Dear Reader,

The new year often begins for many with resolutions, as local gyms see an influx in memberships, and screen time limits are put in place. We hit the ground running, determined to better ourselves, but sooner or later, many of us completely give up. 

Yet it is easy to feel like we are the only ones failing at our resolutions when seeing everyone’s social media highlight reels. However, according to the Associated Press, studies have shown that up to 70 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions give up within months. 

As such, January typically goes like this: We expend all our energy on self-improvement and lifestyle changes, and then we abruptly cease our efforts. This is the heart behind this issue’s theme, “supernova.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a supernova is “a catastrophic explosion of a star, which results in a sudden and enormous temporary increase in the star's brightness, disperses all or much of its material, and produces an intense burst of neutrinos, gamma rays, and other radiation.” In short, a supernova is the explosive death of a star. While seemingly counterintuitive, the Mars’ Hill team chose this theme for the first issue of 2026 because a supernova expels elements that form stars, planets and living organisms. 

Staff writer Adriana Feria-Estrada returns from the Laurentian Leadership Centre and offers her recommendations for incoming students in her starter kit article, while staff writer Emma Helgason challenges us to reflect on surviving, showing up and shifting directions in her article, “Embrace Change This Semester.” 

In this issue’s feature, Mars’ Hill commemorates Sessional Assistant Professor of History Steven Hicks as he prepares to retire after 36 years of teaching, and contributor of the issue Emma McFarland describes lessons she has learned from life in the Yukon. 

I hope that as you read this issue of Mars’ Hill, you are reminded that you can always start over. Forgetting to read your daily Bible plan does not mean your prior progress was pointless, just like getting a poor grade does not inevitably mean you will fail the course. A supernova is complex, colourful and constantly changing. Yes, a supernova finds a way to begin again, just like you. 

Sincerely,
Sadie McDonald