Jordyn Haukaas, student editor
So, apparently I blinked, because 2023 is over and a new year is here already. It’s hard to pick only five good things about 2023 because returning to school was such a life-changing choice for me. But, in no particular order, here are the best five things that happened to me this year.
1. I graduated from the Digital Production, Writing and Design certificate program. It was an intense eight months and a bit of a shock to the system after being out of school for a decade. However, I couldn’t be happier with my choice to take the program. I learned a lot, including that graphic design isn’t my strong suit—that’s okay, I also learned that I have a passion for writing. Additionally, I met friends who helped me survive with their unwavering support both in class and at the bar afterwards. I also walked away from the program with the Shelagh Stanley Award and a strong direction as to where to take my future career, and for that I am forever grateful.
2. I went to four weddings in 2023 and was the maid of honour not once, but twice. You know what they say: always a bridesmaid… In all seriousness, it was an amazing experience to stand beside my closest friends as they walked down the aisle. One of my friends even had a tattoo bar at her wedding. Thus born: a bird, on my arm, forever. Thank you, wine.
3. I went camping with my family a lot this year; it’s a tradition I had sincerely missed while living abroad for most of my 20s. Sometimes I struggle with wanting to move away and live a different life, but having grounding experiences with the ones I love signals to me that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
4. This might be a little vague, but being busy was one of the best things to happen to me in 2023. I’ve had the privilege of attending plays, shows, dinners with friends, and festivals. It makes me feel connected to my community when the temptation to squirrel away during college is strong.
5. I moved in with my partner this year; while I was scared to give up my independence, it’s actually been a really beautiful transition.
The worst thing that happened to me this year was falling up the stairs beside the caf at school, bleeding on my grey pants, then being forced to carry out the rest of my day as a dirty, bloody, and grumpy version of myself.
The thing I’m most looking forward to next year is (hopefully) a big acceptance letter—“email” just sounds less romantic—from Royal Roads University.
Emily Welch, contributing writer
What I’m grateful for from 2023:
1. I spent a lot of this year realizing how much value there is in spending real time with people I love. During the last three years I lost several people who were dear to me, and it became apparent that I needed to treasure the time with the people I still have. This year, I’ve had such special times with my mom, my brother, and my partner, and they’ve formed beautiful memories.
2. I got a job in harm reduction last June. It’s the most inspirational job I’ve ever had, and I’ve made great connections with my co-workers and the clients. It’s the kind of work that actually makes me feel like I’m making a difference in a flawed society and system.
3. I’ve started a ritual of listening to CBC on my long drives into and out of town, and also started a ritual of watching the sun rise.
4. My relationship with cats. I’ve already had several years with my two cats; however, their ability to surprise and delight me continues to grow all the time. I’ve also been fortunate enough to get to know and love several other felines who have come into my life this year. How could I not be grateful for that?
5. Continuing to write for Nexus as well as on my own. I’ve really discovered who I am through this, and writing for Nexus has helped me feed and foster my ability to write.
One bad thing from 2023:
War. The war between Russia and the Ukraine and what’s happening between Israel and Hamas. I’m heartbroken over the fighting in the world, not only in countries fighting each other, but the fighting that grows between the left and the right. I don’t believe that any good or any grown-up decisions can come from this. Can’t those in politics get their act together?
What needs to change in 2024:
I’m very frightened about continued inflation and the rising prices of everything: housing, food, gas, you name it. I hope in 2024 something can happen to change this; as it is, none of us can afford to live except for the rich, and I don’t understand how these extremely rich people can’t see how this actually hurts the economy. I’d like to hope that it doesn’t take an enormous world disaster for people to wake up.
Nicolas Ihmels, staff writer
5: More variety of drinks for students
At the beginning of the year, the Lansdowne Bookstore starting selling more drinks. For example, instead of serving just Coke products, they started selling Orange and Grape Crush, cream sodas, Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper. These are my favourite drinks, so that was really fun for me.
4: Oppenheimer
One of the best movies I’ve seen all decade came out this year. That movie is called Oppenheimer and it’s a hell of a ride. It’s thrilling, without a single gunshot being fired or someone speeding down a road. From the magnetic performances of Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. to Christopher Nolan’s pitch-perfect script and direction, you don’t want to miss this movie. It may be the best film of the decade.
3: I got to keep my job all year
I love my job. I love the interviews and interacting with my co-workers, I love my desk and fancy computer. I love it all. I’ll be leaving Nexus in April, which is very sad. But, that’s why one of the things in 2023 that I’m most grateful for is that I got to hang on to my job all year.
2: Having a story submitted for a journalism award
One of the coolest things (although not as cool as actually being nominated) that happened to me this year was that I found out that one of my articles was submitted for a journalism award. This in itself felt really good and that was one of the highlights of my year.
1: Helping to start a creative writing club
This was the coolest thing that happened to me all year. Midway through the fall term, my close friend Forrest Foster came up to me and asked me to co-create a creative writing club with him. We now have lots of new members and I’m leading meetings at Interurban in January. It was the best thing that happened to me in 2023.
Honestly, nothing bad happened to me this year. Everything went great. I met some great life-long friends. I started a club. I had no medical emergencies happen to me or anyone in my personal circle. Everything went smoothly this year, which I’m very appreciative of.
Kit Miller, contributing writer
Listen, I love Formula 1. I adore the drivers I love and I’m indifferent at best to the ones I don’t. But I swear to God, if I have to listen to the Dutch national anthem one more time next year I am going to swim to London (or wherever the hell Christian Horner lives), find his flat, and smack him upside the head with a flip-flop.
At least there were some fun moments amongst the Red Bull dominance.
1. Carlos Sainz picking up the only non-Red Bull win in Singapore. This man is becoming Ferrari’s number-one strategist while fighting for his goddamn life. Also, ex-teammate teamwork!
2. Oscar Piastri having the best rookie season since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Alpine must be kicking themselves for fumbling him. He’s just here to drive fast, throw minimal shade, and be a sweetheart.
3. Sebastian Vettel returning to build his “bee hotels” in Suzuka. It should’ve been known from the start that he can’t stay away from the track for long. Shoutout to Seb for managing to corral all 20 drivers into a bus like a school field trip.
4. Lance Stroll finishing P8 in Bahrain with two broken wrists and a broken toe. How can people still claim he doesn’t care about racing? Absurd.
5. Yuki Tsunoda outperforming not just one, but three different teammates. AlphaTauri—his own team—is this man’s greatest enemy, and yet he’s still plowing through everything they’ve thrown at him. Get him a Red Bull seat! Please!
One bad thing in 2023 was the negligence of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile toward the dangerous conditions in Qatar. How does drivers passing out in the car, having to DNF (“do not finish”) due to feeling sick, and literally stumbling to the ambulance post-race not warrant a review of the location, schedule, and conditions?
What I want to see in 2024:
No dominance from just one driver/team; give me different podiums at each race! Give me a battle for top three in the Constructors’ Championship! I want to return to the championship battles where the World Drivers’ Championship and World Constructor’s Championship are determined in the last race of the season—not in the 2021 way, though!
Jaiden Fowler, contributing writer
1. I got through school! I’m proud of myself for getting this far. Thank you to everyone who supported me and was patient with me.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I love Zelda; it’s probably my favourite game series. I’ve been trying to play as many of the games that I could get my hands on over the years. I loved Breath of the Wild’s vast world, and Tears of the Kingdom somehow made it even better. I suck at understanding the abilities, though, so I’ll continue to run halfway across Hyrule using Ultrahand to carry the Korok to their friend because I don’t want to learn how energy and building work. I’ll also continue to be terrified of everything in the depths, and find ways to ragdoll off incredible heights, sending Link to his inevitable doom (sorry, Link).
3. Continuing to discover new music. I do this all the time, but it’s still an honourable mention. I listen to music probably 24/7 (maybe too much—I seriously think I have a dent in my head from my headphones).
4. Lots of personal growth. Of course, there’s still work to do, and probably always will be (curse you, anxiety), but I feel like I’m not wandering around completely in the dark anymore.
5. The Five Nights at Freddy’s movie. I was so excited for this. I didn’t care if it was good or bad, I was just so happy. (I’ve been in the pit that is FNaF for eight years; please help me, I can’t get out.) There were a ton of pleasant surprises, and cool easter eggs, which is very common with this franchise, but really cool to see anyway. Also, the cupcake choosing violence at every turn was really funny.
One bad thing about 2023:
I had to leave behind some of the people who’ve been supporting me for years, and it’s very hard to say goodbye. I have no doubt that I wouldn’t be where I am now without their help, and I’m eternally grateful. I miss seeing them during the week.
What I want to see in 2024:
I need to stop hesitating or waiting for the “right” moment to finish the things I’ve started. I’ve literally got a pile of books I’ve started but haven’t finished. So many unfinished drawings. Whole lists of things I’ve wanted to learn more about. Movies, TV shows, games, cool people, interesting facts, all waiting for me to start.
Jaxson Smith Peterson, contributing writer
Toronto Blue Jays fans and players alike had sky-high expectations for 2023. There was no way that the 2023 season could be more heartbreaking than the end of 2022… Right? Here are the best and worst moments from the 2023 Blue Jays season.
Best: Sweeping the Atlanta Braves at home
This series had it all. From a dominant complete game performance from newcomer Chris Bassitt to towering home runs from Daulton Varsho and George Springer, it even included a walk-off by Danny Jansen.
Worst: Getting swept by the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre
The blow of this embarrassing series may have been eventually lightened by the fact that the Rangers went on to win the World Series, but it was still crushing at the time. Both teams were playing their worst baseball of the year coming into this series. Fighting for the same wild card berth, only one team made it out of the 6ix feeling good about their chances.
Best: Davis Schneider (and mustache) captivates Jays fans
Not many rookies can say that they hit a home run in their first major league at-bat; Davis Schneider did exactly that. On August 4, in a game at Fenway Park, Schneider hit a towering blast off of Canadian James Paxton. This was just the start of a very strong August for the mustached man, as he quickly became a fan favourite.
Worst: Getting swept in the wild card series
Whether you blame the questionable decision-making in game two or the fact that the team scored a total of one run in the series, this was a painful one to watch.
Worst: The mind-boggling downfall of Alek Manoah
Going from Cy Young finalist to statistically the worst starting pitcher in the league in under a year is practically unheard of. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to the big right-hander from Florida, Alek Manoah. Decreased velocity, poor command, breaking pitches that didn’t break… All these factors created the perfect storm, leading to Manoah’s demotion in early June. Manoah would eventually make his way back to the majors… before getting demoted again and refusing to report to Triple-A Buffalo. Worse than his performance are the long-term effects of this year off the field.
Best: Pitching
Manoah aside, the Jays pitchers were as reliable as any all season long. In fact, they led the sport in strikeouts.
Here’s to a better 2024, Jays fans.