"Recasting Robots: The Place to See and be Seen"

Artist Nick Alex stands by his central piece Friday.

 

On Friday, July 12, at the Catamount Arts centre in St. Johnsbury, crowds filled the hall to study and admire the artwork of two local artists. What they didn't understand until later was that the art was also studying them.

Nick Alex debuted his art show "Recasting Robots" on Friday, filling the hall with dystopian, steampunk renderings of the many ways in which we are constantly monitored. The overarching theme of Alex's work is a critique of the Foucauldian, Big Brother world in which we live now. With a background in sociology and criminal justice, Alex is more than qualified to comment upon the topic.

Alex's central piece was a carousel inverted to form a panopticon, a structure originally designed for prisons by Michel Foucault to replace the system of corporal punishment. A panopticon places the prisoners in a circle surrounding a guard tower with blackened windows so that the prisoner is never certain whether he is being watched. Theoretically, the prisoner is therefore more likely to self-monitor his own behaviour.

"[It's a] complex metaphor of how society functions," the artist explained as people gathered around his main exhibit. On it were photographs of people riding the carousel inverted around a metal hub reflecting flashing lights. What caught the eye was the way Alex took a carousel, something people associate with lighthearted fun, and turned it into a striking commentary on the state of society and the government's involvement in the private lives of its citizens.

Nick Alex could not have read the political climate better when timing the debut of "Recasting Robots." Governmental monitoring and heavier involvement in civilian and private sector affairs is a hot topic these days for voters and politicians alike. Alex's commentary added to the nationwide conversation in an intelligent, quiet, and sophisticated way.

When Alex was asked what he plans to do with "Recasting Robots" and his art career in general, his answer was a very open-ended "Who knows?" We look forward to seeing what's next.

March Madness in Lennoxville: Curling Club Goes Pie Crazy

Curlers compete in the Mens' Invitational Bonspiel

(Lennoxville) - The 81st Lennoxville Mens' Bonspiel, affectionately referred to as the Pie Bonspiel, is in full swing.

The matches started at 10 a.m. on St. Patrick's Day with 52 teams registered to play and will go throughout the week. There will be senior matches during the day and all day on Friday.

The bonspiel will be spread out among the ice in Sherbrooke and North Hatley as well as the Lennoxville Curling Club, as each team is guaranteed three matches with the price of admission. Five trophies, named after donors, will be awarded at the end of the bonspiel: the Nichol Family Trophy, the Mooney Family Trophy, the Global Excel trophy, the Ultramar award, and the Clarke et Fils trophy.

Jim Stone, the second for the Whittier team, isn't curling until Wednesday evening, so he had some time to tell us about the bonspiel. He has curled in this event for ten years. "My favourite part is getting to meet new people," he says, watching the ice. "The pie is a very close second."

Oh yes, the pie. One of the major draws to participate in the Mens' Invitational has always been the celebration at the end: all-you-can-eat homemade pie. It has become a second competition of sorts throughout the years. Stone's personal record is five pieces, although a few years ago, the club record was broken and reset to 14 pieces.

Spectators are more than welcome to watch the curling all this week at the Lennoxville Curling Club and the rinks at Sherbrooke and North Hatley. Unfortunately, the pie event is only open to curlers. Good luck, gentlemen!

Booking it to Belize: Hiding from Winter in Paradise

A sunny day in San Pedro

 

Nobody smiles in February. Cop to it. The only time I ever smiled in February was when I saw someone snowshoe right into their own car. February is mostly just slush. Things start to get a little better in March, when hope starts to break through the grey and give us spring, but the last leg of winter is just there as a test of human patience.

So it's usually around this time of year that I make like a bird and migrate south. My family has a condo in San Pedro, Belize and it's the perfect place to hide and wait out the slush.

Belize is a third world country with a population of roughly 357,000. Located next to Mexico, the mainland is beautiful and lush, exploding with jungles and humidity.

San Pedro is on a little island called Ambergris Caye, which is off the coast of mainland Belize, about a twenty-minute flight in a propeller plane. (Belize fun fact number one: Ambergris is a waxlike substance found in the intestine of a sperm whale. It's used in the manufacturing of perfume.) It's an adventure town and about the only place on the Caye, unless you count the jungle.

Belize fun fact number two: Madonna's song "La Isla Bonita" was written about San Pedro, and it's easy to see why. It rains once a day for about a half an hour, but apart from that, the sky is this perfect, deep Prussian blue. It looks like china, like a cloud would break it. The sunlight is effusive by the Equator. You can actually feel it soaking into your skin. (For a pale blonde, that's not necessarily a plus.)

There are blossoms everywhere. The air is heavy and laden with the scent of pinks and hibiscus. It's slow, heady, prelapsarian. The Atlantic ocean is as warm as a bath and the blue-green of something prehistoric and ancestral. It's easy to feel like you might be just about to bloom with the rest of the flowers.

San Pedro is ultimately an adventurer's town, though. About the only sport you can't take up there is cross-country skiing. There's a Jet-Ski rental on the dock about thirty feet from our apartment. Those things can get up to 80 kilometres an hour. Nothing beats cresting the shining waves over the barrier reef on a Jet-Ski with a full tank, knowing you could take it around the island twice and be home for dinner. If you cut the engine and drift, you'll see manta rays the size of tables rippling lazily around the coral.

If under the water is more your speed, you can try SNUBA diving. It's like scuba diving, but rather than carrying the air tanks on your back, they float on top of the water in a raft, and you breathe through a hose. You don't need a scuba certification, either. It's amazing to see all the colours of the reef and the tropical marine life. I chased a sea turtle the first time I went down.

Next time I go, I want to try cave tubing. It's a slow journey through the damp caves of the Belizean jungle in an inner tube, and it sounds glorious.

Belize fun fact number three: It's a Commonwealth Realm, just like us. A picture of the beautiful, younger Queen Elizabeth II adorns their currency. It's a friendly, welcoming, and fun place to lose yourself for a while, especially in the dusk of pre-spring weather. I can't wait to go back.

Lennoxville Curling Club Juniors to compete in Jeux de Quebec

 

(Lennoxville) - On March 5, at 7 a.m., nine boys and girls from Lennoxville and their parents will board a bus headed for Saguenay, where they will curl for five days straight, sleeping in classrooms and gym floors surrounded by teams from all around the province.

These nine players make up the Junior Boys and Girls curling league of the Lennoxville Curling Club, who are excited to play in the Jeux de Quebec this March.

21 sports will be represented at the Jeux, with approximately 3,000 competitors 15 years old or younger, says junior program coordinator and girls' coach Judith Cassidy. "It's a well-organised event," she goes on. 75,000 spectators, including parents and coaches, are expected.

Girls' skip Meaghan Rivett says her team will "definitely" be trying for the top 10, while the boys are "hoping for the top 8," according to boys' skip Andy Porter.

While some of the players have played in the Jeux de Quebec before, for most of the Lennoxville group, this is their first time at the competition. "[We're] excited," boys' lead Aaron Charron says.

The boys will be competing against 15 other curling clubs, while the girls will be facing 13 rivals.

We wish the Lennoxville Curling Club Juniors good luck in Saguenay. We'll be catching up with them when they get home.

The Bishop's University Chamber Orchestra is back!

The orchestra will perform at Bandeen Hall.

The Bishop's University Chamber Orchestra has risen from the ashes.

In 2003, the Bishop's music department started the orchestra with direction from professor Andrew MacDonald. However, MacDonald had to give up conducting to work on a composition of his own, and after a few years, the chamber orchestra found itself too low on string players to continue.

"After a break of several years, I'm delighted to return to developing the chamber orchestra at Bishop's," MacDonald says. "We have a really good core of string players and we're very excited about the repertoire we're working on."

The orchestra is still looking for players, especially for the string section. Right now, the orchestra consists of 17 players altogether, including woodwinds and strings. MacDonald is aiming for 25 players for the final concert in April. "Strings sound wonderful in Bandeen Hall," MacDonald says of the chamber's acoustics.

MacDonald would like to welcome players of all ages, whether in attendance at Bishop's or residents of the surrounding community, to rehearse with the orchestra and take part. He describes the chamber orchestra as "good community music-making" and encourages anyone with an instrument to come try it out.

The Chamber Orchestra will make its second debut in concert on April 7 at 3 p.m.. They will play selections from Holst, Grieg, Respeghi, and Mozart. "I've always wanted to perform this music," MacDonald tells us, looking happy to be back up at the stand. "We're going to put on a fantastic concert."

Anyone wishing to join the chamber orchestra should contact Dr. Andrew MacDonald at amcdona@ubishops.ca.

By the end of the interview, he'd convinced me to dust off my violin and get back on stage. We hope to see you too!

Bianca Letarte, the Lone Wolf Goalie, on Stopping Pucks

The Bishop's University Polar Bears prepare to compete at Fredericton.

 Letarte centre.

 You can see how important hockey is to Bianca Letarte every time she turns around: the back of her neck is tattooed with a red stop sign with the word 'puck' in all caps. She definitely stops pucks.

The 21-year-old Sherbrooke native is the only goalie of the Bishop's University women's ice hockey team, the Polar Bears. She has played for the Bears for four years, although she has attended Champlain College for three. The Bears have worked hard this season to find the back of the net, struggling with scoring, but have put up a good fight in the Maritime Intercollegiate Women's Ice Hockey league tournaments. Letarte sat down with us and described her passion for the sport.

Letarte started playing hockey at five years old. "I started really young," she tells us with a smile. She started as a forward, but a year later discovered her true passion in the net. Her father played hockey throughout her childhood and she remembers watching his games. She traces her interest in the sport originally back to her father, but she pinpoints the 1996 Winter Olympics as the moment she decided to start playing herself. Goalie Manon Rheaume's silver medal "really made an impression", she recalls.

Even though the Bears practice Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays at 6 a.m., Letarte says that her favourite part of the sport is the training. She loves the "dedication and work ethic" of her teammates and the feeling of improvement, which doesn't come through in a game situation.

Letarte takes us deeper into the mindset of a goalie come game-time. "It's different when you're a goalie," she says, describing herself as a bit of a lone wolf. "It really is a mental game." Letarte's pre-game ritual consists of warming up with her team and then going off by herself to listen to some music. If her team loses the game, she switches up her routine by removing her right pads before her left. "When I was younger, I used to talk to my [goal] posts," she adds with a laugh. "I stopped doing that, though."

Those who have been following the Polar Bears might remember the nine mid-season games during which the team struggled to score. As frustrating as that was for the offensive players, Letarte gives us a different perspective. "I actually like it," she admits. She prefers to have lots of shots to block because it helps her stay focused and "in the zone". If she doesn't have pucks to stop, she can be easily distracted.

The Polar Bears will be headed for Fredericton, New Brunswick on Friday for another Maritime Intercollegiate Women's Ice Hockey League tournament. Letarte says the four member teams are evenly matched. "If everybody plays the game as it should be played, we can win," she says optimistically. "No doubt about it."

So, enough about the Polar Bears. What will Bianca Letarte do next? She outlined her teenage years as background. She was educated at Castleton, Vermont until she finished high school, when she was recruited to be on the Castleton team at the university but couldn't join due to financial complications. After completing high school, she applied to Bishop's University, although she was not accepted, and decided to go to CEGEP instead at Champlain College. When she graduates with a certificate in social science, Letarte plans to apply again to Bishop's and get in this time. Social science is not her passion; she hopes to pursue fine arts at university.

Bianca Letarte cannot leave the ice behind. She plans to stay in the net for a long time. Good luck to the Polar Bears in Fredericton and good luck to Bianca Letarte, wherever she ends up and whatever she decides to do. Whatever the future holds, the past has shown us that she is great at stopping pucks.

What Would You Have Done?!: Chris Fleming on Gayle

On the set of his popular YouTube sitcom Gayle, Chris Fleming plays a housewife who might have been sane three mid-life crises ago, but that's over now. Gayle Waters-Waters is, among other things, the mother of sensible Terry Gross Waters-Waters, the secretary of Mothers Against Road Head, a partner and owner of Meet Me in Hell Croutons, and a devout stalker of Dr. Bruce, orthodontist-slash-sex-symbol. Gayle snorts a line of Total cereal in the morning and wouldn't be able to stand the public humiliation of taking two trips into the house with her groceries. She hates her husband's legs so much that the camera has never seen his face, focusing on his khaki-clad "milky whites".

However, off the set, Chris is a soft-spoken tutor who has done stand-up comedy in his spare time since high school. His comedy took off when a friend posted a video on popular news and sharing site Reddit. Chris gave us some time in between filming Episode 22 to tell us about himself and his tramp-stamped, couscous-loving alter ego.

We had to know: how on earth does one come up with a character like Gayle? According to Chris, all you have to do is observe people. He tells us that Gayle was inspired by women in his Massachusetts hometown, especially one particular specimen he observed at a Crate and Barrel four years ago.

Chris walked us through a day on the set of Gayle, which is filmed at his childhood home. "By the end of each day I’ve acquired some kind of injury, 'cause I insist on doing stunts," he says, and viewers can vouch for this. Gayle is known for emotional outbursts involving theft, broken glass, and ham. "In one episode I dropkicked a mailbox twice and could barely walk after 'cause I landed so hard on my hip," he adds. However, with a lot of ice kept on set, Chris says shooting is "super fun". "[By this point] we all have a really good foundation of who our characters are, so people just flow right into the scenes."

To add to the hilarity, Gayle's best friend/worst enemy Bonnie is played by Chris's real-life mother. When Chris asked her to be part of the show, "she said okay, but that her name couldn’t be Bonnie, because she has a friend named Bonnie and felt that she would be insulted." Chris adds that his mother's friend is nothing at all like Gayle's Bonnie, but that he insisted on naming the character after her because he wanted to say "You calling me a liar, Bonnie?!"

The fast-paced show is almost Monty Python-esque in its cross-dressing, flagrantly outrageous humour. Gayle's husband is timid and soft-voiced, preferring bird-watching to Gayle's fearless, stop-at-nothing attitude. Dave is the perfect "straight man" foil to Gayle's antics, and yet he has his own flavour of neurosis, stealing his wife's November fleece to watch her go ballistic. The two are at loggerheads for much of the series, but we see a certain affection between them at the end of the Christmas special, when Gayle steals every pair of khakis in Talbots for her husband's gift.

Gayle has already been the subject of critical acclaim. Forbes Magazine decrees that "no major studio has created a stranger, more adeptly archetypal and consistently funnier character than Gayle Waters-Waters." The Huffington Post is confident that the weird among us will "fall in mad, deep love with Gayle".

This June 28 and 29, Chris will take his act to the stage for the very first time in Boston at the Davis Square Theatre. Tickets are selling for $15 each and can be purchased from a link on Chris's Facebook page. I'm already entering my credit card information. As Gayle would ask, what would you have done?!

Scottish Curlers Fight for the Strathcona Cup

 

(Lennoxville) - Bagpipes broke through the chatter on Sunday morning at the Lennoxville Curling Club as the Royal Caledonia Curling Club of Scotland took to the ice.

Before the morning's match began, the Scottish curlers serenaded the Canadian audience, proclaiming to "show our friends from Canada just what we Scots can do".

The eastern contingency of the Scottish tour began in Halifax and moved west through eastern Canada. Before they came to Lennoxville, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club played a match in Quebec City. After the first match on Sunday morning, they travelled to North Hatley. Forty other members of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club are now travelling through western and central Canada. All told, they have accumulated a grand total of 2364 points to Canada's 2098.

David Paterson, the second for the Scottish team and the treasurer for the 2013 tour, sat down with The Record to talk curling and Canadians. He comes from Cullen, Scotland, in the County of Moray, and works at the Bank of Scotland when he's off the ice. "Canada did well yesterday," he commended us modestly, gesturing to the clash of rocks and ice taking place behind the glass.

Paterson says that what the Scottish enjoy most about the tour is the "camaraderie with other players" between the two countries. He describes Lennoxville as "open and welcoming", but with much colder weather than the Scottish are used to. Glancing at the numbers, he says that while 60 members of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club crossed the ocean, only 19 are part of the eastern tour.

Both Paterson and Scottish skip Jim Hogg say they are having a "great time" on the tour. Each member of the club is allowed one chance to play in the Strathcona Cup tournament in order to give everyone an opportunity to travel, and both men are taking advantage of their turns.

The three contingencies of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club will meet in Toronto at the end of the tour and travel from there back to Scotland. The Scottish won't be back for another ten years, but, as always, both parties will take home a trophy to keep the spirit of the Strathcona Cup competition alive.

A Loaded Issue: Why Gun Control Shouldn't Be a Knee-Jerk Reaction

I first fired a gun when I was twelve years old. My dad is a Boy Scout leader, and even though I'm a girl, he used to bring me fishing and to the gun range with the boys. I started with a BB gun and moved on to shotguns and handguns. Marksmanship is still a hobby I share with my father.

When I think about my dad teaching Boy Scouts about firearms safety, one incident comes to the forefront. I had picked up one of my dad's shotguns to examine it and in complete innocence, I pointed the barrel down the range to get a better look at the stock.

My dad didn't panic and he didn't yell. He told everyone to sit down and his voice was measured when he told me to give him the gun. "Never, ever point a gun at anything you don't intend to shoot dead," he instructed us, his voice shaking. The gun wasn't loaded, nobody would have come to any harm that day, but I remember my dad's lesson every time I check to make sure the range is empty.

Guns need to be taken seriously.

These days, I have helped my dad give gun safety lessons to a crowd of Scouts, and I field a lot of questions about legality and how I can possibly not advocate gun control. I'd like to give you the Reader's Digest version of why I will never, ever support any kind of gun control legislation in the United States.

For my first point, I want to cite a section of the Constitution that states, and I'm paraphrasing, that citizens have a requirement - not a right, a requirement - to oust a government that no longer meets the needs of the people. How can an unarmed revolution be mounted against a government with firearms? How can civilians ever stand a chance against a militant government when they have no weapons? With guns, we are citizens. Without them, we are subjects.

The second amendment of the United States Constitution states that citizens have the right to bear arms. The US government was designed to operate under a system of checks and balances. The founding fathers quite possibly thought along the same lines I just described: if a government is so big that it can take away weapons, it's too big for the system they designed. It has become a government that no longer meets the peoples' needs, thus necessitating civilian firearm ownership. You can slice it whatever way you want, but because of the second amendment, gun control is unconstitutional.

Finally, it comes down to the old adage: if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. If you're buying a gun for a reason like marksmanship or training for the biathlon or home security, chances are you're a law-abiding citizen, the kind who would adhere to any gun control laws that were passed. You'd go and get a permit or whatever it is that was required of you. If you're standing at Wal-Mart with that shotgun in your hand because you want somebody dead, though, you're already planning to commit a murder. I can guarantee that you're not going to stop and think Hmm, I'd better get this thing registered. Just like with illegal drugs, there will always be a gun trade. The kind of people we're afraid of, the kind who want to kill other people, will always find a way to do so, and it will still involve guns. I want to live in a world where I can protect myself and my family, if it ever comes down to that.

Mass killings by shooters are an abomination. 'Tragic' is not a good enough word to describe the events that have taken place in the past. It breaks my heart, but it doesn't change my mind: I advocate guns not because I want to shoot someone, but because I want to die at a ripe old age a long time from now, not tomorrow afternoon on some sidewalk. Disarming innocent people only leaves them helpless against the very real threats in the world.

My family owns guns. I plan to own guns. I plan to teach my children how to respect the power of a gun and to harness it responsibly. When treated with respect, guns aren't dangerous, but there are dangerous people in the world, and I side with personal empowerment.

Royal Caledonia Curling Club comes to Lennoxville for the Strathcona Cup

(Lennoxville) - The Scottish are coming, the Scottish are coming!

Next Sunday, January 27, the Royal Caledonia Curling Club will fulfill over a century's tradition and arrive in Lennoxville to compete for the Strathcona Cup.

The Strathcona Cup competition is the oldest international curling event in the world. It takes place every decade. The Royal Canadian Curling Club and the Lennoxville Curling Club have been swapping players back and forth since 1903, when the Scottish finally decided to accept North American invitations. The Canadians have 11 victories over the Scottish 9, but in 2013, the Royal Caledonia Curling Club have made it their goal to take back the cup.

The Strathcona Cup had "an odd beginning", according to a brochure put out by the Canadian Curling Association prior to the 2003 competition. Lord Strathcona was a Scot who created a name for himself in Canada with the Hudson's Bay Company and was appointed to the House of Lords. Later, he was elected the President of the Royal Curling Club. He felt that the loser of the competition should have a tangible memento as well, and so he provided another cup, which the Scots brought home.

The Scottish club divides into three contingencies every time they tour to include all parts of Canada. They will visit, among other locations, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Prince Edward Island, as well as our very own Lennoxville.

Although the competition is always fierce, and the Scots have vowed that this year, the cup will be theirs, "the Strathcona Cup is more than about winning and losing," says the competition's UK-based website. It's about keeping tradition alive and keeping friendly relations between the two countries.

Come out to Lennoxville and meet some Scotsmen on Sunday, January 27! The first game starts at 10 a.m. All games are free and open to the public.

There's a lot more going on at the Curling Club than the Strathcona Cup, too. This week, you can drop by and watch curlers from clubs around the province compete for cash prizes in the annual Mixed Bonspiel. In addition, you can support the Lennoxville Juniors by coming to the brunch on Saturday, January 26 at the Curling Club. Adults pay $10 and admission for children under six is $5. Everyone is welcome.

Say No to Uggs

There's no such thing as a winter uniform, but some days it seems there might as well be: sweatshirt with sweatpants or Spandex leggings tucked into UGG boots. While you love your UGGs and I have to admit, the one pair I tried on were very comfortable in the store, they are just not made to survive harsh Canadian winters. UGGs have been in vogue since about 2003, which, depending on personal opinion, is fine...just not as winter boots.

Sheepskin boots called uggs were made in rural Australia and New Zealand since the 1920s. In the 1960s, they became popular among competitive surfers to keep their feet warm. This just goes to show: UGGs are not, nor were they ever intended to be, winter boots! If you need any more proof along these lines, ask yourself this simple question: How often do Aussies have snow storms?

UGG boots are made of shearling sheepskin, which is what makes them so luxuriously comfortable, giving them that slipper feeling. Unfortunately for Canadian wearers, it is also what makes them vulnerable to water damage. One of the greatest shortcomings of UGG boots is that they're not waterproof, which, as this winter season in Lennoxville has proven, is a must for wintry climates. You can pay extra for a special waterproofing cream to somewhat protect the sheepskin, but the salt on our roads will more than make up for any damage saved there. You end up with white veins all over the tops and sides of your boots, and by the time spring rolls around, they are damp and ruined and not even close to their original colour. Even that soft, furry shearling lining which seemed so appealing back in October has become matted and grey by March.

Research has shown that UGG boots are also bad for posture and have caused the same amount of damage as walking around in stilettos every day does. I'm sure we've all seen it: the UGG shuffle, that pigeon-toed walk that actually looks painful to everyone around the wearer. When you walk in them, your feet slide around, which flattens the arch of the feet and causes back pain and, over time, joint problems. This can actually lead to early onset arthritis, so no matter how comfortable they seem, you shouldn't wear your UGGs every day.

Another drawback to the still-vibrant trend is the cost. Genuine UGGs cost anywhere from $150 to $275 per pair, which can get really steep as it becomes necessary to purchase replacement pairs each winter.

While the classic sheepskin UGGs are just not practical for Quebec winters, if you really love the brand, you don't have to give it up: the company UGG Australia does make what they call performance and cold weather boots, which have appropriate ankle support along with more of a tread than their classic boots do. These are winter boots of which Canada approves: tall and double laced, and at least in this reporter's opinion, far cuter than the classic sheepskin look. Jeans tucked into these would be an original UGG style, which this season so far has shaped into an oxymoron. Price is still high, but if you're going to spend the money on UGGs anyways, these are the tough older sister of the pair most of campus seems to possess. Here's to dry feet and cute shoes.

New Year's resolutions: tricks to make them stick

 Is your list of New Year's resolutions longer than your holiday shopping list was? Is 2013 the year you're going to pull it all together, get a job if you don't have one, quit smoking (anything), get better marks, and learn to run a seven-minute mile?

Good for you. Those are all valid goals, and we at The Campus wish you luck.

Personally, though, I know I'm going to need more than luck if I'm going to introduce some positive change into my life. Yet, there always is a certain point in our lives when we feel all the excitement of change and taking control with a sense of dread chasing close on its heels: what if I can't do it? What if I quit, and next year on January 1, I'm resolving to do this again? That feeling of dread convinces us not to even bother trying.

It really all comes down to inertia, and you'll notice that once you "get moving", so to speak, it's not hard to continue; in fact, it's more natural to do so than to rest. By this point, accomplishing things will have become a habit.

So how do you get there?

The American Psychological Association held an online discussion on this very topic, and their first suggestion was to start small. Do you want to quit smoking? It's probably not a good idea to quit cold turkey, the APA suggests, unless you're really sure you can do that. If you set unattainable goals and fail to attain them, you begin to internalise failure until you stop trying. Nobody wants to feel like a failure.

The key part is this: the principle works the other way around. Success begets more success. If you decide to cut back your habit to a pack a week, for instance, or you switch to an e-cigarette, you've made some positive change, and that will feel good. You'll feel physically healthier and mentally capable, and you're going to want to keep decreasing the amount you smoke until finally you don't smoke at all. You can do this over the course of the year, rather than throwing away your cigarettes on January 2 and buying another pack later that night.

In the same vein, you should only change one behaviour at a time. January 1 has a way of making people panic, thinking they should reassess their entire lives, which is counterproductive. If you resolve to get better marks and stop spending so much time on the Internet, for instance, start with one or the other, and concentrate on that until you feel you have it under control.

Lastly, don't beat yourself up, and don't be afraid to ask for help. If you're trying to get to the gym three days a week and today just feels like a lazy day, try calling a friend to see if they want to go with you. If not, and you end up sitting around reading so that you only go twice that week, that's okay too. You went twice more than you could have. Be forgiving and gentle with yourself.

It's important to make changes because you love yourself enough to do it, not because you hate yourself and wish you were different. Go to the gym and quit smoking because you're a good person who deserves to be healthy and happy, not because you hate your body and you wish you could drop some weight. Get better marks because you know you can, not because you think you might be stupid. Finally, spread the word: the APA suggests telling a few select people what you've resolved so they can provide moral support when the going gets tough.

Lady Gaiters' Kelly McInerney Chases Future

(Lennoxville) - When Kelly McInerney swings into the coffee shop to meet me, it's obvious she's been hurrying by the way she checks her watch, but she isn't winded. It's no wonder; the athlete has spent years in the hurry of her life, hunting the black-and-white grail always one step further, one pass away.

In September of 2012, her perpetual motion paid off in a way even she would never have guessed and sometimes still has trouble believing. The Bishop's University Lady Gaiters were playing the Concordia Stingers, who were stinging them 1-0 towards the end of the game. McInerney, the defender and sweeper for the Bishop's team, picked up the ball from Concordia to assist a forward, giving it a swift kick with her laces, when the wind caught it and it sailed much farther than she'd anticipated. This kick tied the game, giving the Lady Gaiters their second goal of the season - and first tied game - and McInerney her first Canadian Inter-University Sport goal.

McInerney told The Record that it was the "happiest thing" for her when she scored. She remembers being in shock and jumping up and down, shouting "I never score!" To this day, even though the game won her Provigo Robert LaFond Athlete of the Week and was written up in The Campus newspaper, she sometimes still feels shock and disbelief.

She's had plenty of time to hone her skills, though. McInerney has been playing soccer since the age of seven in Whitby, Ontario, when she and her parents decided she should take up a sport. The love of soccer ran in her family: her father and her aunt had both played in their youth. McInerney was to follow suit, adding volleyball and basketball to her skill set in high school.

She continued to chase both the soccer ball and her passion, following it to Bishop's University, where she enrolled at age 18 in the Sports Studies program.

Of the sport, McInerney says she loves the intensity and fast-paced timing. She loves the challenge of facing off against the province's best university players, especially when she can take them on. "I'm the rock they have to get by," she says, adding that this struggle is "an amazing feeling".

McInerney says that what's important is to remember that hard work will always pay off. She never mentions talent, preferring instead to emphasise that "hard work is the difference between a good player and a great player", and that heart can be a game-changer. Her coaches agree, calling her "the hardest worker on the field".

What will Kelly McInerney chase next? She tells us that after she gets her bachelor's degree in Sports Studies from Bishop's, she plans to get her trainer's certificate and spend some time as a personal trainer, after which she may become a soccer coach. She also mentioned a desire to manage athletics at a university. "Sports Studies is so open," she shares.

The future for McInerney isn't as black and white as the soccer ball she will continue to follow, but one thing is definite: she can't leave her sport behind. The field ahead of her is wide open. Chase on.