Magazine writing isn't as easy as it seems

Since it's the end of the year, I thought I'd stop nagging everyone about health and wellness and instead share with you some of the things I've done this semester. One thing I'm particularly proud of is my magazine article, "A Place to Call His Own". Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed, after some difficultly, writing it.

After losing his job two-years ago, Sean Keenahan felt lost. He copes with an intellectual disability and without the stability of his job he was struggling to see where he fit in. He knew he needed something to call his own, somewhere he could feel like he belonged.

So Keenahan decided to renew his lifelong love of sport by joining the Uptown Rollers, a Special Olympics 5-pin bowling team that practices at Academy Lanes

. Now two years later, he’s got a spot on this year’s provincial team and the excitement of an upcoming wedding to a teammate.

Growing up the friendly 43-year-old lived and breathed sports. From baseball to bowling, Keenahan enjoyed being part of a team and building friendships with his teammates.

“I like to play as much sports as possible,” said Keenahan, who reaches six feet tall and is built like a solid athlete. “I like the team atmosphere and the way we cheer on each other.”

The Special Olympics have been helping Manitobans with a wide range of intellectual disabilities for 30 years. It reaches across the province from border to border and goes as far north as Thompson. The goal is to create a community where its athletes feel a sense of belonging and build confidence so they can reach their personal potential through sport.

After only 2 years bowling at Academy Lanes, Keenahan made his way onto the provincial 5-pin bowling team for the 2010 Manitoba Winter Games in Portage la Prairie.

In order for athletes to participate in this year’s winter games they must compete in a regional tournament. Keenahan didn’t expect to compete and was caught off guard when his head coach, Yiu Lee, entered him in the event. Unlike previous regionals where any athlete over the age of 18 who met the competition criteria could sign up, they are now chosen and mentored by their head coach.

“Sean is a natural athlete,” said Lee, who’s been the Uptown Roller’s head coach since 2007. “He’s a excellent bowler with quite a high average.”

Going into regionals, Keenahan’s bowling average was 179, but he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He had to compete against athletes from Winnipeg’s seven other Special Olympics bowling teams and place in the top three in order to make the team.

At regionals, Keenahan didn’t think he was doing very well. After checking the scoreboard near the end of his second frame he saw that he was behind many of the other players. He resigned himself to the fact he wouldn’t get to this year’s winter games, but was happy he made it to regionals. But another athlete came up to him and said he had made the team. Still Keenahan was doubtful when he heard the news.

“Really? Uptown made it second? Really?” he reminisced.

But it didn’t take long for his shock to pass and the good news to sink in.

“I’m like, ‘oh my gosh, we’re one of the top teams.’ I was really thrilled about that,” he said.

While Keenahan was surprised how well he did, his teammate, Nancy Hamilton, back at Academy Lanes had no doubt his talent and perseverance would pay off.

“I’m really happy for Sean, because he’s been working really hard,” said Hamilton, a long-time Special Olympics bowler. “I’m going to cheer for Sean because I know he can do it.”

Another person he can count to cheer him on is teammate and finance Annette Cresswell. She and Keenahan met in 2008 at a Valentine’s Day function at Coronation Lanes just after he joined the program.

“I have a disability and I wanted to meet people like me,” said 46-year-old Cresswell, lightly squeezing Keenahan as she looks up at him with wide eyes.

After dating a year, Keenahan popped the question and the pair will tie the knot in 2011. While it may be hard for them to articulate their feelings for one another Keenahan gazing at Cresswell taking her turn to bowl says it all.

Two yeas ago it may have hard for Keenahan to see how much he had to look forward to, but now he’s got a team and a fiancé who are behind him every step of the way.

“Going into provincials,” he said, “I’m hoping to do my best and do what I can for this team and for the bowling alley.”

march 25

Is there something you’re so afraid of that just the thought of it makes you cringe, shake your head in disgust and then cover in eyes?

I’m terrified of snakes and spiders. I'm also absolutely terrified of someone opening the door while I'm flying on a plane. I realize that the former are fears are extremely common among people, but there is something about the slithering and the creeping and the crawling that curls my skin like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Over the years, I’ve talked to people about what they’re petrified of, and I find myself surprised at the number of people who have “phobias” and what they are. Some are afraid of the sound balloons popping and I even know a girl who is terrified of the word coupon - what?

Phobias can be nothing more than shying away from whatever it is your afraid of. But if it takes over your life it's become a mental health issue that needs to be addressed in order to stay healthy.

The snow is gone, but is it too early to celebrate?

This weekend was GORGEOUS and the week is shaping up to be much of the same. On Saturday the temperature reached a snow melting ten degrees, plus ten! Most of the snow around the city and all the snow in my backyard is gone, really gone, and it’s only mid March. As you can imagine, I’m really happy about this. So happy in fact that getting into a fight with my boyfriend and having difficulties with the ENG cameras were only minor inconveniences. This lead me to wonder, are people happier when it’s nice outside? Of course they seem like they are, but are they?

I mean I’m happy in the winter when we set our clocks back an hour and not when I lose an hour when the clocks move ahead. But, this doesn’t last long because there is less daylight, and when it gets dark outside I’m less motivated to do, well, anything. I’m much happier, however, when it’s warmer and a lot less likely to let anything get me down.

Like the other day I was talking to my grandma and we were talking like we always do about the weather. She said to me, “I won’t be surprised if we get a snow storm before it gets too nice.” “Really, grandma,” I said. “Even with all this El Nino stuff?” Oh course, she went on to say. This made me feel a small tinge of apprehension. Yuck, I didn’t want winter to come again after it just went down the drain I just started to feel a lot better about, well, everything.

I wanted to find out just how much the weather affects emotional health, so with the help of Google Scholar, I found an academic paper on the winter blues called Winter Blues: A SAD Stock Market Cycle. And you’ll never guess what the first few lines of the paper say. It says “Depression has been linked to seasonal affective disorder, (that’s what SAD stands for) a condition that affects many people during the seasons of relatively fewer hours of daylight.” Wow, this is actually a disorder. Then I started to wonder, what can be done about this? Move somewhere warm 12 months a year; that’s not going to happen anytime soon. So then what? What can we do to help alleviate seasonal affective disorder?

Olympics bring Canadians together like never before

The 2010 Winter Olympics have come to an end. After 17 days of events, Canada truly owned the podium winning a record breaking 14 gold medals at home creating a sense of community among a nation that has struggled to feel united. One question that seems to be on the mind of many is, does Canada feel more united because of the games? Personally, as someone who watched ridiculous amounts of Olympic coverage, I feel that Canadians are more connected after these last 17 days because of the sense of pride we feel towards our athletes regardless of winning a gold medal or any medal at all. I am amazed that a sporting event can bring a country together.

As a Canadian I feel like it's always been a struggle to unite the country because of the enourmous geographic distance between us as well as a lack of identity among us. But somehow sport seems to bridge the gap between people who have little in common. As Canadians around the country and the world sat in front of their TVs or stood in the stands in Vancouver, I believe we felt like we where achieveing a common goal; We wanted our athletes to do the best they could and we wanted the rest of the world to experience the amazing and wonderful things that we love about our country.

I wonder would it feel different if the Olympics were held in a different country? Did having the games at home create a magnitude of feeling that just cannot be replicated any where else?