Blog #7- A Year in Review

Thinking back to the beginning of the year, we have accomplished and learned some amazing things in this course. This year in English, my favourite part by far would have to be the amazing movies that we watched. Not only were they interesting to watch with the phenomenal acting but they also taught us many valuable lessons that we could not have otherwise learnt on our own. I would have to say that my favourite movie was V for Vendetta. With the intriguing story line and V’s ability to challenge authority to achieve his ideal, it kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Definitely a movie that you have to watch more than once. However, there were some things that I did not enjoy- especially the seven essays we had to write based on these movies. At the best of times it was challenging and a real grind. While it cannot be avoided, I am desperately waiting until the day when I no longer have to write them.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Poetry Anthology project as it was an opportunity to express our creative side which often doesn’t happen in high school as our creativity starts to fade and be begin to become one in the same. The assembling of my project was almost painful but worth it. I found it very interesting looking at everyone’s presentation afterword and seeing a different side of my classmates that we don’t get to see. I also enjoyed most of the novels we read this year, and all were very appealing except the Road; it gave me the chills and was almost too realistic for my liking. Shakespeare was surprisingly less painful than expected and I actually enjoyed a Midnights Summer’s Dream. It was witty and really pulled the reader in. Looking back at this past year, I definitely learned some very valuable lessons and skills that will stay with me for a very long time.

You could say I’m very glad this is our last blog of my grade eleven career!

Blog #6- Point du Hoc

This past spring break, I had the privilege to travel with ITS to Europe. Overall, this was one of my favorite spring breaks I have ever had. Perhaps one of  my favorite experiences of this trip would have to be seeing the beaches of the D-Day invasion. It was inspiring to see how  how Canada was able to conquer such a landscape. Definitely a defining moment for Canada. In particular, I found the American beaches (Utah and Omaha) especially interesting. Our guide which we had took us through the American cemetery and offered unbelievable facts. The 9,000 headstones seemed to go on forever and was almost overwhelming. Afterwards we then took the bus to Point du Hoc which was by far the most interesting part even though it was pouring rain and windy. Apparently, a few hours prior to the D-Day invasion, the American Rangers were sent to one of the beaches with a large protruding bluff. Their task? To scale the daunting 100 foot cliff and take out the huge German artillery which could destroy the large majority of the D-Day landing crafts which were scheduled to land in the following hours. So, in the early morning the rangers landed on the beaches and shot rocket-propelled grappling hooks into the cliff and began their accent up rope ladders which were attached to the hooks. The Germans were not expecting this and were overwhelmed when one hundred American soldiers jumped over the edge of the cliff causing them to retreat and hide inside the case mates. The Americans were told to radio the bomb squad which had orders to bomb the tank if the Rangers attempt had been unsuccessful. To their surprise, the radios no longer worked as they had became waterlogged. In a frantic attempt to warn the bombers not to attack, they took an American flag and hung it off the side of the cliff. What was most shocking to me was that not only did these soldiers climb up a 100 foot cliff on a rope ladder but they successfully took out the heavy German artillery and their signal actually worked. I had no idea that the Rangers played such an large role in making the D-Day invasions a success. Standing on top of Point du Hoc was one of the most memorable moments and for sure one of my favorite experiences this past spring break. 

Taken by Rachel McDougall

New Year's Resolutions

 “New Year New Me” is a phrase that is commonly used during the first couple of weeks of the New Year. However, is this true? Many people try to instantly change the way they do things such as becoming healthier, saving money and being kinder by setting Resolutions. The thing that many people forget is that nothing changes unless you do and often people’s actions aren't constant with their words which results in the failure of their resolutions. I personally think New Year’s Resolutions are not as important as personal goals. Every year, people resolve to “work out more”, “eat better”, “be more honest”, “save money” and so on. Usually, the majority of people have already broken them by the end of January. People who are trying to make changes in their life shouldn't need a new year to do so. At any point in time, you should be able to change your actions to obtain the result you desire such as working out more consistently, or choosing not to buy new clothes. This is why personal goals on the other hand are very important and more effective then resolutions. These goals are something that should be achievable and measurable within a few months. Once individuals have reached their goal, they feel more motivated to continue to reach their next goal, opposed to New Year’s resolutions which they forget about shortly after. Having many smaller personal goals through the year ensures personal growth. At the end of the year, instead of feeling guilty that you didn't follow through with your resolutions, you will be able to see what you achieved and how much you changed by looking at your goals. The start of a new calendar year isn't a reason to lie to yourself by listing resolutions that you will not complete. Therefore it is important to set measurable goals that will help you achieve change and personal growth.

Blog #4 - Christmas Memories

My favourite Christmas memory would have to be the ride home from my grandparents house on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, my entire family would gather at my grandparents house to have a Christmas dinner together and celebrate by exchanging presents and laughter. However I was so impatient to get home and go to sleep so that Santa would come with presents that I always rushed my parents. When it was finally time to leave, which always seemed like ages, I would run out the front door and straight into the car. On the way home my parents would roll down the windows and ask “Can you hear that? It’s Jingle Bells from Santa’s sleigh!” My sister and I would first closely listen and then exclaim that we could hear a faint sound even though we couldn’t and we would scan the skies in search of the reindeer. From the back seat we would squeal and scream for my dad to drive faster so we would be get home before Santa got there. When we got home my sister and I would dash into the house and put out the milk and cookies by the fireplace, so excited that we spilled the milk everywhere. We also would put out carrots and water for the reindeer in case they needed a snack. We then would run to our bedrooms and dive into bed all before my parents had even got inside. Falling asleep was next to impossible on Christmas Eve and that Christmas Eve was no exception. Waking up the next morning was such a surprise because I had not even remembered falling asleep. I dashed into my sister’s room and she was already wide awake. I looked at her alarm clock which read 6:30am. Together we ran into my parent’s room and jumped on their bed until they acknowledged the fact that they had to wake up. What a surprise we had when we ran downstairs to find all the presents that Santa had left us. 

#474 When someone who doesn't like pizza crust gives you their pizza crust

I am that person. The one who gives away my pizza crusts.

I am not sure what it is, but I can never bring myself to eat the crust.

I do not know if it’s the texture or the taste but the crust is by far the worst part. Not only does it fill you up very fast, it’s the toughest part of the whole pizza and is sure to give your jaw a workout.

Quite possibly the reason why I refuse to eat the crust is a result of a scarring childhood experience. It all started when I attended my friend’s 10^th birthday party. In attendance were five of my closest friends who I had gone to school with since Kindergarten. For dinner we ate ourselves silly with pizza. Noticing all the pizza crusts left, we decided to have a contest to see who could eat the most crusts. I was determined to win. Crust after crust we continued eating until we could no longer eat and our tummies ached. My friend won with 12 crusts and I ate 10. This with the pizza I had previously eaten was too much and I threw up everything. This caused two of the other girls to follow in suit. First in shock everyone was silent and then allow of a sudden a burst of laughter filled the room. It was definitely a birthday to remember and to this day I refuse to eat pizza crusts.

However, there isn't a better feeling giving away your pizza crust to another person and watching their satisfaction. It often makes me question however what they find so enjoyable.

I’d rather give my crust away anyways because I don’t get full as fast which means I can eat more of the best part: the actual pizza.

AWESOME 

Everything's Funny After Midnight

Last year, my club basketball team travelled to Medicine Hat for a tournament which we finished in 2^nd so it was a very successful and fun tournament. Fun because of the bonding that went on the second night of the tournament. The three hotel rooms which myself and 11 other team mates were staying in were all connected by adjoining doors that opened into each of the rooms. Our coach had told us no shenanigans and that light out by 10:30 pm or we would be benched. So of course we were in bed and trying to sleep by 10:29pm. I remember waking up to this shriek of laughter and rolling over to look at the alarm clock which read “12:30”. I laid in bed staring at the ceiling for a second thinking that it was just in my dream until I heard another just like it. At the same time everyone in my room sat up in bed and turned on the lights. The laughter continued and we followed it into the middle room where we saw the girls from the far room join us and the others in the middle room. We turned on the lights to find our teammate on the floor laughing uncontrollably. Everyone was confused until we realized that the teammate that she was sharing a bed with had rolled over and pushed her out of the bed. All at once the room was flooded with shrills of laughter followed by girls clutching their stomachs from laughing so hard and falling over on the floor. Everything we did after that was hilarious and it’s safe to say that no one got any sleep that night. At 3:30am when there was a loud pounding on the door, we froze in terror glancing back and forth at each other and then burst out into another uncontrollable wave of laughter. After a few seconds, one brave girl answered the door to see our grumpy coach at the door to tell us that there was a noise complaint about the sound coming from our room. This made everyone laugh harder and before long we even had our grumpy coach laughing. 

Camping Memory

My favourite camping trip would have to be two summers ago when my parents, best friend and I packed up our trailer and traveled to Oregon where we spent 25 days camping along the coast. Along the way we stopped at many tourists’ destinations such as the Sea Lions Cave, Harris Beach, Crater Lake and the Oregon Caves. At night we found ourselves alongside the campfire sharing laughs and s’mores and enjoying each other’s company. My favourite memory during this trip would have to be going sandboarding. One part of Oregon is covered in sand dunes and the locals started the sport of sandboarding. Essentially sandboarding is like snowboarding except it is on sand, you don’t wear boots and after each run you have to wax your board otherwise you won’t slide down the hill. The first few runs I was hesitant as it took a lot of balance and I often took small tumbles but I eventually got the hang of it and was flying down the bunny hill in no time. Together, my friend Mackenzie and I spent nearly two hours climbing up the hill and riding back down. Feeling gutsy we decided to try the biggest hill. The first run we carefully made our way down the hill with success. Feeling even more confident I was determined to conquer the biggest hill at full speed. The first half of the run was successful and then I met my match when I hit a hidden rock in the sand. The board got caught up on the rock and my body proceeded to continue full speed and I somersaulted twice before landing head and face first deep in the sand. Wipe out. I remember thinking that since I was in the sand I may as well build a sand castle and then the next thing I knew there were 4 strangers digging me out of the sand and making sure I was okay and I could see my mom and friend barreling down the hill behind them. After I was brushed off, had spit out the mouth full of sand that had accumulated in my mouth and had gotten reoriented, me and all the other sand boarders on the hill couldn't help but fall over laughing at my graceful wipe out. Fortunately I walked away with only a little sand burn a minor headache and few pockets full of sand. Even though at the time my wipe out was very scary, it has left me with a lasting memory that always makes me giggle.