Tag Archives: Blog Posts

How to Romanticize Your Life

What Does Romanticizing Your Life Mean?

Romanticizing your life essentially means appreciating the little and mundane things about your life. Your life doesn’t have to be particularly exciting or “like a movie” to romanticize it. Your life can be romanticized by simply paying attention to small things that make your life beautiful. This blog post will share ideas of how to romanticize your life and feel like the “main character.”

1. Make Little Things Feel Exciting

One way to romanticize your life is by making mundane tasks something that you look forward to. For example, while doing chores, blast your favourite songs and sing along to the lyrics. This will make the chores feel like a fun experience rather than something you are dreading.

2. Accessorize and Decorate

Another way to romanticize your life is through aesthetics. Making things look aesthetically pleasing will make you feel more put together and will make a situation more exciting. For instance, if you’re making dinner for your family, make the dinner table look cute by including a centrepiece, setting the table in a “fancy way” (set the cutlery and fold napkins in a way that looks like it’s from a fancy dinner party). Or if you’re going out to run errands, take an extra minute to put on some jewelry and you will feel more put together throughout the day.

3. Value Your "Me Time"

Take some extra time to unwind and clear your head. Occasionally take a bath instead of a shower, paint your nails, and journal to release your thoughts. Setting aside time for yourself will help you feel better mentally and physically. “Me time” will give you the opportunity to clear your head, organize your thoughts, and make you feel ready for a new day.

4. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Stepping outside of your comfort zone will allow you to experience things that you otherwise would have never experienced. This can be as simple as saying “yes” to new things. Exposing yourself to new opportunities will help you grow as a person and will help you appreciate all that life has to offer.

5. Write Down Your Gratitudes

You can do this on a daily basis, weekly basis, or a monthly basis. Writing down things that you are grateful for allows you to stay grounded and helps you appreciate the little things that make life beautiful. Writing down your gratitudes may help you recognize and appreciate things in life that you otherwise would have overlooked. If you are interested in purchasing a journal with pre-written prompts in it, The Five Minute Journal is a great product to get (or you can just copy down their prompts in a blank journal to save money!)

The inside of the five minute journal. there are prompts called I am grateful for, what would make today great, daily affirmations, highlights of the day, and what did I learn today. There is also a daily quote at the top of the journal page.
Inside The Five Minute Journal

Song Recs Based on Books

Malibu Rising By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu Rising follows Nina Riva, daughter of the world famous singer Mick Riva, as she hosts a huge party. Mick abandoned his family and Nina’s mother died when Nina was still in high school. Being the oldest child, she had to step up and take care of her siblings. The themes of this book include sacrifice, family, healing, and independence.

Song recommendations:

  • Matilda by Harry Styles
  • Vienna by Billy Joel
  • You’re On Your Own Kid by Taylor Swift

Love and Other Words By Christina Lauren

Love and Other Words is a romance book that has an alternating past and present timeline. The book follows Macy and Elliot as they become friends (and more than friends) during their childhood. Macy has a vacation home next door to Elliot’s home and they quickly form a bond. Something happens that causes them to not speak for 11 years. The present timeline follows them as adults. They run into each other for the first time since they were kids, where it is revealed why they have not spoken for so long.

Song recommendations:

  • Traitor by Olivia Rodrigo
  • 18 by One Direction
  • History by One Direction
  • Daylight by Taylor Swift
  • Last Kiss by Taylor Swift
  • New Year’s Day by Taylor Swift
  • From the Dining Table by Harry Styles

The Song of Achilles By Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles is a greek mythology that follows Achilles and Patroclus as they grow up together and fall in love. Eventually, they must fight in the Trojan War. The themes of this book include love, sacrifice, and betrayal.

Song recommendations:

  • The Great War by Taylor Swift
  • Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift
  • Dark Red by Steve Lacy
  • Pluto Projector by Rex Orange County

Red, White & Royal Blue By Casey McQuiston

Red, White & Royal Blue follows the First Son of the United States and the British prince as they are forced to hang out together and pretend to be friends for publicity reasons. As they fake their friendship, their bond becomes closer than they expected.

Song recommendations:

  • London Boy by Taylor Swift
  • American Boy by Estelle
  • Only the Brave by Louis Tomlinson
  • Who Cares? by Rex Orange County
  • Late Night Talking by Harry Styles

The Summer I Turned Pretty By Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty follows Belly as she spends her summers in a beach house with two brothers whom she has known since they were kids. As they’ve grown up, feelings start to develop.

Song recommendations:

  • Silver Tongues by Louis Tomlinson
  • Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift
  • Tongue Tied by Grouplove
  • Heat Waves by Glass Animals
  • August by Taylor Swift
  • Summer Love by One Direction

Journaling Ideas

Why Should You Journal?

Healthline lists stress reduction, emotion processing, and self-discovery among some of the benefits of journalling (Tartakovsky, 2022). Some may use journalling as a place to write down thoughts, while others use it as a creative outlet. This blog post will list some ideas of what you may want to journal about if you don’t know where to start. This list includes a range of written prompts as well as more artistic page ideas.

Journaling Ideas:

Lists:

  • Your Favourite Things
  • Your Bucket List
  • Things That Make You Happy
  • Wish Lists

Trackers/Ratings:

  • Monthly Song Tracker
    • Keep track of your favourite songs from each month
  • Book Tracker
    • Keep track of the books you read and write a small review of each book
  • Song Tier List
    • Rate all the songs in an album from your favourite to least favourite
  • Sleep Tracker
    • Track how many hours of sleep you got and rate your quality of sleep

Artsy Pages:

  • Random Art/Doodle Pages
  • Vision Board
  • Tattoo Ideas

Written Prompts:

  • Write About Your Gratitudes
  • Write About One Good Thing That Has Happened Recently In Your Life
  • Trip Recap
  • Your Favourite Quotes & Song Lyrics 
    • Write them down and reflect on why you like them
  • A Letter To Your Future Self
  • Appreciation Pages
    • Dedicate a page to your favourite show/artist/movie/book, etc.
  • Write About What You Dreamed About The Night Before
  • Things You Love About Yourself
  • Write a Letter To Your Past Self

Reference:

Tartakovsky, M. (2022, February 22). 15 benefits of journaling and tips for getting started. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-journaling#takeaway

10 Self-Care Ideas

Self-Care

Self-care is an important part of one’s well-being. These are little things that you can do for yourself and yourself only. It could be something productive or simply a meaningless activity that makes you happy. This blog post will you give some self-care ideas.

10 Ideas:

1. Listen to music

  • Drown out life for a bit.

2. Read a book

  • Escape from the stresses of the real world and enter a fictional one.

3. Retail therapy

  • You don’t necessarily have to buy anything, window shopping is also fun.

4. Move your body

  • Go to the gym, walk around your neighbourhood, go on a hike, dance, etc.

5. Have an “everything” shower

  • Put on a good playlist and have a shower where you do everything (hair mask, exfoliate, shave, etc.). You’ll feel like a new person when you’re done.

6. Journal

  • Release your thoughts onto paper.

7. Touch grass

  • Go outside and get some fresh air.

8. Go to sleep early

  • Get a good night’s sleep so you feel energized in the morning.

9. Drink lots of water

  • Stay hydrated!

10. Engage in those little things that make YOU happy.

  • Whether it’s going down a rabbit hole of cast interviews for a show you just finished or crocheting a cardigan, make sure you take part in hobbies and interests that you enjoy doing!

Who knew writing was so easy?

I just wrote an entire blog post in 15 minutes.

Was it a good one? Eh, it was decent. But what do you expect from someone thinking out loud at 1 AM in the morning? If I’m being honest, not much. 

My point is, it doesn’t take as much effort as one thinks to write, and by write, I mean write

Write down whatever comes to mind. Whatever you think in a moment, note it down on your phone, on a sticky-note, on the back of your hand, or whatever you like to take notes on. 

I’m not necessarily talking about writing a Master’s thesis, a dissertation, or a essay on how your positionality has influenced your epistemology (do not ask me what that last one means because even after writing a paper on it, I still don’t fully understand what this is trying to say). I just mean writing words down. 

Writing words down is how I start anything. Need to write an essay on how a theory can be found in today’s world? Need to remember what to pick up over the weekend? Just start writing. 

I’ve heard some people call this a ‘word vomit’ moment, where you just ‘vomit’ out any words that come to mind. Think of it nicely as a brainstorm session, and don’t take it too seriously—unless you’re working against a very tight deadline; in that case, please take things seriously. 

Now, please understand and keep in mind that I am no expert when it comes to writing. Yes, I am a Communication student, but that doesn’t mean anything much (trust me). 

Yes, I write lots of papers for my classes and I’ve lived much of my university life between Microsoft Word, Citefast, and Google Scholar, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I am a good communicator or writer. 

This takes me back to my thoughts on what the term ‘Communication’ means and what it means to study it. Though, even without critical thinking and analyses of historical theories, one can still put words on a page. 

Not sure where I was going with all of this in the first place, but let me just remind you that writing is not as difficult as it seems. 

As cliché as this is going to sound, ideas don’t come together over night, and so won’t your writing too. It takes time, review, and revision, but we all have to start somewhere. 

So, get moving and write down whatever comes to mind. Something is bound to stick. 

Expand Your Music Taste

The Favourite Song Dilemma

The best feeling is when you discover a new favourite song. You end up loving it so much that you constantly have it on repeat. You add it to all of your playlists and it’s the first song you reach for when you open up Spotify.

This is all fun and games until you start to become bored of the song. The song no longer gives you the same feelings as to when you first discovered it. Now what? What are you supposed to listen to now? This blog post will give advice on how to prevent your favourite songs from becoming boring, while sharing how to expand your music taste.

Make New Playlists Often

An issue that I had was that I would make a few “main” (aka most listened to) playlist and continuously add new songs to it. This became an issue for me as the songs that were on the playlist from the very beginning would get overplayed. Instead of making a fresh new playlist, the pre-existing playlists would simply get longer and longer. This made me sick of the songs that I added to the playlist when I first made it.

To avoid this, I recommend making monthly playlists. This way, when a new month starts, you can transfer over the songs that you still love from the previous month onto the new playlist, while leaving out the songs that you don’t care for anymore. This not only allows you to have an updated selection of songs to play each month, but it also lets you go back to old months to see what you listened to at that time. These monthly playlists become a keepsake of that period in your life, which is fun to look back on!

Discover New Music

It is vital to continue listening to new music! You still have so many favourite songs to discover, and the only way to hear them is through branching out to new artists and genres. Take advantage of the recommended section of music streaming apps! If you’re a Spotify user, Discover Weekly and the new AI DJ are excellent places to start.

Make Playlists With Friends

The collaborative playlist feature on Spotify allow you and your friends to add songs to a single playlist (sorry Apple Music users, not sure if this option exists for you yet). This is a great feature that can not only help you connect with your friends on a musical level, but it also helps you discover new music!

Listen to Full Albums

If you like a single song by an artist, chances are you may like the other songs on the album it’s on. If you’re feeling ambitious, you may even want to listen to the artist’s entire discography, but that can be quite time consuming, so sticking to one album will feel less daunting (take baby steps!).

Listen to Whatever the F#%k You Want

At the end of the day, who cares what you listen to? If it makes you happy, listen to it! There’s no need to have an extensive list of songs, genres, and artists that you listen to if you’re happy with the current music selection you have. Remember: quality over quantity!

“I’m here for you”

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“Im here for you” is a poem I wrote a while back when I was having a bad day, and a friend reached out to me to check up on me. It made me think about how there are some people in your life that will sit through the storms with you. And while sometimes it’s hard to reach out when you are struggling, I promise you that there is always someone out there who cares for you and who is willing to listen to your concerns.

After a heavy night
The bags under your eyes
Want to be popped
The weight of the blanket seems impossible to take off.

You’re stuck again
Until eventually you get out of bed
And you stop
you get up to nourish yourself
But your body throbs

You change
wash up
Put your earbuds in
To silence the noises from outside to within
Somethings not right
When will it end

You keep skipping songs.
Until suddenly
You hear lyrics
That encompass your existence
That listen to you and become your assistants

Next thing you know
You get a notification on your phone
From someone you’ve known

They say hello
And things start to look brighter
Things start to unfold

You’ve wanted to distance yourself.
Until you realize their tone
Of wanting to soothe you
And it goes

“I’m here for you through the highs and the lows.” -nimra

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The post “I’m here for you” first appeared on NimrasCanvas.

Finding Solace and Joy in Photography and Film

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Since the start of 2020, I have been taking more photos than ever before. At first, it was to remember the moments during the pandemic, but I slowly wanted to take pictures of everything. I realized that I wanted to look back to see how far I’ve come in the later years. I also wanted to capture the moments in my life where I felt the most peace or got the most joy.

I have recently been interested in making TikToks, and since I am trying to incorporate more media into this blog, I thought I would share!

I am trying to make one TikTok for each month of 2022. Below is one I made for February:

Taking pictures, making films, and playing around with the camera are activities that make me happy. It also brings me peace to look back on those moments. It’s almost like self-care for me, and I look forward to capturing more moments.

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The post Finding Solace and Joy in Photography and Film first appeared on NimrasCanvas.

It Takes Two

It Takes Two is a game that I honestly did not have super high expectations for, but I am always open to a co-op game as I like to try to get my girlfriend involved in my hobbies. To my pleasant surprise, It Takes Two completely blew my expectations out of the water. To get this review off the ground, this game is obviously filled with passion from the developers, and you can feel that throughout the game.

The protagonists of the story are a husband and wife who’s marriage has significantly deteriorated, and they are considering divorce. When they are ready to go through with it, their daughter’s sadness ends up casting a spell that turns the husband and wife into dolls. As dolls, the husband and wife go through an adventure together in which they are forced to rely on each other to proceed through the story. I honestly was not expecting substantial character detail from this game as I had assumed it would be a typical co-op puzzle solving game like Portal by Valve, however I was surprised to find immense character depth and development throughout the game. You start out hating the parents (by design, they are meant to be as unlikable as possible), but throughout the game you see how they develop and grow and you will find yourself invested in the lives of these two dolls in ways you never anticipated.

But how was it to play? My girlfriend and I loved the game! It got both of us involved, tested our cooperation and communication skills, and held our interest throughout the entire process. The gameplay is incredibly creative, as each puzzle needs to be solved in a different way. Different variables and elements are introduced throughout the game that will encourage creativity and elaborate cooperation if you want to succeed. New elements are added so frequently that the gameplay never feels stale. Additionally, the relief and satisfaction that come with completing a challenge in a creative way with a partner was fantastic to experience.

I honestly have nothing bad to say about It Takes Two. It was an absolute joy to play. There is only one extremely minor complaint about this game that I can think of, and that is that it can only be played cooperatively. If you are looking for a single player experience, this is obviously not the game for you. However, if you have a friend, parent, or a significant other that you can play with, I would 100% suggest giving It Takes Two a try.

Ramadan Reflections

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Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic lunar calendar and is celebrated by over 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. This month, Muslims worldwide fast (abstain from food or water) from dawn to dust for 30 days. However, we don’t only abstain from food or water, and we obtain from gossiping, sex, bad habits, and more. Muslims are encouraged to give charity, volunteer, and give back to the community. Ramadan is a month of purification and inner healing, and it is when we discipline ourselves and let go of our lower desires to strive to be our best selves.

This Ramadan, I wrote a poem about my thoughts on my first day of fasting for the month. I first talk about hunger. When we are hungry, it is natural to feel lethargic and of low energy, but surprisingly enough, it makes me aware of everything, I can focus on my schoolwork, and I am in tune with all my emotions. While fasting can be overwhelming and exhausting sometimes, there’s a hidden peace behind the process of it.

Ramadan Reflections: 04-03-22

There’s a stillness in hunger which I cannot explain.

My body moves slowly,

but I am in touch with everything.

I pick up the pieces of my soul again.

I maneuver with a type of grace I no longer need to pretend.

I can trace my sins and turn back to You,

knowing that one day,

I will come back to You.

there’s a stillness in hunger which I cannot explain,

but what I do know is only You can take away my pain – @nimras.canvas

The last two stanzas discuss my thoughts about God and myself. The first line of “…trace my sins and turn back to You” portrays me thinking of all my bad habits and trying to build new ones so I can turn back to God. The “You” refers to God, and “I will come back to You” refers to my thoughts on death and how I believe that I will go back to God at the end of my lifetime.

The last line in the last stanza of my poem signifies the rawness of Ramadan. As I stated before, Ramadan makes me in tune with all my emotions, including the painful ones. The last line reminds me that only God can take away my pain.

Many Muslims have different experiences in Ramadan because the month is challenging physically, mentally, and spiritually. However, the community is the strongest during Ramadan because many of us are fasting simultaneously and have a shared unity to relate to. Here is a video of a crowd of Muslims praying in NYC before breaking their fast (having iftar/dinner).

Khaled comments, “This video of Muslims praying in NYC is triggering a lot of rage. So… here it is again”. I think the video triggered rage because Islamophobia still exists, and hate crimes against Muslims are still relevant in today’s society. As a visibly Muslim woman and POC, I have experienced some hateful comments and micro-aggressions, and it is hurtful to see people be so cruel. However, it doesn’t stop Muslims from showing up and practicing our peaceful religion, and I hope more people can see its beauty.

References

https://www.statista.com/topics/3796/ramadan-2017/

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The post Ramadan Reflections first appeared on NimrasCanvas.

Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight is an indie-game developed by Team Cherry. It is a two-dimensional metroidvania style game (meaning that it features a large interconnected world map the player can explore) that is set in the small world of bugs. While I say that it is set in the world of bugs, that doesn’t truly encapsulate the nature of the game. Hollow Knight follows the journey of the main character, the ‘Knight’ as he explores the vast world of Hallownest – a world full of insects and arachnids with a strong injection of fantasy elements.

I have to be honest, when I first heard about Hollow Knight I was immediately turned off by the bug element of the game. While I respect them and what they do, I have no interest in getting further acquainted with bugs of any kind. That being said, I am so glad that I buckled during lockdown and gave this game a try. The bugs in Hollow Knight are weird and make some disgusting noises at times, but they take nothing away from the game. I would even go so far as to say that the characters within this game are somewhere between creepy and adorable. If I’m being 100% honest, I would say that the game design as a whole falls closer to the creepy end of the scale, but it is worth noting that some of the characters are not disgusting. The Knight – the protagonist of the story – is definitely one of the frontrunners for the adorable part of the game. Its design below for reference.

As I stare at this picture longer, I find it more and more creepy, so I may have to partially retract my statement that it is a frontrunner for the cutest. I promise there are others!

The design of the characters aside, the theme and atmosphere is definitely on the darker side. Hollow Knight does an incredible job of creating a dark, foreboding atmosphere that somehow makes you want to keep playing. After long sessions of the game, I would even find myself researching lore out of pure curiosity.

While Hollow Knight looks like a cartoony game that would have a low difficulty level, I would definitely characterize it as a hard game. If you want to play Hollow Knight casually, be prepared to put substantial time into attempting to beat the various bosses that can be found and battled throughout the game. Patience will be required – although not to the extent that is necessary for Elden Ring as I discussed in a previous post. I myself spent close to 6 hours on a single boss within the game. That might sound exhausting, but I had a great time during that 6 hours as I learned the patterns and movements that the boss had.

One major thing that I haven’t been bringing up in previous posts is music. Music has an enormous impact on how a game feels to play, and Hollow Knight‘s soundtrack compliments the game incredibly well. I still find myself listening to the soundtrack from time to time months after playing the game.

My ultimate recommendation for this game is going to be similar to that of Elden Ring, in that if you have the time and patience, you will love Hollow Knight. However, if you tend to get frustrated after losing over and over again, this game may become a point of stress in your life. Lastly, don’t be concerned with the bugs in the game! As someone who avoids eye contact with every insect I see, I had no issues with Hollow Knight and loved the game.

Blog Post #12 – Therapy Drives

Many nights I’ll just drive, and drive, and drive, for seemingly no reason.

Whenever people ask me where I’m going, my reply is usually “wherever the roads take me.” This concept may sound strange, but there is something that I find so compelling about automotive freedom. 

I’m a strong believer that driving is therapeutic. Oftentimes I drive to scenic places, just to decompress and stare at the city from a quiet viewpoint. There’s something so beautiful about self-reflection times like these. 

It’s late and I’m writing this while sitting in my car. It’s been one hell of a week and I’m taking this time to do exactly that. Decompress & stare at the city from a quiet viewpoint.

Whenever people ask where I’m going on drives like tonight’s, my reply usually consists of something along the lines of “wherever the roads take me.” The majority of the time I have no plans, or destination in mind. I start driving and see where I end up. Sometimes these drives are short, such as running to Tim Hortons to grab a warm drink, or sometimes they’re longer, and I end up far away from home. Regardless of the duration, I consider these to be my therapy sessions.

Blog Post #11 – An American Icon

I’ve mentioned my father’s mustang in previous blog posts, but I figured I’d dedicate one to the history of the mustang.

The Ford Mustang was originally produced in the mid-1960s in America to fill a void that existed in the car market. The mustang was intended to be a cost-effective sports car, and when released was extremely successful. 

Mustangs quickly became popular and over time developed the title of being an “American Icon.”

Over the years, Ford released various versions of the mustang. From the culture-hated, mid-80s Mustang II, to popular icons such as Shelby editions of the mustang, the name has been around for a while.

I owe my obsession with cars largely to my father’s mustang.

For the Love of Writing

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English was a subject I wasn’t too fond of in school. My elementary school teachers put me in ESL because English wasn’t my first language; Urdu was. However, what annoyed me about ESL was how I already knew English. I just happened to have an accent at the time. Therefore, I didn’t get the most positive start in the learning process.

My writing skills finally began to progress in grades 6 and 7. We did short story units, poetry units, and book reports in those grades. For one group project, my group and I had to do a book report on “Stargirl” and showcase one of the skills we learned in our units. I chose to write a poem about Stargirl in the group, and holy, was it painful and funny to look back on.

Stargirl poem from elementary school. Retrieved from @nimras.canvas

I guess I didn’t know how to spell that time or make sense of a storyline. But now, I don’t know what I would do without writing as an outlet.

I am a natural overthinker, and writing helps me get all my thoughts on paper so they don’t bombard me. For example, before writing this blog post, I was overthinking, so I had to sit with myself and type away to release some of my stress.

One can call writing a healthy coping mechanism, but I share some of what I write or my poetry because I know someone can relate to it. Even if it impacts one person, I know I have done my job.

In the future, I want to invest in a typewriter because they look super aesthetic but also because I want to see my words print out on paper in real time, and I think it will add a nice touch to my blog posts or Instagram posts moving forward.

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The post For the Love of Writing first appeared on NimrasCanvas.

Blog Post #10 – The Audi TT-RS is a Baby Supercar

When most people hear the words “Audi” and “supercar” in the same sentence, their brain automatically goes to the R8, Audi’s flagship performance car.

The TT-RS is an overlooked, incredible piece of machinery. Introduced to North America in 2018, the Audi TT-RS has gained the nickname of “Baby R8” within the car community. 

The TT-RS is a display of engineering excellence. Equipped with a unique, turbocharged inline-5 motor, they make a whopping 400 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque and sound incredible while doing it. In a car that only weighs 3,300 lbs, the car presents a recipe for being an incredible platform.

Oh yeah, did I mention it’s all-wheel-drive? Being all-wheel-drive means that it can rocket from 0-100 km/h in 3 and a half seconds. How crazy is that?

The styling of the TT-RS is reminiscent of an R8 as well. Looking at photos, it becomes apparent that the nickname “Baby R8” is rather fitting.

Blog Post #9 – Why I Love the Volkswagen Golf R

When most people hear the name “Volkswagen Golf” — they usually think about a boring commuter car that looks like an egg.

What if I told you there’s a fast, sporty version of the Volkswagen Golf? 

Let me introduce you to the Golf R. Volkswagen’s flagship performance car.

What makes the Golf R different from a regular Golf? Well, in short, it’s better in just about every way. The Golf R is equipped with a turbocharged engine which produces 300 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque. These numbers aren’t super spectacular when considering modern performance cars, but the Golf R has a trick up its sleeve – it’s all-wheel-drive.

This all-wheel-drive system is largely what’s responsible for turning the Golf from a regular commuter car into a little rocketship. An unmodified Golf R is capable of a 0-100 km/h time of just 4 and a half seconds. Not bad for a Golf… Plus, being all-wheel-drive means that it’s suitable for just about any weather you throw at it (when equipped with the proper tires).

The all-wheel-drive system isn’t the only party trick of the Golf R though. It’s also equipped with a 7-speed, dual-clutch transmission, which means it shifts through gears lightning quick. 

In addition to the excellent mechanical components, it also looks pretty sharp. It still looks like an egg, but if you’re able to look past that, it looks pretty darn good!

The best part about the Golf R? Its practicality. It has all the functionality of the base-model, “known and loved” Golf. This means that it’s arguably one of the best daily drivers you can buy.

VALORANT

VALORANT has been one of the hottest games over the past couple years. RIOT Games struck gold with their timing of release for VALORANT, as the game came out in June 2020, the height of the pandemic in many places. Due to lockdown, a brand new free to play game from a reputable developer like RIOT Games was an absolute blessing. During lockdown, I likely spent between 6 and 8 hours a day playing this game (it has since decreased substantially as life has resumed globally).

VALORANT is a competitive 5 vs 5 team-based first person shooter game. A game of VALORANT is a first to 13, round-based competition. There are two teams, one on offence and one on defense (they will switch sides halfway through the game). The objective of the team on offence is to break through the enemy’s defenses to reach a bombsite. When there, the team on offence must plant a “spike” (a bomb) and defend it until it explodes. If the spike detonates, the team on offence wins. Alternatively, a round can be won by the team on defense if the team on offense fails to plant the spike in time. The final way that a round can be won is through eliminations. When killed in the game, characters will not respawn until the next round. If every member of a team is killed, they lose the round.

As I mentioned, VALORANT is typically considered a competitive game. To further this point, it is worth noting that VALORANT has one of the most noteworthy e-sports followings on earth, with the finals of a 2021 tournament reaching over 1 million concurrent viewers on streaming platforms. There is also a comprehensive ranked competitive system within the game. The ranks within the game are as follows (ordered lowest to highest): Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Immortal and Radiant.

I’ll be completely blunt here – this game has a huge learning curve for those unfamiliar with first person shooter games. VALORANT is hard – to the point that even while playing extremely frequently (and being a relatively competent player of games) I was only able to reach Gold. With how little I play now, I would likely only be able to play in Silver or Bronze. With that being said, as a beginner I would suggest staying far away from ranked mode. Due to the competitiveness of the game, people can be extremely nasty to other players. Toxic players can be found in any competitive game, but they are particularly bad in team based games. Making one mistake can lead to belittlement and harassment from teammates if you are unlucky.

To those trying to learn, playing unranked is definitely the way to go. There is way less pressure to succeed, and toxic teammates appear far less frequently. In my experience, people on unranked are pretty friendly and will rarely get frustrated with less experienced teammates. With that in mind, I do have one suggestion that negates all of these issues entirely, but it is dependent on you having four friends who also want to play. If you can form your own team of five, VALORANT is an absolute blast. Playing with friends facilitates a fun, supportive environment where you can come up with creative ideas and strategies without pressure from those who are dedicated to competitive success at the expense of their human morals.

If you are able to form a team of friends, there is almost no game I would recommend more than this one. It was a huge part of my social life throughout COVID-19, allowing me to banter with my friends from home while focusing on a shared goal. Even if you are playing alone, if you are able to develop thick skin for dealing with toxic individuals, VALORANT will still be a great time. I spent many hours playing alone, and enjoyed a vast majority of them.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart… is there anyone who hasn’t heard of this game before? Mario is a name that is well known worldwide, even to those who haven’t played a single video game in their life – and for good reason. Mario games are consistently very good, resulting in Mario becoming the core of Nintendo’s intellectual property.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is no exception to this trend. The game is available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, and stands as one of the greatest party games of this generation (in my humble opinion). For those who are unaware, Mario Kart is a racing game in which 12 racers attempt to complete 3 laps (usually) around a track fastest. The party element of this game comes from items and powerups. As you are racing, you can collect a variety of items that can be used to give yourself advantages or disadvantage other racers. These items range from a banana peel that you can leave behind yourself, tripping up other racers, to a bullet that will carry you safely for a certain distance. Funnily enough, Mario Kart is one of the typical examples used in the equity versus equality discussion. Those who are closer to last place will receive better items, while those closer to the front will receive worse. The item distribution actually makes for an interesting strategy element within the game – you can choose to try as hard as you can from the get-go in an effort to build a lead – or you can remain close to the back of the pack until the third lap to get a better chance at good items.

As mentioned, Mario Kart is a party game. This generally means that there is a low barrier to entry (the game is pretty easy for beginners). As a result, I don’t know anyone who has been disappointed to hear that Mario Kart is getting booted up. When hanging out with friends this is a must have if you are looking for some fun, casual games to play together.

The one aspect of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe that falls short is the online experience. While the connection is more consistent than other games within Nintendo’s catalogue, the features available are woefully lacking. You have two options for online:

1: You can play with eleven random people from around the world. This option is actually very cool, as you will be matched with people close to your skill level and compete with them. It is a great way to spend your time if you are alone, looking to relax and have some fun.

2: you can play with friends in a personal lobby. This option is good, but heavily limited. The only real way to take advantage of this feature is if you have 7+ friends who also own a Switch, Mario Kart, and Nintendo Online (racing with fewer than 8 people is pretty underwhelming). Racing alone with one or two friends lacks the excitement and fun of racing with a larger group.

If I could change one thing about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it would be creating a combination of the online services above. I would love to be able to join a lobby of random people from around the world with one or two of my friends who want to play. This feature would bring the game from a 7/10 to a 10/10 (I don’t like using a scale in most cases, but this is a good way to describe the shortcomings of Nintendo online).

In all, Mario Kart remains a solid game, as every Mario Kart installment has been. It is best played in person with friends, and can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways. For those who want to take the “Party game” aspect of Mario Kart to the next level, I would absolutely suggest checking out Beerio Kart on Urban Dictionary.

VALID

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Today, I was sitting in class thinking about how everyone I interact with is feeling behind, overwhelmed, or out of place. We collectively go through hidden struggles, yet our stories are not being shared. Our stories are being suppressed as students because we are all working to have a paper with our name on it. This waiting game of seeing if we are ‘educated enough’ to talk about our area of expertise translates to feelings of unworthiness. Another reason our true stories are hidden is because we are so busy calculating the next best thing that we forget to live in the moment and be human.

The first stanza in my poem VALID portrays the reminder that “your story is valid without a degree, or credentials, or empirical evidence.”

We often forget that we are more than our labels.

School is only one example of how we may not feel like our experiences are valid. However, there are many more ways people may not feel worthy of their life stories. However I believe that people should not be shut out of conversations because they dont have the type of education Western society expects them to. Going to school or not, going to work or not, living at home or not, your experiences are yours, and no one can take that away from you.

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The post VALID first appeared on NimrasCanvas.

Creative Project – Revamping my space

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This week, I chose to redecorate my bedroom completely, and it felt wonderful. I think I was desperate for some change to start moving differently. Maybe this is not the best mentality. I know change truly comes from within, but gosh, is it nice to have a fresh start.


Some backstory, I moved into a new bedroom at the start of my Zoom university experience, and I painted the back wall red/maroon.

After looking at this old photo, I see how great the room looks. I loved this room. Someone close to me was helping me buy the matching pillows and everything along with it to make sure I liked how my room turned out. I vividly remember sitting on my bed with the paint drying, planning out my whole schedule for my first classes for uni. Maybe it was the school nerves, but I actually followed through with the goals I set for myself. Heck, I even got my first job in the same timeframe. These accomplishments and a lot more followed with this red paint, and I am proud of my growth. However, there were some bad times, and I don’t think the red was helping my mood at all. I would walk into my bedroom to relax, but I encountered stress. Sometimes, the momentum from stress was what I needed to catalyze my hustle mentality, but soon things got toxic. Who knew something as simple as a color could impact my mental health so astonishingly. This red room held onto so many past experiences, and some of those values no longer align with me. Therefore, it was finally time to move on.

Today, my room is light beige, and I plan to plaster my wall with old book pages and inspiring words. What’s funny is that the room aesthetic matches the aesthetic of this blog and the @nimras.canvas Instagram page (I know, shocker!). Now the room is calmer when I walk into it. When I was in my kitchen doing some work today, I took a break and walked back into my room, and for once, it felt safe again. As I am sitting typing this, I have my skincare on my face and am vibing to Lofi music, and I feel at peace.

I want to move forward with that peaceful energy in mind. This energy will help me progress with grace and invite the things into my life that bring me peace and joy and make me feel like myself. I don’t want to settle for anything less than that.

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Music Review – Kota The Friend “Grateful”

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Welcome to my first music review! This review is dedicated to Kota The Friend otherwise known as Avery Marcel Joshua Jones. I am choosing this artist because I went into 2022 listening to him. I discovered Kota in November 2021 when someone sent me the song “grateful”. The cover of this song is of Avery’s son and I think it is so wholesome.

The song “Grateful” has the following lyrics: (I have put the lines I love in red)

Yeah, yeah
Out in Colorado
Hit the lotto
Got a cabin in the middle of the mountain
Shit, I feel like I’m the mayor now

Used to sip on bottle after bottle
I was drownin’, get the goggles
Now I’m rooted in the present, what you sayin’ now

Everything is love, that’s the motto
Spend the winter out in southern California, where it’s warmer
I don’t play around

I don’t give a fuck if niggas coming for your soul
They don’t know you, if I love you
Homie, I’ma always say it loud

Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful
Even in a rough patch I’ma always make due
Even when I’m down bad, I be sayin’ thank you
Even when I’m wild sad
I could never hate you

Nah

Get up and I get it on the worst day
Self-care, nigga that’s the first thing
Grind ’til you chillin’ on a workday
And when you get it I hope you are

Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful, yah, yah
Thank you, Jesus, Buddha, Jah or Allah
Please insert whatever you believe in

Celebrating this abundant season

Thank you for the setbacks on the way up
Thank you for the stories that they made up

Thank you for my Noah’s arch
That’s word to blu’, the deep blue sea, can’t fuck with me

I’ma be great when you showin’ me love
I’ma be great when you throwin’ me hate
I’ma be great even when I am done
You got another thing comin’ if you think I’ma break

I was all around the world for a couple of months
I was out in long beach for a couple of weeks
I be walking through the town just like you and your friends
When you see me on the block there ain’t nothin’ to see

I’m in Malibu, nigga, what’s up?
Took a trip to Sedona
We was whippin’ the truck
Then we headed to Montana
We was looking for ye
And I know you couldn’t make it but we sending you love, yeah

I remember we was still on the block
Big dreams
I ain’t even have a cent to my name
Shit crave

We was tryna hide the blunt from the cops and stay low
Making three songs every day
Now I’m up and I am

Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful, yah, yah
Thank you, Jesus, Buddha, Jah or Allah
Please insert whatever you believe in

Celebrating this abundant season

Thank you for the setbacks on the way up
Thank you for the stories that they made up

Thank you for my Noah’s arch
That’s word to blu’, the deep blue sea, can’t fuck with me

Woke up feelin’ like yes
Now I got another day
And I’m doin’ my best
Give a fuck about the fame
I could really care less
I am here to spread love
Rollin’ outta my bed

I done came a long way
From the person I was
They be throwin’ me they pain
And I let it all come

I don’t never shoot back
I just send ’em back love
Always had mad love
Now I got it backed up

Now my gun goin’
Love for you
And love for you
And you and you

We only human
We deserve it
Trauma real and you been hurting
I been hurtin’, we been searchin’

I been learning, broke the surface
Found my purpose, open curtains, wrote these verses, I been workin’
Tables turnin’ Life get good when you moving with love
And what you need is the shit that you want
Every day a nigga

Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful, yah, yah
Thank you, Jesus, Buddha, Jah or Allah
Please insert whatever you believe in
Celebrating this abundant season

Thank you for the setbacks on the way up
Thank you for the stories that they made up

Thank you for my Noah’s arch
That’s word to blu’, the deep blue sea, can’t fuck with me

I was mesmerized by this song because it described gratitude as a state of love. The line “everything is love, that the motto” resonated with me because it reminded me of the deep conversations my cousins would have with the family when they came to visit. I remember being 11 hearing theories of finding a little bit of love/God in everything, and it stuck with me.


Speaking of God, the line where he says, “thank you, Jesus, Buddha, Jah, or Allah. Please insert whatever you believe in,” was pure because I feel that even if you don’t believe in God, this line resonates. We all have something or maybe some higher power to thank for all we have. Abundance doesn’t just come willingly; it has a source.

The other line that resonated with me was “grind ’til you chillin’ on a workday.” I love the emphasis on “workday.” Usually, we work hard during the weekdays (our typical workdays) but imagine if we worked hard on weekends and had the whole week to chill? Now that is a perspective shift.


Love is something we all yearn for, Kota The Friend encapsulates this desire perfectly in these lines: “We only human. We deserve it. Trauma real and you been hurting. I been hurtin’, we been searchin’… Tables turnin’ Life get good when you moving with love”. I believe these lines let us know that we are not alone. In lines “you been hurting. I been hurtin’, we been searching…” The transition from you to I to we shows you we all are hurting together. Once we understand this, we will all shed a little more love for each other.


I listen to “Grateful” by Kota The Friend whenever I have to remind myself to be grateful or if I want to be filled with the spark of love again. Often, I find myself losing that spark. However, I really want to be left feeling the gratitude and love in me so I can send it back to others again.

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Javiera Wears What 2.0

I last updated this blog about six months ago, and wow, has the time flown by. The last time I wrote for this blog, I lived at home with my parents in Canada, a full-time student, and working two part-time jobs. Presently, I live abroad with my boyfriend in Zancudo, Costa Rica and have successfully graduated from university with my bachelor’s in Communication. Even just reading that out loud, I am astonished at how quickly life can change. However, no matter how much my life has changed, my love for writing and fashion has not. Despite the fact that I took a prolonged hiatus from my blog, I want to resume where I left off.

When I started my blog, I made a vision board of how I wanted it to look and feel. To get back into my pattern of writing weekly blog entries, I’ve decided to create a vision board for this next chapter in my blog. As I previously indicated, I’ve evolved significantly and thought that my blog should develop alongside me. I’m still the same bright, exuberant maximalist I used to be. However, now I have new experiences and locations to influence my fashion and writing.

Vision board created using Canva

For my new vision board, I have added more inspiration from the beach and the warm weather. Since moving to Costa Rica, I have realized how much I adore being in the sun and by the ocean. My style has definitely evolved to incorporate more laid-back pieces that can be easily styled over a bikini. For this next chapter in my blog, I want to really find my niche audience. Fashion is such a broad category that has several different subcultures. To really narrow down my audience and find my voice, I will focus on specific areas of fashion that interest me the most. Over the course of the year, I have grown to love bohemian fashion and beachwear. I love vintage clothing and funky shoes such as cowboy boots and sparkly sneakers.

My vision board now includes more images since I’ve begun experimenting with graphic design. I purchased an iPad during my second to last semester in university, and since having so much spare time laying by the beach, I’ve begun drawing and creating little graphics. I would love someday to get these images printed onto graphic tees so that I can wear them and showcase my designs.

Lastly, I didn’t include an image of myself in my initial vision board since I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to make entries about my wardrobe. This is because while I was a student/part-time worker in Vancouver, I would mainly wear sweatpants or my job uniform and had little freedom to experiment with my personal style. Moving ahead, I’d like to do a monthly style edit in which I present some of the ensembles I’ve been wearing.

XO,

Javiera Guevara