Commentary

<p>We were halfway through practice when I started feeling dizzy. I ran across the court to get a ball and all of a sudden everything went blurry. I fell to the floor, luckily not for long. I was fine, but my coach insisted I sit down until I regained a bit of colour. I was [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Warning: This story contains graphic content about eating disorders and their effects that may disturb some readers. In November 2016, I was newly diagnosed with an eating disorder and looking for advice. The bookstore’s nutrition section displayed a colourful assortment of diet books. They featured young and thin women on the covers. They also promised [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Warning: This story contains graphic content about eating disorders and their effects that may disturb some readers. It was 11 o&#8217;clock on a school night. I was in my room in Holy Cross House, lying on my bed in the dark with my eyes wide open.   I was afraid if I fell asleep I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I celebrated my first Christmas on Dec. 25, 1997 at two days, 15 hours and 19 minutes old. Two days after being born, I was packed up like a parcel and taken home. The doctor didn&#8217;t exactly approve, but it was Christmas Eve and my mom didn’t want my four-year-old brother to celebrate in a [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I had the good pleasure of watching the unveiling of the Wall of Flags in James Dunn Hall on Nov. 13. It was part of the St. Thomas University International Student Association’s International Education Week, a five-day celebration of a multiculturalism. Manuel Garcia, the president of STUISA, delivered heart-warming words about how the international community [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“I have a bit of an emergency . . . there’s only $41 in my account.” That’s how the panicked call to my mother began when I discovered my bank account had been hacked. Poof, gone. On Sept. 27, seconds after closing my banking app, a text rolled in. It said it was from Scotiabank, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This is it for me, my final &#8220;See y&#8217;all later.&#8221; I&#8217;m graduating in May and I have no clue where I&#8217;ll end up after I&#8217;m officially done here. There&#8217;s a lot I wish I did through my years at St. Thomas University. I wish I socialized more, took more art classes, didn&#8217;t get involved in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I remember my first real hockey game. I was six years old and I had never been so excited for anything in my life. I was bad. In fact, I was horrible. After multiple goals scored against my line, and getting a breakaway just to shoot the puck in the wrong direction, the father of [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Have you ever experienced a situation so tough you wondered how you were ever going to come out of it? Or maybe what you will ever learn from it? These questions are something I, as an athlete, ask myself daily. Why do I even ask myself these questions? And why haven’t I walked away yet?  [&hellip;]</p>

<p>It&#8217;s March so obviously the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament is in full effect. This past weekend saw some major upsets and it made for great TV. However, analysts all over the world are saying this is terrible for the rest of the tournament. But, how can that be? The big schools have been [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&#8220;Good job!&#8221; &#8220;You inspire me!&#8221; &#8220;I just know you&#8217;re going to do so well!&#8221; These are all complimentary phrases that have been tossed my way for getting a job in my dream field, winning awards or just writing a killer-awesome story. But no matter how often I hear praise, I will never accept it. I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I grew up in a household where we had four to five guns per person. And no, none of them are semi-automatic assault rifles. In my house, guns were tools used for hunting, how my dad helped provide food for our family. I was raised in a pro-gun environment — copies of American Rifleman were stacked [&hellip;]</p>

<p>When I entered university, my thoughts on sex was that it didn&#8217;t happen unless you were in a relationship. I wasn’t interested in hookups and I’d had no experience with them. That changed quickly. I was working on an assignment with a classmate in his dorm room when he asked me if I wanted to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The gym can either be your favorite place to be or a personal hell. For more and more people, the gym is becoming a place of insecurity, stress and paranoia instead of a place for stress relief, enjoyment and socialization. &#8220;Am I using this machine right? Am I doing this exercise right? Ew, I’m sweating. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The AQ&#8216;s Sarah Morin shares the story of her first ever date with a pro-life Christian boy — all in the name of free books and chocolate. I accidentally threatened to break my first date&#8217;s arm.  I didn&#8217;t actually end up breaking it. His heart, on the other hand, is another story.  I was shy and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Awards shows have been dying for years. This has been the narrative ever since cable’s popularity dropped and streaming became the medium through which many consume their favourite TV shows and movies. Ask anyone under 30 and they may not remember the last time they went out of their way to turn on the television [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This has been the year of kneeling in the NFL, and frankly, I’m a sports fan who doesn&#8217;t like politics in sports. But earlier this season, I’m watching a game and they brought in this quarterback, Jay Cutler, who doesn&#8217;t deserve to be in the league. I thought to myself, &#8220;Why isn&#8217;t Colin Kaepernick playing? [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The holiday break just ended and students have returned to school. Many went home and enjoyed time with their families. However, some students had different plans for the month of December. I&#8217;m from Brazil and this was my second break away since I came to Canada two years ago. I can&#8217;t deny it&#8217;s hard to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I grew up reading fashion magazines and I was mesmerized by the extravagant designer dresses on every page, the eclectic makeup on runway models. I loved it all. Over the years, I watched magazines become more inclusive of body types. A double zero was no longer the only acceptable size. Models of all different sizes [&hellip;]</p>

<p>A familiar twang of a guitar comes on the radio, filling the house with its round sound. The smell of turkey browning in the oven mingles with the scent of onions and garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. This Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States. For southwestern New England, that means a couple of [&hellip;]</p>