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The interior of a living room with Santa bears on display next to a radio and bulky speakers on an antique coffee table. There is also a Pointesettia plant, and tropical art on display on peach-pink painted walls.
5 min 0 446

A summer Christmas in Costa Rica

Peak Web January 5, 2026

By: Maya Barillas Mohan, Staff Writer “Pura vida” is the unofficial national motto of laid-back, cloudless Costa Rica. It is the one-size-fits-all response to life’s greatest satisfactions: good food, weather, and company. Because Costa Rica is 10 degrees from the equator, it gets 12 hours of daylight starting just after 5:00 a.m. Locals wake up with the sun and have lengthy coffee breaks. “Puntualidad” is not a high-mileage word in this language.  The Costa Rica I visited annually since I was small was detached from the hubbub in the capital, and I was allowed to teeter across the streets unsupervised…

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A drawing of a person wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt. On the arm, they are wearing a continuous glucose monitor, a patch on the bicep. On their waistband, a small insulin pump is attached and tubing can be seen going under the shirt.
8 min 0 220

Life with type 1 diabetes

Peak Web December 18, 2025

By: Mason Mattu, Section Editor  In September 2019, I lay in a hospital bed at BC Children’s Hospital. A nurse hovered over me, poking my finger with a device I had never seen before. I winced. What was going on?…

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An illustration of a calendar in a planner open to September 2025. A phone is resting on top of the calendar open to the photo app with the date “January 2019” written.
8 min 0 86

A letter to first-year students, from a nearly graduated one

Peak Web November 8, 2025

By: Petra Chase, Features Editor Dear first-year students, You might have a concept of what you want your time at SFU to look like, or maybe you have no idea. Maybe you have friends by your side, or a sibling…

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A person face down on a desk fallen asleep with notes scattered all across the desk
4 min 0 1935

My perfectionism nearly ruined me

Features February 18, 2022

by Maya Beninteso, Peak Associate You knew my type in high school. I always sat in the front row and was a part of too many student councils and clubs to remember. I was a multi-sport athlete. I was the…

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A dimly lit room with a bed and a book open on top of the bed. The only source of light is coming from a small lamp on a bedside table.
6 min 0 2580

Unlearning shame around sex and pleasure

Peak Web February 15, 2022

By: Hannah Kazemi, SFU Student From a very young age, I could name all parts of the reproductive systems, explain how pregnancy happens, and tell you which phase of the menstrual cycle is best for conceiving. I was raised in…

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A girl with long black hair is sitting at a wooden desk writing on a piece of paper with a pencil. She is wearing a wrist-brace on her wrist while writing.
5 min 0 2342

Accepting my disability has been an empowering experience

Peak Web January 16, 2022

By: Michelle Young, Copy Editor Writing this piece from my desk, a wrist brace hugs my forearm. My elbows are at a 90° angle, and I’m trying to remember to stretch my fingers every once in a while. Among many…

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7 min 0 1342

How Dungeons and Dragons got me through 2020

EIC February 20, 2021

Written by: Alex Masse, Staff Writer Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is no stranger to popular culture, especially following a renaissance of sorts in the 2010s. Shows like Stranger Things referenced it eagerly, and actual play series like The Adventure Zone…

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7 min 1 2791

Getting comfortable with sex and intimacy

EIC February 13, 2021

Written by: Kelly Chia My journey to becoming comfortable with sex has been a bit . . . tenuous, to say the least. For a long time, I thought I didn’t have to think about sex. Fresh out of high…

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5 min 2 1650

Toxicity in online yoga communities and how my Master’s degree helped me break free

EIC February 6, 2021

Written by: Charlotte Gravert, SFU Student I vividly remember the first time I went to a yoga class — the kind of yoga that contemporary pop culture treats as the image of youth, answer to good health, and the quick…

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6 min 0 2395

How TikTok helped me come to terms with my sexuality

EIC January 16, 2021

By Dev Petrovic, Staff Writer Growing up, sexuality was not a popular topic of discussion — I was rarely exposed to queer history, events, or content unless I personally sought it now. For this reason, from a young age, I’ve…

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