Talia Devora

As a seasonal recreation provider and recreation and leisure services student at Seneca College in Canada, I have developed a strong belief in all of the mental, psychological, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual and physical health benefits of active and regular participation in recreational programming and activities.

My passion for creating sugar-free, ketogenic and guilt-free desserts increased during the later months of the pandemic, as I continue to lose weight and overcome sugar addiction. After gaining inspiration from my stepmother who loves to cook and bake, several instagram accounts that focus on health, nutrition and flexible dieting, and searching for several sugar-free recipes of some of my favourite desserts and undiscovered desserts that I want to try, I started to gain satisfaction in sugar-free baking. I have an in-home baking business that I am putting on hold for the remainder of the pandemic, and until I am ready to obtain my food handlers certification, so constantly being on the hunt for sugar-free, ketogenic and guilt-free recipes is helping me prepare and perfect my baking skills in the meantime. Although I am not practicing the full ketogenic diet, I believe that incorporating some keto-friendly desserts and snacks are making it more simple for me to overcome sugar addiction, which means that I don't have to depend on snacks and desserts that contain refined sugar like Oreos and Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream every night, and regret having dessert after! I can enjoy dessert while managing to lose weight, look after my health and at the same time, be happy!

When I was in the 10th grade, I took a photography class at my high school in North York, Ontario. After discovering that one of my teachers was a passionate photographer, I decided to pursue photography, not thinking that it would develop into such a passion that I developed as an adult. I thought I was just going to pursue it for the sake of trying something new, because I was keen on exploring a new form of visual arts. At first, the photgraphy class was not stimulating enough and less engaging, until I got the opportunity to do class projects later on in the course. I enjoyed creating my own pictogram, which was my first assignment that I ended up completing successfully.

Growing up, I never had one length or style that I would keep. My mom always favoured my mid-back length, golden wavy hair, because it looked more feminine and modern in her eyes. On the contrary, my dad was not as picky about hair length or style, unless it was outrageous, inappropriate or immodest. Whether I had straight chin length hair or wavy hair that touched the bottom of my shoulders, he did not care as much as my mom did. As a little girl, my mom or the nanny would always put my hair up in pigtails, half-ponytails, ponytails or I would wear it completely down if I was too lazy to put it up or if my mom wanted to do my hair for me one Sunday morning. My mom never allowed me to have bangs, because she assumed that curly-haired people would not look appealing in bangs, even though I have always been attracted to bangs on both straight-haired and curly-haired people. The odd time, I would get my hair highlighted and colored during my childhood and adolescence. My dad did not like that, but my mom did not care if my hair was a slightly colored or highlighted. There was just something about bangs that caught my eye: that they looked mature, attractive, doll-like and at the same time youthful and modest. Sometimes, I felt too young and plain without bangs, but I couldn't be free to simply ask the hairdresser to give me bangs with my mom waiting for me in the waiting area at the hair stylist's.

Some Interesting Facts about Music Who is a music lover? Who regularly uses music to cope with stressful people and situations? Who makes and/or listens to music? If you answer yes to some or all of these questions, this will be a perfect blog for you to read! Many people can never go without a pair of headphones and some songs to get grooving to, and I am definitely one of them! Some people make music for a living, despite their circumstances or public crisises such as the COVID19 pandemic that the whole world is grappling with.

In the bright emerald forest, a woman with shiny black tresses and a glitter magenta sari watched the waves of the arctic blue basin. She heard the roaring wind, the melodic bluebirds and the orange fairies singing the July song. The raisin colored bullfrog posed on her cozy lime lilypad, as she listen to the sound of the violet minnows blowing bubbles. The Indian woman grabbed her orange bamboo flute, as she smelled the sweet scent of geranium mist.