my weekend in summary

this weekend was a little bit tourist, a little bit exploration and a little bit risk taking. I rode my bike and watched the filming for a show that one of my best friends wrote and essentially had one of those good weekends you smile about. but not in the cheesin' way.
Haha. Cheesin'. Get it?; fruit tarts at the market that I just drooled over; this amazing photo exhibit by Ali Bosworth; float houses - my only hope of ever owning a home in vancouver; the aquarium. again; porpoises! attention hogs really; coral and brightly coloured fish never ever get old to me; all that remains of the stanley park polar bear pit in stanley park; a well deserved hot beverage after my first time back on a bike in a while... check out that beautiful creature. jeff's not bad either; my little avocado babies - grow babies, grow!
happy monday everyone!

thank you teachers.

it may surprise everyone, because i am so suave and sophisticated, and well spoken (written?), and not awkward AT ALL - but i was an incredibly awkward child. i cried before having to do mandatory speeches. i stayed behind in class after making inappropriate comments (before i had yet learned to yield my incredible sense of humour in manageable ways - oy those poor teachers). i dressed like a giant weirdo, i was tall and lanky and had buck teeth and glasses, and in grade 3 before i moved cities, i was likely in danger of never ever being kissed - which, in grade 3, was the worst thing i could ever imagine. the one thing i had going for me, was the complete random luck of being surrounded by incredible teachers. the teacher who introduced me to writing in first grade, when she created opportunities for all of us to write as much as possible - university pen pals, valentines post office letter trades - and specifically, she took me aside, gave me a blank paged book, and told me to write. more than everyone else, she said 'write when you don't know how to talk'. i had a family friend for a teacher in grade 2, who gave indication to my parents that he saw signs of adhd - something that no one said before, and no one ever said after (until i saw it in myself and went to the dr. in 4th year university), and helped me create coping mechanisms to get through school. i had a shy teacher in grade 5 who spent time with me after class to come up with ways to beat my public speaking fears, and ways that she could encourage me to be comfortable talking to them class - starting with presentations in front of 3 people, then 7, then 10, then 15, and so on. a teacher in high school who taught me auto mechanics, and treated me exactly like every other member of the class - though i was the only female. he teased me like anyone else, and he spoke to me about all parts of a car like everyone else. he was the first teacher to not treat me any differently because i was a girl. another teacher who didn't teach me in any specific class, but took me (amongst many) on outdoor canoe trips, and taught me about strength and my love of the outdoors. he also coached me basketball, and taught me that you don't have to be the most talented person on a team, or in a room - you just have to work the hardest. a teacher in university who sat with me for hours, refining thesis statements, and papers, and presentations to arts conferences. who taught me about respect in academia, and respect for myself, my writing, and what i thought i didn't know. who was also the one who said it was ok to be tested for adhd. and no matter what the end results were, i would still be me. and that was a good thing.

these teachers - and many many more of them - changed my life. taught me humility and strength. taught me love and compassion. they taught me that i was me, and that was ok - regardless of who said otherwise. they taught me to read, and write, and read bigger books, and write harder words. they taught me to say what i thought, and think before i said anything. they helped shape me, and helped me carve out my own version of me.

(via)

there's a totally awesome wave of videos, letters, speeches, and all sorts of other things in the media, pointing out how much we have teachers to thank. and today, is world teacher's day. and it's a saturday - so teachers who aren't grading, or on field trips, or at basketball tournaments, have a day with their friends and families to enjoy. i recently read a book about a teacher who is retired and looking for something as fulfilling - he receives multiple letters from former students about what he did for them - and i couldn't help but think about what these teachers have done for me, and what teachers i know are doing for children right now. what a perfect day to reflect on all of this.

i am blessed to be surrounded by tons of friends who are teachers, and i know they are literally changing children's lives. alex, brianne, alicia, dave, helen (to name a VERY small few). they have all made amazing strides to do things for children, above and beyond their 'jobs' as teachers. whether teaching in mexico, on reserves way up north or in areas of toronto who needed more attention. spending time with children to make them feel appreciated, needed, cared about, wanted, and strong. holding those children accountable, and teaching them manners and responsibility that for some, would never have been learned otherwise. they coach teams, and teach lessons, and run choirs and take time where time is needed to give children fun and education all in one place. my friend pete was a teacher before he passed away, and i have seen for the past year, the outpouring of children expressing how much he changed them, in his short time with them. it may seem counterintuitive, but the wonderful and amazing thing about someone passing, is how many people share what that person has meant to them - and as a teacher, he meant so many things to many people, moreso than he probably knew. 

i am also surrounded by people who are not teachers by occupation - people who naturally are drawn to sharing knowledge, and understanding how precious teaching, as a gift, is. passing what we know on will never cease to be the most important thing we do for those around us - and the strongest tool we have to create a future that we want to leave behind. 

teaching is something we should all be doing - and then, there are those who were put on this earth for the purpose of teaching children as an occupation. so many of them, i'm proud to call my friend.

this is an amazing video - watch it. and then tell your teacher they made a difference. 

things i'm in love with

this week has been a lot of late nights. a lot of fun things, a lot of new friends, and a lot of celebrating with long time ones. exploring the city, and getting to fall in love with things that made me fall in love with vancouver the first time. speaking of falling in looooveeee..... (like that transition?)
things i'm in love with this week.

these photos of photographer and mother jade beall, who photographed her post-baby body in all of its stretch-marked, extra skin, beautiful glory. and the internet loved it. the shots are STUNNING, and i don't think that it's only women who have had babies who can appreciate what these photos mean for beauty. it's old, and i'm behind the times, but this is beautiful.

this letter from a father to his daughter, when that daughter kicked her son out of the house for coming out as a gay man. while the idea of families being torn in half kills me, i love the idea of older generations accepting the new - because of love.

chuck palahniuk's reddit IamA from last night. i love everything he does and everything he touches. this is no different.

this has been my motto lately. and i'm pretty sure i've posted this before - it's been floating around for years - but it's a true and much needed sentiment. (sorry, not sure where this is originally from).


this song from charli xcx - ridiculous, but so catchy. i can't help myself. it's a good party song. deal with it.


and, because it's the weekend, more music.




musiicccccc! happy friday. and weekend. and fall. yay!

"arts degrees are awesome... they help you find meaning where there is none."

often i wake up, and when i'm having a particularly difficult time getting out of bed, i listen to a convocation speech. or an occasional address. or something involving someone receiving an honorary degree. it always makes me smile, cry, and get my ass up out of bed. 
(this may sound corny, or mostly just ridiculous that i need a motivational speaker to get out of bed, but at least i'm HONEST. i literally watched this twice before i got out of bed monday. plus, it made me feel better about my 18 'side projects' i have on the go. thanks tim!)
perhaps one of my most favourite - one i've been watching and listening to since it was posted - is this one, given my tim munchin at the university of western australia. a brilliant man, and while people may see him as being negative and dream-bashing (which i guess is sort of true, since he literally does say 'don't have a dream' in his address), but he's incredibly intelligent, strongly astute, and makes points that we all need to hear time and time again. you may take some of this in stride - alongside the things you feel and 'dream' and have always thought. or you may take away from this how strongly we all need to re-evaluate life, and what we've been told, and how we need to learn to live our own lives. 


a few of my favourite moments.
"...the software guy’s not going to get it, is he? Cos he didn’t do an arts degree, did he? He should have. Arts degrees are awesome. And they help you find meaning where there is none. And let me assure you, there is none. Don’t go looking for it. Searching for meaning is like searching for a rhyme scheme in a cookbook: you won’t find it and you’ll bugger up your soufflé.”
"I never really had one of these big dreams. And so I advocate passionate dedication to the pursuit of short-term goals. Be micro-ambitious. Put your head down and work with pride on whatever is in front of you… you never know where you might end up. Just be aware that the next worthy pursuit will probably appear in your periphery. Which is why you should be careful of long-term dreams. If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye."
"Remember, It’s All Luck. Understanding that you can’t truly take credit for your successes, nor truly blame others for their failures will humble you and make you more compassionate. Empathy is intuitive, but is also something you can work on, intellectually."
"By the way, while I have science and arts grads in front of me: please don’t make the mistake of thinking the arts and sciences are at odds with one another. That is a recent, stupid, and damaging idea. You don’t have to be unscientific to make beautiful art, to write beautiful things. If you need proof: Twain, Adams, Vonnegut, McEwen, Sagan, Shakespeare, Dickens. For a start. You don’t need to be superstitious to be a poet. You don’t need to hate GM technology to care about the beauty of the planet. You don’t have to claim a soul to promote compassion. Science is not a body of knowledge nor a system of belief; it is just a term which describes humankind’s incremental acquisition of understanding through observation. Science is awesome. The arts and sciences need to work together to improve how knowledge is communicated."
"We have tendency to define ourselves in opposition to stuff; as a comedian, I make a living out of it. But try to also express your passion for things you love. Be demonstrative and generous in your praise of those you admire. Send thank-you cards and give standing ovations. Be pro-stuff, not just anti-stuff."
"You will soon be dead. Life will sometimes seem long and tough and, god, it’s tiring. And you will sometimes be happy and sometimes sad. And then you’ll be old. And then you’ll be dead. There is only one sensible thing to do with this empty existence, and that is: fill it. Not fillet. Fill. It. And in my opinion (until I change it), life is best filled by learning as much as you can about as much as you can, taking pride in whatever you’re doing, having compassion, sharing ideas, running(!), being enthusiastic. And then there’s love, and travel, and wine, and sex, and art, and kids, and giving, and mountain climbing … but you know all that stuff already. It’s an incredibly exciting thing, this one, meaningless life of yours."
and perhaps my favourite:
"Be a teacher. Please? Please be a teacher. Teachers are the most admirable and important people in the world. You don’t have to do it forever, but if you’re in doubt about what to do, be an amazing teacher. Just for your twenties. Be a primary school teacher. Especially if you’re a bloke – we need male primary school teachers. Even if you’re not a Teacher, be a teacher. Share your ideas. Don’t take for granted your education. Rejoice in what you learn, and spray it."

you can read the entire address here. and i encourage you to watch. and rewatch. and think. and rethink. it will do you good. 

and watch again.