Muffins are very important to me. To many, they might just seem like a rotund little bundle of glutenous goodness. I first conceived of them like that as well. But as the years went by, they took on a life of their own. They began to take on connotations of comfort, suggestions of support, the imagery of my very own identity. This is before Courtyard ripped my heart out and served it for trivia night nibbles. Ever since 2019, muffins have taken on a new meaning for me: one of bitter betrayal. It’s not so much anger that fuels me, but confusion: why can’t they just get a microwave, why do they have to make it so hard. While it was once about the muffins, now it’s about the principle. And like a dog with a bone, I will not yield!
In other news, people who aren’t me wrote for this edition of Honi Soit. Fellow editor Samuel Garrett provided us with an instructive and highly entertaining guide to launching a campus coup (I’ll be sure to test it out soon). Ariana Haghighi, who wrote the cover article for my last editor-in-chief edition, knocks it out of the park again with her in depth exploration of the curious and cute behaviour of otters. Danny Cabubas takes us down the highway of Pixar’s Cars and does it at just the right speed. I somehow wrote a total of 5 articles for this edition, so thanks to me again I guess! Finally, Shania O’Brien, who’ll be editor-in-chief for next week, wrote a lengthy, darling, gorgeous, exquisite review of Netflix’s adaptation of Shadow and Bone with Vivienne Guo. I loved this edition. I loved writing it. I loved editing it. I loved laying it up and I loved laying it down. And I’m sure I’ll love reading it all in print! When I was paginating this week, I had a moment of absolute clarity: almost every article in this edition … spoke to me. Some louder than others, but they all meant something to me. And I love it when things mean something to me. Each and every day, Honi means more and more to me. I may grumble when my fellow editors decline to squeal in delight at something I find absolutely salacious, but every Sunday I come in and think to myself: “How is everyone so completely incredible?”
So, read this edition, take it in, absorb every morsel and don’t let it slip. Because there are some excellent thoughts knocking around on these pages (and some equally excellent art). To quote Gandalf: “I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay … small acts of kindness and love.”
A warm muffin may indeed be small, but many times, it’s kept the darkness at bay – for me, and for many others.
