Abby's Blog

For my totem pole, I would have to start with an owl being carved. This is for multiple reasons, the first being that owls are seen as a symbol of intelligence and wisdom, as it is the symbol of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, which being intelligent and doing well with my studies has always been an important part of me since grade 1. Secondly, owls started to become my favourite animal after learning the Greek connection to intelligence, so I have many decorative objects of owls now. Lastly, owls are seen in connection to the moon and can be a symbol of femininity, which showcases how I have become more comfortable being born female and having this body as I was growing up. The next object I would want carved is a cross with the breast cancer awareness ribbon around it, pictured below. This is for my Grandma who died from breast cancer when I was around 10-11 years old. Religion was important to her, but she never pushed it on anyone or forced us to go to church when we were youn...

A good self-care tip is napping during the day. Some benefits to napping is that it costs no extra money as most people have a mattress and a blanket, some people don't even need those for a short nap. Napping can also be for everyone, and may be a very good tool to use depending on your work-life schedule as it's a good tip for shift work as shift workers may have to be awake at irregular times. The health benefits include reduced fatigue as you're getting more sleep, which actually increases your alertness, mood, and boosts your performance. Napping can improve your cognitive functions, such as a better memory and problem-solving skills. There's also evidence that napping can reduce your stress and support your immune system if not getting enough sleep at night. The pillars of wellness that napping can address are emotional, spiritual, and intellectual. The emotional pillar is addressed as napping can boost your mood and alertness from reducing your sleepiness. The sp...

Another self-care idea that's on the more physical side is swimming. Some benefits to swimming, not focusing on the pillars of wellness, is that it can be fairly affordable depending on where you go swimming. I used to live 10 minutes from this small beach and that's free. There's also a variety of activities that you are able to do, such as water volleyball or Marco Polo. You can also decide to spend time with friends or swim alone if wanted. This is also a great activity for kids as it is usually seen as a fun activity and is not as formal as other exercise options may be. Now, going through the health benefits, swimming works your whole body and builds your strength and endurance while toning muscles. Swimming also strengthens your heart and lungs and is a low-impact exercise that makes it safer injuries or other conditions that make high-impact exercises difficult or dangerous. This is because the water is only a gentle resistance when swimming and other exercises, such...

A self-care craft idea that I like to do is knitting. Some great advantages to doing knitting as a self-care project is that yarn is fairly affordable depending on where you get your supplies from. Knitting is something a lot of grandparents or maybe even parents may have done and they can lend you their old stuff and you can get yarn at a thrift shop or with coupons for cheap prices, as well as being able to bring the supplies with you anywhere. You can knit as you have a chat with friends and family, on your breaks, on the bus, or just by yourself. One more advantage is that you can make things with your knitting. My mother makes washcloths, I like to make baby hats to eventually donate to hospitals, but you could make carves, gloves, clothes, and more. Some health benefits is that it can reduce stress and anxiety as knitting needs all your attention in case of any mistakes, especially those harder patterns, which helps you calm down because you aren't thinking of the stress and ...

My first self-care idea is playing a musical instrument. There are many benefits to playing a musical instrument, but a big one is actually that it improves your memory and helps you learn new things. As you constantly are learning new songs and sometimes how to work with others, as well as new beats and times, you'll find it easier to learn new things unrelated to music.  Another benefit is that it improves your confidence as you are often going to be playing in front of people if you have a tutor or family that is interested and if you decide to take part in competitions. Being able to play a musical instrument is also a good conversation starter that helps with making friends as those who play instruments are interested in the same thing as you, and those who don't play anything are interested in how you play and how you may read sheet music. Some other benefits is that you will find proud as you learn new songs and how to play faster and with more emotion. You'll feel p...

There are eight pillars, or dimensions, of self-care and resilience. Self-care is how you take care of yourself to stay healthy and resilience is how you 'adapt in the face of tragedy, trauma, adversity, hardship, and ongoing significant life stressors' ( Strategies for Self-Care and Resilience ).  Your overall health and wellness is sustained by these eight pillars; physical, occupational, emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual, financial, and environmental.  First, the physical pillar includes how you maintain a healthy physique and body for your body type. This pillar includes how you exercise, the amount of sleep you get, the meals you eat, and paying attention to your body for signs of illness or anything unusual to seek help and answers when needed. The occupational pillar is how you keep a healthy work-life balance, enjoying what you do and appreciating what you contribute. Being able to work a certain amount of hours and have enough hours to rest includes students....

Good day, My name is Abigail Acland, though everyone calls me Abby. I'm 21 years old and I'm non-binary, using only they/them pronouns. As far as family, I have my parents, a twin, and an older brother, as well as all my extended family. The picture below is a couple years old, but I haven't changed much and it took me a while to find even this one picture of myself. I went to TDSS, Temiskaming District Secondary School, for high school. Afterwards, I didn't know what I wanted to do, but my favourite teacher taught chemistry and I liked learning science, so I went to the University of Waterloo for a Bachelors degree in Chemistry. I didn't make it through the first year, but luckily found a future job that interested me; Telecommunications. I am now at Durham College for 9-1-1 Emergency and Call Centre Communications. For telecommunications, I'm starting as a volunteer at Community Care Durham, but I want to work at Concentrix working as an OnStar Advisor, then e...