English 20 Recap

This year in English I personally really enjoyed a large chunk of the material we covered, some of my most favourite being 12 Angry Men, The Road, and my top A Mid Summer’s Night Dream. I really enjoyed the way we did A Mid Summer’s Night Dream because not only did we act out a majority of the play but we also watched the film to enhance our understanding. On top of all that, when Ms. Harstone would sum up what had just occurred in the scene, all of these factors gave me a great understanding of what happened in this Shakespearean play. I don’t think I have ever understood something I’ve done in school so clearly. There were a few things I didn’t particularly enjoy about this year, V for Vendetta, the Poetry Anthology, and the presenting we did this year. The part I didn’t enjoy the most was the Poetry Anthology because personally I don’t enjoy writing poetry and it isn’t one of my better skills, rhyming and making words sound elegant together isn’t the simplest thing for me to do. Something I would change from this year is doing V for Vendetta as our movie study, the film although the idea for the film and story was well thought out, I found it difficult to understand and follow because it has such a complex idea. Something that I thought worked well this year was the way we read 12 Angry Men, it really forced you to focus and get involved in the book and to add on to that the story was interesting and I enjoyed hearing all the men’s opinions towards the case.

Peru

My spring break was one of the most amazing times of my life, I was very fortunate to be allowed the experience to travel to Peru with the school International Travel Studies. There we did so many amazing things, including experiencing such a different culture and way of life. One of my favourite things we did while we were there is we went to a small town called Urubamba and worked at an elementary school, weeding and painting. It was very powerful to see some of the kids wearing the same clothes three days in a row, and some of them not having proper shoes or backpacks. Also some of the kids live two hours away from the school so their school day ends at lunch time to make sure the kids can get home. The children were absolutely adorable! The first day we were there they were all a bit shy but the next two days we were running around with them giving them piggy backs and just goofing off having a good time. It was a real realization moment for me when we bought them all toothbrushes because brushing our teeth is such a simple everyday necessity we don’t even question but they cannot even afford to have a toothbrush. It really showed me how privileged we are here to have all we have and how much we take advantage of in our everyday lives. It was a very eye opening experience that made me want to help more people in my life because I’m so privileged I believe it’s only right to help everywhere I can.  Another part of the trip I loved was getting to hike the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, an estimated eight hour hike to the Sun Gate where one can get the first look at Machu Picchu. The day we hiked the Inca Trail I wasn’t feeling very well but I refused to skip the hike, so about half way up I vomited and I felt a lot better after that! Which made the hike much more enjoyable. The views while going up the mountain were amazing and the ever so rewarding feeling you get from the Sun Gate is wonderful knowing your so close and your finally seeing it in real life not just a picture. There is a large set of rock stairs to the Sun Gate and all 18 of us held hand going up to finally see Machu Picchu. It was overall the most amazing trip and one of the most incredible things I’ve ever experienced.

Wendy's New Year's Resolution

“My New Year’s Resolution forever is tell John and Michael and anyone else all the stories I know about Neverland!” Wendy Moira Angela Darling told herself as the clock stroke midnight on New Year’s Eve. London was roaring in cheers waking her younger brothers from their sleep. “What’s going on, Wendy?” moaned Michael. “Nothing go back to sleep, you to John.” Wendy told them as Nana their canine nursemaid tucked them back into bed. The next evening Mr. and Mrs. Darling were heading out to a party leaving the children to be put to bed by Nana. Once their parents left Wendy sat the boys down and began telling one of her many tales of Peter Pan, Neverland, and the lost boys. “Then,” Wendy shouted, “Peter almost got droned by those mermaids in mermaid lagoon! But, Peter never let those stupid little mermaids stop him, spat in their faces and flew off.” John sprang up and screamed, “What about bloody old Captain Hook!” Michael began crying “I miss Peter, Wendy.” “Me to Michael, but…” she got cut off by the window swinging open and none other than Peter Pan flew into their room. “Oh, Peter! Didn’t forget your shadow again did you?” Wendy laughed. “I heard you made a, a New Year’s resolution, whatever those are, about those stories I love about me! I’m here to listen!” Peter smiled. Wendy told Peter and the boys another story when he leaped up and crowed, “Come back to Neverland Wendy! The lost boys really miss you, and I guess I do to.” Peter confessed. “Peter, I couldn’t, I must stay here with my family, I’m sorry” Wendy said with a heavy heart. “What’s it matter, your just a dumb girl who talks to much anyway!” he said his final goodbyes and flew to Neverland, the second star to the right and straight on till morning. The Darlings never saw Pan again, but little did they know he sat outside their window each night listening to the stories about him till she was old and had her own children. Wendy never broke her New Year’s resolution.

Blog #4

One of my favourite holiday memories is Christmas 2006, I was in third grade and my Uncle Craig, and cousin Kiera came down from Kamloops, also my older brother came from Victoria.  I don’t usually spend Christmas with family because my mom never celebrated Christmas until she married my dad so she wasn’t, and isn’t, the best at Christmas but she tires her best, which is all that matters. My dad’s family is spread out all over the place and it’s hard for everyone to get together so one or two is more than a treat. When I was 6 my cousin gave me a toy dog that growled every time you pulled the sock, I loved it because it sounded like a real dog and all I’ve ever wanted was a dog for as long as I can remember. My mom was never fond of dogs but my dad grew up with them so when he got his house he is in how he decided it was time. Christmas morning I ran up the stairs to see a cage under the tree and I screamed. I was always taught to wake everyone up before opening any presents so I ran all over the house waking everyone up so I could open this cage. Once everyone was upstairs I opened the cage and out popped the best Christmas present ever, my puppy. It took a day to figure out a name for him until the perfect name came up, Nacho, my dad called him a macho looking dog and I was like what about Nacho! It just stuck and here we are 8 years later calling that still sweet cute puppy Nacho. My Uncle Craig taught him his name and that he’s got to pee outside not in the living room and how to sit, the basics so when he left it would be smooth sailing for us. This was by far one of my favourite Christmas memories because I had family there and I got my favourite thing in the whole wide world, my eight year old puppy Nacho. 

#408 Dinosaurs

I absolutely love dinosaurs, they are the most amazing creatures to ever have walked this earth, in my opinion of course. I’ve loved them since I was a kid, I would watch a movie series called The Land Before Time over and over, like little kids do. In second grade my school went for an overnight trip to Drumheller’s Royal Terrell Museum. When I was seven I was extremely excited to go to the museum of dinosaurs, not knowing they were skeletons. I was absolutely terrified of skeletons. We got there and I had the shock of my life. I was dying inside, I was so scared of everything. After a few hours I got use to the fact I was surrounded by bones and had some fun, but when it came time to go to bed they turned off all the lights and made us sleep under the humongous tyrannosaurs-rex and triceratops skeletons. I cried till I fell asleep. It was a horrifying memory, hilarious now, but still scariest thing ever for a seven year old to experience. Then in fifth grade we went again, back to, in my eyes at the time, the scariest place on earth. I went on the trip, because all my friends were, so I thought to myself “you’ll have fun this time”, boy was I wrong. It was even worst this time around, I was scared the whole time, hiding behind my friends and crying all night long. I was so scared of skeletons, because they relate with death, and death scared me a lot when I was younger, because it was, well, death. Now that I’m grown up I don’t have the fear of skeletons anymore, because I guess I just grew out of it, and now the Royal Terrell Museum is one of my favourite places to go. 

Late Night Laughs

Through all the memories of laughing myself silly at 2 in the morning, my by far favourite memory would have to be when the girls and I were having a ladies night, last day of school. By about 1:00AM Savanna and Gabby were dead tired and complaining how they wanted to sleep, but me and Justice wouldn’t shut up. Eventually, we settled down and just went on our phones for about an hour, then all of a sudden Justice bursts out in laughter, hysterical laughter, it took her about ten minutes to calm down and actually show me what was so funny. When she showed me, she chucked her phone at me, and on the screen was a picture of headless Bambi and Thumper, wiggling his little tiny pink nose. Instantaneously I burst into tears, laughing so hard I cannot breathe and my face as red as a tomato. As I wipe away my tears of joyous laughter I notice me and Justice are laughing so loudly we woke up Gabby and Savanna and probably one of her brothers, but is was an amazing time. We laughed for the next almost two hours about this headless Bambi and the little wiggling nose of Thumper. Eventually I fell asleep from pure exhaustion of an entire school year finally being over. To this day the headless Bambi and Thumper are always making an appearance whenever we are together, and we laugh our faces off every single time. Memories like these people take with them through their life and cherish them, because they enjoy remembering how much fun they had, or how happy they were once. Memories like these are so important in your life, so we need to start making the most of every moment in our lives, make it all count, because in the end they might be the best memories you have from your youth life. 

Camping

My whole life all I can remember is camping, my dad would take me at least twice a year ever since I can remember. I have many memories and fun times that happened over the years it is difficult to choose just one experience. When I was about six in mid-April my dad took me and my two brothers camping at a little camp ground just outside of Calgary. My older brother was fourteen and my younger brother was four, the camp site is one of my favourite to think about because there was a freezing cold pool, I made like 10 bucks that day because my dad would give us a dollar for every minute we could stay in, it was really cold.  Also the camp site had a rocket ship shaped playground and it was the funniest thing I've even been on, I mean for a six year old. Anyways, my dad went to get firewood so we could toast marshmallows that night and my older brother thought it was be a splendid idea to have a pillow fight in our 23 foot RV. He was much stronger than both me and my little brother combined so we were having a blast when my younger brother thought it would be fun to put his head down on the table for a second and stuck his tongue out at my older brother, that’s when it happened. My older brother took it as a challenge, he smacked him on the head with the pillow and all I heard was a crunch, sobbing and hysterical laughter. I walk over to see my younger sobbing with a mouth full of blood and my older brother holding him laughing because my little brother, bit right though his tongue. Looking back on it, it is a hilarious memory, and one to keep forever. When my dad came back he was furious at my older brother but it all ended in god spirits because my younger brother apologized to my older brother for crying and getting him in trouble but my older brother apologized for making him bite his tongue. In the end it was a good bonding experience for all three of us because we didn't get to see each other much and we still don’t and that’s why it’s important to cherish the memories we mad when we were younger because you don’t know what the future holds for us and our loved ones.