24 30 34 griponlife.ca

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Depression, anxiety and sadness may seem similar, but distinguishing between them is important. Grip finds out what’s what – and how to deal with each. oung people, like you and I, don’t have much to get depressed about. Our days pass in leisure and learning until we reach adulthood, where we need to start considering taxes, employment and the other responsibilities of life. Until then, we should savour the idyllic days of our youth. Right? Wrong.

The onset of depression and other mood disorders usually occurs during adolescence, which makes sense when you consider all of the turmoil and uncertainty that teens deal with. “[Teens] are at an age where they are still learning how to cope with things,” says Tammy Kille, a family therapist at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. “And they’re faced with a lot of adversity, really, in terms of starting and forming new relationships, and wanting to gain independence from the family system.”

“Teens might not have all the same supports in place as adults, or they might not be able to get the same supports in place,” says Dr. Jorden Cohen, who runs the Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient unit at Foothills Medical Centre.

Dr. Cohen and Kille both say genetics play a big role in determining susceptibility to depression. If someone has parents with a history of depression, he or she might be at an increased risk. Common triggers for depression in teens can include bullying, grief over loss of a loved one, loss of an important relationship, addictions in the teen or in the family, self perceived failure to live up to expectations, and abuse, including experiencing or witnessing family violence.

Experience with bullying in elementary school triggered depression for Kelsey Smith-Paris. Over the course of a few months, she says, “it felt like someone was making me believe I could be happy but then almost instantly snatched that away from me.” For two years she felt like she was trapped in a dark hole, unable to get out. Eventually, with the help of therapy, friends, family and poetry, her depression was treated. But the illness itself still remains mysterious to her. “I can’t really say why I beat my depression,” she says, “only that I did.”

GRIPMagazine

Kelsey, who now attends high school in Edmonton, advises other teens to maintain their self-confidence to deal with depression. “No matter who you are, there will always be people out there who don’t like you,” she says.

“Fight for what [you] want.”

While everyday sadness and depression might seem similar, distinguishing between them is important. Some sadness is normal; no one feels up all the time. “Oftentimes sadness can be mistaken for depression,” says Kille, but there are important differences. “[Depression] is not just a period of time that you’re feeling glum and can recover from,” says Dr. Cohen. “Depression is a more severe case of consistently feeling down. Your body actually changes with it. It’s almost like somebody pulled out one of your batteries, if you were a car, and you’re just running at half of what you have.”

By Eric Astley

Unlike normal sadness, which eventually passes like any other mood, depression requires a lengthy period of a significantly lowered mood.

Clinicians use a list of nine criteria, including loss of energy, withdrawal from friends and family, trouble sleeping and feelings of worthlessness, to assess depression. A diagnosis requires meeting at least five of the nine symptoms for two weeks or more. Only a health care professional can make the diagnosis.

A primary symptom of depression in teens, according to Dr. Cohen, is loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. He says this can vary depending on the disposition of the teenager. Extroverts might spend less time hanging out with friends, while introverts might play fewer video games or listen to less music.

Dr. Cohen also says that depressed teens can display their consistent internal unhappiness as anger or irritability. A teen with depression may

not seem sad all the time, as is the common portrayal. “For a lot of people they’re feeling that [sadness] on the inside, but looking like they’re agitated and irritated.”

In fact, according to Dr. Cohen, social and cultural circumstances play a big role in the way depression gets expressed. “When you look at Latin American countries, for example, it’s well-documented historically that to talk about depression is not a very socially acceptable thing,” he says. “But you can talk about being anxious all the time and stressed out.” Dr. Cohen says the amount of depression around the world is fairly evenly distributed.

“It just may be presented a little bit differently in different cultures,” he says.

Anxiety, like sadness, also commonly gets associated with depression.

Anxiety includes a wide variety of psychological disorders, from panic attacks to social phobia – but those feelings are different from depression.

Anxious people often “say they just feel like they’re constantly in a state griponlife.ca

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where they’re revved up in a worrisome way,” Dr. Cohen says. “They can have sweaty palms a lot of the time. They can have a feeling like their heart is pounding or jumping out of their chest.”

Though such symptoms obviously contrast with the feelings of depression, anxiety and depression can co-exist, and the appearance of one can increase the likelihood of the other in an individual.

“You can be very religious and be a very spiritual person. Or you could be agnostic or otherwise and be very spiritual.”

Leap was developed by the Canadian Institute of Natural and Integrative Medicine in collaboration with Alberta Health Services, the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University.

While the program remains in development, it still made a difference in the life of Nayley Trujillo. When she was 14, her great-grandmother, who had raised her to that point, passed away. Nayley moved in with her parents afterwards, but they didn’t have great communication. The combined stress pushed her into a depression that lasted four years.

“I wasn’t happy anymore,” she says.

“I stopped doing things. I stopped reading books. I just got disconnected; I wouldn’t talk to anyone. I felt like crying all the time, and at some points I did feel like dying and I did have suicidal thoughts.”

But over time her depression was treated. Eventually, she wound up volunteering with the Leap project, where she helps out to this day. “My beliefs changed and I came to be a more spiritual person and believe in things that I had stopped believing in,” she says.

“I had put myself in a hole where I felt so alone. I just didn’t want to be alone anymore.”

“Depression is not just a period of time that you’re feeling glum and can recover from. Depression is a more severe case of consistently feeling down. Your body actually changes with it. It’s almost like somebody pulled out one of your batteries, if you were a car, and you’re just running at half of what you have.”

If you suspect you are depressed or that a friend is depressed, the best course of action is to talk to a responsible adult, teacher, guidance counsellor or family doctor about it. The consequences of leaving depression untreated can be dire, as Dr. Cohen says it can sometimes lead to self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

Even the impact of missed time from school can be significant for someone with depression. Absence from school takes more away from a young person than absence from work does from an adult, Dr. Cohen says, since school functions as both a centre of learning and an important place for social development.

Remember, only health care professionals can diagnose clinical depression and recommend appropriate treatment. Treatment can involve therapy, medication or a combination of both.

Dr. Cohen is currently working with a team of researchers to develop a new method of therapy specifically designed for young people. The program, called Leap, is still undergoing testing, but it aims to engage with young people better than traditional depression therapies by treating them online. “We don’t think teenagers are going to want to do therapy watching a DVD and just meeting with the therapist,” says Dr. Cohen. “We tried to relate to them at their level.”

Leap also incorporates the idea of spirituality, which Dr. Cohen distinguishes from formal religion. “It’s basically about learning about yourself and where you fit in the world. What’s your purpose dealing with challenges as they arise in a way that’s going to be healthy for you?” he says.

GRIPMagazine

RESOURCES Help is available 24-7 at the following numbers: • Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 • Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 • HealthLink Alberta: 1-866-408-5465 • Bully Help Line: 1-888-456-2323 • Dealing with Depression: www.comh.ca/publications/pages/dwd/ For more information on the Leap Project, an online program for young people with depression, check out www.leapproject.com or call 403-220-0022 ext. 222

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24

After the Diagnosis

By Jenah McPherson

Stigma, misconceptions and stereotypes can make the diagnosis of a mental illness even more difďŹ cult

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I

t’s strange how three little words can alter your entire

existence. How in just one moment, your whole world suddenly becomes unrecognizable. Just three words – that’s all it takes to change a life. For me, those three words were “You are depressed.”

In a way, I was glad to get that diagnosis. Now I knew what was wrong. I knew that it was something out of my control. But on the other hand, now I felt like it was a fact that something was wrong with me. But although it may feel “abnormal” to have a mental health concern, it is in fact fairly common for people (20 per cent of us) to experience a mental health illness in our lifetimes.

It was tough too, because I felt like one of two things happened. I felt like the people who knew either scoffed at it, thinking I was using it as an excuse, or they became hypersensitive around me. They would never know what to say to me and would always wonder what was going to be that one thing that “set me off.”

People walked on eggshells around me when I fell into one of my moods.

My mother put my family on suicide watch so everything I said and did was closely monitored. Everywhere I turned I felt like people were telling me I couldn’t be sad, as if this was a feeling I could suddenly snap out of.

In addition to my diagnosis, I was experiencing the stigma that often comes with a mental illness. Stigma is defined as a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality or person. That was how I felt about it too, as if my depression was a mark of disgrace.

Stigma refers to the labelling of certain attributes, traits or disorders as shameful, as unacceptably different from those of “normal” people. I think mental illnesses have a stigma around them because people don’t know how to handle them. They do not know what to do or say and they do not know what to expect from those who have a mental illness. They are scared because it is unknown territory, for both the person with the mental illness and the person close to them who does not have one. I had many people in my life that cared about me, but they did not know how to cope with the fact that I had and still have a mental illness.

The stigma of my mental illness was challenging for me to deal with.

Stigma can also create a barrier to getting help because you’re scared of what others might say or do or think. It’s hard to disclose that you have a mental illness for fear of other people’s reaction to you.

For me, it was hard telling people that I had a mental illness. I never really did outright tell anybody, because saying the words out loud made it true.

Instead, I just talked and carried on and left it up to others to assume what they wanted. But people are starting to speak out on mental illness and trying to erase some of the stereotypes and stigma. This openness and willingness to talk about something that we often don’t talk about is very positive. “Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of,” former U.S. President Bill Clinton once said, “But stigma and bias shame us all.”

In dealing with the misconceptions and stereotypes that come with mental illness, I have often wondered, do people judge us for something that is out of our control because they are afraid of the things that are out of control in their own life? I never really felt like I could talk to anyone about what I was going through. I felt that either they couldn’t understand and I was judged by them or they were so busy with their own problems that they couldn’t really afford to help me with mine. I went through life without anyone to talk to, feeling very alone.

While I knew I was not the only person who felt the way I did, I felt like I was the only one not making any progress. Even now, with an understanding of what I am going through and a good support group, dealing with depression is not always easy. There are still days that I cry and I struggle to tell anyone that I feel like I’m tied together with a smile and underneath that, I’m coming undone. It’s still something that is hard for me to talk about. Once you get those looks of pity or fear, once you have been treated like you might snap at any second or like you were a hypochondriac seeking attention, you tend to clam up.

People, I think, are naive to what depression really is. Yes it is a mental illness, but what does that mean? It means that I do not choose to be the way I am. I do not want to feel like a burden. I do not wake up in the morning and think to myself, “Today I am going to feel like a wounded bird that just flew into somebody’s window – inconvenient and in the way.” But even though I don’t choose to feel this way, I am going to feel upset, sad, angry and apathetic, and I’m not always going to know why.

Having a mental illness, such as depression, does make me different and sometimes out of control of my emotions. But that does not mean I am out of control. You do not have to be afraid of me. I am basically like you, just … a little more vulnerable.

Many negative stereotypes are associated with mental illness, including that people with mental illness are potentially violent and dangerous, that they’re responsible for their illness, and that they will never recover. People also think that mental illness is something to be embarrassed about and that it is a very private thing that we shouldn’t talk about. These are misconceptions and they are not true.

We need to stop shaming those with mental illnesses. People like me are battling an illness that we have no control over. We should not be ridiculed because of our differences; intolerance towards people with a mental illness is simply unacceptable. When those in the spotlight, like actors or athletes, open up about their struggles with mental illness, it can help bring mental illness out of the shadows and help to decrease the stigma of the illness. But I don’t think we should just wait for these celebrities to speak out.

Mental illness is something that is not going to go away. People, like me, will continue to receive the diagnosis of depression, or a different mental illness. We will continue to need the love and support of our family and friends, even if those family and friends may have a hard time understanding why we’re feeling the way we are. Let’s continue to talk openly and honestly about depression and to lessen the stigma of the illness.

LEARN MORE More resources on the impact of stigma can be found online: • Mental Illness Awareness Week is a public education awareness campaign that teaches Canadians about mental illness. This link explains stigma and includes information on anti-stigma campaigns: http://miaw.ca/en/mental-illness/stigma-discrimination.aspx •The Canadian Mental Health Association’s high school site is designed for teens experiencing mental health problems. It includes tools and lots of information, like the negative stereotypes that can accompany mental illness: http://cmha.ca/highschool/p_myths.htm

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26 Learning to Cope There are places to go for help

T

By Alix Kemp

Suicide is not something that we like to talk about.

It’s a subject that is often avoided, for various reasons. But unless we talk and become aware that it exists, and work together to interpret why it exists, nothing will change.

GRIPMagazine

here’s a good chance that you, or someone you know, have been affected by suicide. You might know someone who died by suicide, or maybe you have experience with a friend who expressed suicidal thoughts. Whatever the case, you probably felt very scared and sad. You might not have been sure what to do.

Prevention is the only solution to suicide and prevention comes through examining and talking about the topic openly and honestly. Effective treatment exists for those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts. The Distress Centre’s 24-hour crisis line (403266-HELP) and The Support Network’s 24-hour-crisis line (780-482HELP) are two places of many where you can get help.

The question of why teens die by suicide is an enormous one to try and answer. Dave MacLeod, a Calgary-based clinical psychologist who works with the Centre for Suicide Prevention, is hesitant to make any sweeping statements about why teenagers might think about suicide. “The reasons why people die by suicide depends so much on what’s going on in that person’s life,” MacLeod says. MacLeod and the others at the Centre for Suicide Prevention deliver workshops teaching suicide prevention. Last year they delivered 342 workshops to 5,521 participants.

People can feel suicidal for an enormous variety of reasons.

Relationship troubles, low self-esteem, substance abuse problems, bullying, abuse or grief over the death of a loved one can all be contributing factors for someone who feels suicidal. Mental illness is one of the largest contributing causes of suicide and many who attempt suicide have depression.

We might leap to the conclusion that friends are suicidal if we discover that they are hurting themselves. Although suicide and self-injury share a common background – both are frequently caused by severe depression – it’s important not to confuse the two.

For many teens, self-injury is a coping technique. It can allow teens a way to externalize internal pain and can make them feel better. Suicide, on the other hand, occurs when teens have lost all hope of ever feeling any better.

“When a person reaches a point of suicidal attempts, that person wants to end everything, to end all feeling. They can’t take the pain, can’t take the sadness and want it all to end,” MacLeod says. The desire to die by suicide generally occurs when other coping mechanisms, including self-injury, have failed to alleviate the suffering.

When trying to help a friend who is self-injuring, it’s important not to overreact and panic because there’s a chance they may be suicidal.

The best thing you can do is discuss the situation calmly and try to discover the real reason(s) they’re harming themselves.

Self-harm is something that Jennifer Skolney knows about firsthand. Now 24-years-old, she has a warm but hesitant smile.

And, although the marks are now several years old, she remains a little self-conscious about the cross-hatching of scars on her left arm. They are remnants of the severe depression she experienced as a teenager: a time of her life she’s somewhat hesitant to talk about.

“I think loneliness was the biggest thing,” Jenn says, “but I don’t think I really knew at the time why I was feeling that way or what I was feeling.” As her depression worsened, her grades dropped and she eventually left her public high school to be home schooled. She finally wrote a letter to her parents explaining what she was feeling and was able to get help through counselling. She’s now pursuing a degree in psychology so that she can become a child therapist specializing in play therapy.

“I remember hearing, ‘Oh, it gets better. Other people have lived through it,’ and thinking ‘Well, that’s not me. Other people might be happier later, but I’m not going to be’, and not buying into any of that,” she says. “I think the best advice I had was, with therapy, you’re only going to get out of it what you put in. So I went in with the idea that I had to help myself, even though it was hard. You can’t just snap out of it. It was work, and I didn’t feel better overnight.”

The important thing, though, is that Jenn did get help.

Reaching out for help can be terrifying and things won’t necessarily get better right away. But it is possible to work through depression and suicidal feelings and to learn better coping mechanisms than self-injury.

As she looks at her faded scars, Jenn begins to speak. “They’re a part of my story now,” she says. Though she once couldn’t picture things ever getting better, she can no longer imagine being in the same place she was as a teenager.

HOW TO HELP A FRIEND Many people will avoid directly talking about suicide with someone they believe may be suicidal. This may be because of the extreme stigma surrounding mental illness and depression that can make these subjects really hard to discuss. Another reason we might not talk about it is because we’re afraid that bringing up suicide with someone who is depressed may cause them to become suicidal. But mentioning suicide to someone won’t make them suicidal. In fact, discussing the topic honestly is the best way to approach it.

Those who feel suicidal may feel ashamed or disgusted with themselves for feeling the way that they do, and being able to talk openly about it can help to diffuse that pain. When you’ve found out that a friend is suicidal or self-injuring, the next step is to talk to an adult you can trust. Your friend may insist that his or her feelings should be kept secret, but it’s important that he or she receives the intervention of an adult who can make sure your friend gets the resources and support he or she needs most.

There are signs that you can watch out for if you think a friend may be considering suicide. Most people who are contemplating suicide do want help, although they may not know how to ask for it. They often give signals before attempting suicide.

Some possible signs include: • Talking about suicide or being preoccupied with death • Expressing feelings that if they were dead, nobody would miss them or everyone would be better off • Believing that things will never improve and that they are destined to be unhappy forever • Saying final goodbyes, giving away possessions or writing a will • Reckless or self-destructive behaviour or a sudden sense of happiness or calm following a long depression

WHERE TO FIND HELP If you’re feeling suicidal or are hurting yourself, there are a lot of things you can do to get help. Even if you’re not yet comfortable telling your friends and family what’s going on, there are people you can talk to.

Many organizations offer 24-hour crisis support lines, online counselling or in-person, walk-in counselling.

The Distress Centre in Calgary has a 24-hour crisis intervention line (403-266-HELP), professional counselling and referral services.

Calgary’s Centre for Suicide Prevention (www.suicideinfo.ca) is an education centre that has a large library of resources.

In Edmonton, teens can access services from The Support Network, which offers a 24-hour telephone support line (780-482-HELP), walk-in counselling at their downtown location and suicide bereavement groups for those who have lost a friend or family member to suicide.

Terri Bailey, who supervises The Support Network’s suicide awareness program, emphasizes the importance of talking to someone if you’re struggling with suicidal feelings or a desire to self-injure. “Suicide is like mold,” she says, “it grows in the dark.”

Other places you can get help from include: • Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 • Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 • HealthLink Alberta: 1-866-408-5465 • www.myhealth.alberta.ca • www.mentalhealthcanada.com • www.mymentalhealth.ca • www.distresscentre.com • www.comh.ca/publications/pages/dwd/

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28

Story Behind

The jutting of my waist Sounds like the blue of my nails My breath could frost glass Stiffen wire Crack plastic.

I sit Chiselled meticulously of ice And think I rule this place Where time is measured by Cards, and numbers, Measured by the shadows Hipbones cast against my parchment skin

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Measured by the space between my legs The width of my fingers Measured by blood, the viscous ink Of words in the morning Where nothing – no one – Is awake.

But I am alive Inside this magnificent world Where my numbers carve so very much.

Never enough.

Even though the pills keep coming, Vomiting their contents down my throat,

I know nothing can stop me.

The outsiders will invade But these voices will Throw the snowy skies into Sharpest relief So I will see Every Single Bone

Of

its ribcage.

d My Poem

By Leanne Klimek

How my struggles with anorexia nervosa inspired me to write “These Voices”

T

he story I will tell takes place with considerable overlap.

It happened two years ago. Simultaneously, it ensues the day of Jack Layton’s death. It happens as I create a collage for my best friend’s birthday. At the same time, I am graduating from high school. In other words: while it has already happened, it continues to happen.

This is the hopeful story behind “These Voices” the poem I wrote about my struggles with anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia, the word in itself, means “loss of appetite.” Anorexia nervosa is what I had, with restriction of calories at its centre. According to Dianne Drummond, an eating disorder prevention specialist with Alberta Health Services, those with bulimia nervosa restrict, binge, purge, and then repeat this cycle again and again. People with binge eating disorders also restrict and binge but don’t purge. All three of these eating disorders commonly blend into one another. Many people with anorexia nervosa, for example, have episodes of binging and purging when they lose control.

To understand the person with anorexia, know that they are coping with issues behind the eating disorder. They are coping using caloric restriction, binging or purging. The heart of their coping strategy is control. Simply, an eating disorder is a mental illness – an emotional issue that manifests as an eating problem.

I was diagnosed in twelfth grade. I’d wanted to get in shape for my school’s swim team. I’d wanted to be healthy. So I looked up how many calories I should be eating and began to count. And when I saw the weight coming off, I loved it. There was a certain point it seemed like everything was measured by numbers. There were the digits on the scale, but there was also the number of calories I consumed, the amount of fat grams on the nutrition label, and the Body Mass Index (BMI) I aimed for.

The images of cold in “These Voices” (ice, frost and snow) are inspired by how cold I was when I was at my lowest weight. I seemed permanently in a state of hypothermia. I didn’t want to be helped.

But help is what I needed. My psychiatrist said for “these people,” eating is like going to the dentist five times a day. And properly feeding someone with this disorder is the first step to treatment.

To help a friend with an eating disorder, remember what I mentioned earlier – eating disorders are emotional problems. Look for abnormal weight fluctuations and mood changes. Pay close attention if a friend withdraws from social gatherings: food is a group activity, something one with an eating disorder will want to avoid. Also, a person with an eating disorder may

ALTERNATIVE COPING MECHANISMS Dianne Drummond suggests the following ideas as alternative ways to cope with the illness of an eating disorder: • Listen to music • Talk with friends • Write in a diary • Go for walks • Join a sports team • Join a support group • Learn or develop an activity or skill that will get you in touch with your feelings • Do something you are good at; being skilful at something will increase your self-worth

talk of going on a self-imposed diet or exercising excessively. If you are concerned about a friend, do not accuse them. This is a puzzle that must be pieced together. Talk to them. There are places that can help.

I still struggle with “eating disorder thoughts.” This is why I say my story takes place over several timelines, because it is still happening. I have yet to reach the end. I am entering my second year as a student at the University of Alberta. I want to teach at an elementary school. I want to write books. I want to see Greece and the Great Wall, a polar bear and an Olympic swim race. I am too buoyant to be trapped in a needle-thin body.

However desolate a story might seem, there is hope. And hope, in some cases, is all we have.

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP • School counsellors or favourite teachers • A parent or other trusted adult • Local hospitals or medical centres • Websites: www.mentalhealthcanada.com www.mymentalhealth.ca, www.distresscentre.com, www.nedic.ca, www.fedupinc.org, www.ok2bblue.com, www.mindyourmind.ca • Distress Crisis Line (24 hours): Edmonton and area 780-482-HELP (4357); Calgary 403-266-HELP (4357) • Kids Help Phone (24 hours): 1-800-668-6868

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30

A HEALTHY YOU

CAUSES

MANAGE YOUR STRESS

There isn’t one exact cause of mental illness. Current research suggests it has something to do with chemistry of the brain. A variety of factors have been identified as having a possible role in causing or triggering a mental illness to develop, including specific, distressing life events, a biochemical imbalance in the brain and genetics. People with a family history of depression are more likely to experience it than those with no such history.

TALK TO AN EXPERT A risk with internalizing problems and not seeking help from others is that you may self-diagnose what you are experiencing, instead of turning to an expert for a diagnosis. “You can have a negative bias to the worst types of symptoms and that’s why self-diagnosis is not that reliable,” says Dr. Chris Wilkes, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and an associate professor at the University of Calgary. Instead, you should use any concerns you have as an indicator that you should talk to someone else, like a friend or family member. See if they are in agreement and assess together if further help is required. Then talk to an expert like your family doctor.

STAY AWAY FROM SUBSTANCE ABUSE “The majority of teens are able to handle loss and disappointment without using substances,” says Dr. Wilkes. Some teens, however, do turn to substances instead of learning how to deal with the feelings they have. Oftentimes abuse of alcohol, drugs or overthe-counter medication can be a sign of underlying mental illnesses.

SEEK SOCIAL NETWORKS The most important thing that you can do, rather than self-medicating with drugs, alcohol or over-the-counter medication, is to increase your social network. “Have more contact with your family or school counsellor or peers,” Dr. Wilkes says. This will give you the opportunity to discuss with someone how you are feeling and let you get the help you need.

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There are many factors that contribute to your mental health. Learn what they are and how to address them in a positive manner Stress can act as a trigger for mental illness or make it worse. Everyone experiences stresses in their lives. Learning how to manage such stresses helps you to maintain your mental health. Find specific techniques for dealing with stress on page 32.

WRITE ON

EAT WELL, GET PLENTY OF SLEEP AND EXERCISE OFTEN Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting plenty of rest will help you to reduce stress and enjoy life.

Exercise helps you to feel good both physically and mentally. Get moving by taking a walk, stretching, kicking a soccer ball around with a friend or trying a new activity.

By keeping a journal and regularly writing down your feelings, you can gain perspective on your problems. Writing can help you to understand your feelings and look at the struggles you face in a different way.

LEARN WHERE TO TURN

PROTECTIVE FACTORS

Another way some teens choose to deal with their struggles is through overthe-counter medication.

Though most teens do not, for some, use can turn into abuse, which can then lead to dependency. “Abuse becomes dependency when you can’t do without it,” Dr. Wilkes says.

The social networks in your life can have an incredibly positive impact. Research indicates that protective factors for mental health include a confiding relationship, a job, having a mentor who you respect and value and having a sense of belonging where you know you are appreciated or cherished in your own right.

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t’s the night before a big exam and although you’ve studied extensively, you’re still feeling uneasy. You close your eyes and try to drift off to sleep, but scenarios of tomorrow’s test consume your thoughts. You’ve been thinking about this day for weeks now and have been losing sleep worrying about how you’ll perform.

Anxious thoughts are constantly racing through your head during the day too, causing an inability to focus on your other classes. Plus, yesterday you found yourself snapping at your friends over petty issues. The pressures of this test are making you irritable and agitated to the outside world. To put it simply, you’re stressed out!

All this nail biting, anxiety, isolation, moodiness and even aches and pains are caused by stress. What exactly is stress and how can it cause you to feel so unlike yourself? At a basic level, stress is your body’s way of dealing with threatening situations. When you identify a threat, your nervous system releases adrenaline and stress hormones throughout your body.

Your heart then starts to beat faster, your muscles tighten and your senses become much sharper. These senses enhance your focus and help you concentrate all of your energy on the threatening situation at hand, causing what is called a fight or flight reaction. Your natural instinct, just like that of an animal, is to either fight or fly away from whatever the task at hand may be.

STOP STRESSING Fortunately, there are tons of ways to deal with our stress that don’t involve punching holes in walls or screaming at our friends.

A lot of us teens feel pressure to do well, especially academically, as this new school year begins. Here are a few ways to help you unwind and relieve daily tension that may arise in your day.

DO NOT OVER-SCHEDULE! The No. 1 most common stress point for teens is having too many activities going on at once.

Don’t over schedule. It can be difficult attempting to balance your life with so many things to do at once. Most teens get stressed when there’s too much on their plate, so take a breather and leave a spot in your schedule for some “me” time.

GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP: When you give your body enough time to recharge its batteries, the mind and body both benefit. You’ll feel more mentally and physically prepared to take on whatever life throws at you.

CALM DOWN. LEARN TO TAKE IT EASY: The body’s cure for stress is called the relaxation response. You can help trigger the relaxation response by doing simple breathing exercises whenever you find yourself in a stressful situation. You can find many different breathing techniques online, along with other relaxation tips. Try counting to 10 while you regroup and focus on your breathing.

We all get stressed. Common causes of stress are being worried over things like relationships, money or major life changes. Stress can also be internal or self-generated.

Internal stress can be caused by pessimism (always thinking negatively), perfectionism or unrealistic expectations of your own capabilities.

Stress is triggered by different situations for everyone. Some people get nervous when they find out they must speak in front of a crowd, yet others do it for a living without experiencing any stress. Things that come easy to you may be stressful to your sibling or best friend. Some people work their best when they’re under pressure, while others find it difficult to work under a short deadline. Everyone’s stress is caused by different situations, because everyone is unique and different.

Another type of stress is chronic stress. Maybe you’re feeling a little too low too often and you’re worried you might have a problem. Chronic stress is caused by your body reacting to normal amounts of stress (like an argument with a friend) just as severely as it would react towards a life-or-death situation.

Overreacting to small issues causes too many hormones and too much adrenaline to run through your body.

This sort of long-term exposure to stress increases blood pressure, the risk of heart attack and leaves your body more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. If you have many responsibilities and things to take care of, your stress response level may often be very high. If you have pains of any kind, sleep problems or digestive problems, it could be a sign that you have too much on your plate and that’s causing chronic stress.

TREAT YOUR BODY RIGHT AND KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE: A positive attitude can carry you through the worst of situations, so always think like an optimist. Some foods can actually help to relieve stress. Almonds, whole grains, broccoli and fish are packed with vitamins and magnesium, which help regulate your mood.

FIND YOUR OUTLET: Do something that works for you.

Whether it is music, bubble baths, jogging, petting your dog, painting or working out at the gym, find a hobby that helps you relax. If you don’t have a current hobby, it’s never too late to find one. With the new school year underway, we tend to get caught up between school work, part-time jobs and our social life. Spending time on a hobby is important to help relieve some daily tension. Also check out www.stressedteens.com for more resources.

Stress is something we all experience, but by teaching yourself to relax you can minimize and cope with it in a healthy way.

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When Statu

The limits of social networking sites

By Sandy Xu

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My mom asked me the other day, “Do you know how to use Facebook?” My initial reaction was a raised eyebrow (“Really Mom? Is this a real question?”), which I followed with a slow nod.

Did my mom honestly expect me to answer “no”? I live in the second decade of the 21st century in a developed and capitalistic society, where using Facebook is second nature to me.

s D

alls Short

espite my initial reaction, my mom’s question did get me thinking. I know how to use Facebook, from posting photos to statuses to commenting on articles other people post on their profiles. But how do I use Facebook in my life? It’s a great social networking tool, but does it serve a greater purpose beyond that?

From having Froot Loops for breakfast to losing an extended family member, we express ourselves in absurdly simple, yet revealing statuses.

Our thoughts, posted for all to see, describe more than what we do. They point to who we are. This is, of course, the whole part of Facebook’s raison d’etre. In some ways, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Facebook has become saturated in our own identity.

But sometimes emotions can’t be spelled out into a sentence, let alone a word. There is a lot that we can do on Facebook, but there’s also a lot that we can’t do on Facebook. So it struck me as miraculous to learn that a large number of people use social media, like Facebook, for health-care information. A survey states that 94 per cent of participants used Facebook for health-care concerns and needs, followed by 32 per cent that used YouTube and 18 per cent that used Twitter.

Last May, I found myself opening my news feed on Facebook to a disturbing photo of my friend’s bruised toe. Patches of blues and purples inundated my screen as I scrolled down to read the comments. There were a couple dozen “ouch” and “ew, sick” posts. There were a few other pieces of advice, such as, “Soak in ice water” and “Hide it from your mother.” Really now? How about, “Go see a doctor”?

A bruised toe is just one example. Other, more major health concerns, like depression, addiction and other mental illnesses, require a professional diagnosis and special attention that often cannot be found on social networking sites. Additionally, the information that we do find on these sites can be misleading and may cause us not to seek the help or care that we should get. For instance, a teen suffering from a mental illness may be discouraged from seeing a doctor or professional because of comments and advice found online.

At the same time, the networks that exist on the Internet can help people heal. They can bring people together who are experiencing the same feelings, or may have past experiences with the same feelings.

Such companionship can be very valuable. Groups on Facebook can connect people who are located across the world, all experiencing similar feelings or the same diagnosis. But when it comes to diagnosing the initial problem and seeking help, professional advice comes from a doctor, not a computer screen.

It’s also important to remember that Facebook is a profit-driven corporation. The bottom line is, and always will be, it does not exist for your social networking benefits, but rather for the statistics that enable it to profit by

the millions. To be specific, anyone can post, anyone can see and it can be difficult to distinguish the credible source (if there is one) behind the scenes.

There is a tremendous amount of information, including credible online resources, which exist beyond Facebook’s walls. Facebook can also serve as a connector to getting those resources, linking people to outside sites.

In many ways, social networking sites have become a powerful force that have made our lives feel connected. While those connections are often positive, it doesn’t change the fact that many of us are allowing social networking sites, like Facebook, to replace professional, credible sources.

At the heart of the human condition is the ability to pass on information, which then accumulates and gets categorized, fused and tweaked through time. Think of the childhood game of telephone, where one person says a sentence and it gets passed down the line. The message that comes out the other end is often distorted.

Looking for health-care information on a social networking site can have similar results. The message becomes lost as it’s passed down the line, from a friend who wrote on your wall who heard it from her neighbour who may have heard it from her doctor. There are much more direct routes to this information, including phone numbers that connect you directly to a health-care professional.

The notion of using Facebook for purposes beyond social networking is nothing new, but I fear that soon we’ll be at a loss of where or who to turn to. At the end of the day, I think it would do us some good to think twice before browsing Facebook for the answers that we need.

For the Answers You Do Need ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES Website: www.albertahealthservices.ca Anyone in Alberta with a health concern can call HEALTH Link Alberta 24/7: • Toll-free: 1-866-408-5465 • Edmonton: 780-408-5465 • Calgary: 403-943-5465

Grip is now on Facebook, where we’re connecting teens across the province and sharing stories and credible resources.

Find us at www.facebook.com/GripMag

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He SaidS

Should classrooms be gender-specific, a place where boys learn with boys and girls learn with girls?

Two teens agree that there are differences in the way each gender learns, but disagree on if that means education should be separated by gender “By separating boys and girls into separate classes, the teacher can adapt the classwork to better suit the way the specific gender learns best,” writes Zosia Prus-Czarnecka. “Genderspecific classrooms also allow for greater in-depth conversations, where students are more comfortable answering questions and expressing opinions.”

Every day, further advancements in medical research are made and we receive more and more information about the differences in how the brain functions in females and males. This information shows that different genders learn differently. Boys tend to be spatial and kinesthetic learners. They need adequate space to spread out their work and move around. Girls are commonly linguistic learners, able to concentrate longer on speech than boys.

Research has shown that when it comes to thought processes, boys reach conclusions by looking for patterns in general statements. Girls, however, prefer to find concrete evidence and facts to support their arguments before they come to a conclusion.

Many say that boys and girls learn better when integrated in a coed school. But by looking at the research that’s available on how our brains work, it seems obvious that the two genders learn in completely different ways and that each would benefit more if their learning style was favoured in the classroom.

By separating boys and girls into separate classes, the teacher can adapt the classwork to better suit the way the specific gender learns best.

For example, in a class that is all boys, activities are more interactive. There is a larger focus on group work so that the students have a chance to move around and talk, instead of having to sit in a desk for long periods of time.

By adapting teaching methods to the students’ learning style, school is made more enjoyable and students retain more knowledge.

Certain subjects are easier to teach in a gender-specific classroom, such as sexual education. In a coed class, a serious topic can quickly turn into a joke and make students feel uncomfortable or not treat the subject seriously.

Clear Water Academy, located in Calgary, is a private Catholic school that adopted gender-specific education from Grade 4 onward. For close to 10 years, boys who attend the school learn with boys and girls learn with girls. Students receive the academic advantages of gender-specific instruction, while still having coed social opportunities.

Clear Water has consistently ranked high on various education rankings.

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The school’s method of teaching has yielded positive results among students, showing that boys and girls thrive when they’re educated with peers that are the same gender. Teachers at the school have noted that students open up more in class discussions without the pressure of what the other gender will say.

In conclusion, classes should be gender-specific as this provides academic advantages to coed classrooms. Gender-specific classrooms also allow for greater in-depth conversations, where students are more comfortable answering questions and expressing opinions without the additional pressure of what the opposite gender will think.

She Said Grip assigned two teens to argue opposite sides of this question, just for the fun of a good argument.

By: Zosia Prus-Czarnecka and Chris Berthelot “By limiting interactions in classrooms to just one gender, we miss out on a significant opportunity to grow and develop,” writes Chris Berthelot.

“Gender-specific classrooms can also reinforce gender stereotypes by catering to what girls are good at and what boys are good at.”

Education has evolved over the last several hundred years. We’ve gone from a time when only males were educated to males and females being educated in separate schools. Today, we most often have boys and girls learning together, which makes the idea of returning to gender-separated education seem like a step backward.

While it has been noted that boys and girls learn differently, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the genders need to be in separate classrooms in order to succeed. Teachers can cater different activities to

each gender, while still requiring students to participate in both.

This helps students to develop skills in areas that they might not initially have strengths in.

There are definite disadvantages to having both genders in the same classroom. The distractions between boys and girls who are maturing into adulthood and experiencing various hormonal urges can cause students to pay less attention to their schoolwork and more attention to their peers. Such distractions, however, are minor compared to the advantages of students learning together and interacting regularly with members of the opposite gender.

A coed environment in education allows students to feel comfortable expressing their views in front of members of the opposite sex. Such interactions help to build healthy self-esteem. In coed classrooms, students can better prepare for post-secondary education where classes will include both males and females. Learning how to be friends with members of the opposite sex in a classroom setting is an important life skill.

In a coed school, students of the opposite sex regularly need to interact with each other on class projects or other assignments. Through this interaction, social skills between members of both the same and opposite sex develop.

If we, on the other hand, have our youth attend a gender-specific classroom, the opportunity to develop social skills can be lost. Children spend over 12 years in the classroom and it becomes a place where children interact with each other on a regular basis. By limiting interactions in classrooms to just one gender, we miss out on a significant opportunity to grow and develop. Gender-specific classrooms can also reinforce gender stereotypes by catering to what girls are good at and what boys are good at.

Most post-secondary institutions are coed, as are most future workplaces. By having both genders together in the classroom, individuals will become better prepared for the future. Interactions in the classroom with both genders help people to develop many skills that they will need throughout the rest of their lives.

Our education shouldn’t be segregated by gender, ever. Genderspecific classrooms can take away from the opportunity for youth to develop into mature, productive and proud individuals that are able to deal effectively with members of both genders.

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TO THE ARCHIVES The four members of The Provincial Archive, armed with an ever-growing abundance of instruments, are attracting listeners to their original and inventive tunes

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By Chris Berthelot

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eople often like to describe a band by comparing it to other musicians with similar sounds. But for Edmonton-based band The Provincial Archive, that simply won’t do. The role of each of the band’s four members is “everything” – they are all vocalists who use a wide array of instruments including banjo, upright bass, synthesizers, piano, keyboard, drums, mandolin and accordion.

When combined, The Provincial Archive creates a musical identity that cannot be compared to other bands or placed in just one genre.

“When we started the band, the idea was to have fun playing a bunch of different instruments,” says band member Craig Schram. “The instruments have really come to be a bit of our identity.”Also part of the band’s identity is its name, which came from an interest in historical preservation through song. Multiple songs of the band’s early days, written by Craig, were about his family’s history.

The band name also recently led Craig and band members Nathan Burge, Bramwell Park and Ryan Podlubny to tour and play at Canada’s Provincial Archives. In May and June, The Provincial Archive performed in actual archives.

The tour took them to places like The Provincial

Archives of Alberta in Edmonton and The Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management in Halifax, as well as more standard venues.

“Being on stage was incredible. The crowds were great and we played in Halifax for our first time on this tour. We have never gone that far east and there were a lot of people there to see it happen,” Craig says. “Another great thing about going on tour is that you play 30 days in a row, more or less every night. You get very, very tight with your band mates.

The feeling of being together on stage and being very united as a musical entity was amazing.”

That united musical entity produces an equally united sound, which can be heard in their 2009 debut, Nameless Places and 2010 release, Maybe We Could Be Holy. Craig says that when it comes to writing songs, using a large assortment of instruments give the group a bigger palate of sounds to work with. The result is memorable, melodic tunes.

They’re full of soft, yet still powerful, sounds that capture the attention of listeners and won’t let go.

Still, it’s a sound that’s hard to describe to others and doesn’t fit neatly into one specific category.

When tasked with describing their music, even Craig struggles. “The problem is that we’re always changing,” he says. “A friend of mine and a journalist described us as a folk-informed pop rock band, and I think that’s probably the best description of [our] genre.”

The band is also very much an indie band, one that does a lot of things themselves including booking tours and arranging the logistics of crossing the country with many instruments. “It’s a lot of fun to be so involved, but it’s a lot of work,” Craig says. “All of that organizational stuff is a big challenge.”

Overcoming that challenge, says Craig, has to do with each band member keeping his head in the game and staying focused. “Doing things like booking a tour or recording an album come with a lot of pressure,” Craig says. “As long as band members, who are your friends, can keep their head in the game and recognize that everyone is under the same sort of pressure and stress, that gets you 75 per cent of the way. The rest of the 25 per cent is buckling down and being organized.”

It’s an approach that has helped the band successfully release two albums and take two tours, along the way attracting a growing audience. So what’s next for The Provincial Archive? “In September and October, we are in the studio recording our next album,” Craig says. “And we’re doing a few shows in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver with a band called Library Voices.”

For teens who are interested in music, Craig says, “The best advice for writing songs and music that people are going to be interested in is to be an honest songwriter and make the music that you want to hear.” He adds that what makes a song and a band unique is the people in the band.

“The next piece of advice is to really pay attention to how a band works and how you think a band should work,” Craig says. “I’m speaking to the organization that you should do or should be thinking about doing if you want to take it seriously and take it to the next level. It’s not hard, but it takes time.”

That’s what The Provincial Archive is discovering firsthand, as the band continues to make music, tour and play for a growing group of fans. At the end of the day, though, it’s about a group of friends with an abundance of instruments who are having a lot of fun making music. It’s music that also happens to sound original and inventive – and well worth more than just one listen.

The Provincial Archive’s four members use an ever-growing collection of instruments. It’s not often that you hear banjos, upright bass and synthesizers together, but that’s exactly the sort of combination the band specializes in. Officially, here’s who does what: CRAIG SCHRAM: voice, guitar, drums, computer, banjo NATHAN BURGE: voice, piano, keyboards, guitar, accordion BRAMWELL PARK: voice, mandolin, keyboard, guitar, drums, banjo RYAN PODLUBNY: voice, upright bass, keyboards, guitar

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PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN HIDSON

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This is

By Justin Bell

A teen transforms his passion for tinkering into a business that engineers solutions to everyday problems

H

ow does a teen from small-town Alberta invent a walker-wheelchair hybrid that can navigate curbs and stairs, start a business based on his invention and then win a $100,000-fellowship, all before the age of 20?

For Gary Kurek, the teen who did all of the above, such successes are simply about following through with a childhood passion. In his button-down shirt and sweater vest, you’d never know the 19-year-old from Fort Kent, Alberta is a worldclass inventor. But the products Gary created allowed him to skip university, at least for now, to expand his business, Get Mobility Solutions Inc., in San Francisco. He was 17 when he founded his business, which develops such things as mobility aids for disabled users. So, how did Gary get to this point?

It all started at his parents’ home, where he tinkered and put together random objects for years. He says that he knew from a young age he would be an inventor, as his natural curiosity led him to create new items out of what was around him. “As long as I can remember, I have been playing around,” Gary says.

“I had hardly any clue what the word ‘engineering’ was, but it was what I was doing as a kid.”

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PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN HIDSON

42 Thisis Gary Kurek

Like any other kid, Gary’s early engineering started with Lego. As he got older, his tinkering grew from a mild interest into an all-out passion. He decided he didn’t want to build small toys or bobbles anymore. “I realized I wanted to create a system that would help people,” Gary says.

At age 12, Gary looked into science fairs with hopes of applying his talents to real-world problems. One idea, or problem, presented itself while he and his parents drove through the mountains of B.C. and rural areas north of Edmonton. The problem involved animal crossings and with his new interest in science fairs, Gary got to work to find a solution.

What Gary came up with was a system of solar-powered emergency flashers which actiGRIPMagazine

As he got older, his tinkering grew from a mild interest into an all-out passion. He decided he didn’t want to build small toys or bobbles anymore. “I realized I wanted to create a system that would help people.” vated when they detected an animal nearby the road and a vehicle driving past at the same time. If either were present alone – say a deer on a deserted highway or a car passing alone in the dark – nothing would happen. But when the two were detected together, warning lights would flash, alerting passing cars to the presence of wildlife in the immediate area.

It was also about this same time that Gary’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and he watched her lose her mobility, relying more and more on walkers and wheelchairs. So in 2006, Gary changed the focus of his invention to

mobility aids. Over the following year he developed the first prototype of his Rollator Wheelchair Hybrid, a multi-functional walkerwheelchair combination. At 16, Gary signed a contract with NAIT, a post-secondary institution in Edmonton, to jointly work on the new wheelchair, leading to routine two-hour road trips between Fort Kent and Edmonton on his own for meetings with the institution.

With the new wheelchair design, Gary improved his standings in science fairs. He made it to the national level for the fourth time in Grade 11, where he was finally crowned national champion. Gary was making trips to Edmonton on a regular basis while working almost full-time

an inaugural award for young entrepreneurs.

Winners receive $100,000 to pursue innovative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship, set up their businesses and gain access to contacts, with the one catch being that they have to leave school.

Gary’s inventions and his business, Get Mobility Solutions Inc., felt like a good fit for the fellowship, so he entered. He completed phone interviews, group interviews and travelled to San Francisco for a number of nerve-wracking experiences. He was grilled by nearly 100 Silicon Valley business people with two minutes to talk about his business and why he deserved to win. Shortly after he got back from San Francisco, he got a call telling him he was one of 24 winners of the award (and one of just two Canadians). “I almost couldn’t believe it,” Gary says.

Since he got the phone call in mid April, Gary has been working to consolidate his business and move it to San Francisco, where he hopes the contacts he makes through the fellowship will help his business grow. He still has the walker-wheelchair product on the go and is working to make it lighter, foldable and capable of navigating any home environment, including staircases. He also recently moved into investigating green transportation projects.

Gary moved to San Francisco in the fall and continues to use his lifelong passion for tinkering to engineer solutions that help people. “I’ve always strived to be the one person who does things differently.” Gary says. “I’ve been able to achieve more by being different.”

THE THIEL FELLOWSHIP hours on his projects, all in addition to his regular school work. It was a tough schedule to grasp.

“The friends that did understand thought it was great, but other people didn’t understand. And some people were giving me a hard time about it,” Gary says.

That didn’t stop Gary, though, as he became increasingly involved in the province’s tech community. He met with the University of Calgary’s engineering faculty to discuss a potential scholarship, which he was eventually awarded. “The universities knew who I was, the colleges knew who I was, the government knew who I was,” Gary says.

It was a place he wanted to be. But he wasn’t quite finished with high school or his science fair projects, so he kept up the hard work throughout

Grade 12. That included completing his project, a walker that allows people with physical disabilities to navigate curbs, stairs and areas currently unreachable, in a very short time frame. While engineers told Gary he wouldn’t be able to finish the project in a year, he pulled it off in two months. Gary went on to attend the international science fair and presented one of the 15 Canadian projects among 1,600 students.

It was Gary’s last science fair as a high school student and he went out on top. “I won the best project with a technologically appropriate solution to benefit society. So something that would have the most societal impact if released to the public,” Gary says.

He may have won, but Gary wasn’t done yet.

A friend tipped him off to the Thiel Fellowship,

Entrepreneur and co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel announced the Thiel Fellowship in September 2010. Twenty-four people under the age of 20 were awarded $100,000 each to leave college and use the award money to start working on their own business for two years. Each fellow also receives mentorship from the foundation’s tech entrepreneurs and innovators.

“The fellows are a tremendous group of young people who are going to advance the frontiers of knowledge, shake-up staid industries and change the world,” said Peter Thiel in a press release. The project areas of the award winners include biotech, career development, economic and finance, education, energy, information technology, mobility, robotics and space. griponlife.ca

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A Grip writer explores what bullying is, why it happens and what’s being done to stop it

By Zosia Prus-Czarnecka

A

s summer vacation comes to an end, many teens are excited about getting ready to go back to school and see their friends again.

Others, though, live in fear of the date in early September when they have to step back into their classes. A fear of being bullied or made fun of can torment someone for a long time. Although we may try to disregard it at times, bullying is abuse and not something anyone should face.

Bullying is a large umbrella term for the deliberate activity intended to harm or threaten others. Although it is common in all age groups, it peaks at the beginning of junior high. Suddenly kids are mixed in with many new people and as they struggle to make friends and adjust to classes, a social hierarchy emerges.

Bullying tends to arise out of a desire for power and control.

As youth try to understand who they are and where they belong, they test new limits and push out of their comfort zones. They attempt to bring attention to themselves by standing out – and this often comes from picking on others.

The pressure of “acting cool” and fitting in creates a whirlpool of perspectives, views and ideas. From it, a totem pole of social status emerges and youth begin to fight to climb higher up. We may not always be aware of bullying because it takes on different forms: verbal, physical, social and cyber. But no matter what form it takes, bullying is abuse. It’s not a normal “phase” that everyone has to go through.

So what’s being done? In Alberta, the provincial government plays a large role in stopping bullying. The Prevention of Bullying Strategy, co-led

by Alberta Children and Youth Services and Alberta Education, aims to stop

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bullying, raise awareness and change attitudes about bullying. This initiative focuses a lot of its efforts on supporting a youth committee made up of 18 students between the ages of 15 and 22 from across the province. Members of the committee are local leaders and have either been bullies, victims of bullying or bystanders in the past and are now looking to share their experiences and make a difference for others facing similar problems.

As Harriet Switzer, senior manager of community and youth engagement with Alberta Children and Youth Services says, “Hurt is hurt and mean is mean. No matter how you look at it, bullying is not normal and no one should have to face it.”

Individual members of the youth committee are working on different levels.

Some work in their schools or communities, while others have set up entire organizations that work towards helping kids and ending bullying. Together, the committee has created a website for teens at www.b-free.ca.

This site provides educational resources about the different types of bullying and what can be done to help stop them. It also includes games, videos, contests, celebrity stories and biographies of the members of the committee, which creates a welcoming atmosphere and sends out the message that teens in trouble are not alone. Along the sides of the webpage are phone numbers for those who need someone to talk to about what they are facing. The site is made by teens, for teens. It helps teens access resources, as sometimes it can be difficult to speak to an adult about such issues. The site takes that pressure away while still providing teens with important information.

Aside from working with the youth committee and raising awareness about bullying, the initiative also hopes to change perspectives and attitudes towards bullying. Although most of these efforts are focused on kids and teenagers, they also encompass adults. Caroline Missal works with the Prevention of Bullying Strategy and is an education manager for Alberta Education. She says that stopping bullying is a two-way street. “We need youth to feel comfortable speaking about their problems with adults and we need adults to be there and listen,” she says.

“Bullying is not normal and it is not something that can just be disregarded,” says Switzer. “If you broke your leg and one doctor sent you away saying

that it was OK, you wouldn’t give up. You would keep asking until someone gave you the help you needed. The same should apply to bullying – you need to keep speaking until someone listens to you.”

Bullying includes many different forms of harm and abuse. Across Alberta, different school clubs and organizations address bullying. One specific example is homophobic bullying – bullying powered by the prejudice against someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation. Research has shown that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth feel that less than half of their teachers and only a quarter of their peers would react positively to finding out a student was gay or lesbian.

Homophobic bullying includes malicious name calling, spreading rumours or gossip about a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, unwanted disclosure of someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity and physical aggression. It often includes homophobic language, which is the most commonly heard form of verbal bullying in schools, yet is the least responded to by adults and youth. When bullying like this is not addressed, it reinforces the belief that it is OK to discriminate. Silence and inaction can be part of the problem.

One high school club that aims to change such attitudes is the GayStraight Alliance. The club raises awareness about issues surrounding sexual orientation and aims to decrease the bullying that tends to accompany it.

In Edmonton, these alliances often hold joint meetings with different high schools to create a community of people. Such clubs allow for people in similar situations to meet and talk to one another about their experiences. They make people feel like they belong and provide them with support from others their age.

Bullying starts for different reasons, the main one being a desire for power.

What we need to remember is that it is not something that has to exist. With the help of different organizations and initiatives, as well as our own individual responsibility to step in and stop it, we can put an end to bullying.

Hurt is hurt and mean is mean.

No matter how you look at it, bullying is not normal and no one should have to face it.”

– Harriet Switzer

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE IS BEING BULLIED Bully Free Alberta, an initiative of the Government of Alberta, says to use the C.A.R.E. solution if you see someone being bullied. The steps you should take are: Care about others, Ask an adult for help, Remember to reach out and End it. Those steps, as well as what to do if you are being bullied, cyber-bullied or if you are bulling others, are all outlined in more detail at www.bullyfreealberta.ca/teens_tips.htm

RESOURCES • Alberta has a bullying helpline at 1-888-456-2323. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and trained staff are available to help in more than 170 languages • The government of Alberta’s website on bullying includes resources, tips for teens, events and more: www.bullyfreealberta.ca • “Stand up and b-free from bullying” is the message of this site designed by teens, for teens. It also contains stories, contests, games and more: www.b-free.ca • For more information on facilitating a Gay/Straight Alliance at school: www.ismss.ualberta.ca • The It Gets Better Project is of keen interest to youth: www.itgetsbetter.org

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Get Organi

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nized

By Janina Valencia

An alphabetized list of top time management tips

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B

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C

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LWAYS PRIORITIZE. Think about all of the things you need to do in your day. Whether you have a big English essay coming up or you have to work for three hours after school, make a mental note or write these commitments down. Determine what you need to accomplish most and get started on that task first. Prioritizing tasks can help you to stay organized.

E ATTENTIVE in order to avoid wasting time. Pay attention to where you are wasting your time, so that you can stop doing those things and concentrate on more important tasks. Do you study in front of the TV? Do you always check your Facebook or Twitter accounts? Once you identify your distractions, you can avoid them.

REATE GOALS to help stay focused. For example, studying in front of the TV may be a distraction for you. Set a goal that you will not study in front of the TV for two hours each night. By creating small, achievable goals and sticking to them, you can accomplish many tasks.

D

EVELOP PLANS to achieve goals. When you create goals, you should keep track of them to see if you’re really doing them or not.

If your goals for the evening are to finish your biology project, hang out with your little brother and attend band practice, then formulate a plan on how you’re going to accomplish all of that. Your plan could be to schedule when you will do what and how long you will spend on each task.

E

STABLISH ROUTINES to become more productive. The consistency of a routine, whether it’s how you get ready in the morning before school or what you do when you come home, can help you to stay organized. If you have a routine you regularly follow, like gathering your shoes, water bottle and jersey the night before, you’re less likely to forget your running shoes for basketball practice, for example.

IVE REWARDS to stay motivated. In order for you to stick to your goals, you should recognize and enjoy small successes. Rewards do not need to be really big. To stay motivated in getting your schoolwork done, for example, you could allow yourself an hour of time on Facebook once your homework is completed.

AVE ENOUGH SLEEP. It’s common knowledge that we should get at least eight hours of sleep, but the actual time you go to bed is also important. A good night’s sleep helps you stay energized for the next day and able to complete tasks more efficiently than if you were exhausted.

NCLUDE A HEALTHY DIET. Boost your water intake, as water keeps you hydrated and energized. While studying, try having small, healthy snacks by your desk to munch on.

A healthy diet, including lots of fruits, vegetables and protein, can energize you and help you to stay focused. Caffeine and fast food can give you instant energy, but it won’t last – so stay away from these.

J

UST TAKE IT EASY. There are only 24 hours in a day.

You can’t control everything and sometimes, even though you’ve planned the day to the best of your abilities, you might not be able to accomplish everything you set out to. That is OK. Ask for help when you need it and accept help when it’s offered. Time management is a skill you can learn, so if you’re just starting out remember that it takes time to become good at this. Learn from your mistakes, avoid procrastination and stay focused for next time.

F

OLLOW SCHEDULES to keep things organized. Try writing your schedule in a planner or agenda. Take time to plan a schedule that takes into account all of your priorities. Schedule time for homework, your work shifts and other commitments you have. Keep track of upcoming commitments too, like a friend’s birthday party.

Remember to highlight very important times, such as a big math exam.

Schedules are a great tool to help you manage your time effectively.

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Portfolio In each issue of Grip, we feature creative works from our readers – poetry, personal essays, short stories, illustrations, comic strips and photography.

Advice

BY KELSEY SMITH-PARIS

Beaming Blo om AL ANNA YEE

GRIPMagazine

I left it all behind, yet it doesn’t always feel like I have. Seemingly every time I turn around there’s another commercial telling you about a drug you can take for depression, or an article in some magazine telling you what depression is and how to deal with it. Whenever I come across these things, it brings back painful memories I want to leave behind. Which probably makes you wonder, why I am writing this article?

I think maybe it’s because I want to show people that you can get out of depression. That the other side you hope and constantly wait for, does exist. Another reason is, I feel like I need to do this for myself to help remind me that I made it through. I know right now I must sound like every therapist, psychologist, doctor, and maybe even your own parents, but I am asking you to trust someone who’s been through it. You can beat this, you will beat this and you will come out a much stronger person.

One of the biggest things you can do for yourself is to not give up even when it seems like there is no end. It’s a long, hard journey and you won’t see results overnight but one of the things you can do, that helped me, is to find a therapist that you can easily talk to. Another thing you can do, that helped me, is to write affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements that help us to think more positively and help us deal with different kinds of situations and problems. Finally, I took what I was good at and liked to do and used that to help me deal with things. In my case it was writing but for you it could be art or music or even video games.

To get you started on your journey, I would like to leave you with an affirmation that someone told me about: “Don’t believe everything you think.” That’s one of the most powerful affirmations you will ever come across, and I hope that you will use it. I hope this helps you guys and I look forward to all of the success stories.

Winning submissions are awarded $50. They are also featured in the magazine and on the website at www.griponlife.ca. Send in your submissions to creative@griponlife.ca

Hope

BY NICOLE SAGEN

SERENIT AL ANNA

Y

YEE

Fighting a battle all alone, can’t see the silver lining anymore, The feeling is making me cold right to my core, I take one step forward and three giant leaps back, It seems as if the colour has faded, and all I see is black.

The world keeps on spinning around, And nobody sees that girl that drowned.

The pressure was overwhelming, and pulled me under.

This feeling started to make me wonder …

Maybe one day I can be happy again, Suddenly that one thought, gave me hope.

I’m swimming towards the surface now, Struggling with each stride, In my heart I know I deserve this, The surface getting closer, the hope getting stronger, I break through, treading.

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Portfolio

Portfolio Argument with Myself

BY ABBY L. RIEHL

ngels allen A SEN F g n i IES Sav TIAN TH CHRIS

50

GRIPMagazine

One day, while we were driving home from my therapist appointment, I told my mom how Jim Morrison didn’t seem like a real person, but a perfectly constructed character.

My mom turned to me, looking mildly worried, and asked if I was trying to make myself a perfectly created character, too.

I read too many books, she said, and had too vivid an imagination. She was worried that I was trying to make myself into Keith Richards or Andy Warhol or any of the other “weird” people I read about. I assured her that I wasn’t, but it still got me thinking.

I started wondering if this whole depression thing was really just an act to seem more interesting. Half of my mind said “yes” and the other half said “no.” I ended up arguing with myself for the rest of the day.

This is something that happens frequently – my mind will take two sides: the interviewer, who asks sensible, doubting questions and the celebrity, who is always stubborn and rarely wins. Eventually the celebrity managed to convince the interviewer that I really was of a “separate breed” and I wasn’t just trying to be like Jim Morrison.

That’s how I got the second and third lines of the poem and eventually the rest, I just built from there.

o My mind’s in constant conflict, The thoughts are one big argument.

Oh, we all know you’re of a separate breed, A different mind grown from a mutant seed.

You’re a self-centred girl, oh so narcissistic, Don’t fret we’ll get you on some pills to fix it.

You say that no one understands you, Just wait, you’ll see that it’s not true.

Even Though

BY NICOLE SAGEN

I think there’s nothing wrong, that you just crave attention, You’re so convinced that you’re from another dimension.

If you don’t let anyone in, this is what you’ll get: A brain fried just like an over-done omelette.

I’ll keep arguing with myself Won’t stop arguing with myself, no.

Even though you may be sad, remember the good and not the bad, Cherish the memories as if they’re gold, live your life full and bold, Just because your loved one is gone, Life will still move on.

The sun still shines, and the trees still grow.

So, even though you may be sad remember the good and not the bad.

You’re a hypochondriac, A self-proclaimed maniac.

More than anything, you’re just neurotic, But you’re too busy with self-diagnostics to spot it.

I don’t care what you think of me, Like you said, I’m a different breed.

No one gets what I’m going through, You couldn’t handle what my mind sees.

But you see that’s just not true, You forgot that my mind’s directly connected to you.

I understand better than anyone else, After all, I am yourself.

And I’ll keep arguing with myself, Won’t stop arguing with myself, never, no.

New Life

TAYLOR KU SHNIRUK

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Portfolio

Portfolio

A Little But A

Lot

SHEIKH

BY MAHMUDA

inny brush With my little sk r bit, pe pa and a little colour of t bi le litt with a tte. in my little pale e nature In a touch of th my thought, of h uc to and a brush a touch of the ations I’ve got. in and the imag bit of water colour in a little With very little t, e of my though and much mor r e of pape on that little piec lot. a t bu le I put a litt

I Was Me

BY JENAH MCPHERSON

UNTITLED SANDY XU

Feeling alone and in the way, I don’t know what I’m waiting for.

Making the same mistakes every day, and I can’t take it anymore.

Feeling cold and tired.

Who would have thought I’d be here now? Who would believe this is me?

And I don’t know why or how, but in the end I guess I’ll see.

You make it seem so easy, like all I have to do is try.

But I’m telling you it’s not that simple, when everything you knew was a lie.

I don’t know what I’m waiting for. I don’t know what to say.

I should have one foot out the door, instead of always being in your way.

And I’m feeling small, I’m two feet high.

As you watch me fall, was it all a lie?

I guess I’ll never be good enough for you. So I suppose I should quit trying.

Cause if I said, “I love you, too,” then we’d both know I was lying.

In the end, all I have to say is thanks for making me see.

If I can’t say I was pretty or right or smart, well, then at least I can say I was me.

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GRIPMagazine

o

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Last Word Humour

How to Be Prepared for Everything and Anything A Grip Guide to six situations that might never happen.

But if they arise, you’ll know exactly what to do

By Gabrielle McKinley CATS WITH SAMURAI SWORDS

WHEN ANGRY BIRDS GET MORE ANGRY

Cats are natural predators. If someone decides to give a cat a sword, you’ll suddenly be faced with an unstoppable feline.

Ahh, Angry Birds, the app phenomenon that everyone loves. But what would happen if those angry birds flung their little bird bodies towards your city?

BE PREPARED:

BE PREPARED: What do cats love more than anything? Feathers on a string, of course. Dangle this in front of the feisty cat’s face and the creature soon becomes putty in your hands.

The angry birds are only angry because of the pigs stealing their eggs. So simply remove all the pigs from your city and the birds won’t even think twice about stopping to sightsee.

WHEN THE INTERNET OR COMPUTERS TAKE OVER Face it, this WILL happen. There are a lot of computers out there and just like you and I, they can all communicate through the Internet.

They’re smart and they’re probably busy building arms and legs as you read this, getting ready to take over the world.

BE PREPARED: Create a super virus. Save it until the day when the computers start going haywire, then unleash the virus on them. They’ll never know what hit them and meanwhile, you’ll finally be the hero and get the hot babe, guaranteed.

STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR WITH A CELEBRITY This situation might actually be one that you want to encounter. Let’s just hope that the celebrity you get stuck with isn’t really bad at singing.

BE PREPARED: Don’t panic. Celebrities, like everyone else, can smell fear. Just stay calm and tell yourself everything will be all right. Then start a conversation slowly, but not too slowly, because it’s likely someone will be in a hurry to open the elevator door and save the celebrity. Once you have a solid conversation going, you’re in the clear.

Just remember to brag to your friends later about how you saw (and actually talked) to a Hollywood heartthrob.

GRIPMagazine

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! Let’s hope this never happens.

BE PREPARED: Sit on your roof with enough rations to last a year and wait. I know it’s not much, but that’s the only advice I can give you for dealing with the zombies. Let’s really hope this never happens.

THE MYSTERIOUS PLAGUE Nobody quite knows what it is, where it came from, or how to avoid it. We just know it’s bad.

BE PREPARED: Lock yourself in your basement with enough food and water to last a very long time.

Remember, no social interactions because that spreads plague infection even more. So bring your computer with you and hope your friends are up for a good chat on Facebook.

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