Author: Polina

IRJE #4 To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Hen

Reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Hen, I was able to reconnect to the somber feeling of when I first watched the cringe love story of Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky that faithful night in seventh grade. Thinking of all the books I could possibly read throughout the winter break, I stumbled across the one imaginative love story I’ve re-watched over and over again but have never been able to read.

“So, love and dating? I love to read about it, and it’s fun to write about and to think about in my head, but when it’s real…”

”Peter: “What, it’s scary?”

Lara Jean: “Yeah.”

Peter: “Why? Why is that scary?”

Lara Jean: “’Cause the more people you let into your life, the more that can just walk right out.” (p.176)

Needless to say, I completely expect every surprise waiting for me as I flip to the next chapter. I understand that’s completely also how countless writers have dreaded to read as they have gotten their books adapted into films for Netflix to profit off of. I don’t recommend this process of watching whatever book adaption before reading the hard-cover original. Nonetheless, if you have truly loved a storyline as I have with this basic love story after years upon years then read at your own risk of boredom.

PW #4 First Term

Reflecting on all the amazing memories I have created with classmates who have already flown back to their original homes, I have no recollection of how fast the time has passed besides the lingering feeling of longing. I will still of course try to keep in touch with as many possible friends as I am able to with busy home lives, tedious school schedules, and more. However, I have found a new unfamiliar form of understanding. Knowing I had already gone through this process twice more in my first years at Brookes, I had never expected myself to find new feelings I had never felt before. Previously I felt I needed to reach out and constantly try to reconnect with every friend I had made to no avail. Fighting to keep the once-present memories alive which I hoped could stay in my daily routine forever. It kept me back from truly appreciating the small amount of time I was able to have with them. By not fully understanding as I do now, how most great things do not last forever, I could never understand how special each moment you have with someone truly means. Life moves fast and I am so grateful I was even lucky enough to have met everyone I have met this first term. I hope this following term brings as many new beginnings as these first months have and I hope everyone who has sadly left Brookes will be able to remember fondly everyone who will be forever missing their presence

IRJE #3 Night By Ellie Wiesel

”Night” by Elie Wiesel, is a wonderful book detailing his experiences as a Jewish teenage boy during the Holocaust. He describes his experiences through his time in concentration camps, particularly in Auschwitz and Buchenwald most famous for its horrible sights.

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in the camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke.”

Through his suffering and loss, Elie Wiesel overcame his past experiences creating a book that had won the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. This book has changed countless people’s lives across the world providing a new never-seen perspective that will never be forgotten.

PW#3 ”I Like My Suitcase” – Barron Trump

As the United States election sweeps the nation and puts many Canadians into a state of panic, fearing the countless effects it can have on our public society, all I can think about is the recently viral clip of Barron Trump. In this clip, you can see how the Trump family acts with one another, especially how Barron Trump and his mom speak to each other. Before packing his things to get going for school Barron speaks in the thickest Slavic accent, which has severely reminded me of myself when I was the same age. The now famous quote reminds me of a time that seemed long ago when I spoke barely any English, had to go to special speaking counseling, and even had to work extra hard just to make the sound of the letter r. I struggled a lot in elementary school speaking let alone writing, and even though I find this extremely funny looking back on past videos of myself reflecting on my growth through a simple video has been a refreshing way of clearing my head. So what I am trying to say is thank you to whoever has published this clip into the world as it has brought a new sense of clarity and humor into my life.

IRJE #2 Coraline by Nell Galman

In ”Coraline” by Nell Galman, is a wonderful book with a great storyline that incases the reader in it’s wonderful realistic world, which made me and countless others never want to stop reading. First written in the early 2000’s, it follows the story of a young girl who has to find her way out of a mysterious, clone, copy of her original life. I truly loved reading this book and I would recommon it to anyone who loves a quick read.

That night Coraline lay in bed, all bathed, teeth cleaned, with her eyes open, staring up at the ceiling.

It was warm enough that, now that the hand was gone, she had opened her bedroom window wide. She had insisted to her father that the curtains not be entirely closed.

Her new school clothes were laid out carefully on her chair for to put on when she woke.

Normally, on the night before the first day of term, Coraline was apprehensive and nervous. But, she realized, there was noth left about school that could scare her anymore.

This quotation is significant to say the least, because it shows the progression of Coraline’s character for the first to the very last page of this book. At the beginning of this book Coraline is a stubborn yet nervous girl, always fearful for the future. However, as we reach closer and closer to the last page we see how drastically she changes to a stronger, more well-rounded person. This I believe can signify many different irrelevent events that can happen in a person’s life to change them. Nonethless, it most certainly can be irrelevent to my age group as it is a clear example of how even one event can change a person forver.

“The Moral Equivalent of War” & “Can men live in a peaceful society?”: Reflection

In William James’s essay “The Moral Equivalent of War”, James argues that even while battle and war are cruel, they nonetheless enforce rules that are needed in their countless soldiers. Such discipline enforced on soldiers during their time in training and so on creates an environment for the betterment of men. He argues that despite the destructive and unsightly nature of war, its positive aspects can be used for constructive purposes. According to him, everyone has some degree of aggression, which was ultimately left for us by our ancestors and in turn an important aspect of human nature that cannot be hidden. Life without combat would be dull and lifeless to him as besides being a tool to enforce discipline, war is truly what gives life its meaning. James also appears to admit, nonetheless, that although war is brutal in many aspects, peace cannot be made without men’s required order and discipline.

This last and final essay titled “Can real men live in a peaceful society?” by Eric MacKnight, explores how beliefs about ”hyper-masculinity” were changed by middle-class values in the late 19th and early 20th century. Back in those days, males were supposed to work normal jobs such as in factories, support their families, and lead a stable, peaceful life rather than mastering life between and while fighting on the front lines. Although this change made some believe society was changing for the better, some felt it took away a sense of excitement and hardness, which made men look for these traits in fitness or sports. Although I believe this notion of how a man should behave did create new negative stereotypes about women and the idea of over-the-top hyper-masculinity with no room for vulnerability, many can argue it also created new means of teaching younger boys and children how to behave with manners that can be practiced throughout lifetimes.

PW #2 It’s Going to be a Wonderful Christmas

As you may be shocked to read the title of this blog post, in my freshly October mind it is already time for Christmas to arrive! The holiday for laughter and cheer, Christmas is coming fast with no sight of a tear! I love Christmas with its pretty fairy lights, delicious food, and most of all it’s over-the-top celebration. This among other things makes this season the best for showing love and appreciation to everyone you love most or even the people you wish would get out of your life forever. No matter the difference in personality, appearance, or amount of money a person has, everyone can celebrate Christmas with any simple thanks or smile they can give. Christmas however, has not always been a celebratory holiday for me as you may come to find out. Before this year I absolutely hated Christmas with all my might. I hated everything about it even the parts I love and can not image Christmas without. Besides not wanting Christmas to appear it was a consent reminder I didn’t have anyone close to seriously celebrate with. Nonetheless, as this year has already brought me so much new love and joy I am very excited to finally celebrate Christmas this year, as I know full heartly it’s gonna be one I’ll never forget.

IRJE #1 Lying by Sam Harris

In Lying by Sam Harris, he details the countless wrongs that go along with any single lie we tell one another in our daily lives. From casual white lies, we swear that do no wrong, to massively impactful lies that can change the course of our relationships forever.

Honesty can force any dysfunction in your life to the surface. Are you in an abusive relationship? A refusal to lie to others – How did you get that bruise? – would oblige you to come to grips with this situation very quickly. Do you have a problem with drugs or alcohol? Lying is the lifeblood of addiction. If we have no recourse to lies, our lives can unravel only as far without other’s noticing, (p.10).

Although this quotation is almost at the very beginning of this book, I believe it is very impactful, to say the least. Sam Harris throughout the whole of this book makes it very clear there is no room in a happy life for excuses which if you do not know I very much agree with. Lying and excuses we give ourselves allow us to deprive our relationships of full honesty, which depletes us from creating more genuine connections. While many might disagree with mine and Sam Harris’s statement on how there is no room for lying in a life living the happiest it can be, I loved reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who has ever told a single lie in their life!

PW#1 Changes in My Life

As a new year swiftly passes into a new beginning, the opportunities once far out of reach rush closer and closer to me. These opportunities I mention are of course none other than my wonderful passionate new friends and my recently instated captain position of the junior girl’s volleyball team. My new friends who have come across the world just to study in Brooke’s Westshore include some very familiar faces such as Emma, Roberta, Olivia, and many more. This has been one of the most drastic changes in my school life this year because as many people come to find out I didn’t like almost anyone from last year. Nonetheless, besides my generous returning friend group countless of the students were in other sorts just not my cup of tea. This new interdiction of friends has brought me much more happiness in my day-to-day life and I am so glad I have met all these amazing people. 

Besides my new friends, a new leadership position has come my way! Gratefully accepting to be the team captain of my volleyball team has been very thrilling, to say the least. With numerous upsides and downsides, from losing to winning games, my team especially the girls who have never in their lives played volleyball before having made massive amounts of progress. This progress has made me incredibly proud to be able to be their team captain and with much more progress to be made I believe we can become the non-stopping winning team we deserve to be! 

My Views as a Reader

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” by Erich Maria Remarque and excerpts from Herbert, Chevalier, Barthas, and West have been a remarkably insightful, detailed insight into the life and struggles of any normal veteran from World War I. Not only was their heartbreaking depiction of the grotesque daily lives of soldiers deliberately accounted with added information most of my fellow classmates and I have never read of before, but this book and these excerpts also give new meaning to our upcoming Remembrance Day assembly. Of course, with no doubt in my mind, we have all known some of the terrible struggles veterans went through for several years now, including being taught the outcome and beginning of the war in history class. However, us as a class I believe we have not fully understood what took place at such battles and or fronts as the Western Front in France/Belgium. Although “All Quiet on the Western Front,” is a realistic fiction autobiography with the main storyline being fully adapted from real-life events, the book still gives new insights into how soldiers fought and not how old pro-war effort ideas want people to believe they did. This new unit really did help me better understand what it was like to live the life of a soldier, even if it is through a small glimpse created by a book into how terrifying life was at the time.

Introduction to Me – Polina Ulanova

Hi, MYP5 class of 2024-2025 my name is Polina Ulanova and I’ve been at this school since I was 13 years old. Coming to this school at first was very scary for me especially because having been only in public schools my entire life even going as far as when I still lived in St. Petersburg Russia, I felt very out of place. However, as I have spent more and more time at this school, I have grown to very much love almost everything about it even the parts I hated at first. Knowing this and remembering how I felt myself first stepping foot into this school, I have tried to be as friendly as I possibly can to any new or returning students. If you have any questions at all about any clubs, sports, or anything else including just questions about things you can do on the island I will always be here to help! I myself am a part of the girl’s volleyball team, the girl’s soccer team here at Brookes Westshore as well as I am a part of one of the island’s very small competitive swimming teams. Not only do I love to play different sports, but I also love painting, cooking, and most of all baking. From time to time you might see me bring in different baked goods or special goodies for the people I love most, my friends! I love my friends very much including such friends as Lilly, Eva, and Ely just to name a few.

Something that many people do not know about me nonetheless, is that I live all the way out in Sooke. Living in Sooke has been something I think not many people can relate to at this school because of how far away it is. Usually by car, it can take up to forty minutes each way just to get to school. Having said that, by bus the way that I always take to get to school, it can take up to over an hour on non-traffic packed days! This of course can make me very tired some days, so if ever you see me tired or not my usual self just remember that small fact about me, and that I would never try to be purposely rude to anyone. Finally, to end this off those are just some small facts about me and my daily life!