Local slow fashion business aims to promote sustainable fashion through their simple, timeless pieces
Menta Clothing Co. is an up-and-coming local Hamilton business that was founded two years ago by Luke Guevara. They participated in their first Supercrawl fashion show on Sept. 8.
Guevara grew up in Hamilton and has attended Supercrawl many times in the past, though this was his first year as a vendor.
“I've been going to Supercrawl pretty much my whole life, on and off. [It]’s really exciting to be able to set up a booth and have my own little business, my own little space,” said Guevara.
I've been going to Supercrawl pretty much my whole life, on and off. [It]’s really exciting to be able to set up a booth and have my own little business, my own little space.
Luke Guevara, founder, Menta Clothing Co.
When he was casting for models for their fashion show, Guevara looked for models with an energy that glowed and had vibes that matched his.
“I was really looking at energy and the vibe that they had, that kind of radiates off them and it kind of glows. It's something I really find important and for the people I surround myself with,” explained Guevara.
Guevara takes pride in being very rooted as a Hamiltonian, especially since Hamilton has many up-and-coming small businesses.
“There [are] a lot of great entrepreneurs in Hamilton. Hamilton's been known for being a hardworking place,” said Guevara.
While Menta Clothing Co. has gone through some ups and downs over the past two years, they have been featured in several events, including Art Crawl, and have received great reception from the community.
“They all love the idea of what Menta is: staying local [and] using premium quality fabric. . .[The] majority of people that buy a shirt come back for a second one because they love it so much and that's because it's different,” said Guevara.
They all love the idea of what Menta is: staying local [and] using premium quality fabric. . .[The] majority of people that buy a shirt come back for a second one because they love it so much and that's because it's different.
Luke Guevara, founder, Menta Clothing Co.
However, despite being connected to the local community, Guevara sources his fabric from Austria. The fabric that he uses, TENCELTM Modal, comes from the Beechwood tree, whose fibers are extracted via an environmentally friendly pulp-to-fiber process. As a result, this material is biodegradable under industrial, soil and marine conditions.
Guevara is passionate about leaving a low carbon footprint and keeping Menta Clothing Co. as ethical, sustainable and green as possible, which is why most of his third-party suppliers are local, either in Hamilton or the GTA.
“I think what makes me unique is I'm very rooted and being Canadian and being a Hamiltonian. Everything I do is pretty tight knit. Meaning that all my third parties I work with, they're all Canadian and they're all local,” explained Guevara.
Guevara hopes that customers will be encouraged to support local businesses or Canadian businesses after they see Menta Clothing Co.’s fashion show and visit their booth. During the rest of the year, their items can be purchased from their website.
Courts funded by the Student Life Enhancement Fund will be available for student use in the fall
On Aug. 7, the McMaster Students Union announced McMaster University agreed to refurbish two outdoor volleyball courts for the upcoming year. Previously part of a project under the Student Life Enhancement Fund, the courts at the Oval, located near the David Braley Athletic Centre and the Ivor Wynne Centre, will be open to students later in the fall.
In partnership with McMaster Student Affairs, the MSU has historically used the SLEF fund to support the development of student proposals for projects that enhance student life and community. Reviewed by the Student Services Committee, these proposals must meet specific criteria for approval, including being student driven, innovative and considerate of environmental impact.
Recent examples of projects backed by the SLEF include the Mac Community Kitchen, napping pods in the McMaster University Student Centre and the MacAccess Resource Library.
The courts’ revival was proposed by MSU president, Jovan Popovic, in Student Representative Assembly reports on Jun. 18 and Jun. 20. In the Jun. 20 report Popovic referenced a sign posting for the outdoor volleyball courts in Parking Lot H. The space had been originally outlined as a temporary parking lot for the construction of the Peter George Living and Learning Centre.
The courts’ revival was proposed by MSU president, Jovan Popovic, in Student Representative Assembly reports on Jun. 18 and Jun. 20.
Despite the building’s completion in 2019, the parking lot has since remained with the construction gear still present on the site. In a remote SRA meeting on Jun. 25, Popovic stated that approximately $20,000 of money collected from undergraduate student service fees was being wasted with the uncleared gear.
About a month and a half later, the MSU followed up with an Instagram video announcing that the university had agreed to revive the courts in time for the upcoming fall semester at no additional charges to students. A key focus of the project’s restoration was centred around the development of opportunities to promote recreation and student life across campus.
“Ultimately [the courts are] a big contributor towards student life because it’s providing students with the ability to come back [to campus] for reasons aside from academics,” said Popovic.
“Ultimately [the courts are] a big contributor towards student life because it’s providing students with the ability to come back [to campus] for reasons aside from academics,” said Popovic.
Jovan Popovic, president, McMaster Students Union
In his report on Jun. 18, Popovic explained that his two goals with the volleyball court revival were the recovery of the wasted student life money and the construction of new replacement facilities for those that were taken away from students.
“What this project was about was recovering what was lost. Hopefully this acts as a gateway for greater things, but ultimately this was the easiest and fastest way to get something done and to get it done in a timely manner,” said Popovic.
“What this project was about was recovering what was lost. Hopefully this acts as a gateway for greater things, but ultimately this was the easiest and fastest way to get something done and to get it done in a timely manner,”
Jovan Popovic, president, McMaster Students Union
Popovic also indicated that he would be advocating for a new tennis and basketball court to be built on the Oval. Other potential additions to this space could include green garden spaces and communal areas for both off-campus and residential students.
Many upper-year students missed out on a traditional first-year experience due to the pandemic, but extending Welcome Week events to all McMaster students could help fix that
For many students, Welcome Week is a time of great excitement and new possibilities. Friendships are forged and memories are made as incoming students are integrated into the McMaster University community.
However, many upper-year students, like myself, missed out on this foundational experience due to the pandemic. While Welcome Week was shifted online to accommodate the global crisis, the hybrid edition of this staple first-year experience was just not the same.
Now, experiencing this tradition as a welcome week representative, I realize that we will forever feel left out of these collective experiences.
The pandemic made it immensely difficult for these upper-year students who began their undergrad at its peak to create friendships as our social interactions were limited. Social events occurred online, where conversations may have been awkward to facilitate. Overall, students were left with feelings of isolation that had repercussions for their well-being and success.
Although students who experienced first year during the pandemic have formed their own exclusive bonds since, it does not change the fact that we missed out on integral university experiences, including the opportunity to form a community bond.
Considering the experiences of current upper-year students, Welcome Week events should be inclusive to all McMaster students.
I recognize that the goal of Welcome Week is to provide first year students with a positive start to their academic journey. However, having a few larger welcome week events open to all students could provide upper-year students with an opportunity to make memories they missed out on.
I believe the concept is perfectly exemplified by the annual Welcome Week concert. While first-years are prioritized during his event and receive free admission, the event is not exclusive to incoming students. Upper-year students are also welcome to attend this event by purchasing a ticket.
Understanding that each event has a capacity before resources begin to stretch thin, I believe that the concert does a wonderful job of including all students in the Welcome Week experience while prioritizing first years. Following this model, other Welcome Week events could be made more inclusive to students.
Since upper-year students have experienced academic life at McMaster, some events are not necessary for us to attend. For instance, academic events such as mock lectures or activities like campus tours are very beneficial for first-year students who need to get acquainted with life on campus but no longer provide the same value to upper-year students. Instead, events that cater to the social aspect of university life would be thoroughly enjoyed and valued by upper years who may feel isolated from the McMaster community.
Recognizing that there will be a time when all students will have participated in an in-person welcome week, the inclusivity of current upper-year students could be a temporary change to account for disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Overall, considering the purpose of Welcome Week and the deep-rooted traditions it holds towards making first years feel included within the McMaster community, I think it is important for upper year students to experience these events. While these events cannot make up for the countless experiences we lost, they can help bridge the gap between generations of McMaster students, restoring our sense of belonging and resilience.
Trans-led health coalition provides support for Hamiltonians seeking gender-affirming care while also taking steps to further educate the city’s healthcare providers
Gender-affirming care is an umbrella term that refers to approaches and aspects of healthcare supporting an individual's gender expression, including not only medications, surgical procedures and therapy, but also the use of preferred pronouns and names.
"It’s not about necessarily support for transition. We need that, but when we go to the doctor with a sore thumb, we want to talk about the sore thumb and we want you to refer to us to the medical assistant using our correct pronouns and our correct name,” explained Cole Gately, one of the founding members of the Hamilton Trans Health Coalition.
It’s not about necessarily support for transition. We need that, but when we go to the doctor with a sore thumb, we want to talk about the sore thumb and we want you to refer to us to the medical assistant using our correct pronouns and our correct name.
Cole Gately, founding member, Hamilton Trans Health Coalition
Gender-affirming care has been making headlines recently as legislatures in the United States put forward bills to restrict, or, in some cases, ban all together, this care. These moves have caused increasing concern among activists and healthcare providers as not only is this kind of care incredibly crucial for gender non-conforming folks health and wellbeing, but it is also already difficult to access, even in Canada.
Gately and others had noticed in the particular lack of competent and gender-affirming care in Hamilton and founded HTHC to help close the gap.
“Our whole the whole reason that we came together was to increase Hamilton’s primary healthcare system’s capacity to deliver gender-affirming health care to all trans Hamiltonians and also to advocate for that in other communities as well,” said Gately.
The coalition is a trans-led group made up of 182 community members, including advocates, educators, family doctors and other healthcare providers. They provide support for gender-diverse Hamiltonians navigating the city’s healthcare system, offering a twice monthly trans health clinic and helping to connect folks to gender-affirming providers and services they need.
The coalition is a trans-led group made up of 182 community members, including advocates, educators, family doctors and other healthcare providers. They provide support for gender-diverse Hamiltonians navigating the city’s healthcare system, offering a twice monthly trans health clinic and helping to connect folks to gender-affirming providers and services they need.
Gately hoped that after accessing HTHC’s services folks walk away feeling empowered and cared for.
“I hope they walk away with a sense that they have some power, that they have support out there and that they can advocate for their human rights and the care care they deserve. They deserve high quality healthcare just like everybody else in Canada,” said Gately.
The coalition is also dedicated to educating healthcare providers about gender-affriming care, recognizing that this is essential to close the gap in care. They do speaking engagements and provide training and other resources for healthcare providers to increase their awareness of trans issues and their understanding of what competent and compassionate care could look like.
Gately noted that they have seen a lot of progress over the last few years, but there is still a lot of work to do.
“The future of the coalition is just continuing to grow the capacity of Hamilton’s health care system. . .Our intention was never to create one sort of hub in the center of Hamilton [for gender-affirming care] where everyone goes to one clinic. It would be fine if we had one, but we want to make sure that every clinic and every healthcare provider in Hamilton has that competency, to be able to do this,” explained Gately.
The future of the coalition is just continuing to grow the capacity of Hamilton’s health care system. . .Our intention was never to create one sort of hub in the center of Hamilton [for gender-affirming care] where everyone goes to one clinic. It would be fine if we had one, but we want to make sure that every clinic and every healthcare provider in Hamilton has that competency, to be able to do this.
Cole Gately, founding member, Hamilton Trans Health Coalition
Legal clinic supports trans individuals in obtaining documentation that properly reflects their name and gender
This is an updated version of the article that was published June 29 in print. The article has been updated to include a statement from Mela Swayze, who volunteers as a peer support worker at the clinic.
The entire purpose of identification documents is to confirm your identity. A lack of proper identification makes it difficult to access basic services including health care; education; secure housing or even the ability to vote.
However, the process of obtaining or updating these documents can be bureaucratically confusing at the best of times, overwhelming and impossible at worst.
Every third Thursday of the month, the Trans ID clinic runs at the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic on Main St. E as part of the Queer Justice Project. The clinic offers support and legal advice for trans-identifying individuals who are beginning or in the process of obtaining documentation that accurately reflects their name and/or gender.
The initiative began in 2018 as a collaboration between the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, the Compass Community Health and Pro Bono Students of Canada.
Mela Swayze has been with the clinic since the beginning and volunteers as a peer support worker there.
“I was working as the [2SLGBTQIA+] advocate at Compass Community Health and along with other community workers noticed a high demand for support with legal name and gender marker changes. The process is extremely onerous and few people can get through it without support,” explained Swayze in an email statement.
I was working as the [2SLGBTQIA+] advocate at Compass Community Health and along with other community workers noticed a high demand for support with legal name and gender marker changes. The process is extremely onerous and few people can get through it without support.
Mela Swayze, Peer Support Worker, Hamilton Trans ID Clinic in an email statement
At the clinic, folks have the opportunity to meet with a lawyer and a peer support worker to ask questions about the process of completing applications. The clinic also provides notarial services and, in more complex cases, additional legal support.
“People come at all phases [in the process] including never having seen the forms before, to having them somewhat started, to having them complete and simply needing a once over and commissioning. We sometimes see folks once to go over the forms, and once to review and commission,” said Swayze in an email statement.
The clinic is also able to connect folks with other services who may be able to provide financial support during what can be a costly process.
The clinic quietly celebrated their fifth anniversary this year.
While they’ve shifted locations a couple times and operated completely virtually at the of the pandemic, the Trans ID clinic has been a constant in the Hamilton community ever since it opened. Over the years, they’ve held around 50 clinics and helped nearly 300 people.
Over the years, they’ve held around 50 clinics and helped nearly 300 people.
The Trans ID clinic runs from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m. every third Thursday of the month in person at 100 Main St. E., Suite 203 and virtually available. There are limited drop-in spots, and to make an appointment call HCLC at 905-527-4572.
This year, Pride Hamilton’s outdoor event will include vendors, performances and a beer garden
Pride Hamilton is hosting their annual pride event on Sunday, Aug. 27 at Pier 4 Park between 12:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The outdoor event will include vendors, food, a beer garden, performances as well as family and youth activities
In Dec. 2022, Pride Hamilton reached out to the community via Instagram to ask for suggestions for an accessible and inclusive location for this year’s festivities. Some of the considerations factored into their selection include safety for 2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals, accessibility transit and mobility devices and accessibility to shaded areas.
The location for this year’s event was shared on Instagram in May 2023. Pride Hamilton detailed in their caption that Pier 4 Park is accessible by HSR, accessible to mobility devices and offers parking.
Shortly after they announced their location, Pride Hamilton announced this year’s vendors, which include local businesses such as OWL & Crafty Beaver, Sugar Daddies Bakery and Coco Blossoms.
In addition to their large event in Au- gust, Pride Hamilton has hosted and promoted several events throughout June 2023, including yard sign fundraiser and a pride comedy festival.
For more information on Pride Hamilton and this year’s pride events, visit the Pride Hamilton website.
Forge partners with Volkswagen to support speqtrum Hamilton through proceeds from Pride match featuring the Pacific Football Club
The Forge Football Club hosted a Pride soccer match sponsored by Volkswagen with proceeds going to support speqtrum, a 2SLGBTQIA+ program through the Young Women’s Christian Association of Canada’s Hamilton chapter.
Focusing on community building and development, speqtrum provides services, events and skill workshops to assist queer and trans young people in Hamilton. speqtrum also offers programs such as weekly check-ins, peer support with staff to chat and provide services over online platforms.
On June 1, the team announced on Instagram post that their June 10 home game at Tim Hortons Field would be held in celebration of Pride month.
"I think it’s important for us to host [the Pride match] for a number of reasons, but the least of all just visibility and going the extra mile to prove that Tim Hortons Field is an inclusive space,” said Shannon Connolly, manager of community partnerships for Forge FC.
I think it’s important for us to host [the Pride match] for a number of reasons, but the least of all just visibility and going the extra mile to prove that Tim Hortons Field is an inclusive space.
Shannon Connolly, manager of community partnerships, Forge Football Club
The team also announced multiple promotional and merchandise opportunities through which fans could donate to the program. These include a “#BeTheChange Pride Package’’ which contained a ticket to the game, a commemorative pride Forge FC shirt, a charitable $10 donation to speqtrum and a $10 matching donation made by Volkswagen.
In addition to the package, $5 proceeds from the team’s Pride collection sales will also be donated to speqtrum for the remainder of the merchandise’s supply.
"Our mandate in our community department is always to focus on healthy, active and empowered youth . . . We immediately thought of speqtrum when we were looking for a partner for this match because they work really closely with youth and families,” said Connolly.
Our mandate in our community department is always to focus on healthy, active and empowered youth . . . We immediately thought of speqtrum when we were looking for a partner for this match because they work really closely with youth and families.
Shannon Connolly, manager of community partnerships, Forge Football Club.
The first 3,000 fans who attended the game were given a Pride Forge FC bandana as part of the team’s giveaway. Unique visual elements were present at the match, including custom corner flags as well as a rainbow-coloured armband for Kyle Bekker, the team captain for the Forge.
Per Connolly, approximately 200 tickets were donated to speqtrum on behalf of Forge and Volkswagen and given to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth from across Hamilton to attend the match.
Per Connolly, approximately 200 tickets were donated to speqtrum on behalf of Forge and Volkswagen and given to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth from across Hamilton to attend the match.
Playing against the Pacific Football Club, the Forge lost 0-1 after a late game goal by forward Djenairo Daniels. Both teams played a tightly contested game all throughout the match. After a scoreless first half, a misplay by Forge players Dom Samuel and Triston Henry allowed Pacific FC forward Daniels to notch a wide-open goal in the 85th minute of play.
Despite a 56.4 per cent possession rate for the Forge, the Pacific’s 16 shots and relentless offense managed to overpower the hometown Hammers and bring the visitors to victory. After the game, the Forge sit in third place in the Canadian Premier League standings with four wins, four draws and two losses.
The Forge continue to make donations to speqtrum with merchandise purchases from their 2023 Pride Collection along with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Working with the city through the CityLab Semester in Residence program, students have proposed solutions for affordable housing and the rental marketplace
Hamilton ranks as the third least affordable city in North America to live in and with the escalating cost of living shortages of affordable housing have reached an all-time high. In response, students in McMaster University's CityLab Semester in Residence program have partnered with the City of Hamilton to tackle different aspects of the housing crisis.
The CityLab program is a 15-unit course that allows students from all faculties to apply their skills to real-world issues in Hamilton. In the fall semester, students conducted research and consulted with stakeholders to create proposals for improving transitional housing, affordable housing and affordable home ownership.
Bohmee Kim and Rhea Saini, from the CityLab SIR 2022 fall cohort, presented findings on and recommendations for unlocking municipal land for affordable housing to city council last December.
“Our plan for unlocking municipal land caught the attention of councillors. . .The staff seemed inclined to pull together an inventory of all the municipal lands that currently exist in Hamilton and survey them for potentially building homes on,” said Saini, a fourth year student in the bachelor of health sciences program.
Our plan for unlocking municipal land caught the attention of councillors. . .The staff seemed inclined to pull together an inventory of all the municipal lands that currently exist in Hamilton and survey them for potentially building homes on
Rhea Saini, CityLab Semester in Residence Fall 2022 cohort and fourth year health sciences student
Kim and Saini’s recommendations proposed redeveloping government-owned plots of land into affordable mixed-use housing to address long-term affordability. They pointed to The Station, a 45-unit affordable apartment complex built on top of an active fire station in St. Thomas, as an example of how building on underutilized municipal land could be done effectively.
Another CityLab project aiming to improve Hamilton’s rental marketplace proposed solutions such as stricter enforcement of property standard laws for residential properties around McMaster, and information campaigns to address the public's lack of knowledge about the rental market, tenant rights and responsibilities.
“One of [the group’s] major findings was looking at accountability from both the city and McMaster – looking at lack of supply of students, education and the rental process,” said Saini.
Kim and Saini described their experiences in the CityLab SIR as valuable for gaining hands-on experience in working on community engagement projects.
“CityLab allowed me to work on a project outside the role of the student or academia. Seeing what it would look like to talk to stakeholders made community engagement less of a theoretical exercise and more actually putting it into practice,” said Saini.
They emphasized the value of having autonomy over their project which allowed them to explore their interests to make real-world change.
“As students, when we talk about making change, we gain the soft skills to do it. And so [CityLab] is the place to build that toolkit and gain those skills to make meaningful change in a respectful and collaborative way,” said Kim, a third year student in the arts and science program.
Kim discussed the upcoming 2023 fall semester project that addresses methods for building a climate-resilient future in Hamilton. She pointed to creating plans for affordable housing that is energy-efficient and sustainable as an example of a project that will be developed by students during the semester.
“Climate change is happening now. Taking climate action is not something we can only do through social media. We also have to take concrete actions. And at CityLab, you are working with the city and community partners. It's a real hands-on project to tackle climate change and have an impact on the people in the community,” said Kim.
Climate change is happening now. Taking climate action is not something we can only do through social media. We also have to take concrete actions. And at CityLab, you are working with the city and community partners. It's a real hands-on project to tackle climate change and have an impact on the people in the community
Bohmee Kim, CityLab Semester in Residence Fall 2022 cohort and third year arts and science student
The SIR program has been effective in addressing the housing crisis in Hamilton. Students in the program have been able to apply their skills to real-world issues and work with community partners to propose practical solutions to create a sustainable and resilient future for Hamilton. Kim and Saini encourage students to subscribe to their student-interest form for updates on SIR application openings and to follow their website and Instagram.
Witnessing beauty can bring on intense emotions such as sadness, but that’s not always a bad thing
By Andrew Khalil
I remember the first time I felt it so vividly. I was standing knee deep in the freezing water of Lake Huron well past midnight. The full moon was projected in the sky; a massive orb casting a pale glow on the entire lake. I looked down, seeing the moons reflection shimmering through the tiny ripples in the water. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever witnessed firsthand and yet, I could not help but feel a wave of sadness wash over me.
Ever since then, I’ve felt a similar melancholic feeling almost every time I witness beauty, both in nature and in cinematography. And so, I wondered, why does something so beautiful make me feel so sad?
It was much easier to reason when it came to cinematography, pinning the feeling to the subconscious knowledge of cinema as being unauthentic and manufactured to be beautiful, unlike nature. However, when it came to natural beauty, the reasons were not as apparent.
In search of answers, I scoured the internet and found nothing, just other people who felt similar melancholy but also did not understand why they felt this way. I started talking to my friends and family about this feeling and to my surprise, it was familiar to some of them, yet we still could not grasp why this even occurs.
As time went on, I realized that part of this sadness may not come from the beauty itself, but from the nature of the beautiful experience. The moments of beauty that are almost sublime, the ones that fill me with an inexplicable sense of sadness, are the ones that I know will pass. This realization sparked other ideas, and I started to contemplate a new question, could there be a way to ease my sadness? or better yet, harness the beauty of nature in my personal life?
As time went on, I realized that part of this sadness may not come from the beauty itself, but from the nature of the beautiful experience. The moments of beauty that are almost sublime, the ones that fill me with an inexplicable sense of sadness, are the ones that I know will pass
These beautiful experiences can create nostalgia, spark existential sadness, or trigger a sense of empathy regarding the destruction of nature’s beauty. Regardless, I felt satisfied with my insights and motivated to find the answer to my new question.
Post-realization, I decided to buy some plants and watch them grow beautifully over a two-year period. This simple act allowed me to experience the beauty of nature in a way that lasted.
Aside from buying plants, there are many other ways that you can harness the beauty of nature in your personal life. Spend more time immersed in nature. Whether a solitary endeavour or with others, your time in nature can also act as a time for exercise and meditation. You can go for a hike as cardio or sit peacefully surrounded by trees to ease your mind from stress.
Take up a nature-related hobby. Hobbies such as painting, photography, and gardening not only allow you to harness the beauty of nature in your personal life, but also act as mediums to express your creativity.
Travel to natural destinations. Traveling, even if done locally, can be an amazing way to experience the beauty of nature in your personal life. You can visit local gardens, the beautiful waterfalls surrounding the McMaster University campus, or go on a road trip to the beach, these experiences can be awe-inspiring and leave lasting memories.
By actively seeking out and experiencing the beauty of nature, we can find comfort in the fact that even though our experience in natures beauty is temporary, we can still find moments of happiness and fulfillment. I certainly did and so can you.
How stopping to explore the culture of Hamilton helped Volume 93 A&C Reporter make up for lost experiences as the world kept turning
Time is argumentatively linear. By that, I mean it continues to move forward even if you don’t realize it. Even when you try to keep yourself awake a little longer to make the day last longer, 12:00 a.m. will always mark the beginning of a new day.
The reality that time doesn’t stop at one's will is something people spend their entire lives accepting. It isn’t that the mass population believes they can stop time, but rather a sad feeling knowing there will always be time that can’t be returned.
The reality that time doesn’t stop at one's will is something people spend their entire lives accepting. It isn’t that the mass population believes they can stop time, but rather a sad feeling knowing there will always be time that can’t be returned.
These kinds of thoughts never plagued my mind growing up. As per the average child, I was just happy to exist. I found easy happiness in holding my mom's hand as she walked me to the big yellow school bus that would always stop over the same bump and made all the kids yell.
However, in recent years, I have fallen victim to the hope that time will pause with me. I know it is truly unrealistic to hope for such a thing, but alas I am one of the billions of people who cycled through a pandemic and now I'm one of the many third-year students at McMaster University who sometimes forgets which direction on Main Street West will take her to downtown Hamilton.
Though the glaring lack of knowledge about their university town isn’t uncommon among university students, the degree to which it affects people is different. When I brought up my own fears to my friends about how little I have explored within Hamilton, they admitted they didn’t necessarily have the same worry.
To them, it was a given that they didn’t explore Hamilton as much as the average student. Though it is more than fair, it was hard for me to accept how little I knew about a city I lived in.
My worries of not knowing much about Hamilton became more prominent through my position as a reporter for the Silhouette. For almost the past eight months, I have been learning about how robust Hamilton is. Every week I have had the privilege to talk about the arts, thriving businesses and new events prospering in Hamilton.
It wasn’t as if an external person was keeping me from the plethora of culture in Hamilton, but rather the glaring eye of time. As a third-year undergraduate student, so much of the year was spent trying figure out my next steps and classes, I felt as though I would lose time if I enjoyed myself.
It wasn’t as if an external person was keeping me from the plethora of culture in Hamilton, but rather the glaring eye of time. As a third-year undergraduate student, so much of the year was spent trying figure out my next steps and classes, I felt as though I would lose time if I enjoyed myself.
The first time anxious knot in my stomach had begun to unravel was for a piece I wrote earlier this year. I had thought the interview was meant to be done through Zoom, for an upcoming exhibition. Instead, it ended up being an interview that was meant to be in-person, at the exhibit. What had been a miscommunication between the interviewee and me, ended up becoming a secret blessing.
With limited opportunities to leave the confines of McMaster this year, visiting the exhibit in-person for the interview offered me a unique chance to experience art in real-time. As I walked around the exhibit, with the artist who had spent years creating the work, I found myself truly connecting. When I was able to put aside my initial hesitancy regarding the underlying fear of losing time, I was enjoying myself. The simple mistake made me realize how fulfilling it is to explore; how even if I may lose time in one aspect, I am enriching myself in another.
As I walked around the exhibit, with the artist who had spent years creating the work, I found myself truly connecting. When I was able to put aside my initial hesitancy regarding the underlying fear of losing time, I was enjoying myself. The simple mistake made me realize how fulfilling it is to explore; how even if I may lose time in one aspect, I am enriching myself in another.
The chance to view my own life beyond the confines of my own fears would not have been possible if not for my time on the Silhouette. The undeniable reality is that time will continue, no matter what we do.
As someone who up until recently was consumed in the fear of never fully using my time correctly, I urge you to take a chance. Visit the art exhibit showing up on your feed, go to the concert even if it seems far away, stop by the street fair that pauses the traffic and let yourself be present. Let yourself take back control of the time you fear you’ll never get back.
