Andria Parker

Andria Parker

Andria Parker is a twenty-something writer living with her feet in Kamloops and her head in the clouds. She spends way too much time in self-reflection and is fascinated with the effects technology and popular culture have on her soul-seeking generation. You can find her looking for answers on the daily in six-inch heels or on her fourth Americano writing for her lifestyle blog anchorsandfreedom.com.

PARKER: Bye bye Bruce, hello trailblazer

On Monday morning my Instagram feed exploded with the face (and breasts) of a woman I had never seen before. “Oh,” I thought to myself, “maybe Fifty Shades of Grey has a new lead actress.” Only seconds later did I realize that the woman gracing the cover of Vanity Fair and the feeds of tech-obsessed...

PARKER: Catching a wave of courage

As I type this, my hair is filled with salt and sand and I refuse to wash it. This isn’t entirely abnormal for me, seeing as I firmly believe in a don’t-wash-don’t-tell hair policy, but the fact that it tastes like the ocean and partially like blood is an indication I should veto that policy...

PARKER: A crash course in self-improvement

The second my husband slammed on his brakes I knew I was a goner. It was entirely my fault — I trust him to lead us through the streets on two wheels and never actually look for myself. If I had been paying attention instead of zoning out and testing my memory of Iggy Azalea...

PARKER: Finding community out of town

As far as any of my friends or colleagues are concerned, this long weekend I have been MIA. I haven’t returned texts, haven’t responded to invites, haven’t even emoji’d in response to Instagram comments — and that’s rare. You see, every May long weekend my church choir boards a chartered bus and heads deep into...

PARKER: The wonderful dad-bod and other signs we are not alone

When I first read Lena Dunham’s book “Not That Kind of Girl,” I felt like blessing it. Not because she said anything that made me contemplate life like a Joan Didion novel (or, like, the book of Psalms), but because she looked me in the eyeballs —verbally, obviously — and told me my mind was...

PARKER: Powering down in case of emergency

“I’ll message you when I’m out front so you can let me in,” was the last message I received from a girlfriend before the battery of my phone died. I knew it was dying before I had even left home, but I so strongly believed that 26 per cent would get me from A to...

PARKER: Ageing just makes you a better alumni

If there’s one place in Vancouver that good girls go to die it’s the Roxy Cabaret on Granville Street. Situated between a greasy late-night poutine stop and an 18+ arcade, the Roxy is a staple of the Granville strip — close enough to the centre of the city to be considered a hot spot, but...

PARKER: Hockey, hot heads and high fives

My next-door neighbor’s name is Ellen and she has lived in the same 550 square foot apartment since it was built in 1964. Ellen always has the news blasting at 7 a.m. and — if television volume is an indicator — is a huge fan of every sport played by humans. She has a wonderful...

PARKER: Education by Game of Thrones

In case you have been living under a rock — or are simply one of those people who doesn’t buy into the awesomeness of HBO due to the excessive boob shots and the brutal glorification of everything horrible — it’s Game of Thrones month. Of course, Game of Thrones month isn’t a real thing —...

PARKER: The meaning of Easter, according to Bieber

In my garbage can lies an empty two-pound bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs, three rose stems and a poorly folded, canary-yellow leaflet with the words “Eternal Salvation” sprawled across the top like a lazy sun-tanner in June. Despite the paraphernalia — collected both from Safeway and the street-corner evangelist outside of Safeway — I totally...

PARKER: Grieving a television show like an old friend

I suffered quite a large tragedy this week when one of my favorite shows, Hart of Dixie, aired its last episode ever. The show was — graciously — given a three-episode notice of the cancellation, so tying all the ends together was done, albeit quickly and ever-so cheesily. I’m not usually one to scoff at...

PARKER: Another Warhol on the wall

I was first introduced to Andy Warhol by a high school teacher who told us to bring in our replicated versions of the Campbell’s soup can print. I, being the talented visual artist I am, brought in a literal Campbell’s soup can. For laziness purposes I even left some of the beef broth in the...

PARKER: About that ‘about me’ page

One of the best parts about starting a blog is writing your “About Me” page. At first, the exercise seems kind of pointless — the Internet is looked at by a bazillion people each day and the chances you will magically stumble across my little corner of it as someone who doesn’t already know me...

PARKER: Turning off the spotlight

Normal people give themselves an entire year to get skinny for their wedding — naturally then, I only gave myself fifteen days. In truth, I didn’t even really bother trying. I did the Wild Rose cleanse for eight out of the prescribed 12 days and from the time Steve asked me to marry him last...

PARKER: Forgiving the world for llama drama

When I first sat down to write this column I spent twenty minutes scrolling through BuzzFeed articles that were completely irrelevant — articles about dogs, about biodegradable coffins, about how the art work on the covers of Sweet Valley High novels rivals pornography. I don’t know why I wasted twenty minutes of my life doing...