Hannah's blog posts are written in collaboration with our partners at Yellow House, which is a space and community for Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Colour at Queen's. Thanks to Yellow House for their partnership. Make sure to check out their Instagram to stay current with their events for Queen's QTBIPOC students!
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Hi everyone,
"And suddenly – the dreams started chasing me."
- Tess Guinery
When I moved to Kingston in early September and began my adventures in academia, I did not expect to be so pleasantly surprised. I loved learning. While perusing my countless readings and as the seasons began to slowly melt seamlessly into one another and into a gloomy fog of cozy turbulence, my heart felt awake to the slowness and simple beauty of sipping lattes and learning.
I treated the autumn semester as a kind of experiment laced with poetry and prose. I spent days on end studying in the Harry Potter room in Douglas Library and began to realize that I did not have to define my worth as a student by being stressed. I found that when I was hurried and overwhelmed, building up stress over assignments and deadlines in my mind, I was not necessarily more “productive”. In fact, my best work was done when I allowed myself space to decompress and breathe. Suddenly, productivity was not equivalent to the level of stress I had coursing through my veins. This realization helped my learning expand and evolve throughout the first semester.
I started to learn what allows me to thrive wholeheartedly as a student and—more importantly—as a human. I certainly don't have all the answers to dealing with stress, but I found little things that helped with my learning. I found the ambience of the Tea Room and the staircase at Goodes Hall inspired me as I typed up all my papers. I realized that my mental health, and by extension my sense of well-being as a student, thrived when I carved out time and space to go outside everyday.
Over the holidays, I spent most of my time reading by the fire, laughing with my family, and over-indulging a little. Then the fireworks kissed the clouds and it was 2023!
There are a million versions of myself that could unfurl this year. Honestly, I feel enchanted by the thrill of opportunity awaiting this next chapter.
As I dream, I am spending my winter semester attempting to embody the academic weaponry of Paris Geller, the elegance of Belle, the zeal of Jo March, and the whimsicality of Anne Shirley. Maybe that's slightly ambitious, but I think these are the kinds of notions I need to remind myself what a gift it is to learn. Here are some more whimsical bits and pieces that are helping me romanticize the next semester:
1. Rewatching the 2019 version of Little Women – This adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic amalgamates a warm vibrancy that feels like an ode to the beauty of everyday things, the empowerment that word-stringing and literature brings, and the value in chasing your dreams and what most moves you.
2. Implementing habit systems from James Clear’s Atomic Habits – I read this book over the holidays and found it so profound and helpful in creating basic ways to implement small changes into your life to help you get closer to your goals and aspirations.
3. Mary Oliver’s poem, Wild Geese – One of my favourite poems and a reminder of long, windy days working away.
4. Watching Gilmore Girls – A classic TV show. Simply the most calming way to end the day by luxuriating in the quaint, wholesome beauty of Stars Hollow.
I am excited to see how the delight in curiosity continues to unwind throughout the next few months!
A toast to 2023! Cheers,
Hannah