The Confluence | May 28th, 2019 | First of the Year

Confluence

YOUR OFFICIAL COLLEGE MAGAZINE

The

04

The Weight of Summer

May 28th, 2019

It’s the Chief - Editorial Our journey here at CNC is soon coming to the end of a chapter. The 2018-2019 year is ending, and those of you who have completed the essays, presentations and exams will hopefully have gained positive memories about the last year. I am fortunate to have gotten to know many of you, and if you are leaving, I sincerely wish you luck.

It is very easy to get wrapped up in the small things when you’re continually pushing yourself forward. This is especially true when you’re near the end of a semester. Every snag on your journey can feel like it’s a mountain instead of a pebble. These pressures can make it seem like everything is out to get you, and it’s essential to realize to yourself that you have made it. While our journey to this point may not have been as clean as we would have liked it to be, you can at least tell yourself that you have made it this far.

Going forward, The Confluence will still be developed and distributed by Myself and the CNC Students’ Union. Unfortunately for me, Paige Riding has spread her wings and is looking to move on to do greater things down south. I would like to formally wish her well and say that she has contributed a lot to what The Confluence is today.

While it’s sad to see her go, there are more exciting times to be had.

We have given a prominent student here at the College an opportunity to show her stuff to the world. Raegan is a student who was recommended to me in high regard, and I have to agree with their thoughts.

I am excited to see what she does under the Confluence banner.

On a positive note, there are some really cool changes that will be coming in regards to The Confluence.

02 THECONFLUENCE

One big thing that will be happening is our move to have a more substantial online presence. This doesn’t mean we’re not going to print copies for you to pick up anymore; instead, it means that anything that is published in the issue and potentially more will be hosted on the soon-to-be-revamped CNCSU website. You will see these changes begin sometime in May, as I will be doing a lot of work to get The Confluence to be known as one of Prince George’s staple magazines.

This is my effort to get the quality submissions from our students out to the greater public and gives myself and potentially others a broader stage to inform you all.

This is an exciting opportunity, and I want to thank the Students’ Union for assisting me in developing this soon to be a more comprehensive platform for our students here at the College of New Caledonia.

Cheers!

Damon Robinson Editor-in-Chief, The Confluence

Hey Dudes- Editorial

Hello friends! June is just around the corner, which is quite possibly my favourite month. June, if you are not aware, is Pride month! In honour of this, I am hoping to encourage a flood of submissions centred around LGBT+ topics!

Send your poetry, essays, even photos! Whether it is your own coming out story or someone else’s. Maybe it is about your current relationship or previous ones.

Maybe you are questioning things about your mind, body, even the world. Ps. you do not have to identify as LGBT to write about it! I would be honoured and thrilled to read your submissions. Since I know that not everyone is comfortable exposing this side of themselves to the entire college, just know that you are more than able to anonymously submit things as well. This is a month near and dear to my heart, so I want to make the absolute most of it, while keeping everyone feeling safe and comfortable.

In spirit of the upcoming month, I would like to bombard you all with some LGBT+ facts!

• June 25th, 1978 is when the Rainbow Flag became the symbol for LGBT pride (Zorithian, Julia).

Raegan Cote Interim News Editor

• Lara).

1.4 Million Americans identify as transgender (Rutherford-Morisson,

•

Gay Marriage only became legal in Canada in 2005 (CBC News).

And finally, the most important fact: • Gay people tend to be left-handed more frequently than heterosexual people (Lehnardt, Karin).

I encourage everyone to do their own research too. I found a ton of interesting things I had not known prior. Thanks for reading, until next time!

Confluence Staff and Contributors

Harman Dandiwal

Amber Boileau

Owner of Organizer, CNCSU

Photographer, Cover Artist

03 THECONFLUENCE

The

Confluence The

The Weight of Summer “The Mint Oreo blizzard is back in action, baby” Reagan Cote

04 THECONFLUENCE

Summer has finally begun. I have broken out the daisy dukes and I can finally be outside at 7pm without a coat on. I’ve already attended three backyard fires and a family barbeque. Sunscreen has already found its way out of storage because I burn the second those sweet UV rays hit me. I even made my first trip to Dairy Queen since last summer and let me tell you, that place was hoppin’ y’all. The Mint Oreo Blizzard is back in action baby.

I am a summer person through and through. Winter is not the time for me, or most people for that matter.

Unless you have a burning passion for winter sports, it seems everyone joins hands to sink into one mass depressive state. The winter air is filled with a heavy sense of season sadness, and even if you aren’t personally affected by it, the overwhelming amount of melancholy in others is hard to ignore.

The long winter nights seem to last forever, until summer sweeps every bit of gloom under the rug. Each year is the same. I have been feeling happier with each extra minute of sun added to the days, and I cannot wait to make use of this beautiful time of year.

There is one tiny thing wrong with summer. Though not summer itself, it tends to be a more personal type of thing. I love the hot days, and I love going to the lake. What I don’t love?

Showing off all the skin that my big winter sweaters had covered so many months before. Bikini season is upon us, and you won’t forget it. I can’t help but compare myself to others as soon as there is less clothing available that I can use to cover myself up. My body, no longer a secret to only me. Here I am, caving into societies standards once again. Saddle up, I am about to talk a whole lot about body image.

I’ll openly admit, I have not been to the gym in a dangerously long time. I don’t mean a couple of weeks, I mean it has been at least 365 days since my last visit to a tread mill. Honestly, my first year at CNC got to me. Some may have felt the weight from the “freshman fifteen” and let me tell you, so did I. After doing some research, as well as looking into the habits that I took a liking to throughout the year, I discovered just how easily school causes students to gain weight. Though the point of this essay is not to talk about weight gain/loss, I did find the information very interesting. The following is how the “freshman fifteen” effects so many of us.

Beginning with my sleep schedule, which was completely out of wack.

From staying up until the crack of dawn, to taking a five hour “power nap” in the middle of the day, the human body is not meant for that kind of treatment. The funny thing about sleep, is that you need to give your body a consistent schedule in order to have everything function correctly.

Otherwise, your brain is tired, which makes your metabolism tired, which clearly, does not help anything.

Now we have stress. A feeling any and everyone in the world is all to familiar with, especially students. The pressure to succeed, the short amount of time, the never-ending costs: it adds up!

I had never realized just how much stress causes weight gain, but after looking into it, things sure began to

Articles

tors. I constantly remind myself that whatever I look like, it truly will never matter in the end. At the end of the day, I don’t go home thinking about anyone’s body except mine, so what’s the point in worrying? Answer: there isn’t one. I often get too caught up on my own appearance every summer, and I forget to enjoy the life around me. Life is so much more than diets and appearances. Life is so much more than weight gain or weight loss. Life is about your experiences and never allowing your sense of confidence to guide you away from enjoying the wonderful things in front of you.

Gain, lose, or stay where you are—we are all beautiful and unique and magical humans. Everyone is simply doing their own personal best at being human.

I know I cannot tell you to love yourself, it must come from within you.

All I am hoping you get from this is that you are not alone. Nearly every last one of us is concerned in some way about our appearances. In a way, it is comforting knowing that, because who can spend extra time thinking about your body when they are fully occupied thinking about their own. In an ideal world, you would never judge yourself or others. That world is far, far away from us, however. For now, just live your life how you want. Eat as much ice cream this summer as your heart desires, don’t be afraid to show your body, and have as much fun as you possibly can.

Works Cited Stannard, Lia. “Effects of Cortisol on the Brain” h t t p s : / / w w w. l i v e s t r o n g. c o m / article/18695-effects-cortisol-brain/

05 THECONFLUENCE

make sense. Basically, what I discovered is that during high stress times, as hormone called Cortisol is released (Stannard, Lia). Cortisol then slows the bodies metabolism, and can even put it to a grinding halt. Furthermore, this hormone can also create a constant appetite when mixed with adrenaline that gets released. Between bonus food cravings, and hormones that love storing excess fat, it’s no wonder the “freshman fifteen” is such a popular conversation. Alas, I could finally, explain how come whenever 1am rolled around while I was mid-essay, I had an undeniable craving for 7/11 taquitos and French Vanilla.

Once I figured out that I had been putting on the lbs’ for the past six months, my mental state of confidence was completely shot. It has undoubtably become a race to lose as much belly fat as I could before I had to face the public eye. I can’t imagine I am alone in this, either. Everyone I know seems to be on one diet or another. Though it is not a competition, sometimes it feels that way. I have fallen into a cycle of dissecting every last bit of skin on my body. It sounds sad, because it is. I always preach to others about how bodies are beautiful no matter the shape or size, it is just a matter of preaching it to myself.

I find that I go through different phases of confidence, each day is different. It all depends how much time I spend on social media, who I’m surrounded with, and so many more fac-

Confluence The

looking Forward OUR MISSION Damon Robinson My first year as the Editor-in-Chief of The Confluence has come an gone in what seems like a flash. As a nice start to the new year, I felt that I should do another article detailing the plan for the magazine in the coming 2019-2020 year.

06 THECONFLUENCE

My biggest focus of the last year has been consistent with the message I set in April 2018. The goal being that I wanted to raise the profile of the magazine and bring it to places that it’s never reached prior. Maintaining a positive journalistic integrity is crucial to building our brand, and I feel that we have done a great job in doing just that. I have learned a lot throughout the last 12 months, and I look forward to putting together a valuable brand all of us.

Starting May 2019, The Confluence will be moving to being hosted and the CNCSU website, with articles being published as standalone peices that can be cited easily by students in the future. Having student work online is an effort to reach a broader audience across more than just the CNC campus. One of the things I have always had a challenge with is how to effec-

Articles tively share your work without having to carry around an 11x17 magazine. This is my attempt at doing so, and I’m excited to get everything started.

I have learned a lot over the past year, and I am proud to have developed a high-quality magazine that showcases talented work done by students here at the college. I fully intend on maintaining that quality while improving on the foundation that we have developed over the year.

ArT

ARTICles

Comics

Graphic art, portrait art.. all art! We are always looking for people who want to submit their artistic work to the Confluence. During my three years, i have seen tons of artists who haven’t had the platform to show off their amazing art. I look to change that.

Articles are at the forefront of what our magazine is all about. We are always looking for essays done for class or general essays in the same style that you would find in any other magazine.

Our intention with article submissions is to publish them as widely as possible. It is a great opportunity for those looking for a career in journalism.

In the past, The Confluence has published student comics. It has been a dream of mine to have comics in the magazine, and I hope that students will take advantage and submit their work.

Poetry

Photography

Video submissions

If there was one language in the world that everyone can understand, it is poetry. The art of words can be powerful, and we have had a great amount of people submit powerful poetry. As someone who writes poetry myself, I am always looking to be a fan of some more of our student.

Many of the covers that you can see in our catalogue of Confluence issues have your photography on the front.

We have worked with many studentphotographers and are looking for more!

We will also accept portfolios to be sold to the Confluence, I.e. photos of students on campus, or of CNC events.

New to The Confluence, is video submissions! Whether it be vlogs, creative videos, documentaries, footage of events, life stories, whatever. We will be accepting them. They can be published to the official Facebook page and Youtube. We will also give credit and link people to any social media you may have!

07 THECONFLUENCE

Here’s What We WILL BE LOOKING FOR:

R id es har ing in BC is g o o d f o r s t u d e n t s Tanysha Klassen, BCFS Chairperson-elect Whether it’s getting to or from school, work, or a night out with friends, safety and reliability of transportation options is a key issue for students and young people.

ter working a late night shift at a bar or at Tim Horton’s, students want to know they can get home safely and affordably – without spending a huge chunk of the wages from their shift.

That’s why the prospect of ridesharing services is so popular. I’m not just talking about people in urban areas like Metro Vancouver or Victoria, but also those in Terrace, Quesnel, and other places around the province. Whether public transit or taxis are plentiful or scarce, communities see ridesharing as a transportation option that compliments existing systems to provide options.

In addition to being users of ridesharing services, students have the opportunity to make some extra money by being drivers. A huge benefit of the ridesharing model is its flexibility: drivers can choose their own schedule and decide independently how many hours they want to work each day or week. This kind of flexibility allows students to earn money while working around their existing job and class schedule — earning extra income on your own schedule between homework, projects, and studying for exams is extremely valuable.

08 THECONFLUENCE

Being a student is expensive. Tuition fees are at a record high and continue to climb; combine that with an affordable housing crisis, out-of-control gas prices, and even the absurd cost of textbooks Issues of safety have been brought up and it’s little wonder that student loan by opponents of ridesharing services. debt in BC is higher than it’s ever been. But the reality is, these options are as safe or safer than other forms of transMore students are working while go- portation. Lyft, for example, provides ing to school than ever before – yet in-app photos of the driver and vehicle, that doesn’t mean they can afford a real-time ride tracking, digital receipts, vehicle to get them around town. Af- and two-way rating systems. Addi-

tionally, the company requires driving records and professionally administered criminal background checks, has minimum age requirements for drivers, and has a Critical Response Line on its app for customers who believe their personal safety is being threatened.

Ridesharing will bring more options in British Columbia. It provides safe, reliable, affordable, and flexible transportation all the while providing students and young people a way to supplement their income. Ridesharing can be used to supplement current transit systems or be used to fill in transportation gaps until they are fixed. With legislation passed this year enabling the introduction of ridesharing, students are keen to have it implemented within (or earlier than) the proposed timeframe of the end of 2019.

For more articles like this, check out the official BCFS blog at https://www.wearebcstudents.ca/blog

Confluence The

09 THECONFLUENCE

OPEN CALL for your submissions

Poetry-Photography-Articles-REVIEWS-PAINTINGS GRAPHIC DESIGN-CARTOONS-CREATIVE WRITING-ESSAYS Submit now to: EDITOR@CNCSU.CA

Mamma’s waiting, take me home Mamma’s waiting , Take me home . . .

Never ever realized, How much I roam. . .

To much of life, Too many ugly thoughts. . .

Take me back, There, waiting for water, My thirsty pots.

Sitting here, Trying to figure out Rhymes. . .

Missing there, Happy people, happy times. . .

Got into writing, The pleasant joy. . .

Signing off here, Dadda’s boy. . .

10 THECONFLUENCE

#mynotes

AKASH PATEL

COMICS

11 THECONFLUENCE

Submit yours today! editor@cncsu.ca

ADVICE YOU CAN COUNT ON!

Student LifeLine is a confidential student resource program providing practical support to help you maintain a healthy balance between school and everyday life.

LIFE

GET THE APP! Take Student LifeLine with you, wherever you go. For anytime access to free, confidential support and resources, download the app for iOS or Android. Simply search for “LifeWorks” on the App Store or Google Play.

Student Life, Legal, Relationships, Disability, Crisis, Traumatic Events HEALTH

Mental Health, Addictions, Fitness, Nutrition, Sleep, Alternative Health FAMIL Y

Couples, Parenting, Separation & Divorce, Older Relatives, Grief & Loss MONEY

Saving, Investing, Managing Debt, Tenant Rights, Major Purchases WORK

12 THECONFLUENCE

Call us, toll-free, 24/7: 1.877.418.1537 TTY: 1.877.371.9978 Online: login.lifeworks.com

User ID cnc Password wellness

Work Relationships, Job Stress, Career Development, Managing People Services include expert advice, counselling, consultations, community referrals, and access to online resources including articles, recordings, eBooks, toolkits, and more.

Powered by Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

This program is delivered by LifeWorks Canada Ltd. © LifeWorks Canada Ltd, 2017.