Vancouver is pretty well know as being a socially progressive city, especially in terms of the safety and rights of LGBTQIA+ people. It’s part of the reason I love this place so much; I don’t have to worry about being harassed or abused every time I leave the house. However, something happened recently to me demonstrated that although this city is a pretty great place to be, it’s not free of those who want to harm people belonging to marginalized groups.

A friend of mine and I were sitting in SUB last week, tabling for Trans Day of Remembrance. Normally sitting at the table isn’t a big deal; we just talk to the few people that come up to us and let them know about all the resources we have to offer. Most people don’t pay much attention to us, and go about their business. Unfortunately, we had someone come up to us that Tuesday who wasn’t exactly friendly. This person, while not outwardly abusive in their comments, made it pretty clear that they thought people who weren’t straight and cisgender were somehow morally inept or dangerous. It was not the most pleasant experience to have someone come up to you and tell you they’re afraid of their daughter “becoming gay”.

The feeling my friend and I  had after this happened was along the lines of “how could we have possibly responded to something like this?” Neither of  us knew what to do in this situation. How can you stand up for yourself, and try to prevent people like this from causing more harm? We were shocked by the fact that someone in this city would find it reasonable to be so directly hateful.

I think it’s easy to forget, living in what is a generally pretty accepting place, that in many places people’s basic rights are being infringed upon every second. We have a tendency to lapse into complacency, and say “things are okay, why complain?” We still need events like the pride parade, and Trans Day of Remembrance because stuff like this happens with extraordinary frequency. We need to remember our privilege, and the fact that some people don’t have the rights that we may take for granted.

First of all, apologies for the lack of posts. I’m going to use the excuse of “adjusting to university life”.

Given the fact that it’s Thrive Week, I figured that now’s a good time to make a quick post about surviving school. As someone with general anxiety disorder, school can be super overwhelming for me. So here are some tips that help (in my experience) to reduce stress and to make school a little easier.

1) Make a plan for getting stuff done

While not everyone likes to plan exactly what they’re going to get done right down to the last detail, having at least a vague outline can be really helpful. Then you won’t end up in that awkward position where you realize you have two days to write three papers, all of which are worth thirty percent of your grade. As well, it makes you feel like you’re on track and accomplishing something, even if you’re just doing one math problem or writing 100 words.

2) Treat yourself

If you feel like you need to eat an entire chocolate bar in a day in order to survive assignments/midterms, go for it. That being said, subsisting entirely off of junk food probably isn’t the best idea; you’ll feel a lot better if you’re eating at least some healthy food.

3) Take breaks

I’ve definitely been in the position where I’ve sat at my desk for six hours trying in vain to study. But getting up for an hour and socializing or doing some exercise can be very helpful in studying effectively.

4) Do whatever you need to do to feel good

This one is a little vague, but the point is, don’t let everything go because you feel like you should be studying. I know that for me personally, putting on a cute outfit and taking the time to do make-up and hair makes me feel infinitely better, which in turn makes me more productive.

5) Deep breathing

Deep breathing is magical. If you’ve gotten to that point where you’re completely overwhelmed and want to break down into tears, doing some deep breathing patterns will snap you out of that state almost instantly.

While I’m most certainly not free of stress about school, I’ve managed to find ways to be a little more productive and a little less anxious. Stress and mental illness can make school infinitely more challenging. If you want help with these issues, or any other well being-related problems, you can can check out the resources UBC has to offer here.