Dear Cuspidor reader,

Welcome to the first installment of Work/Play, a column designed to distract you from your work by asking you to do your work and telling you what to do when you’ve done it.

This column may have tried too hard at being both funny and informative that it ended up being neither, but at least if you read this you can tell your English teacher you didn’t do your homework because you were too caught up in your book or something. English teachers love that kind of stuff.

Anyways, let’s get to it. I’ve only got 650-ish words left in this column. Not that I typically care about the word count, but it’s my first day on the job and I’m trying to make a good impression.

Work

Many students tend to think of November as less of a difficult month than the ones that come before and after. The first unit assessments usually happen sometime in October, and the second ones in December, leading to the dreaded “crunch week” before the winter holidays. During this period many of us find ourselves bouncing from test to test, essay to essay, and our coffee intake outnumbers the hours of sleep we get each night. But that doesn’t happen in November, right? Isn’t November the easy month? I can answer you right now with a solid, definitive no. There is no such thing as an easy month.

For whatever reason, November seems to be a month of deadlines, just not necessarily school ones. Many students are in the process of applying to summer programs such as SHAD, and a number of my fellow S6s will find themselves in the midst of a procrastination-induced panic as they scramble to get in their university applications before the early deadline. Even those among us who have until January to get our acts together may want to get a start on those pesky applications. A good bit of advice for this month would be to plan out all your work in advance using a calendar or an agenda, such as the Google Calendar linked to your UTS email, so that you have enough time to write great applications and still get all your schoolwork in on time. By planning your time out well and keeping track of everything you do, and will be more easily able to reschedule assessments or ask for any extensions you may need.

Finally, November might be a good time to start planning for your summatives coming up in the next month. If you know you’ve got tests and assessments coming up, start studying and planning now so that you have more time to prepare and ask for help if you need it. In order to make this process more bearable, grab a friend (if you’ve somehow got one) and work together. You probably still won’t be having much fun, but at least the person beside you isn’t either. Schadenfreude for the soul, if you will.

Play

With all this in mind, it is important to take time for yourself so you can recharge your mind and body and feel sharp and refreshed when you’re doing your work.

With the weather getting cooler this month, it’s a great opportunity to take some time for yourself indoors. There are few better ways to spend a chilly afternoon than bundling up in cozy sweaters and socks and sitting by the fire with your favourite warm drink, getting lost in a good book or in a prolonged existential crisis about all the time you’re wasting.

If staying home isn’t your cup of tea (or coffee, or hot chocolate), November marks the beginning of the winter months (or at least it used to, before climate change hit), and there are plenty of activities that you can do while going out with friends. Many ski resorts will be open during the month, weather conditions permitting, so grab a couple buddies and hit the slopes (not literally - no, don’t hit the ski hills, please). There will also be many indoor and outdoor skating rinks open, including at Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto’s City Hall. Finally, the iconic Christmas Market will be opening in the Distillery District on November 14th; a visit here would be the perfect way to spend a fun, relaxing day while indulging in rampantly capitalist and consumerist holiday practices. If nothing else, at least you’ll get a couple good shots for Instagram there.

Well, dear reader, I really am running out of words and also things to say, so I’ll leave you at that. Goodbye for now and good luck - I’ll see you in a month.

As a little girl, I would always look in the mirror with confidence and pride. I liked how my lips were two different colours. I liked how one dimple was more pronounced than the other. I liked how my face wasn’t perfectly symmetrical. I thought that if I ever changed, I would become ordinary and as a six-year-old, being ordinary was not an option. Everybody lived by the phrase “weird equals awesome”. It wasn’t until I became older that I started to look at myself in a new light. It was almost as if all remnants of my past self were gone and all that was left was a self-deprecating person with a strong desire to change the way she looked. I always wondered how I could look in the mirror and reflect on what I saw from such a negative standpoint when all I used to see someone perfectly unique.

Two years ago, I had the strongest aspiration to be beautiful. Not just pretty or attractive. That didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to be undeniably beautiful. I wanted to be like a painting where every feature of my face was virtually “flawless”. Due to the media and everything I was exposed to growing up, I thought that I had to look a certain way to be accepted. I thought that I had to conform to societal norms.

The definition of beauty is without a doubt in the eyes of the beholder but in our society, we have our prejudices. I am a Canadian who's parents are of South Asian descent. You probably know what western beauty standards entail. You need to have a good facial structure. Your face needs to be symmetrical. You need to have a flat stomach. South Asian standards are virtually the same except for the fact that you need to have fair skin. I didn’t fully fit into that mold. Over time, I started to feel uncomfortable in my skin. This is the story for various people all around the world. The issue with our society is the delusional and over-represented idea of what the media, and everyone else, believe to be considered beautiful in our world. This separation which we perpetuate can significantly impact people for the worse. A lack of proper education on what beauty truly is is detrimental to society.

Challenging societal norms about what is considered to be beautiful is vital work and somewhere along the way, the message went from “every kind of person can be beautiful” to “every person is beautiful.” We all have different parts of ourselves that make us unique. We don’t need to fit into a label or a characteristic to vindicate our worth in society. Furthermore, we need to learn how to stop self-destructing. In some cases, we are our own worst enemies. It's times like this where we should go back to our old mindsets. In my case, that's my "weird equals awesome" phase where I truly learned to love who I was.

Mother Nature has a flair for the dramatic. When stars, her greatest progeny and the very basis of the universe, reach their coda, they don’t leave without a final hurrah. Rather than quietly evaporate into the eternal darkness of Space, they go out with-quite literally-a BANG; a supernova!

In many ways, politics is the art of the dramatic. Just turn on your phone, open a newspaper or watch a news channel; politicians are constantly outmanoeuvring each other, striving to put out the most bombastic and novel statements, with equal frequency.

As we steadily approach the end of the decade, take a moment and think back to the beginning of the 2010’s. Across the world, we’ve seen an enormous resurgence in right-wing populism. From Trump and Brexit in 2016, to Bolsonaro in Brazil, Le Pen in France, AFD in Germany, Salvini in Italy, and Modi in India, there seems to be an inexorable tide of conservatism sweeping the globe.

Yet this isn’t the birth of a new movement, but rather the explosive finale, its supernova, for lack of a better term. And although it pains me to say it (as a right-winger myself), it may be followed by an equally significant rise in the Left.

There is one key factor behind this; demographics. This year has been historic in many ways, but one particular statistic that has gone relatively unnoticed is that for the first time Millennials outnumber Baby Boomers in America. This will have immense consequences for the immediate future. Many people think that as you grow older, you become more conservative. Unfortunately, that isn’t true. Instead, researchers have found that political views and beliefs are generally ingrained in voters from a relatively young age, their late teenage and early adult years.

In recent years, not only has the Democratic Party continued its historic trend of winning young voters but it has even exceeded its own records. The only voting group that Hillary Clinton won in 2016 by a double-digit margin were voters aged 18-29. According to the Pew Research Center, 57% of Millenials either have “mostly or consistently” liberal views. Contrast that to the voting bloc of the Republican party. Their primary base of support comes from older generations, primarily the Silent and Baby Boomer groups. However, even there, the right’s advantage is miniscule. In the 2018 US midterm elections, 48% of Boomer’s supported Republicans as compared to 45% supporting Democrats- a difference of only 3%.

This advantage has already seen a steady erosion- 2019 is the first year in which Millennials outnumber Baby Boomers, a historic shift. Another perennial issue for the Left has been young voter turnout. In the 2018 midterms, 36% of young voters headed to the ballot box, a staggering increase of 16 percent from prior elections! In my view, this effect is not only going to carry over to the 2020 election, but increase as well. The reason for this is the visceral dislike of Trump (and Republicans in general) expressed by young voters. The disapproval rating of Trump for young voters is the highest of any demographic contingent.

The news continues to get worse for Republicans when we factor in what young voters care about. Just a few weeks ago, we saw the world’s largest climate strikes take place, which was primarily organized by teen activists across the globe. Yet when it comes to policy solutions on the pressing problem of Climate Change, the Right remains silent. It’s not too hard to see why youth voters seem to be distrustful of a President who once claimed that Global Warming was a “hoax” carried out by a competitor.

In my view, even if Trump manages to eke out a victory in 2020, we are witnessing the end of a political movement. The culmination of demographic and political factors may very well lead to a meteoric rise of the Left. Consider the example of Texas. There is no state which captures the general stereotype of conservative, Deep South Americans better than it. Yet in 2018, Republican Ted Cruz came within a whisker (2.6% of the vote) of losing to Democrat Beto O’Rourke. If Texas, the very heart of American conservatism is so vulnerable, alarm bells should be ringing inside the Republican Party!

Now, I remain confident in my belief that many of the Democratic Party’s policies are misguided at best. Yet it beggars belief that many amongst the Right remain so steadfast in their party’s infallibility. After all, in the words of one popular conservative commentator, “Facts don’t care about one’s feelings”, and the facts suggest that the Right is running on borrowed time.

References

1. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/03/do-we-become-more-conservative-with-age-young-old-politics

2. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/sdt-next-america-03-07-2014-0-09/

3. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/07/us/elections/house-exit-polls-analysis.html

4. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/gop-needs-millennial-voters/594034

5. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-populist-movement-of-the-right-is-riding-on-borrowed-time-2017-03-07

6. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/22/millennials-could-push-american-politics-left-or-totally-upend-them/?tid=pw_spsrd_hitand

7. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2016/11/21/how-millennials-voted/

8. http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/03/new-survey-young-staying-liberal-conservatives-dying-off.html

9. https://www.vox.com/2019/4/26/18516645/2018-midterms-voter-turnout-census

10. https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/trump-approval-rating-polls/

11. https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/456592-trump-approval-rating-drops-among-younger-voters

12. https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/07/ted-cruz-beto-orourke-texas-history-election-results/

On September 27, 30,000 people marched through downtown Toronto during the city’s climate march. The Montreal climate strike, attended by Justin Trudeau and Greta Thunberg, saw a turnout of 500,000 protesters in a city of four million. Over seven million people worldwide participated in the September climate strikes on the 20th and 27th, making it one of the largest organized protests in world history.

At rallies across the world, the speakers didn’t just talk about the environment. They advocated for better wages and working conditions. They fought against systemic racism and white supremacy. They all invoked a specific term - climate justice.

What is climate justice? Climate justice is based on two main ideas:

1. 1. Climate disaster will affect more vulnerable populations severely, despite their comparative lack of greenhouse emissions. This encourages emitters to continue their current practices, as they are protected from the consequences.

   2. The root cause of environmental degradation is often racism, colonialism, classism, or any other kind of discrimination.

The reason for the first point is simple - the very poor already experience the problems that come with climate change. Hundreds of millions around the world who lack access to food and water will experience the same challenges, only worse. Food insecurity, drought, and disease will be exacerbated on a massive scale. Even though the richest 10% of the world are responsible for 50% of global emissions, the remaining 90% are far more likely to suffer because of it.

Even within developed countries, where the vast majority of citizens are in the global 10%, climate impacts will be unequal. Those at the top of unjust power structures will often act - through ignorance or malice - against the best interests of the people they are supposed to help.

A famous example of this is the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In the days after the hurricane hit, reports of looting, rape, and robbery in New Orleans spread like wildfire - reports that later turned out to be greatly exaggerated. Those left in New Orleans were mostly poor and African-American, which undoubtedly helped the rumours spread quickly.

When the National Guard arrived, they were under orders not to provide aid but to enforce “law and order” however they saw fit. They refused to provide buses out of the city, because local sherriffs did not want to house survivors in the affluent suburbs. Those who made it out on their own were turned back at gunpoint. They focused not on feeding survivors but building a makeshift prison.

The debacle of Katrina is no surprise. The aftermath of disasters often deepens social divisions and unjust power structures. During the 1976 Guatemala earthquake for example, the vast majority of deaths occurred after the actual earthquake as the corrupt, U.S.-installed government funnelled aid away from those who needed it.

Therefore, a strong environmental movement must combat inequality and fight for social justice, because everyone should be able to take care of themselves in case of disaster.

However, this framework should not apply only to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, but also to the ruthless profiteering that caused it. As Neil Smith wrote in his oft-cited essay on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, “there is no such thing as a natural disaster.”

Take the Grassy Narrows First Nation, which sent a contingent to the climate march after suffering the effects of mercury poisoning for decades. A chemical plant in a nearby town had dumped methylmercury into the surrounding rivers, resulting in the contamination of the reserve’s fish. The residents experienced severe neurological symptoms from the mercury poisoning, with one patient having more than 14 times the normal amount of mercury in their blood. Their children were born with birth defects and intellectual disabilities.

Although the government ordered the company to stop, the effects continue. The reserve’s fishery and tourism industry have completely shut down, leaving many residents without a source of income and requiring long-term care; the promised care home from Trudeau has yet to start construction. The river remains contaminated with mercury, and fish is still the main source of food for the isolated reserve.

Why did this happen? Because proper waste disposal is expensive, and Indigenous lives are viewed as cheap. The poisoning of Grassy Narrows would have been avoided if not for Canada’s systemic racism. If not for a capitalist society that forces a choice between profit and morals, Grassy Narrows would have a future.

In this case, as in others, fighting racism and capitalism is fighting climate change. You cannot have one without the other and expect to succeed.

In conclusion, fighting climate change as it happens and mitigating its effects require a concerted effort to counteract inequality and prejudice. If you believe this issue is “a distraction,” as one Green candidate phrased it, you have already lost.

References

“7.6 Million People Demand Action After Week of Climate Strikes.” Global Climate Strike, 350.org, 28 September 2019, https://globalclimatestrike.net/7-million-people-demand-action-after-week-of-climate-strikes/.

Borger, Julian. “Mayor issues SOS as chaos tightens grip.” The Guardian, Guardian Media Group, 2 September 2005, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/sep/02/hurricanekatrina.usa

Goodfield, Kayla. “More than 15,000 people fill downtown Toronto for climate change rally.” CTV News Toronto, CTV Television Network, 27 September 2019, https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/more-than-15-000-people-fill-downtown-toronto-for-climate-change-rally-1.4613196.

Guarino, Mark. “Misleading reports of lawlessness after Katrina worsened crisis, officials say.” The Guardian, Guardian Media Group, 16 August 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/

2015/aug/16/hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-looting-violence-misleading-reports.

“History.” Free Grassy Narrows, n.d., http://freegrassy.net/learn-more/grassy-narrows/history/.

Kasler, Dale. “Camp Fire death toll falls to 85, number of missing drops to 11.” Sacramento Bee, The McClatchy Company, 3 December 2018, https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article222587675.html.

O’Keefe, Phil, et al. “Taking the naturalness out of natural disasters.” Nature, vol. 260, no. 1, March 1976, pp. 566-567. ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/32017547_Taking_the_Naturalness_out_of_Natural_Disasters.

Oxfam. “Extreme Carbon Inequality.” Oxfam, 2 December 2015, www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/mb-extreme-carbon-inequality021215en.pdfcid=aff_affwd_donate_id85386&awc=5991_1569714140_b9d67ab4d35e22e2341bf0d03b536eb2.

PressProgress. “Green Party Candidate Says Focusing on Racism is a ‘Distraction’ From Real Problems.” PressProgress, Broadbent Institute, 5 September 2019, https://pressprogress.ca/

green-party-candidate-says-focusing-on-racism-is-a-distraction-from-real-problems/.

Rahim, Zamira. “Greta Thunberg leads climate march in Montreal: ‘We’ve become too loud for people to handle.’” The Independent, Independent Print Limited, 27 September 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/greta-thunberg-climate-march-montreal-canada- justin-trudeau-a9123991.html.

Rodgers, David, and Keewatin, Ivy. “Return to Grassy Narrows.” Literary Review of Canada, January 2009, http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2009/01/return-to-grassy-narrows/.

Smith, Neil. “There’s No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster.” Understanding Katrina: Perspectives from the Social Sciences, The Social Science Research Council, 11 June 2006, http://understandingkatrina.ssrc.org/Smith.

“Stop trying to fill the emptiness inside you with food.” - Karen Salmonsoh

You’re in your room, staring at a blank computer. Empty chip bags and candy wrappers litter around your desk. There are six assignments due next week, three tests, and two competitions. You want to shed the weight of your stress. You have to do something. So you lift a half-eaten muffin to your mouth, and take a big bite. For a moment, you indulge in all the sugary carbs, losing yourself. But when you swallow, you’re left feeling emptier, guiltier, and more ashamed than you were a few seconds ago.

Stress eating, also known as “emotional eating,” is the act of consuming food based on not hunger but emotions. And many of us have been there before; one in four teens report overeating or eating unhealthy food when stressed – 37% of them say it’s a habit (APA, 2013). Drowning out negative emotions with sustenance is tempting. But like pain killers, they only provide short-term relief. Often, we feel guilty, lazy, and unproductive once the blissful effect of snacking wears off. Consistently consuming food, and failing to find a better emotional outlet, risks sabotaging our body and mental health.

Curbing stress eating, especially if it’s an ingrown habit, is easier said than done. So what are some ways to solve the issue? Compiled from both personal experience, and additional research, below are a few steps to overcoming stress eating:

1) Recognize the signs

Before you can even start combating this issue, you should have self-awareness. Think back to the last time you’ve snacked on something. Was it due to physical or emotional hunger? Do you even have a problem with stress eating? Here are some common signs that your habits may be more of an issue than you think:

• You eat without realizing it

• You eat as a form of distraction

• You eat because you feel as if there’s nothing else to do

• You feel guilty or ashamed after eating

• You eat when you’re not hungry

• You crave specific foods when you’re upset

Note: if you eat to the point of nausea, you may have an issue with “binge eating.” This is different from stress eating. If you consistently binge eat, you should contact a medical professional instead of relying on your self diagnoses.

2) Identify why you’re stressed

Find the stress triggers to your problem and solve them. When you have less reasons to be anxious, chances are you won’t turn to stress eating. Perhaps you face immense pressure from all the piled up schoolwork. Perhaps you’re dealing with a terrible relationship issue. No matter the challenge, you should take the initiative to deal with them. Unfortunately, no issues are going to solve themselves. Below are some links to common stress-inducing problems people our age face. Keep in mind your situation is unique. If nothing else works, please consider talking to someone who you trust, and will understand the issues you’re facing:

Academic Stress

• https://www.verywellmind.com/top-school-stress-relievers-for-students-3145179

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/academic-pressure-5-tips-_n_2774106

• https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_96.htm

Social Stress

• https://www.thejoint.com/california/south-gate/south-gate-31110/196292-how-to-cope-with-social-stress-pressure

• https://thoughtcatalog.com/zoe-griggs/2014/09/how-to-handle-a-breakup-10-dos-and-5-donts/

Family Issues

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-flux/201802/7-strategies-deal-difficult-family-members

• https://family.lovetoknow.com/about-family-values/how-deal-difficult-family-members

Traumatic Events

• https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/1/health-how-deal-death-loss-grief-bereavement/

• https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm

• https://www.verywellmind.com/identify-and-cope-with-emotional-abuse-4156673

Changes

• https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/coping-with-change.htm

• https://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-change-when-change-is-hard/

3) Find other stress outlets

The next time you feel overwhelmed, and require a break, try healthier methods of distraction. For example, meditation is highly recommended. Play some soft music, and focus on your breathing. Close your eyes and rest your mind. Even listening to YouTube videos on “guided meditations” is incredibly helpful! Other ways can be talking to friends, playing musical instruments, writing poems, any other methods that aren’t harmful to your body. Everyone is unique. The key is to try as many ways to relieve stress as possible, and identify which ones are the most effective for you.

Good luck on your journey to combat stress eating! Especially with Halloween coming around the corner, it’s crucial to take a reign on our unhealthy eating habits. But at the same time, remember to not beat yourself up if you do eat unintentionally from time to time. Sometimes, emotions just win through no matter what. But stay resilient, though! You won’t lose until you give up.

Reference links:

• https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-emotional-eating-3495967

• https://www.healthline.com/health/emotional-eating#7

• https://time.com/5347612/how-to-stop-stress-eating/

• https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/eating

• https://www.psycom.net/common-triggers-teen-stress/

Mr. Carswell booms, “Greetings, Prince Mohammed,” as I walk into the Latin room. There is a test today on the accusative: a grammatical tense which one needs to know to progress past the very basics of Latin. Unfortunately, I haven’t understood it, nor do I particularly care enough about a dead language to put in the time to learn it. So was F2 Latin. I would smile sheepishly at Mr. Carswell, do OK, finish all the English derivatives homework, and resolve not to take the course next year.

However, my options were such that the preferable schedule for M3 involved going through Latin again. OK, I thought. It won’t be too different from last year, as long as I get the same teacher. And I did get the same teacher again for M3 Latin, but only for one class. After the first week of school Mr. Timmins had taken over the course. I remember feeling panicked when I found this out. I was certain I was going to fail. While we used to take 40 minutes to go over a single story, in M3 Latin, “OK people, let’s go over this story” was a common phrase that would be uttered in the last 3 minutes of class. The fast pace, rigorous nature of M3 Latin was the exact opposite of the laid-back curriculum I felt in F2. Clearly, some different tactics were required to get a good mark. Perhaps it was because I realized I would have to put in significantly more work, or maybe it was just some freak of nature, but suddenly in M3, I understood the accusative. On the first test of M3, when I was thinking about translating sentences from English to Latin, something clicked. In the span of 5 seconds I went from utter confusion to complete understanding. I scribbled off the rest of the test and emerged triumphantly. But Mr Timmins was not satisfied that I had finally acquired knowledge that already should have been learned a year ago. More was needed. Specifically, multiple pages of English derivative practice, written only in pen, as well as a page or two in grammatical practice. And reviewing the Latin stories in the textbook wouldn’t hurt either. But I did all of it. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I was inspired by understanding the accusative, or perhaps it was just because I wanted to please “the Timmins”. Whatever the reason, I did it. And I got good. Very good. I hope that Mr. Timmins would agree with that.

When M4 came around, I got Mr. Timmins again for Latin. At first, I was still working hard to understand the new concepts that were hurled at us every class. But over the months, as winter came, for some reason the enthusiasm with which I completed the work decreased, and then the amount of the work that I completed decreased. By February, I was done. I would show old pages of work completed months ago as proof that I did my homework, and when I had to say answers out loud for those homework questions, I made things up, taking my chances that hopefully, I was right. But from February to June, my odds were getting worse. Those final months were excruciating, as I scraped through class after class.The love I had for Latin in Mr. Timmins’ M3 Latin class faded, and I began to feel as though I was studying a completely pointless language. . Before this spell, I think I was motivated by a combination of partaking in some lighthearted competition in my class at to who was best at Latin, and pleasing Timmins. To borrow a Matrix phrase gone alt-right, I was red pilled when it came to participating in Latin. But he never gave up on me, I think. I don’t know if I ever would have become good at Latin without his unrelenting support. Every class, he would try to get me to participate or give clues to the correct answer when I was called on, and almost every time, I would fail to catch his drift. I still ended up getting a relatively fine mark in the end, surprisingly, perhaps a parting gift for trying so hard in M3. But I was permanently scarred.

Would I tell my F2 self not to take Latin? I thought about that for a while and concluded that I would still recommend Latin. It was very stressful, but the thrill of getting Mr. Timmins to say some words of approval about a test, or competing with others for those same words was also enjoyable for a while. Having a teacher like Timmins, who never gave up on me even when I wanted to give up on myself reminded me that my teachers are there to support me, and it’s always nice to be reminded that they care. My most fun and memorable recollections of UTS occur in the Latin room. And you know what? Perhaps, deep down, maybe I do like Latin.

Stoicism. Frankly speaking, it’s a buzz word that people throw around, one that they believe expresses a “lack of emotional extremes”. Sure, one could call it that, but it is so much more. It’s a thought process, it’s a mindset, and dare I say, a lifestyle. When we are overwhelmed by emotions or nerves, it becomes infinitely harder to make rational decisions. So how can we alleviate this irrational fear? Stoicism.

I’ve said stoicism a lot, starting and ending my first paragraph with the word, but that’s because it’s pretty darn life-changing! For example, thousands of years ago this Greek named Zeno of Citium was a wealthy merchant, who had survived a shipwreck where he lost almost everything. He made it to Athens, stumbled upon one of Socrates' pieces of work, and was enamoured by it. This was the beginning of the creation of stoicism. Let me clarify, this was not recently, but rather 2282 years ago, and the philosophy is as relevant now as it was almost in the 3 century BC. Stoicism consists of three primary branches: Logic, Physics, and Ethics. Logic, or Logos, is relatively self-explanatory: Logic or “factual thinking”. So what is a logical thing to do? I guess that depends from person to person, in most situations, the most logical thing to do would be to what is in your best interests. To an AI, who may have very little emotion and bias, altruism would be completely illogical, but we are human, we have emotion, and sometimes it’s logical to do the illogical. The Physics aspect of Stoicism acknowledges physics, what we can and can’t do in this universe, the fact that we are bound to what we have, and nothing more. Finally, we have ethics; much like Logic, it varies from person to person, but in stoicism, there are very few blurry lines when it comes to ethics. Within ethics, there are wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. These are all things that Stoics must obey.

So what’s so great about this? Eudaimonia is what makes this philosophy so awesome. Stoicism is a path to Eudaimonia (That’s just a fancy way of saying “Fulfillment and happiness”). I mean logically speaking, logic leads to clarity, which leads to truth which leads to happiness. It’s that simple! Hearing that actions have consequences, and experiencing and internalizing that fact are two totally different things.

Marcus Aurelius was a stoic, but you probably know him better as an Emperor of Rome. In his 19-year reign, he institutionalized stoicism, and he wrote about his philosophy in “Meditations” which went on to inspire people like Mandela, Washington, and even Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter! What’s so ironic about Marcus Aurelius and his relationship with stoicism is that the emperors after him did a complete 180-degree turn, threw stoicism out the window, and went back to the typical thing of emperors to do: to be illogical, ruthless, and insanely greedy.

In the end, we all innately want to become better people, you don't necessarily need to become a die-hard stoic to accomplish that! However, that doesn’t mean we can’t take some of its main underlying principles -- like being more self-aware, thoughtful and rational -- and implement them in our daily lives. I guess, being aware is the first step to become a better person; being aware of actions, thoughts, and consequences. So how about this, instead of trying to be a stoic like Marcus Aurelius, or completely irrational like his successors, let’s just strive to be better people.

Our daily lives are filled with many different objects, often with deeper meaning and intricate connections to the world around us. and we see lots of objects in our daily life. Sometimes, we pass by a flower or a pinecone and not notice deeper meanings about ideas like how it was created and natural patterns found in more forms of nature. In fact, lots of those meanings relate to mathematics! Math doesn’t only relate to tangible numbers, but everything else. Mathematics is ever-present, and revelations about its existence in our world afford us a greater understanding of the seemingly ordinary things in our environment.

There are many aspects of mathematics, including sequence, honeycombs, and harmony. During World War II, after mathematician Alan Turing decrypted the German Enigma Code, he suggested a theory about a pattern that occurs in the natural world. It could be the arrangement of petals on a daisy, seeds inside an apple, and even a nautilus shell. The intersection between mathematics and nature comes from a sequence called the Fibonacci Sequence. It states that the sequence starts at 1, 1, and the next number is found by adding the two previous ones. Some of the numbers are: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc. The spirals in plants and seeds in fruits is always a Fibonacci number! If we can focus more on ordinary objects, we can discover hidden meanings we didn’t see before.

In the past, Charles Darwin described how a honeycomb is perfect for bees to be able to economize work and wax. It makes sense that bees want to be able to make enough storage space while using less energy and materials. The question that scientists and mathematicians have proposed over centuries are related to why honeycombs are made of hexagons. Finally, a 20th-century mathematician, Thomas Hales proved this conjecture that hexagons can cover a surface with equal area with the least perimeter. Math just keeps appearing everywhere! It’s the key to many things we know that are considered “pretty” and “aesthetic”.

Music plays an essential role in our lives, and it too has deep mathematical connections. We know that people have preferences in music and listen to different forms. These various types have different harmony, style, feeling, and contrasting volumes. These themes depend on the mathematics of patterns since music is made of patterns, with sound. Time signatures are similar to fractions, scales and chords that have structure, all connect to patterns. Most importantly, music can show its own emotion through so many ways. Some frequencies grouped together can create consonance, which sounds very pleasing to our ears. Our brain can sometimes visualize colour or pictures when listening to different frequencies because of the way our neurons work.

The journey of finding connections in nature to mathematics never stops, and there are still many concepts we have not discovered yet. Perhaps one day, we will all be able to find many other mathematical relationships in completely different areas. The beauty of mathematics is endless, and through it we find ourselves to be more aware of the neverending ways in which our universe is connected.

A tall, imposing man now presides over the stretch of Saint Clair, between Yonge and Avenue Road. He stands atop a jumble of coloured blocks, his face stoically disposed, his skin lightly tanned from the rays of sun beating down on him. He is perfectly still. His wrinkled white shirt drapes over him. His hands are worn, but in them he both carries and embraces an imposing tower, a metal skyscraper of glass and concrete, the type that now defined our cities skyline. This is no easy task, even for a man of his 25 foot tall stature. He leans back, emotionlessly straining under the building’s weight.

This sculpture is the newest addition to Toronto’s collection of publicart : a Stephan Balkenhol statement. It was recently placed by a Toronto developer, outside a newly built condo. It now defines the area surrounding it. Some residents are up in arms about this new piece, however it is crucial to understand the works purpose, in the context of our city and the artists vision, before reaching a definitive conclusion on the sculptures merit.

Stephan Balkenhol is a German contemporary sculptor, who rose to fame for his portrayal of the human form. Each of his most important works is similar, centered around the likeness of a person, often interpreted as a form of self portraiture, molded out of wood with chisels and saws, into an imperfect, totem-like mass. Balkenhol rejects the idea of pre-assigning political meaning to his work stating, “Figurative sculpture is often misused as a bearer of messages. In my vision my sculptures become a question, a mirror. And it is the viewer who fills it with meaning.” Hence, Balkenhol’s pieces often lack any inherent meaning, and require the viewer to create their own interpretation of the work through their own contemplations.

The sculpture located on St. Clair has been heavily criticized since it was unveiled in mid August. The neighbourhood has complained about its intrusion, the media has published articles and interviews on the matter and the work even warranted a response from city officials. Already, opinions have been formed regarding the sculptures purpose and meaning. Specifically, that it is a representation of the misogynistic, eurocentric, exploitative world view. Why else would this white male be the one bearing the skyscraper? Could the developer be so bold, so narcissistic, so close minded, as to erect a statue of himself holding the foundations of our evolving city? Is this what the state of our cities public art scene has regressed to?

The piece must be judged for what it is; it is not a criticism or satire of any political movement or event, nor is it a showing of support or solidarity. Rather, it is a public sculpture, for all passers-by to behold and form their own opinions. The fact it has raised such an outcry, is a testament to the power of the work. I encourage all to go behold it for themselves, but keep in mind the goal of great public art is provoke thought and contemplation within the average person, and evidently, Stephan Balkenhol has already achieved this goal.