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The Magic of Paris
Substack, December 2022

In the fifteen years it took me to return, I dreamt about Paris many times. Both in waking and in sleep, but mostly in dreams. Again and again, I walked the streets of Paris in my dreams. Each time waking up with a yearning—a desire. Paris remained an icon, a place where I could access true magic, a place that held power over me.

Your Bank Account Has a Carbon Footprint, and It’s Big
Rabble, December 2021

There’s absolutely no reason to continue letting the big banks use our savings to bulldoze through Indigenous rights and fund the destruction of the planet. Even if there isn’t enough money in your account to make a measurable difference in fossil fuel project investments, closing your account sends a message and creates a ripple effect, both inspiring others to do the same and empowering you to take on more tangible actions in your day-to-day life. 

The Human Cost of Defending Forests at Ada’itsx Fairy Creek
Rabble, September 2021

As white environmentalists continue to centre themselves in the narrative, the RCMP continues to target, snatch and brutalize BIPOC land defenders. As white people cry for the trees, BIPOC people get hurt. As protesters plead with RCMP officers to “think of your children,” discoveries of more Indigenous children, murdered by the state, get ignored. When are we going to zoom out? When are we going to have a conversation about the RCMP’s jurisdiction? How long will we continue to play within the colonial rulebook?

The Homelessness Crisis Is Not Complicated
The Tyee, October 2020

We have the tools at our disposal to create a society where everyone is taken care of, but the trauma of colonialism and the refusal to acknowledge white supremacy within our systems and structures hold us back. When we acknowledge the violent beginnings of private property and homelessness, then we can reckon with the trauma that pervades our society, divides our communities and continues to harm all of us.

There is No World
Medium, April 2020

There is no world. Or, rather, there are infinite worlds. I am a world and you are a world and… this place we call home? It is a moving, thriving multiverse populated with unique hearts and minds.

Yes, the world is ending. Just like it has ended a million times before. As the Earth, she continues to throttle through the sky: worlds sputter, worlds burn, worlds dissipate, worlds die.

The Art of Turning Every Mistake Into a Win
Human Parts, July 2019

Our thoughts aren’t inherently real; they’re just stories we tell ourselves. So tell your negative thoughts to hit the road. Remember: You are the narrator of your life. Tell the story that serves you best.

Dating in the Multiverse
Human Parts, March 2019

While they were cruel, I also felt like many of the comments rang true. Amidst the vitriol, I couldn’t help but admit: The Angry Men of YouTube were right. Or not “right,” per se. But some of their criticisms were valid. We don’t live in a singular universe where everyone holds the same beliefs and plays by the same rules. There is no “right” or “wrong” when it comes to opinions. And because we live in an infinite multiverse where every individual experiences a slightly different reality from the next, everything is subjective.

Being Single is the Default
Medium, December 2018

This is not about not finding or wanting partnership. This is about dismantling a cultural ideology that tells us that we are not complete unless we are married. Marriage is a choice, not the default. Single is our default setting, and it’s time we honor, respect, and uplift that.

The ideology of marriage is deeply tied to capitalism, consumerism, and the patriarchy: Systems that teach us that we are not good enough as we are.

Portrait of an Artist: Collin Elder
The Georgia Straight, December 2014

One might expect to detect boastful pride in the voice of an artist who in less than half a decade is already working full-time, but Elder is instead quiet, thoughtful, and speaks passionately about learning to understand paint and dedicating himself to technique. His desire to paint started with a yearning for a more in depth understanding of ecology, the science behind the relationships between organisms and their environments—or, perhaps, more poetically and simply: the relationships between organisms and their environment.