This year we decided to write our own birthday posts, so you guys get to hear Perrye #Unfiltered this month. Before she starts, though, I want to take a moment and give Perrye her flowers.
One of the biggest joys in my life in the past couple of years has been becoming friends with Perrye. I don’t think that either of us expected a DM intending to find someone to practice French with would turn out to be all of this, mainly because we haven’t even practiced French Once, lmao.
Working hand-in-hand over the past year has only further cemented my admiration and respect for her. She is genuinely one of the most intelligent and talented people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Thanks to her (and her patience, lol), we have been able to pull off the mentorship and work towards a better and bigger future for this program. I, and the rest of hockey, are incredibly fortunate to have her in this space.
Ms. Perrye, I hope this new year brings you joy and love (and rest!!) in your life. I cannot wait to see the fruits of your labor finally come to be, and I’m deeply honored to get a chance to see what’s next to you. Love you, friend! Happy Birthday!!!
Ohlala, what a year!
I’m not gonna lie; I dreaded writing this article, but not because I feel uncomfortable about turning older. I honestly enjoyed it, but more because I didn’t know where to start with my reflection about the past birth year and how I envision my next solar return.
The little setback in May tainted how I felt overall about the past year. Being in and out of emergency rooms was not how I planned my spring, but as with most things in life, we move. I’m genuinely thankful to be alive now that I’m on the other side of that experience (internally bleeding for more than 36 hours, do not recommend, haha), and it’s just another reminder of how lucky I am to have the people I have in my life. The same people who, through the ups and downs of life, made different moments of my year a highlight.
However, it was not until this week that everything clicked regarding what I wish for next.
While out, one of my friends was retelling a story and said “À force de courir après le fun, il s’est caché!” (translate as: By running after the fun, it hid!)
And at that moment, I realized I wanted to stop running after the fun. Maybe it’s the Toronto effect of constantly trying to make your life enjoyable. Still, most of the fantastic and fun things that happened in the past year were moments or events that unexpectedly showed up (except Beyoncé - I was ready to see her my whole life, so it doesn’t count, haha). I want to live even more in the moment and try new things —more decisions taken on a whim and less overthinking in attempting to predict the next move.
This year is an excellent year to take more risks (some of them calculated and others not) in different spheres of my life and deepen my faith in myself.
Barre
Recently, it was my first anniversary of starting barre as a workout. I’ve been praising my love of Barre3 to whoever wants to hear it, and I want to challenge myself even more when returning to the studio this fall. I’m also grateful for this space because it allowed me to make new friends when I least expected.
Culture Babe 4 ever
Attending The National Ballet of Canada shows & Musicals
It’s no secret that I love arts and culture in many forms! Every year, I try to develop a new interest in a new art form, and this year, I got to experience two of them. Firstly, I grew up doing ballet but had to stop due to unfortunate circumstances. I was bitter about stopping attending classes and learning the basics for a long time. It never crossed my mind until last March that it was possible to reignite my love for that form of dance by being on the other side of the stage. Watching professionals dancing just made me appreciate ballet even more.
As for musicals, although Hairspray (2007 film) is one of my favourite movies, I only had the opportunity to attend a live musical (& Juliet - it was terrific!) until last August, and I had a blast. Afterward, I decided to attend more shows, and I was not once disappointed! Shout-out to the theatre kids; y’all work hard to give us a show!!
Music/Concerts
Can you believe I saw artists such as Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Demi Lovato, Louane, and more live?? These artists’ works were the soundtrack of my life at one point. I will never take those experiences for granted. However, the real highlight is the opportunities to discover new artists and attend their shows. Although I will forever be a pop girlie at heart, it’s crucial for me to stay musically curious, so I loved that I could refine my music library in the past year.
TV Shows
Since the current SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes are happening, I don’t want to discuss too much my media consumption over the past year as an act of solidarity, but yeah, it’s still been an essential part of my life. I will say giving myself a challenge of only consuming shows I never watched before for 2023 sometimes tend to be harder than I expected, even with my immense backlog list. Anyway, we’ll revisit this in due time!
In the following year, I want to…
I want to hone my culinary skills and try new restaurants. If it didn’t take me three hours to make a 20-minute recipe, I think you would have seen me participate in some competitive cooking shows, but hélas.
To travel - I recently spent 72 hours in Boston visiting family, which made me more hype about planning my next international destination.
Work on my sewing skills.
Try to find what I’m passionate about - I could talk about this in depth since it’s been a recurring topic in my circles, but yeah, I’m due to have an honest conversation with myself about what’s to come post-academia.
Hockey Things
I know I already wrote a lot, but at the end of the day, we’re still a hockey newsletter. I will be honest, I tuned out over the past few months as I was recovering from my surgery, but as usual, I have some thoughts, so let’s get into it.
The current fanbase is dragging the sport down.
I’m keeping it light and cute because it’s still my birthday issue. Still, I will eventually sit down and write about how the racial undertones some people bring into multiple situations are disgusting to witness. Even the most benign situations implicating a racialized person turn into the most random opportunity to be a racist. One thing about some people in this fandom is that they’re gonna show their true colours in the end. It kills the fun and will be this sport’s biggest downfall as they will try to grow the game beyond the current white demographic.
Not everything deserves a think piece or a stat (looking at stan accounts!)
You might say that can apply to many things in life, but I feel we don’t say it enough in this sport. Between my campaign to bring back shame and practicing the art of knowing when to shut up, I hope that people become more mindful about if they need to speak in every situation and, if they do, how. Also, certain accounts on the internet post the most random stats that nobody asked for and mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Because you know what it never was? That serious!
In the following year, I want to…
Attend the 2023 Heritage Classic - I want to attend a Battle of Alberta game once. I don’t even know what the Flames will look like on the ice in the upcoming season, but if it’s not now, when??
Redefine my definition of joy for this sport - Over the past year, I experienced multiple situations that made me feel disrespected and question my place in this space. It’s easy to lose sight of what makes hockey fun with the current state of the sport and the fact that I’ve been actively working in this space for almost two years. I want to continue bringing more projects to life, but I need to ensure it’s never at the expense of myself and what makes me happy.
If you made it to the end, thank you for reading all of it (it was long, I know) and thank you so much for the birthday wishes! I truly appreciate and am grateful for this THWL community in my life.
With Love
Perrye (& Gaby)
Happy Birthday, Perrye!