Madeleine Merritt, 19, is a local Ottawa artist who has used quarantine as an opportunity to take the next steps in her entrepreneur journey to create, share and inspire. Merritt is a second-year University of Ottawa student studying fine arts and disciplining in photography. She decided to take this semester off as many of the classes she wished to take...

The alarm goes off and my brain switches to go mode. Whether it was living day to day attending in-person activities or now through our devices, many things in a day demand our attention and energy. But when I step onto my turquoise mat, I grant myself a moment to quiet my mind and detach from the external world. My...

Long before a pandemic was declared early last year and COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in Ottawa in March, 2020, a more insidious disease lurked in Canadian homes. Domestic violence is typically associated with “broken families”, and has historically been contrasted with an idealized version of family life. However, domestic and family violence is statistically more common than one may think....

With Disney Plus's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier set to release March 19, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have forgotten where these characters were left off in July 2019. The show will feature many returning characters the audience have not seen since the events of Avengers: Endgame or earlier. As the name suggests, the series stars the...

Eager-eyed and full of excitement, I found myself in a room with a group of my favourite people – journalists. I remember walking into the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto attending my first journalism conference NASH80 and feeling a wave of excitement rush over me. Not only was I in a place full of industry leaders, but it was my first...

Two years ago, after being introduced to the volunteering community through Carleton University, Sarah Ratcliffe spent last year’s Thanksgiving with her mother, helping to feed the homeless at Ottawa Mission. Ratcliffe, 23, is a student of psychology at Carleton, where she volunteered in a clothing room. “Around that time, I worked at a place that got a lot of marginalized...

The pandemic has changed the course of countless lives, including those of our animal friends. With lockdown measures and stay-at-home orders came the “pandemic pet” boom of 2020, when people seeking companionship cleared out animal shelters and filled up breeders’ wait lists. Dogs in particular continue to be highly sought-after. This "paw-ssion" for pooches is something canine behavioural specialist Jessica...

Speech is a key element in communication. It affects how we interact with one another and how we build relationships. But for me, it isn’t always as simple as saying what comes to mind. Growing up, I had what my family referred to as “speech problems.” I couldn’t always pronounce words and make sounds come out correctly. Before speaking, I'd...

On July 15, 2016, two missiles fired from F-16s slashed through the air and a second later, two buildings in Ankara's Presidential palace complex burst into debris and smoke. It had already been several hours since a small military faction began its attempt to seize control of the Turkish government. Sekin Ergun, a Turkish citizen, longtime journalist and civil servant,...

During the first lockdown back in March 2020, Nick Sommers, 19, was bored at home and wanted to distract himself from the pandemic. He found his distraction in creating art.“I genuinely felt lost, and as if I needed an outlet to throw myself into. So, I literally just went to the art supply store, bought some small canvases and cheap...