Amaka.
To be mother is to be needed—to be 100 things to 100 people.To be the thread tying lives together. To pass down recipes, pass down stories, to carry generations, and carry yourself. But I often look at my mother and wonder — who were you before you were so needed, and how can I help you remember? It was my mom’s birthday recently and she had been saying she wanted to do a photoshoot, so I capture her in a photoshoot as I see her while I tell you a bit about who she is to me. My mom
Abby Albino
I was the “probably never going to get married” girl, the “career first” girl, the “it’s okay, I’m happy by myself” girl. I was the “I don’t know what I want to do I guess I’ll go back to school at 30” girl, the “stay out all night and not think about tomorrow” girl, the “shoot, that’s a bad credit score” girl. Well, my name is Abby Albino, it’s nice to meet you and here’s who that girl became: If you had told my younger self that one day I’d be standing in front of a camera
BCWM
What moment changed our life? To start, two moments changed our lives: The first moment that changed our lives? Where it all started…attending Latto’s Toronto concert on November 7, 2024 together. The three of us, Jahlyssa, Jennifer and Shaneka, were able to enjoy the show and rap along to our favourite anthems. We knew the moment we shared was special, because the very next day several women from the Canadian music industry inquired about our next outing and wanted to be involved. We knew from then we had something special going on, that would change our lives. After
CTRL+ALT+BEAT
We are turning into goldfish. Everyone reading this, even us writing this, we are all guilty of it. It’s scary how quickly our priorities have shifted during this new age of digital media and engagement. Conversations are something that are chronically avoided, everything is turned into an email or a text message, eye contact is frightening more than it is desired and we pride ourselves in being homebodies, not realizing that we are missing out on moments in the world that can never be replicated. In the age of DIY, we took it upon ourselves to create
Serena Nguyen
I was always a creative kid. I used art to cope with feelings I had trouble putting into words. Art and creation housed the emotions I had trouble understanding. I often turned inwards as a means to self-soothe. Feelings and emotions are often dismissed in immigrant households, and so, I learned emotional regulation from an early age. My parents fled their war-torn country on a crammed jaggedy boat in hopes to seek refuge and a fresh start. They only knew a life of insecurity, and hoped their children didn’t have to face the same hardships. It was
Shannon
What Changed Me? There were two moments that changed my life: When I was fired from my job (it was unfair and messy and a story for another day) When I opened my own shop two years later. I don’t take experiences or interactions for granted. They always shape how I navigate my life, work, and who I choose to align with. As painful as that first moment was, it turned out to be the greatest gift the universe could have given me. It revealed who truly understood me, what I value, how I identify as a person of colour,
Jaehee Cho
What Changed Me? I can think of many moments that have had a great impact on my life—some happy, some sad—but I believe the moment that truly changed me as a person was when I picked up a tattoo needle for the first time. I remember telling myself: This is it. No more giving up.No more bargaining, negotiating, or procrastinating I wasn’t a strong person, nor was I someone who usually finished what I started. But somehow, when I grabbed that tattoo needle, I felt no anxiety. I was so determined, and I knew I wouldn’t break the
Becky De Oliveira
Becoming a mother changed my life in ways that areboth profound and impossible to fully put into words. Before motherhood, my world revolved mostly around myself and my business— i was on my own schedule, striving to reach my goals, prioritizing my needs, and my sense of who I was. I had a clear vision of what I wanted from life, and I moved through the world with a sense of autonomy that felt natural and, honestly, effortless. But the moment I became a mother, everything shifted. It wasn’t just that I now had a tiny human depending
Anael Domingo
What Changed Me? The moment that truly changed the course of my life was when I made the difficult decision to drop out of the UofT and pursue my passion for becoming a wardrobe stylist. At the time, I was a year into a university program that I had no real interest in. I went through the motions, trying to convince myself that it would all be worth it in the end, but deep down I knew I wasn’t following a path that made me feel fulfilled or excited. I made the bold choice to take a
Tatiana Chisolm
The day I got my first solo apartment changed everything. I grew up in the Bronx—aka NYC—which was always loud, colorful, and full of life. But behind that energy, my own childhood was filled with heavy experiences: surviving cancer, facing periods of homelessness, and carrying emotional weight far too big for my small frame. For years, I never had the chance to let my nervous system slow down, breathe, and process any of it. I was always surviving—never just being. That all shifted the day I moved into my own apartment. It was small, barely decorated, and not
