In 2018, a British rock band released a song that sounded less like music and more like a news feed having a breakdown. “Love It If We Made It” by ‘The 1975’ was written as an introspective reflection of the social and political climate happening since 2016. It was not a protest song. It was not a call to action. It was something more unsettling, a shrug dressed up as a scream. “It’s the gem of hope amongst all of the rubble.” - Matty Healy, The 1975 "Love It If We Made It" Official Lyrics...

Image note: The teal butterfly symbolizes gynaecological cancer awareness and holds a deep, personal meaning to my family. I lost someone very close and important to me. She was my second mother, someone I could run to and confide in, judgment-free. My aunt passed away at the end of February 2025 after a two-year battle with cervical cancer. What started as menstrual pain and bleeding slowly turned into something more serious. She spent her final years in and out of chemotherapy,...

Figure 1 : Stop the Shutdown Rally - Washington D.C., January 2019 43 days of uncertainty left millions waiting, federal workers at a standstill, and no pay. American federal workers and citizens felt, and are still facing, the repercussions of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The nation is left asking: How did this happen? What happens next? What is a government shutdown? The United States is the only country with a government that fails to keep funding going when budgets...