Blog & Commentary
A Tryst of Pain and Art
What about Sylvia Plath’s story compelled you to read her book? What about Kurt Cobain hooked you into his raw, expressive music? If you are anything like me, you were probably intrigued by their haunting stories of pain, trauma, and the appeal of the ‘tortured artist’. But did they need to suffer through irreparable trauma to create genre-defining art?
The Sheer Endurance of the Strong, Independent Woman
In a world churning with change, the best way to push against the once-prevalent, hegemonic portrayals of women as mere damsels in distress is to bring out stories featuring the Strong, Independent Woman Who Don’t Need No Man, right? Well, maybe. But are we going about it in an effective way that actually accomplishes this? Questionable.
Sorry (Not Sorry): 10 Components of a Complete Apology
We all love a classic YouTube influencer apology video, sometimes ironically and sometimes not so ironically. You can likely intuit that some apologies are more heartfelt, while others feel like PR stunts, and most times, we do a pretty good job at distinguishing which end of the spectrum a specific apology falls under. But what constitutes a good apology? And why is making that distinction so highly debated?
Modernized Misogyny, But Make It Traditional
The Netflix original show Indian Matchmaking has taken the internet by storm. This show single-handedly redefined the trope of the privileged class of the Indian diaspora community that I had in my head. It hits hard, watching the stories of people as they pride themselves on being at the pinnacle of privilege, openly scoffing at everyone that falls victim to their acts born of exorbitant ignorance. It hurts to admit, but I’ll take this version of being problematic over the sophisticated and obscured kind.
Reconciling The Battle Within
Much like the issues that arise from ignoring symptoms of other illnesses, not finding healthy ways to regulate moral distress can snowball into much bigger problems that manifest themselves as problematic and harmful behaviour. The most studied manifestation of chronic moral dysregulation is the behaviour of “othering” individuals that may fall outside our own unique experience of moral distress where we slowly but surely develop a sense of isolation — both socially and morally. Once the isolation sets in, it becomes infinitely easier to overlook the mountain of well-being benefits we gain from solidarity in community. And so the cycle goes on.
Running the Long Run
“What is sustainable activism and how can we do it?” I get asked this a lot. And here’s what I’ve come to unravel for myself — it’s no one thing, and it’s everything. Paradoxical, I know (also it makes me sound cool). But really, it boils down to working towards a goal in ways that convert our effort into meaningful contributions.
The Path at the End of a Long Winding Goal
There is a general consensus that cooperation was a critical strategy for the survival and evolutionary success of humanity. As existing scientific literature suggests, moral emotions act as a key proponent in ensuring that individuals are motivated towards cooperating with one another to better their chances of survival, but perhaps they serve other functions as well.
Culture Fair at Waverly Elementary School: A Reading Week Experience
The volunteer fair was an experience like no other; I built connections with other undergraduate students across faculties, programs, & years, heard stories and shared laughs with people I would have otherwise never encountered.
Art, Unraveled
We are a people obsessed with unearthing the definitions of the things that make up the world around us. We use them to make up the meaning of the ebb and flow of our experiences, and it’s more than a mere fad. Our intrigue over capturing the essence of an object can be traced back for eons before now. But there’s another piece to the puzzle of what made us, well, us - art.
The Least Likely of Times
Research papers aren't the easiest to read. They're written in complex language, filled with a hearty sprinkling of statistics, and often can seem quite confusing. This summary was created in an effort to summarize the main research in a way that's accessible to a wider audience. It lays out the process with maximum transparency, allowing the reader to form their own conclusions after critical evaluation.
Sharing My Voice: Why I (Try To) Write
I enjoyed writing, and people around me enjoyed my writing; the excitement of finishing up a piece and running to share it with someone around me only grew as I did.