Seven ways my first clinical hospital pharmacy placement taught me the subtle art of not giving a fuck about the stuff that doesn’t matter in life — 1. Maturity means knowing what to invest our limited mental resources on. When most of one’s life has already been lived, they are left with life’s bare-bones — what really matters — family, legacy, and health. Seeing the world through the eyes of the elderly during my time on the ward helped me become more mature because it served as a constant…

If treated appropriately, fear, privilege, and hope are valuable tools for personal growth — I was born into a relatively well-off, upper-middle-class family. I never had to worry about money. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to a private school for an entire decade of my childhood. Since starting university, not once have I needed a loan to pay for post-secondary…

There are harmful and helpful ways to provide mental health support, but it is not always easy to distinguish between the two — Just because no one else can heal you or do your inner work for you, doesn't mean you can, should, or need to do it alone. — Lisa Olivera We all need a person we can rely on, that person who is willing to stand by us through thick and…

Once we recognize and accept our humanity in all its flaws and wonders, we will see the meaning of the little things in life — Symptoms of the Human Condition Poetry Even when we try our bloody best, life can be bitter and hard to digest. And despite the purest of intentions, we just can’t erase our imperfections. Even if we don’t feel like we belong, we must keep calm and move along. …

To achieve greatness, we need to ensure our voice is heard loud and clear, particularly by the people who are trying to support us — The Art of Precise Communication If we toss lots of uncertain terms around, our mind becomes a chaotic battleground. This uncertainty can cause the mind to clog as coherent thoughts get lost in our brain fog. But when we express ourselves with precision, our mind is tidy enough to make wise decisions. …

Ideas live in our minds and lead us toward meaningful actions in our future while facts keep us thinking about the past — A fact is something that is dead, in and of itself. It has no consciousness, no will to power, no motivation, no action. There are billions of dead facts. The internet is a graveyard of dead facts. An idea that grips a person is alive. It wants to express itself…

We need to actively and creatively fight against climate change, instead of passively allowing the earth to burn up! — Keeping a Cool Head in a Heated World Poetry The heat is playing tricks on my mind to make me feel cranky and confined. Beads of sweat trickle down my face as I ponder how to plead earth’s case. As my brain fluids come to a boil, my thoughts slowly start to spoil. …

To effectively change your habits you need an approach tailored to tackling the barriers in YOUR path — There are so many self-help resources available to us that choosing a single book or approach can feel like an extremely daunting decision — the paradox of choice grips us in a chokehold and paralyzes us with anxiety. …

Growing through life with a partner creates a stronger more resilient system than either person could create independently — runner-up poem — It’s Always Better When We’re Together A poem (for The Lark’s poetry competition) There isn’t a single place on earth I’d rather be than in this moment with you nestled next to me. These little moments may seem inconsequential, but for our bond to live forever they are essential.