By: Priya Migneault BreatheAlthough it sounds so simple sometimes we all need a reminder to just breathe and be present. Take 30 seconds of your day and focusing on your breathing. "Stop stressing. Take a deep breathe. Everything will be ok. You can do this." Drink water and teaMake sure you stay hydrated. Water is a basic necessity and sometimes when people get stressed or caught up thinking about the future they forgot the importance of taking care of your hydration. Try to make sure you have at least 2-3 glasses of water a day, and it's important to note that tea and water are not the same thing. Almost all the tea people drink goes straight through their them without being absorbed or used for bodily functions. SleepSleep is so important and we as teenagers have a little habit in thinking we can go on just fine with the bare minimum. Although, this may be fine on the regular week try to make sure you get at lest eight hours on the evening before your exam. Nutritious FoodMaking sure you put good healthy foods into your body should always be a priority not just over exam break, but it is especially important when you need to focus. Different foods can effect your moods and ability to focus, which is why it is important to eat healthy whole foods around your exams. ExerciseIf the stress of exams has you worked up make sure you take some time to go out and exercise. Exercising can be as simple as a 20 minute walk, and it helps you clear you head and release an excess build up of tension in your muscles. StudyDon't procrastinate your work and make sure you prepare yourself for your exam by reviewing the subject. Teachers will usually have a review guide ready for students before exams so that they know what to study, don't be afraid to ask for a guide before your break starts. Shift your perspectiveIf you're really stressed about your exams it's time to take a step back and see the big picture or change your perspective. If you completely flunk your exam how bad is it really? Does it stop you from graduating? Will a bad grade really ruin your life? You might need to look back at the exam's course outline and see how much your final exam is really worth. If you mess up 50% of the questions you still might pass the course and never have to worry about it again. Yoga and JournalAlong with breathing and exercise it's important to stretch and take time for yourself. Yoga is a fantastic way to concentrate on your breath and centre yourself. If your interested in trying yoga majority of communities have a studio that is available for walk-ins or there are youtube videos available to help you go through the stretchs and moves. Journaling is important to help you clear your head and express and let go of feelings that are no longer necessary or help you. Journaling doesn't have to be neat it can be messy and chaotic, all you have to do is write and feel. ConnectIt's important to connect with other people and spend quality time with your loved ones. This could be as simple as making a meal with your mom or dad, playing a board game with your siblings, going for coffee with some friends, or cuddling up with a beloved pet. It's important to make sure that stress and anxiety doesn't isolate us from the world and those we care about. Listen to musicMusic has a way of helping people let go of their fear, guilt, and anxiety and become fully immersed in the song. When people are stressed it sometimes is helpful to turn up the radio and just lose yourself in the music. “I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” ~ Billy Joel
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By: Priya Migneault Glenbow MuseumThe Glenbow Museum is a non-profit organization that works to educate individuals and groups on Alberta's rich history. The museum has multiple featured exhibitions throughout the year featuring artists from all over the world. It is the perfect place to relax, reflect, and learn more about art and our history in your own company. It appeals to both adults and teens with it's detailed year round exhibits that focus on Calgary's history and it's modern seasonal featured exhibits. 130-9 Ave S.E., Calgary, Alberta New Central LibraryThe New Central Library in Calgary's downtown core is arguably one of the most stunning libraries in Alberta. It features floors dedicated specifically for kids, teens, and adults. The library has several meeting spaces, computer labs, and auditoriums. The library also hosts a café. It's the perfect place to go study, relax, and hang out with a group or by yourself. The teen section includes gaming consoles, books, studios that are for recording videos and music, and classrooms for a variety of activities.
800 3 St S.E., Calgary, AB By Juliette Sicotte and Kim Firmston Want to make friends but don’t know where to start? Well… start with what you like! Tabletop GamingTired of Solitaire and want to make a few friends around a game table? We have some options for you. Hexagon Cafe This is a board game in Kensington Calgary that hosts game nights during the week where you can meet others. Drop in solo or in a group and learn to play a new game. Find you tribe! https://thehexcafe.com/events/ FallCon FallCon, the biggest board game convention in Calgary, offers regular meetups through FallCon 365 at a variety of locations through Calgary. Why not see what they have going on? www.meetup.com/fallcon365 The Sentry Box This Calgary game store with over 100,000 items on their shelves offers an almost complete booked calendar full of game night for you or experienced players, and other fun events like painting miniatures. Truly and absolute. https://www.sentrybox.com/events/events.html MoviesIf movies are more your speed, check out these local indie theatres which host incredible film festivals, launches, independent movies, and Q & A sessions. Both well seasoned retro locations, they will launch you back in time and give you an experience you won’t get at a regular movie theatre. Plaza Theatre in Kensington http://theplaza.ca/ Globe Cinema Downtown https://globecinema.ca/ Reading and WritingFor all the word lovers out there, there are some great places to make friends and find your creative community. The Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society (AWCS) This writing hub, located on the fourth floor of cSpace in Marda Loop, offers classes, camps, workshops, and social events for writers of all ages. There is even a dedicated club called RIWO (Reality is Woefully Obligatory) for writers and creators between the ages of 16-25 to discuss the creation process, share their work, and meet new friends. www.alexandrawriters.org Pages Bookstore This unique bookstore located in Kensington offers a variety of readings, including the monthly Flywheel Series which attracts a university aged crowd. So if listening to cool poetry and prose is your thing, check out their website for more information. www.pageskensington.com Shelf Life Books If you are both into listening to others and reading your own work then head out to Shelf Life Books, on the edge of Downtown Calgary. They host a variety of open mics for all ages. From Can You Hear Me Now? open mic and poetry slam, to the Single Onion open mics, and more - there are loads of ways to take part and meet other writers just like you. www.shelflifebooks.ca Owls Nest Books Owls nest really has it all, book clubs, author signings/readings, and open mics. Plus, they offer 10% off all book club books! Located in the Britannia Shopping Plaza on Elbow Drive, this is a great place to find friends who love to read. www.owlsnestbooks.com ConventionsConventions are a great way to meet like minded people and make new friends for any social butterfly and or costumer out there. Whether you’re into games, cosplay, comics, Japanese Culture and more, Calgary offers some great conventions. Here are just a few. FallCon This annual September convention offers a weekend filled with board games, This is a great way to unplug, try out new and out of print games, and make new friends. www.fallcon.com Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo Annually every April, the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo showcases the best in celebrities, voice actors, artists, anime, comics, cosplayers, and more. They have a huge exhibit hall and lots of autograph opportunities and panels. They encourage community, so this is a great way to find yours. www.calgaryexpo.com Otafest This Japanese based convention is perfect for the Otaku in you. If you love anime, J-pop, gaming, cosplay, and more, you will love hanging out with this super welcoming community. Shop in the exhibit hall, curl up with some anime, go to a panel, play a game, or battle a Pokemon gym leader, there is always so much to do. Everyone is so friendly, you’ll have a new friend in no time. www.otafest.com SportsIf you love active games, splashing in the water, or just meeting new people around a soccer or basketball, then we have a few options for you.
City of Calgary Recreation Drop In Programs The City of Calgary sports and Rec offers a variety of drop in programs for the sports master in you. From shinny hockey to swimming to soccer, there is lots to do. Check out all they have to offer across the city.. https://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreation/Pages/Schedules.aspx?redirect=/dropin Westside Recreation Centre Youth Night Nothing to do on Friday night? Head on down and join the fun in the gym, pool, and youth wellness centre. But before you go, be sure to fill out the unparented orientation form. https://westsiderec.com/youth-news/youth-night-0 Vivo For A Healthier Generations With multiple drop-in events, every day of the week this rec center is an amazing place for any active person looking for plans weather it be trach, yoga, aquatics, climbing or any of there long list of drop-in activities and with youth night every Friday this is the perfect place for you. https://www.vivo.ca/Pages/DropinSchedule.asp Breathe Parkour Nerf Night, drop in passes, camps and more, this is a great way to learn the active sport of Parkour in Calgary and meet some like minded fiends along the way. https://www.breathepk.com/ By: Priya MigneaultAre you aware that in 2017 China executed over 1000 people?
Capital punishment is the act of putting someone to death because of a criminal conviction, it is also know as the death penalty. Countries such as Canada, France, Mexico, Argentina, as well as 140 others have abolished the death penalty vs other countries such as Japan, China, the USA, etc… that have not. The only first world countries that still practice capital punishment are the USA and Japan. The death penalty should be banned in every country because the people on death row could be accused of crimes they did not commit, it is proven capitial punishment does not deterre criminals, and putting people to death causes mental health issues for officers. First off, it is important to ban the death penalty because according to an article written by John Grisham for the Chicago Tribune somewhere between 2 - 10 percent of people convicted are innocent. According to Innocence Canada, the majority of wrongful convictions occur due to eye witnesses, “Eyewittness evidence can be unrealiable for many reasons such as stress, emothions, lighting, distance, and memory issues.” Other factors that lead to wrongful convictions are false confessions, false guilty pleas, tunnel vision, systemic driscrimination, errors in forensic science, and professinal misconduct. Even though we are coonsistently trying to improve our justice system mistakes occur. A clear example of this is the 1989 Central Park 5 case, where five black and hispanic boys between the ages of 14 - 16 were found guilty of the attempted murder, rape, assault, and robbery of Trisha Meili. When the boys were taken into custody they were seperatly interrogated without parents for at least seven hours and ended up videotaping confessions. The five later said that they were coerced into giving false confessions by detectives and officers. After two trials they were all sentenced to 6 - 13 years in prison, despite the DNA at the crime scene matching none of them. At this time Donald Trump was highly suggesting the New York state bring back the death penalty for the five dispite then being underrage. The five were recently exonerated from prison after serving almost a full sentence. If the boys had been convicted under the death penalty five innocent people would have died. The death penalty shound be banned becasue not everyone convicted of crimes is guilty. Futhermore, according to the Amnesty International, “Since abolishing the death penalty in 1976, Canada’s murder rate had steadily declined and as of 2016 was at its lowest since 1966.” Jeffery Fagan, a professor of law at Columbia university says, “Even when executions are frequent and well publicised, there are no oberservable changes in crime. Excutions serve only to satisfy the urge for vengence. Any retributive value is short-lived, lasting only until the next crime.” The death penalty does not serve us in any way other tan our need for vengence, and there is no evidence that is deters criminals. According to a study done in 2009 by Michael L. Radelet and Traci L. Lacock, “over 88 percent of criminologist did not believe the death penalty deterred murders.” Australlian Supreme Court Judge Lex Lasry had this to say about the death penalty: “ There are all sorts of other punishments - life imprisonment and so on - but the idea that a government would take individuals out into the bush, as they would here, and shoot them is just something that I can never live with and never understand, and apart from anything else, from a legal point of view, no-one really claims now that it has any real deterrent value. It’s just a terrible thing to do.” The death penalty should be banned because not only is it inhumane but it causes mental health issues for execution officers. According to a recent article on execution guard mental health written by Robert T. Muller, “ (Execution) guards have reported depression, inablity to sustain relationships, and changes in personality.” The article also features an interview with an execution guard who had an episode of PTSD when “the eyes of all the inmates he had executed began flashing before him.” A few states in America are becoming aware of the effects performing executions have on officers. In an effort to try and take some of the mental and emotional stress off them “authorities also try to disperse feelings by having multiple guards involved in the execution process. With lethal injection, the method of execution used in most states, three officers are assigned to turn a key switch that releases the lethal drug into the prisoner.” According to a new study released from the Washington State, “Prison employees have a rate of PTSD roughly equivilent to war vetrans who’ve served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Officers who have PTSP experienced “bad dreams of work-related events… disturbing flashbacks… and avoiding memories or reminders of workplace tramas.” We all must start becoming aware that the death penalty should be banned becasue it not only effects the inmates being executed, but it also has life time effects on officers. Keeping all the previous evidence in mind every country must ban the death penalty becasue 2 - 10 percent of people convicted are innocent, there’s no evidence it deters people from commiting crimes, and it effects officers mental health. Some argue that it is a waste of taxpayers money to keep high risk offenders alive, but prison is meant to be about rehabilitation not execution. |
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