All posts by Maya

About Maya

Maya is an Information staff member at Vaughan Public Libraries. If she isn't scratching her head over the next sentence in her writing, she's making art and stretching her creative legs. She's a huge film buff and loves weird, fantastical fiction.  |  Meet the team

Change (Uh-oh!): An Amateur Guide to Working Through the New in 2026

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Ah, a new year. A time filled with endless opportunity, change, and the squeaky-clean look of a fully blank slate. For some, this mental image might have filled you with the peace and zen you only come about once a year. But if you’re anything like me, those words might have tossed your brain into panic mode equal to SpongeBob when he forgets everything about acting like a fully-functioning sea sponge, including his name.

The good news is, you’re not alone in the way that change and uncertainty give you full-body chills and a hearty amount of ick. The other good news is that this blog post won’t be one of those generic, happy-go-lucky guides on how to start your New Year’s resolutions and make sure they stick (or so I hope). Though it is a little late being partway through the month already, and you might have fallen off the wagon, maybe with my help and a more unconventional journey through VPL’s stacks, you can get back on the bucking horse we call change (and sometimes resolutions) with a little more confidence and a little less SpongeBob screaming.

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VPL’s The Game Awards: A Semi-Unserious Year in Review

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© The Game Awards

It’s that time of the year. No, I don’t mean the holidays. Every storefront and radio channel in existence is full enough of cheer that I’m sure I don’t need to add some more jingling bells or flickering Hanukkah candles into the mix. Here at VPL, our end-of-year celebrations are always retrospective, looking back at all of the reads, good listers and naughty listers, that filled the past 12 months. But I wanted to put a little spin on tradition, as I am wont to do.

Besides the holidays, December brings my favorite online awards show to kick off the season of all the silly award show bingo games and “who got snubbed” arguments. The Game Awards are usually low-stakes for me because I never have a horse in the race, but this year with media and player darling Clair Obscur: Expedition 33  coming in like it’s Return of the King at the 2004 Oscars, it’s tough not to get swept up in the hype. So, I’m bringing the hype to VPL with our own 2025 Game Awards. I’ve polled our staff across the system to gather our top-tier games (board games included, because why not? The holidays are for tabletop gamers anyway) of 2025, where the awards are made up, but still very much deserved. If you’ve got your bingo sheet ready, let’s get into it!

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