Thud thud/But nothing is there/No one is here/Why can’t I move/I am in slow motion.
Walls need friends too
“Life was quite lonely at first as a wall. Sure, I was accompanied by the specks of dust that hung tightly onto the little mishaps in the paint job, but it wasn't much. They never said anything to me, only focused on tightly holding onto me so that they wouldn't fall down to the floor. I can't quite tell how long I lived like this, nor do I really want to remember it in the first place. You know how awfully lonely being lonely can get, don't you?”
Chief Editor’s Note: "Live, Laugh, BTSB”
How to keep up a team spirit during a pandemic? This editorial won’t give you a definite answer, but it will give you a peek into how BTSB has managed to keep the publication and community alive these past year and a half.
Autumn has fallen again
Do you know the feeling when everything is just so much, and you don’t quite know what to do or where to go to alleviate that feeling? That has been me for a while. The feeling comes and goes, quite like autumn and spring, sometimes just crushing on you like the heavy rains of October and then suddenly vanishing away, much like spring here in Finland comes and banishes winter in the span of two weeks.
The Ancient Oaks
“I can’t quite place what it is about autumn that just gets to me every year. The falling leaves, the pumpkin spiced everything, or just the way nature calms down for the winter.”
Students, Dilemmas, and Emmas
What’s the connection between students and dilemmas? Well, our very own Emmas of course!
WHAT (NOT) TO DO: A New Student’s Handbook (kinda)
Calling all the freshers! You who’d rather read the quick-start guide than scramble through the 500-page instructions manual, this is the article for all your must-know university life hacks.
Toxic Positivity
Positivity can turn toxic very, very fast. Sooner than you’d think. At first, it’s the “everything happens for a reason”, then it’s the “others have it much worse off than I do” and eventually the “let’s not think about that, it doesn’t matter, it’s all in my head, I’m fine”.
Youth
Struggling, seeking, sorting, salvaging:
No Saint to Save—
Building, breaking, blaming, bandaging:
No Bliss to Miss—
That I’ll get better, that you’ll get better,
That we’ll really try this time and stomp down rain-slicked streets like we own them
Instead of scurrying through desolate alleyways like frightened children
Hopelessly lost and without umbrellas, nails bitten, and nerves shot
Our way back home lost the second we stepped out of the door