IRJE#4: The Overstory

In the Book “The Overstory”, written by Richard Powers, we are constantly reminded of the importance of wildlife and how humanity is dependent on it. In the case of this book, the attention centres around the trees, and we get clear evidence of this from the first pages of the book. This following quote is something that left me outright speechless, as it not only indicates that we are the guests here, but that the trees are the main inhabitants, whom have been supressed and used by humans ever since we inhabited Earth. Additionally, this is a very important quote because we get to see the true impact we have caused the trees once we think about context; For example, the Industrial Evolution is one of the main human creations which supressed trees; not only did we use wood to create power, we also produced (and still produce) loads of Carbon Dioxide, which, combined with us cutting down massive forest territories, creates a toxic environment for us and the trees, who are struggling to convert that harmful gas into Oxygen once more (keep in mind that is just one example);

“This is not our world with trees in it. It’s a world of trees, where humans have just arrived.”

(P. 4)

Now, as I said previously, this quote describes the perspective of the wildlife on Earth; We, although being here for a long time are not the original settlers, but rather we use and tend to overuse the resources provided to us. This quote describes how we are dependent on the wildlife around us in particular the forests. This is relatable in the modern world as we need to learn to respect not only our wildlife, but also the ancient forests.

PW#4-Christmas Break

For this Christmas break, my family and I decided to spend the holidays in Canada. We normally travel to the city where my grandparents and the rest of my family live, but since I currently live in Canada, my dad thought it would be more convenient if they came to Canada and visited other cities in BC. I found this plan good because after living for three months here, I got curious to know if other cities in Canada were as beautiful as Victoria.

Finally, we decided to visit Vancouver and Whistler. My family came to pick me up on Sunday, and we stayed here for a couple of days so I could show them some of Victoria’s charms. After a couple of days, we took a ferry to Vancouver. We stayed there for three days. Because I’ve already been to Vancouver multiple times, we decided we would just relax those days. Finally, after some days, we took a bus to our final destination; Whistler. In whistler we stayed 13 days. I was really excited because normally when I go to a ski village i normally dont get to stay more that a week. MY family and I all love to ski so this was like paradise to us. We skied for about 10 days and I enjoyed every single minute of them. Finally on the last day we decided to go to the glacier wich is the highest part of the mountain. I was kind of scared for my brother because he was still learning to snow board  after he swiched from skies and we would have to take black slopes. Still he came with us and we completed the hard part. After we thought we where cleare my brother got confident and started to go really fast. I wast concentrating on him but when we where meter from the end of the slope my brother fell.

He started yelling really loudly and could not stand up. We had to call ski patrol and they took him down in a toboggan. My dad and I followed them until we reach the clinic. There they took x ray scan and he turned out to brake he’s colorbone!

 

PW#4

I am going to be writing about my trip to Costa Rica, Tamrindo. To get to Costa Rica for the holidays we have to take 3 planes which took us 2 traveling days. When we first arrived to Tamrindo which was a city in Costa Rica it was gorgeous lots of trees and it was warm. The people in Costa Rica only speak Spanish and very little English which made it challenging for us. Most of our days were spent by the beach or by the pool and sometimes we would go out and explore the towns. We cooked our own food in our Airbnb and we ate outside together. We spent 2 weeks there and when it was time to go home my whole family was sad.

IRJE#4

My Fault by Mercedes Ron. My Fault is a book about love and change. If you really love someone are you willing to change to become a better person or are you are you going to let them go to keep your pride and ego. My favorite quotation from this book is.

“Noah, what are you scared of?” I asked. After a few seconds, she replied, her voice wavering: “Right now, Im scared of you.” I stood very still and tried not to make a sound. p. 318

I choose this  quotation because Noahs was abused in her childhood by her father who is in prison so she is afraid of violence. When Nick grabbed onto Noah she thought that he was going to hurt her because of her trauma and because Nick likes to fight. By the end of the book Nick quits fighting and cuts violence out of his life so that he can be with Noah without making her feel scared.

IRJE #4 The Days of Abandonment

The Days of Abandonment is an Italian novel written by Elena Ferrante, published in 2002. The story follows Olga, an Italian woman, after her husband, Mario, comes home and calmly announces that he wants to leave her after 15 seemingly happy years of marriage. He explains that although he has nothing to reproach regarding their marriage or her, he wishes to break it off regardless. Olga does not understand and begins analyzing their relationship but cannot find any errors in their marriage. She frantically and desperately searches for answers but finds all their mutual friends, who may have any information, to be reticent regarding Mario. Olga begins spiraling as Mario leaves her abruptly, with two children, a dog, and a house to take care of. She finds her usual refined, delicate, and gracious choice in words as well as manner of tone become strident, vulgar, and coarse. She unwisely yells and lashes out her anger at everyone who happens to call. For this reason, she ends up pushing away any solicitous friends that were persistent in attempting to help her. The rest of the novel follows her as she continues her descent into a psychotic state after his departure. As Olga spirals further, becomes obsessive, and unhinged; you begin to worry for her children and begin to feel compassion for her.

Now, at thirty-eight, I was reduced to nothing, I couldn’t even act as I thought I should. No work, no husband, numbed, blunted. When the children were at school, I lay on the sofa, got up, sat down again, watched TV. But there was no program that could make me forget myself. (p.30)

I chose this quote because it captures well the emotional state that a person can feel once they are abandoned. How frail a person can really become once their system and daily routine is shattered. This quote shows how Olga’s life has been completely disrupted by her husband’s abandonment. When her routine was suddenly taken away, she was left feeling lost and without purpose. she couldn’t find anything to distract her from her despair.

PW#4 — Equilibrium

I decided to watch the movie Equilibrium (2002) because of its dystopian themes, as I wanted to delve deeper into the dystopian genre now that we have begun this unit. This movie connects with the themes explored in the book Brave New World. The film had many thematic parallels to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Both works depict societies engineered for artificial stability, where emotional suppression and societal control reign supreme. Equilibrium portrays a world devoid of emotion, maintained through mandatory mood-altering drugs, which was similar to the artificial happiness and societal conditioning in Brave New World. Both narratives highlight the dangers of sacrificing individual freedom and emotional expression for the illusion of a perfect society.

I gave the movie four out of five stars. I do not usually enjoy dystopian media, however, I liked the way Equilibrium set the scene. Also in contrast to the book Brave New World,  Equilibrium did not have any sex related aspects which I found to be much more comfortable and made it more enjoyable. The movie features one of my favourite actors, Christian Bale, which was also a factor for my high rating.

PW#4: My Winter Vacation

Going into the now passed Winter Break, I was ready to dive head first into the relaxation and quality family time I don’t usually get during normal school weeks. This Winter Break was a little different however: As you can already tell, I usually don’t do anything special for any holidays, which means that any event which is normal to others is more valuable to me; Now this is not because we’re poor or anything, however it is due to the fact that our family has very few times where everyone in the family is free to go somewhere for a day. So, I thought that I would be able to just do normal at home relaxations. I was, however, proven wrong; Unlike many people my age I was pretty active this winter holiday; I always took care of the dog and her necessities, cleaned the house on a frequent basis, got an upgrade to my computer (more than 15 times performance boost from one upgrade) and also, unexpectedly, went on a trip. Since I don’t have enough time nor the will to write about my whole winter break, lets focus on the last 2. Let’s begin with the Winter Trip; On December 30th, my mom and dad called us into a discussion at the family table – right off the bat you either know you are screwed or its a good news – and they told us about their plans of going to Cyprus Mountain on the 2rd of January of  this current Year. To say I was surprised means to say nothing, as not only a trip in general was a rarity, however, I haven’t been to Cyprus in 8 years. Fast forward to January 2nd, my family and I awoke – at 4:40 mind you – and began the road trip towards the Ferry Terminal (took us around 2 ish hours to wait and get on the fairy. By now it was 7ish, and my sisters and I decided to step out and walk around (it was really cramped in the back of the car with 3 people). We wandered around for what seemed like one of the longest hours of my life until we finally heard the “you have arrived” speech from the captain. Rushing back, we buckled up and continued our journey up until downtown Vancouver: There we stopped, and got ourselves some snacks from Starbucks before continuing our journey towards the mountain. The service was terrible, so make sure you have a good service provider if you plan to go to any high elevation/distant region such as Cyprus Mountain. When we got there, however, we were pretty disappointed to find out we couldn’t even ride our sleighs there as everything required the lift pass (stacks fast when you have a family of 5). Despite our disappointment, we found another mountain around an hour away – can’t recall its name – and we went there instead. There we were greeted with nice views, less people, and most importantly, no need for a lift pass. And so we spent our day there; riding our sleds and walking around. At around 5 ish we headed back, grabbing some A&W as well as some more Starbucks before our 4 hour journey home. at 10:28, we were home.

In regards to the magical component of my pc, it is important to note that prior to this upgrade I was using a 2.5 Inch 256 GB SSD, with a max transfer rate of 250 mb/s (for write) and 230 mb/s (for read) speeds. for a long time I have wanted to not only upgrade from that to a faster disk, but also to have more storage in my PC. this is where the M.2 NVMe SSD comes in place; this is a basic 256 GB SSD, which cost me 20 bucks used from Facebook marketplace. This ssd (solid state drive) is a disk drive which plugs directly into your motherboard (NOTE: before rushing to get this technology: Make sure your motherboard has a slot for this device!! Not all motherboards support this form of data transfer, so look for a sideways port with a screw nearby – the port on the motherboard should have 2 lines (one long one short), and if it has 3, tough luck, as this means your motherboard only supports a SATA and not a nvme ssd (nvme uses the same technology as the Graphics card in your pc meaning its ultra fast and usually beats the sata ssd ) and after you determine the slot (it may also be done by googling your motherboard ports) you need to check the generation of the port (this will help you decide the right ssd for you).and since it uses the same   After you figure out the generation of the port, make sure to get a ssd of that generation or lower (unless your motherboard only supports up to gen 2 speeds). After you insert it, make sure the disk shows up in disk manager before getting ready to clone it. Next, clone device (may be done through the terminal or Balena Etcher (Balena is what I used since it’s easier), and after you clone your drive, you may then wipe the old one, restart the computer, go into bios (making sure your new disk is the boot disk (or has boot “priority”). I would recommend leaving the other (old) disk as additional storage in your PC. Press F10 (or save and exit setup in bios, and boot back into windows; open Disk Management (on windows) or Disks (on Linux Mint), and format the disk into NTFS (for windows) or ext4 (for Linux). Boom! You are now set! To double check that the disk you installed is now your main drive open up Task Manager (on Windows) and after clicking on the performance tab click on your new disk and make sure its called “C” (or disk 1) and on the bottom right it should say System Disk.. You may now Copy all of your old files and put them onto your old drive. Bonus Tip: If the old drive doesn’t show up at all after format go into Device Manager (On Windows), click “ATA/ ATAPI Controllers and right click each one and disabling them. Reboot/restart and your old disk is visible and may be used now!  This is how I spent my Winter holidays, where I not only got double the storage in my pc for 15x the performance boost, but also got to spend time with my family.

IRJE #4 – House of Leaves

In House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, Navidson and his wife Karen make separate, private journal entries on their stay in the house. In these private journal entries, they tend to talk about their thoughts and opinions alone in a room. Later, Navidson finds an endless, dark hallway in their house, which triggers two journal entries; Karen saying she will leave with the kids if Navidson goes into the hallway, and Navidson who says Karen is overreacting and needs to understand his curiosity. This hallways appearing causes a chain of events: The journal entries, the kids venturing into the endless hallway (which, due to their lack of fear, easily find their way out), and Navidson entering the hallway. During nighttime, Navidson enters the mysterious hallway and finds himself helplessly lost in the disturbing, infinite winds and directions.

By shouting “I’m here” and following the add-ee’s singing off the walls, Navidson slowly begins to make his way through an incredibly complex and frequently disorientating series of turns. Eventually after backtracking several times and making numerous wrong choices, occasionally descending into disturbing territories of silence, the voice begins to grow noticeably louder, until finally Navidson slips around a corner, certain he has found his way out. Instead though, he encounters only more darkness and this time greater quiet. His breathing quickens. He is uncertain which way to go. Obviously he is afraid. And then quite abruptly he steps to the right through a low passageway and discovers a corridor terminating in low yellow light, low light, with a tiny silhouette standing in the doorway, tugging her daddy home with a cry.

I like this quote because the fast, brief descriptions alone tell us how scared Navidson is. Though the quote tells us he is afraid, it doesn’t really need to. The fast pace with no room for mental descriptions give us a vibe of sheer terror without needing to outright say it. What makes it better is just the facts it’s his mind freaking out, and there is nothing in the constantly changing hallways with him. Imagine going camping, and at night you’re thinking; “What if someone is watching us? What could be out here with us, or who?” But in reality you’re just paranoid from the ‘What if’s. The same thing goes on here, except this time, there is nothing to expect. Many people go camping; not many people live in a house that creates infinite spaces out of nothing.

PW #4 – 124th Christmas Bird Count

Every year around Christmas time, there is a Christmas Bird Count (CBC) across different places in Canada. It’s one day (which is different for different cities) where thousands of people come together to find as many birds as they can within their circle. You can do this as a small group or independently. People all over the country count birds on the chosen day for conservation purposes. It started in 1900 and has become an annual birding day for the country ever since. British Columbia usually gets the most birds in Canada for this day, especially the south coastal areas (Victoria, Vancouver etc.) because they are one of the few places in Canada not covered in snow, or a lot of snow. And temperatures are milder meaning there is more bird activity. I took part in the Duncan Christmas Bird Count on 29 December. It was a rainy day, but I still managed to get over 50 species (personally). Across Canada, 293 species were reported for the 124th CBC which was more than last year. This is mainly because of the effects of the El Niño year which is making this winter milder than it usually is. The warmer weather is keeping some species who have usually moved further south by now in search of a warmer climate, to stay up in Canada longer because their food it still available for them. 218 out of 293 of the species were reported in BC.

PW#4 Christmas!

Christmas just recently passed so I thought this would be great to write about. I understand that to some people Christmas might not feel the same but with me even if there’s no snow, or no Christmas activities, it doesn’t matter too much because I do appreciate the small hours of anticipation and watching everyone’s inner kid come out. I got some pretty silly gifts too which was amazing, and was one of the reasons I really love it. I got the classical oranges in my Christmas stocking. For some reason it’s tradition for us and I’m yet to understand why haha. I also didn’t wish for too much either so watching myself be surprised was great, I got a little necklace, It’s amazing, best part is I don’t have to take it off! I also got an amazing gift from my home-stay-student, a harmonica! I’ve been screwing around with it a lot and I can make some sad war type music and some iconic movie whistles as well. All that I’m waiting for now is the snow so I can walk around at night, build a snowman, throw snowballs at my friends, and just lay outside for like an hour or two! Snow is what I’m really waiting for. To make the Christmas even better, our home-stay stayed with us throughout the break, I don’t want him to leave but it was really nice that he stayed around with us. Overall, this Christmas was great and I can’t wait for more holidays and even more breaks from school!!

IRJE#4 The Kill Order

The Kill Order is written by James Dashner. This is a prequel to the popular Maze Runner books he writes, along with the next I will be reading, The Fever Code which is about how the maze itself was made. What I’m going over is the ending of this book which had a great turn. This is where Mark had infiltrated a government building/bunker or one similar to that where he finds an electronic tablet that shows important information on the virus “The Flare” that made the whole world fall.

We the Coalition hereby grant the PCC express permission to fully implement their PC initiative #1 as presented in full and attached below. We the Coalition take full responsibility for this action and will monitor developments and offer assistance to the fullest extent of our resources. The virus will be released in the locations recommended by the PCC and agreed upon by the Coalition. Armed forces will be stationed to ensure that the process ensues in as orderly a manner as possible. (p. 295)

This quotation talks about how government organizations, PCC and the Coalition, both gave permission and selected specific spots to release this deadly, world-dominating virus out to as stated before in the book, to “control the overall world population”. Which clearly wasn’t maintained at a safe level.

IRJE #4- GHOST By Jason Reynolds

Ghost was an amazing book and I don’t know why I haven’t read it sooner. When I find a good book and cannot for the life of me put it away until I’ve finished reading the entire thing. Ghost is definitely one of those books. I like to think about reading as phases in my life because that’s exactly how I treat it. When I find good books I’m completely obsessed and I won’t stop reading until it’s done. This phase can randomly occur at any given moment; the next minute or the next year… maybe 3 years. I think I’m about to watch my reading phase Begin Again (I have been getting a lot of recommendations from some of my old friends).

Ghost is about this 13 year old 8th grader who has a very dark past about his father. His father started drinking and one day he tried shooting ghost and his mother. Not just once, like reloading and trying to shoot them again. Ghost and his mother ran and made it out alive (without getting shot). Life has been hard for both of them since then and they live (and lived) on Glass Manor (which is where everyone who is financially struggling ends up making it the poorest part of town). For context because I think it’s important, Ghost is not Ghost’s real name, it is a self given nickname that he goes by because he feels like no one notices him like a ghost (he gets bullied quite a bit and gets in trouble often) and also because he runs so fast that he is like a ghost disappearing into the darkness of the night. His full name is Castle Cranshaw.

I got two quotes from this book that I would like to share. The first one is irrelevant to the actual story itself and the other basically represents the entire thing.

I got a scream inside. And I could tell Red did too. He was a white boy with red hair who everyone was friends with mainly because people were scared that he was crazy and it’s better to be one crazy’s good side. Jessica Grant said her mother said the only reason people have red hair is because they’re red on the inside. Red like violent. But I got black hair, so does that mean I’m black on the inside?

Red is one of the only two school friends Ghost has. He gets bullied a lot especially by this kid named Brandon Simmons. This particular day Ghost has enough after Brandon threw chicken wings at him. Ghost picked up a tray and whacked him on the head. Brandon fell backwards, but Ghost kept it coming. I was cheering and rooting for Ghost the entire time. He definitely one. I too had to deal with many douche bags and I wish I had enough confidence to do what Ghost did.

One last quote (I know I wrote a lot, but I loved this book).

He faced me again, looking straight in my eyes. “Show you that you can’t run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be.”

This is what his track coach responded with when Ghost asked what he thinks running can do for him. He had to let that sink in for a while…. I LOVE THIS BOOK WITH MY WHOLE HEART!!!

PW #4- I am suing Cocomelon!

When winter break finally began I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I would have never guessed that I would be stuck at home with parental control (logs you off the wifi), doing chores, and listening to the torturing sounds coming from the TV which we all know as cocomelon. If you don’t know what cocomelon is, I will not be telling you because you will forever be traumatized with the sounds of ‘singing’ nursery rhymes and they will be trapped in your head. Like at this very moment, ‘Wheels On The Bus’ is playing in my head! I advise you to NEVER search it up. My 2 year old cousin came over and he is definitely an ipad kid. I always found cocomelon being stupid and despised those animated characters. I LOVE animations and I’m pretty sure I made that very clear, but whoever created cocomelon has put an eternity of pain upon many parents. I have never heard anyone saying, “I love cocomelon it’s awesome! It teaches my kid so much and is very entertaining!” Do you know why? BECAUSE IT SUCKS! It is so stupid. The worst part about it is definitely when my 2 year old cousin drags me to the couch and forces me to watch cocomelon and if I don’t obey, then he will throw a big tantrum until I listen. I am pretty sure that I am officially mentally insane and the only one to blame is cocomelon. Cocomelon owns me a new brain! One day, I was sleeping in because I don’t have to wake up for anything. I was having the best dream ever where I was saving the world and suddenly-
MY TWO YEAR OLD COUSIN IS SLAPPING ME ON THE FACE AND TELLING ME TO WAKE UP! Why is he up so early (it was 9:00)! I can’t forget the random beef he has with my glasses. When I least expect it or when he wants my attention, he takes my glasses and slams them on the ground. My glasses have been through more than many people in this world. Surprisingly, they’re not broken… yet. They do have a lot of scratch marks and I can barely see, but it’s fine! Even after all of the torture this kid put me through, he is still one of my favourite people and I love him to bits. Don’t ask why, I just do. I love this kid.

PW #4: Heart of The Coast

With school finally over for the holidays comes my favourite time of year; ski season! The moment school was over, off I was to the mountain. The best part was being blessed with 39 centimeters of fresh powder over Friday night last weekend. Saturday started off nice, especially with all of the new snow. The wind was gusting quite a bit over the top of the mountain so unfortunately the peak chair stayed closed through all of Saturday. Nonetheless, I was still able to make some amazing runs through a bunch of glades between some of the runs. It was quite low visibility, but it was still a great day to say the least.

Sunday was discouraging at first, but it ended up being unbelievable in the end. My first run was a little bumpy. All of the snow that had been skied out on the front side from Friday’s snow had thawed out near the bottom of the mountain from the sun and had gotten a bit icy. However, it was quite a cold morning for the hill, and the top of the mountain that hadn’t been skied out yet ended up being some of the best snow I had skied. I ended up dropping in off of the side of the peak into this chute and then into a large patch of glades. Good thing it wasn’t icy! I’m sure the run would’ve been treacherous without the sheer abundance of powder everywhere. The drops off the peak seemed to have the best snow out of the whole mountain, and I must’ve made four or five of the same run. It really was amazing. Along with the awesome powder, it was a total bluebird day too which made this day super fun. December seems to always provide some of the best skiing days out of the whole season up at Mount Washington, so I always try and soak them up. Even just the feeling of being out there up in the mountains in so relaxing. I’ll just plant my poles in the ground, go sit down for a minute, and just take these days in while I look out at the Coast Mountains and the valley below. This weekend I better bring along a drink!

IRJE #4 – The Magicians Nephew by C. S. Lewis, 1955

The Magicians Nephew is one of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia. Including The Magicians Nephew, which I have just read, I have read five of the seven books. I really enjoy these fantasy adventure books and I like how the author writes. I can always picture in my head what’s happening whilst reading. In this book, The Magicians Nephew, Digory (the nephew) and Polly become friends in London when Digory’s uncle (the magician which he does not realise yet) gives them magic rings which sends them into the ‘Wood between the Worlds’. In this wood, they can use the rings to travel to different world by jumping into one of the many ponds. When they enter one, they find themselves in a new world. They come across an old room in an abandoned stone courtyard with broken walls and pillars, and thought there were lots of people in the room at first, but they were portraits hung on the walls. The furthest left portraits looked like nice and friendly people, but the further they moved down the wall, the nastier the people were. At the very end, there was an image of a woman. She looked beautiful, but fierce. Digory and Polly determined that she was the queen. And beyond her, there were empty chairs as if there were meant to be more people. In the middle of the room, there was a table which they went over to inspect. Some foreign language was engraved on the stone which they could not understand at first. This is when I came across this passage of the book.

If only Digory had remembered what he himself had said a few minutes ago, that this was an enchanted room, he might have guessed that the enchantment was beginning to work. But he was too wild with curiosity to think about that. He was longer more and more to know what was written on the pillar. And very soon they both knew. What it said was something like this – at least this is the sense of it through the poetry, when you read it there, was better:

Make your choice adventurous Stranger;

Strike the bell and bide the danger,

Or wonder, till it drives you mad,

What would have followed if you had (p. 35)

After reading this, they got into a quarrel because Polly did not with to continue but Digory did. At last, Digory hit the bell with the hammer, which was the choice they had to make to find out what would happen, and it were like a mini earthquake had happened. The room was filled with such loud noise and rumbling. Once it had stopped, at the end of the room where the image of the cruel woman had been, had come alive.

I chose this passage because I find it an important part of the story to learn how the queen came to be which will start Narnia and give readers a better understanding of how the story starts. Because of what happened here, they entered (unknowingly) into the land of Narnia by entering the wrong pond and then they got to watch it be created by Aslan which will be the start of the real adventures for anyone who comes across Narnia by mistake, which will be in the other books.

PW #4 YAP SESSION

OMG guys can you believe it? CORY CAME BACK!!! I’m so hyped man I’ve missed him so much I’ve been a fan since like… FOREVER. Anyways, his new manga? BOMB. I bought it ASAP. it’s totally getting me out of artblock like THANK YOU KING!!! SAMURAI STAND UP?! Also, I didn’t get the chance to write about this before but I am SO sad that Jujutsu Kaisen ended and the end was so rushed too, like? BUT, to be fair, Gege was kinda being forced to write it anyways. He wasn’t allowed to stick to his original plot which, WHY??? Everyone also kind of moved on too, like… was that not a generational manga? That was bomb. BOMB. NEVER moving on from that manga. At least Miu knows what I’m talking about, she my blood. Also, Arcane ended… Jinx and Ekko deserved better. The ending was (°Д°). Also IDC what ANYONE says, Jayce defender 4 life. Also Viktor, him too (he was cool, DON’T play with me cause (👁ˋ _ ˊ 👁)). Also, Ryan and Blake know (also Sydney) that I’m a Tyler, The Creator fan (big time), but I doubt anyone else knows. Fav song on the new track? I Killed You (or Rah Tah Tah). But fr fr, Tyler should put Pigs Fly on spotify cause that’s my ALL TIME FAVOURITE. If y’all follow me on insta (MmmmWatermelon) you’ll be seeing some SICK artworks soon I promise (I might even make a separate account for art ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?).

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 The Wicked King

The Wicked King, by Holly Black is the second book of The Cruel Prince trilogy. In this book. Jude has bound the Wicked King, cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie is difficult enough if cardan were biddable. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her. When it comes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, Jude must uncover the traitor, to maintain control as a mortal in Faerie world.

“I have learned that I cannot trust anyone in Faerie. I have learned that the price of power is not just a crown, but a heart that beats in the cold. I have learned that even the most well-laid plans can fall apart, and that the best way to keep control is to never show fear, even if you are terrified.”

This quote shows Jude’s realization that power in Faerie comes with mistrust, emotional sacrifices, and fear of losing the ones you love or yourself. She understands that to maintain control, she needs to hide her vulnerabilities and adapt to the ruthless world around her. This is where Jude starts growing into the person that will rule Faerie and will one day become the queen of Elfhame even as a mortal girl.

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.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife- IRJE #3

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is about Frederick, who is an old man very a very kind heart and is always willing to help others out. He was still grieving about the loss of his beloved wife named Dawn. Frederick was getting evicted from his apartment. Nothing ever seems to be going well for him. He ends up getting mistaken as another old man named Bernard Fred (who his dead because of an accident), and decides to borrow his life.

‘Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise I’ll take excellent care of it.’

As he continues his life he learns to move on and meets a new girl named Hannah.

As Fred gazed upon young love and old love side by side, his heart felt fuller than it had in a very long time. If only he had a loved one to share it with. Yet to his surprise, this time, instead of Dawn, it was Hannah who came to mind (Page 159).

This quote indicates how far Frederick (or should I say Bernard) has come with this new chapter of his life. He didn’t expect his life to have such a sudden turn like this one, especially at his age; he thought that he was nearly done his last chapter before these series of unpredictable events. I honestly didn’t enjoy this book as much as I had thought I would in the start. Hearing about this book I was really excited to start reading it, but quickly changed my mind after reading a bit of it. This book may be interesting for those who like ‘dark’ humour (you’ll instantly understand what I’m talking about once you start reading it) and those who do not mind a disgusting amount of detail.

IRJE#03 – A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Reptile Room

In The Reptile Room, Lemony Snicket continues the Baudelaire orphans briefly find hope living with their kind, eccentric, relative, Dr. Montgomery, in his fascinating home filled with exotic reptiles. However, this sense of safety is  shattered when Count Olaf, disguised as Stephano, reappears with another sinister plan. A central theme of the book is the obvious dangers, forcing the siblings to rely on their own intelligence and courage. My favourite quote from the book being;

Dear Reader,

If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale. I’m afraid you have picker up the wrong book altogether…

..I am bound to record these tragic events, but you are free to put this book back on the shelf and seek something lighter.” (Blurb)

This is because it sets the tone for the entire series. Dark, honest, and unapologetically tragic. This quote resonates because it prepares readers for the challenges the Baudelaire face and highlights their resilience despite endless misfortune.

 

IRJE#3 The Kill Order

The Kill Order is a novel written by James Dashner, the same man that wrote The Maze Runner books. If you have read the first 3 Maze Runner books then you would know that the entire world is slowly being killed off and turned into a dystopian wasteland by a virus called “The Flare”. The virus feeds off of the victims brain and drives them to the brink of insanity, soon enough turning into bloodthirsty monsters which are soon referred to as “Cranks”. In the quotation I’m about to show, it has an old friend, the Toad, returning but seems to have gone crazy and in need of help.

The Toad dropped to his knees and held the lit match closer to his face. He looked gaunt, and his eyes were moist and haunted.

“Are… You okay?” Mark asked, hoping his friend was just tired.

“I’m not,” the Toad answered, his face quivering as if he were about to cry. “I’m not, Mark. I’m not okay at all, There are things living inside my skull.” (p.81)

And

“I have things in my skull. I need help getting them out of there. Before they eat my brain and start heading for my heart” (p.82)

Both of these quotations show the character the Toad, experiencing symptoms of The Flare, having it thrive on his brain. Later in the story he proceeds to do inhuman screeches and wails, and he gets violent and angry. The whole reason I showed this is because it gives us good insight on the mutating process the virus has on the brain, driving someone mentally ill. And a little theory of mine is that the violent intentions to soon come might have been from the voices in his head, maybe telling him to.

 

IRJE #3 – My Side of the Mountain

“My Side of the Mountain” By Jean Craighead George is a book about a young boy named Sam Gribley, who runs away from New York to go live on his grandfather land. While out there he discovers several wild animals which he befriends. The animals being The Baron (A weasel), and Frightful, (A Falcon).

“September Blazed a trail into the mountains. First she burned the grasses. The grasses seeded and were harvested by the mice and the winds. Then she sent the squirrels and chipmunks running boldly through the forest, collecting and hiding nuts. Then she frosted the aspen leaves and left them sunshine yellow. Then she gathered the birds together in flocks, and the mountaintop was full of songs and twitterings and flashing wings. The birds were ready to move to the south. And I, Sam Gribley, felt just wonderful, just wonderful” (P. 85 – 86)

I find this quote interesting because of its very descriptive way of describing how September is coming, by characterizing the month, September as an actual living person. The use of words in this quotation provide an excellent source for imagining the scene visually.

 

IRJE #3: My Side of the Mountain

My Side of The Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. This book, published in 1959, is a tale focusing on 15-year-old Sam Gribley, who decided to run away from his home in New York to go off and attempt to survive in the wilderness on his great-grandfather Gribley’s farm.

“By April I was no longer living off of my storehouse. There were bulbs, tubers, and greens to be had. Meals were varied once more. There were frogs’ legs, eggs, and turtle soup on my table. I took my baths in the spring again rather than in the turtle shell with warmed over snow.” (pg. 161)

In this quote, we see Sam discussing the end of winter up in the mountain. He was finally able to have more varied meals since animals were coming out of hibernation, berries and plants were starting to grow, and the weather was finally becoming warmer. Sam is no longer restricted to the small surface area of his hollowed out tree because of the cold weather, and he is now able to explore more of his local area.

IRJE #3 – Kitchen

In the book called “Kitchen”, we are Introduced to a young lady named Mikage Sakurai, who, after the loss of all her relatives, may not afford to live at the family house, and so her days there are numbered. Fortunately for her, she meets a young man, Yuichi Tanabe, with whom she bonds pretty quickly over her families tragedy. Her Grandmother has an unfortunate passing, and since it was her last relative, she was really sad, however, when she looked at Yuichi, she started to to think herself that her love for her grandmother was nothing compared to his;

…his eyes were swollen, from crying. When he saw my grandmother’s picture on the altar, again his tears fell like rain. My first thought when I saw that was that my love for my own grandmother was nothing compared to this boy’s, whoever he was, he looked sad. (p.7)

Overall, this mutual trauma helped bond these two characters together. Yuichi later invited her to stay at his house for as long as she likes, even proposing for her to move in with him and his mom. This excerpt perfectly outlines the kind and passionate character of Yuichi Tanabe.

IRJE#3 THE THIEF

The Thief is a Japanese book written by Fuminori Nakamura, published in 2012. The story follows Nishimura, an experienced pickpocket as he steals from the people of Tokyo. Nishimura receives an incredible job offer from an ex-crime partner of his, and pulls off his greatest heist.  Nishimura manages to pickpocket sensitive documents from a pocket that is completely sown on every side and resides on the inside of the jacket of the target. Along the way he meets a child with a good-for-nothing mother. He teaches the child the ways of pickpocketing in order to save him from getting caught. 

“A wallet shows a person’s personality and lifestyle. Just like a cell phone, it is at the center, forming the nucleus of the owner’s secrets, everything he carries on him.”(p. 7)

I chose this quote because I think it’s interesting to see such a personal take on wallets, I don’t think that’s something that most people even think about. Seeing it from the eyes of an experienced pickpocket makes wallets which are ordinarily dull seem like interesting objects full of personality.

IRJE #3 – Blue Sisters

In Coco Mellors’ Blue Sisters, the story follows four sisters whose lives are deeply intertwined, even as they navigate their own challenges and struggles. The book begins with a powerful quotation on the nature of sisterhood:

A sister is not a friend. Who can explain the urge to take a relationship as primal and complex as a sibling and reduce it to something as replaceable, as banal as a friend? Yet this status is used again and again to connote the highest intimacy. My mother is my best friend. My husband is my best friend. No. True sisterhood, the kind where you grew fingernails in the same womb, were pushed screaming through identical birth canals, is not the same as friendship. You don’t choose each other, and there’s no furtive period of getting to know the other. You’re part of each other, right from the start. Look at an umbilical cord—tough, sinuous, unlovely, yet essential—and compare it to a friendship bracelet of brightly woven thread. That is the difference between a sister and a friend. (p. 3)

This opening resonated with me profoundly, especially in moments like these, when I truly miss my oldest brother. It made me realize how essential he is in my life. How he’s not just a sibling but a part of who I am. Unlike friendships or romantic relationships, which are formed by choice, the bond between siblings is something you’re born into. You don’t get to pick your sibling, but despite, or maybe because of this, the connection feels deeper and more enduring. Even though the book focuses on the relationship between sisters, its reflection on the unique, unchosen connection of siblings perfectly aligns with me. My brother is irreplaceable and will grow with me, and has seen me grow my whole life. Reading this book has allowed me to reflect on the importance of siblings and how much they shape us, no matter where life takes us.

IRJE #3 – The Kite Runner

I started the book “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini yesterday, and I am completely fascinated and in love with it. The book follows the protagonist Amir, who is the son of a wealthy Kabul (The capital of Afghanistan) merchant. He grows up together with his servant´s son, Hassan, who is a Hazara, a large Afghan ethnicity. Hazaras have been looked down on, and treated like less, by their fellow afghans for centuries, but nonetheless, Amir shares a deep connection with his friend. Until one day, one small, fateful choice he makes changes their relationship and his life forever. After the Russian´s invasion in his country, Amir and his father flee through Pakistan to America, the country of hope and new beginnings. He starts a new life there, and seems to have forgotten all about his past. Until one day, many years later, he is forced to travel back to the country he left behind many decades ago, and confront what he should have faced a long time ago, seeing his changed country under the Taliban´s power.

” – nothing left for the children.”

“We’re hungry but we’re not savages! He is a guest! What was I supposed to do?” He said in a strained voice.

” – to find something tomorrow.” She sounded near tears.”What do I feed – ”

I tiptoed away. I understood now why the boys hadn’t paid any attention to the watch. They hadn’t been staring at the watch at all. They ´d been staring at my food.

This was a glimpse of the conversation Amir heard when he returned to Afghanistan and stayed over at his driver´s house for a night. He had had a beautiful meal the day before, and had noticed three little boys staring at his watch while he was eating. He wanted to thank his host and gave it as a present to the sad-looking kids. After hearing this, he now realised that the watch is the last thing they wanted. I think this passage was very interesting, because it shows what the author teaches the readers all the way through the book: the Afghan culture, and how being polite and respectful is worth more than anything else. Even in the worst possible case, when you struggle to find enough food to serve your children, not even then would they reject a stranger at their door. Amir realises when he goes back that the life he lead as a kid under his father´s wealth was never the life of all Afghans, and he is even more determined to repair at least a small peace of the pain he caused long ago. The whole book is an extraordinary insight to life on the other side of the world, with a beautifully written plot, it is a perfect eye-opening story to the terror experienced by a whole nation everyday.

IRJE #3 – Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Tally and Shay are now officially specials. Dr. Cable had them do the operation at the end of the book, Pretties. In this book, Specials, so far it follows Tally as a special, who is trying to find the source of where the pills are coming from which apparently turn people back to thinking for themselves again. She and Shay find their friend who they haven’t seen since their new operations, and he looks completely different to them now in a bad way, even though he has not changed, they have. After he leaves, I came across this paragraph which is a private conversation between Shay and Tally.

“What did Dr. Cable do to us, Shay? Do we have some kind of special lesions in our brains? Something that makes everything else look pathetic? Like we’re better than them?” “We are better than them, Tally-wa!” Shay’s eyes shone like coins, reflecting the lights of New Pretty Town. “The operation gives us the clarity to see that. That’s why everyone else looks confused and pitiful, because that’s how most people are.” (p. 92-93)

(…) “But you and I can smell an unwashed human from a kilometre away, a burnt-out campfire from ten. We can see in the dark and hear better than bats.” Her sneak suit flickered to night black. “We can make ourselves invisible and move without a sound. Think about it, Tally-wa.” (p. 98)

Tally seems to be the only one who thinks something happened during the operation that changed how special’s view people, which I think is true as well. Whereas Shay believes that specials are better than everyone. She backs this up with evidence when acknowledging how much better their senses are now. I chose this because I find it an important part for the readers to understand how different specials are from everyone else.

Pw 3 – short story based on an urban legend

Deep in the snow-clad wilderness of Norway’s Jotunheimen mountains, where the wind howled like the laments of lost souls, whispered an ancient creature—a Wendigo. While the Wendigo is commonly associated with North American folklore, Norwegian elders said that such a monster once roamed their cold heights, cursed by hunger and loneliness.

Years ago, a hunter named Stian entered into Jotunheimen on his own. The villagers warned him of the cursed fjell, where lengthy winters capture travelers and force them to commit desperate things to survive. Stian laughed at their tales. He was proud of his resilience, knowing that his expertise and provisions would get him through.

The first week passed without incident. Stian discovered deer and rabbit trails, but the air became colder and thicker. Storms devastated the peaks by the second week, forcing him to seek safety in a small, abandoned hytte. Snow piled heavy, keeping him inside. His resources diminished. Hunger gnawed at his gut, and his thinking deteriorated with each passing day.

On the tenth evening, he heard a knock. Stian, weak and shivering, opened the door, expecting to find another stranded soul. Instead, a figure stood there, strangely tall and shrouded in darkness. Its eyes flashed a strange blue, and its voice was as frigid as the winter wind.

“You called me,” it murmured.

Stian staggered back. He hadn’t called anyone, but his thoughts were filled with truth. In his desperation, he cursed the gods for leaving him and his agonizing hunger.

The skeletal hand of the creature brushed Stian’s face as it entered. It said, “I can make your pain go away.” “But hunger comes at a cost.”

Desperation tainted Stian’s thoughts. He agreed. With a smile that resembled ice shards, the Wendigo put its hand over his chest. He felt a terrible, never-ending craving as an intolerable cold ran through him.

The following day, a gaunt and hollow-eyed Stian was discovered wandering the mountains. His once-steady voice had become a raspy whisper as he described an insatiable desire for human flesh. It was too late, but the villagers ran away in fear. Stian had lost his humanity. Stalking the peaks in perpetual agony, he had transformed into Jotunheimen’s Wendigo.

Hikers still report hearing his wailing cries on stormy nights. Furthermore, anyone who goes too far might spot a shadow among the trees, waiting and watching—always hungry.

 

PW #3 – Take Me to Switzerland, Already.

As my time in Victoria comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of gratitude in my life. Through meditation, I’ve learned to appreciate the people and experiences that have changed me, and one of the things I’m most grateful for is the friendships I’ve made, especially with people from all over the world.

One friendship that stands out is with Emma, a kind and sweet girl from Switzerland. It’s incredible how quickly we bonded, and I know it might sound a bit cheesy, but it feels almost as though we’ve known each other forever. We’ve talked about recent vacations we have had, and to me, it’s funny to think how, some years, my winter breaks spent skiing in the U.S. started to feel repetitive and forgettable. But now, thanks to Emma, things might change. She lives in Switzerland, and we’ve already talked about visiting each other, which excites me beyond words. She has shown me photos of Zurich and Zermatt, which are breathtaking, and I can’t wait to ski with her there.

It’s truly amazing how new friendships can make me look at travel and holidays completely differently. I now fantasize about future trips and visiting all my friends from around the world. As my time in Canada ends, I feel deeply thankful for the people I’ve met. These friendships, long-distance or not, will always be a part of me, and they’ve made my time here unforgettable. Though I’ll miss this place, I’m excited about the new memories and adventures.

PW#3 Slow Day in Boarding School

Today was the last day of school week, so i woke up early for breakfast, and get ready for school day. My first class was relaxed so I took the chance to read some more of my new book Fourth Wing. I spent most of the class reading it. Next I had science, I worked in my energy evidence that I’m almost finished with. After that I headed to advisor where i got some more reading time before lunch. In PE we had basketball self assessments, which was fun to do. Then i moved to Individuals and Society, where I worked on my essay The Consequences of World War 1. Once classes were over I went back to my room, after sometime of being there I decided I wanted to read some more. After a while I went down to the dining hall for dinner, then ready my self for a good night sleep, to have a productive day tomorrow.

Don’t Go To The Library! It’s Chaotic!- PW#3

I had to push a car with my dad on the way back from the library. Let me explain. After school, my parents were running late (30 minutes), so I decided to go to Tim Hortons like any normal person would in that situation. Once my mom finally came, we went home. The moment I arrived I didn’t have time to rest or sit down, I had to deliver newspapers. My dad decided he would help me out and we both quickly got that over with. I asked hi if we could go to the library since we were done and I was looking for a new book to read. My dad said that we could, but first he had to give some money to one of his workers and he needed it instantly since he was buying a new car (he got a REALLY good deal that my dad helped him get). The thing is, this car, was a bit run down, but I didn’t care because it wasn’t my car.

Once we were FINALLY done with that my dad and I immediately headed for the library. We got there only to realize it was closed. We were heading back when my dad’s worker called him and asked my dad if we could give him a ride. My dad asked if it was ok and I didn’t want to be be rude, so I told him it’s ok. It was only going to take 10 extra minutes anyways. We go there and my dad drops him off. My dad’s worker gets into his brand-new-run-down car and my dad was following him because they were going to park the car in a different lot (and after that my dad was going to drop him to his house). We are turning right and it was a bit inclined, but that shouldn’t be a problem… or so I thought. I hear a loud noise. I didn’t think much of it until I see my dad’s worker’s car, start rolling in reverse. Is it weird that before thinking about my safety, I thought about my dad’s truck getting a huge dent? I cared more about the truck then anything else. I had the sudden urge to get out and try to stop the car from hitting my dad’s truck (I love that truck). Thankfully, my dad’s worker was smart enough to actually know what a break is used for and realized what was going on in time. If my tru- my dad’s truck got a single scratch, I would never let this man get away with it. HE WOULDN’T HEAR THE LAST FROM ME!

My dad and his worker were trying to figure out what to do, while I just mindlessly watched them, too tired to understand what the hell was going on. My dad had to park his car in a nearby parking lot and he made his way to help his worker. I personally would not even offer it and respond with, “Yeah, you got yourself caught in quite the pickle. Anyways, I wish you the best buddy, but I have to go do… uhm… something more important than this. So, bye!” My dad is too nice to do that and felt bad for the poor man (I felt bad for our truck, but sure). There was another parking lot nearby and in order to get there we had to PUSH THE CAR BACK! Can I mention that the last thing I had wad was half a bagel from Tims and it was 4 hours ago? Our plan managed to succeed and my dad tried figuring out the problem. It wasn’t working because it was still rolling back. I hate scammers even more now… they really do ruin lives…. After a bit of my dad and his worker going back and forth, taking turns to try driving this thing and figuring out what the hell is wrong with it, I was silently waiting for my dad to tell me get in the driver’s seat. I mean, it made more sense that two grown men would push the car instead of one grown man and a weak teenager who… wants to drive.

“Gurjas, get in the drivers seat.”
“LET’S GO!!! I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO SAY THAT!!!”

Safe to say I was the life of the party. I was so happy imagining myself driving this on the actual road. Don’t worry… this is DEFINETLY NOT illegal. definitely. I did not complain about the incident after that- WE GOT HOME AT 8:26 PM! I HAVE HOMEWORK, I NEED TO SHOWER, I AM STARVING, AND I CAN BARELY OPEN MY EYES! I showered. I ate. I check the time. It’s 8:42 pm. That gives me enough time to finish my homew- I slept. I woke up at 4:00 am feeling restless and my legs are barely keeping me up right now. I would not be writing this in my uniform all ready for school if it weren’t for the fact that we are playing soccer today for PE. “Guess I’ll just do my homework,” I thought to myself, “as much as I can… and try to keep my eyes open for the rest of the day, but its not guaranteed. Man, I’m never asking to go to the library again. Except today. I want to go today.”

Moral of the story: Don’t ask your dad to go to the library because then your dad’s worker’s car will stop working and you’ll have to deal with that by pushing it up a small hill and arrive home very late. AND YOU WON’T EVEN MAKE IT TO THE LIBRARY!

PW#3 I don’t want to leave Canada

These past month I have been feeling very down, all of that feeling is mostly because I do not want to go back to my old school. I don’t want to loose my friends that I made here, those friends mean a lot to me in a way I thought no one could in this short period of time.

I am trying to assure I spend all mine time with them, and I want to have a last good time with every single one of the those that matter a lot to me, I want to keep contact to mostly of them or I will just follow their social media to see how their lives are going. But one thing I am sure this time was really nice to me and I will not ever forget these 4 Incredibles months I spend in Canada.

I liked the school and the ambient so much that I want to come back next September and stay here till the end of high school, since I will have people that already mean a lot to me here I will have a good welcome back ( I hope). I will make sure that these last 23 days in the best way possible, I will miss here a lot!

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.

Reflection On Two Essays

The two essays, ¨The Moral Equivalent of War¨ by William James and the discussion about whether ¨real men¨ can thrive in a peaceful society, explore how masculinity, war, and society are connected. Both ask an important question: can the energy and toughness that come from war be redirected toward something positive in a world without violence?

In his essay, James talks about how war has shaped human nature and society. He explains that people have inherited a love of fighting, glory, and discipline from their ancestors, who survived through struggle. War, he argues has brought out qualities like bravery, teamwork, and endurance. However, James wants to find a way to keep these ¨manly virtues¨ without the destruction of war. He suggests creating a ¨moral equivalent of war¨, where young people are required to do tough jobs like mining, construction, all this in harsh conditions. These tasks would teach them discipline, hard work, and a sense of pride, just like the military does, but without the violence. James believes this could preserve the positive aspects of war while helping society move toward lasting peace.

The second essay focuses on how masculinity changed during the Industrial Revolution, when the middle/high class (The ¨Bourgeois¨) became more important. Men’s roles became less physical and more about office work and family life. This created a new kind of man who was seen as soft and less exciting compared to the rugged, brave men of the past. At the same time this shift brought safety and comfort, it also led to dissatisfaction. The essay points out that some people still admire hyper-masculine traits, like physical strength and boldness, but warns that unchecked masculinity can lead to problems like violence, gangs, and authoritarianism. It asks whether men can channel their natural aggression in healthy ways or if war and conflict will always be part of human life.

Both essays agree that masculinity often thrives in conflict and challenge. James offers a hopeful solution by suggesting hard civilian work as a substitute for war, while the second essay highlights the risk of ignoring or suppressing masculine energy. The essay also mentions how sports, like boxing have been used as an outlet for aggression, but it questions whether these can fully replace the excitement of war.

In the end, both essays remind us that masculinity is a complex part of human nature. Instead of trying to eliminate the traits that come from war, they suggest we should find ways to canalize them into activities that build society. James and the second essay agree: toughness and strength can exist without violence, but it will take creativity and effort to achieve this balance. The challenge is finding a path where men can grow, stay true to themselves, and contribute to a peaceful world.

PW#3 Good Will Hunting

a few weeks ago I watched Good Will Hunting for the first time, yes, I am well aware I’m a few centuries late to watching it. Mostly on the weekends (because I don’t have time on school days), I watch movies with my dad, Interstellar is next, I can’t wait! If you are like me and have been living under a rock for a while and you don’t know the movie, it’s about a guy named Will, he’s a really smart kid but he doesn’t exactly have anything exciting going on. He’s a janitor at this school and this really difficult problem gets put up in the halls on a board, when Will solves it, the teachers try to get through to him but can’t so they try to get a therapist to help him loosen up and help him (The 4th and last therapist was Robin Williams!). Each session goes on and they get more and more in depth with talk about romance, relationships, deaths, weird stuff like that, maybe I’m into light romance type movies? Not too sure… One thing I really like about movies though is when they bring a quote or action from the start of the movie and reintroduce it at the end. Good Will Hunting did EXACTLY that. Will’s therapist is telling him that he missed out on a great baseball game to “go see about a girl”. Then at the end of the movie, Will decided to go chase this girl he recently had a fight with, he missed the therapy lesson but left a note saying, “I gotta go see about a girl”. Sweet things like that, that I like. Also the way the therapist worded a lot of things, it had deep meanings it was a great movie, awesome movie (I might watch more like that, I’ll be in touch!).

PW #3-My Life here in Canada

It’s time to write my personal writing and I want to talk about how in the last couple of days my work had piled up and I got sick. Right now, I’m trying to catch up with my tasks. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish soon, I just want to recover from this illness.

We are now not so far from returning home for the winter break and I can’t believe that after this I won’t see some of my friends again. I’ll keep texting them and remain in contact but despite all this I’ll miss them. On the other hand, I’m happy that finally we will have a break from school, but even if I decide to rest and relax on the holidays, I’ll have to do my personal proyect.

PW# 3

I love Christmas so much. Theres so much to enjoy about it, the decorations, gifts and food and being around people to celebrate it. My family celebrates it because of the birth of Jesus. I think Christmas is the best holiday ever, especially if you get to spend it in a country that snows so that you can get the white Christmas experience. Everything about Christmas has such a homely feeling. This year I’m going to stay in Canada for Christmas and Im going to celebrate with My mom, Stepdad and my siblings and my Russian friend Polina because she has been begging for a Christmas sleepover. Polina is good at baking so I am going to make her bake me something Christmassy like a gingerbread man. So I am so excited for Christmas.

PW# 3- BC Hydro I Hate You.

Just yesterday the island was affected by something called a “bomb cyclone” It’s not too serious, I mean we aren’t going to get flooded or anything but we will get strong winds, heavy rain, and the tide will be up. As someone who lives smack dab right next to the ocean my house and neighborhood often suffer from power outages, for instance, remember that power outage that happened 2 weeks ago? Well, while the school and other dwellings in sed area got power back at around 8 pm my house did not get power back until 8 am the next day! Now back to the present day with our friend who is the bomb cyclone, our friend is seriously affecting the houses in my neighborhood whether it be; trees, fences, and my gazebo that nearly flew away due to the wind that was whistling through the night. Due to the storm, my house lost power last night, it all started when the lights started flickering which of course I thought was odd until the power went out leaving me completely in the dark, this is a common occurrence in my household so all you can do is light candles and wait out the inevitable time the power gets turned back on. I texted Ely, Eva, Polina, and Roberta asking if their power had gone off as well, but to my surprise, everyone had power except me! I then waited out until we had power and of course power had majestically turned on at the crack of dawn at 5 am in the morning. Now I understand BC hydro is busy and is constantly working around the clock but I mean shouldn’t BC hydro have some kind of back up generator to power the city without having to sit in the dark for hours, and this is me speaking as a resident of a neighbourhood that always gets power last. BC Hydro, shouldn’t you atleast have a plan especially in the rainy season when we have bomb cyclones coming at us? I mean I used to live in Winnipeg where there would be at least 7 different blizzards in a year and our power was on all year round and we had a power outage once every two years, I understand Winnipeg has different whether conditions but why cant BC hydro just adapt better solutions to harsh whether?

I hate power outages and I hate BC Hydro.

PW#03 – Whatsaheart

Whatsaheart is an emerging artist in the alternative and electronic music scene, known for blending introspective themes with atmospheric sounds. His music is often put with “zoomergaze” genre, characterized by a dreamy aesthetic. I deeply admire his ability to blend raw emotion with ethereal, and experimental soundscapes. His tracks like “Snakelike (The Stars Collide)” and “For Her” feel like windows into a deeply personal, introspective world, yet they resonate universally with themes of love, loss, and resilience.

His latest song, “Taking Over Me” and “Ferris Wheel (Back to You),” continue to explore himself longing, personal struggles, and self-reflection. Whatsaheart has been growing his fanbase on Spotify and Amazon Music!

I find his music incredibly inspiring, and it’s often my go-to playlist. Tracks like “Taking Over Me” and “Lovesick” remind me of how art can connect us to emotions we sometimes struggle to express. What sets Whatsaheart apart for me is his authenticity and ability to create a sonic universe that’s as haunting as it is beautiful.

 

Please be sure to check out his profile on Spotify, Amazon or whatever else you use to listen to music!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Ry6DudE0QFcXoUdXsCQfV

PW#3- Mexican Music

Since I was young, people around me, like my family or friends have always listened to Spanish music. I, on the other hand, had always preferred English music. The main reason for that is that as a kid learning to speak English as a second language, I was encouraged to practice it by singing along to music in English. Subsequently, I developed a taste for American music, hearing it most of the time to the point that my non-English speaking mom memorized some of my favourite songs in English. However, since I’ve been here, I’ve realized how much I miss Mexican music. I miss hearing my mom sing her favourite songs on our way to school or my friends singing them on our car rides trying to make me join them. This sense of nostalgia made me realize what I was missing and made me appreciate the beautiful songs my first language can create. Now, whenever I hear music in Spanish, I feel a comforting connection to home, a reminder of where I come from and the colourful culture that shaped me. Now, I’ve started listening to more music in Spanish, and I’m sure that when I go back to Mexico, I’ll be able to sing along with my mom and friends.

IRJE#2 Percy Jackson

The book I’ve been reading is the first book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, “The lightning Thief” where the whole plot of the book goes around the missing “Lightning” a powerful weapon used by Zeus, the point is that weapon disappeared making Zeus really angry and vengeful.

“Zeus’s master bolt,” Chiron said, getting worked up now. “The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers.”

I chose this quote because it emphasizes the importance of the “Master Bolt” and how it symbolizes the power of Zeus and what reason that weapon was created to which makes it even more important. I am enjoying this book a lot, I already read this book 3 times counting this one, and I always like it a lot.

PW#3 LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Little Miss Sunshine is a movie that has been on my mind for a long time. I watched it for the first time in March of this year, a second time in June, and now I’m seriously considering a rewatch. In my relatively short life, I’ve had the privilege of watching many movies. This year alone, I have watched enough movies to be called a movie buff (one hundred and thirty three movies to be exact) but no movie entranced me as much as Little Miss Sunshine. The portrayal of intricate and dysfunctional family dynamics possessed an unmatched level of realism. In just one hour and forty one minutes, the actors and crew were able to capture profound emotions, comedy, meaningful one liners, and delightful moments in a naturally cohesive manner. It is beyond human comprehension how everyone involved in the creation of the film had been able to come together, collaborate, and sync on such a profound level to produce a film as flawless as this masterpiece. Little Miss Sunshine is a cinematic gem that follows the Hoovers family as they try to get to a children’s beauty pageant. On the way they face numerous challenges and learn how to work together and overcome obstacles. The film has a heartwarming message of self-acceptance and reminds those watching that happiness can be found in the most unexpected places, even amidst chaos and shattered aspirations.

PW #3 – Memory

To stay in my little scheme of writing about Canada, I would like to reflect on one of my most memorable trips I have ever taken. About five years ago, my parents and I took a big, 2-week Trip to Quebec, Toronto and Montreal. It was rather a big deal for my family, since it was the first time they “showed” me Canada, the place where my mom grew up and where my parents got married. I remember little me being incredibly exited, I only knew Canada as the country of bears, snow and maple syrup. A very present memory I have still have is when we visited the ice hotel in Quebec. I was very impressed, a whole building build out of ice! I recall the highlight being drinking apple juice out of ice glasses, and I remember feeling like Elsa from Frozen. My parents told me all about their marriage in that hotel. I also still hold very lovely memories from Quebecs old town, where we walked in the snow for hours. The snow was like nothing I had ever seen before, and I was so in awe of the meters of white cotton candy that I suddenly found before me. Thinking back, I realise I most of my memories from Canada took place in the snow. A thing that I still dream about today, is a beautiful husky sleigh ride that we took in some lost forest, a couple of hours outside of the city. The landscapes that we admired from our cozy seats were spectacular. Even though it was almost  a near death experience for me, since I spent 3 hours in -28 degrees not moving, I have never done anything alike since then. The whole trip was an amazing experience and I promised to myself I would come back to that awesome country as soon as I could – and look where I am now!

PW #3 Vorfreude

Going to an international school and being surrounded by people from such diverse backgrounds and cultures has made me realize how important and valuable languages are. Growing up, I never realized what a gift and privilege it was, to be able to communicate in such a variety of languages. I’m very grateful for my parents, to whom I owe my ability of speaking Czech. Being born in Switzerland meant that German immediately became my second language, helping me communicate with everybody on a daily basis. And while I must admit that German is definitely not my favourite language (considering my personal preference for French, Italian and English), mainly because of how complex it is, I still believe that it should be admired for it’s beauty. Its literature, poetry, and rich history reflect a depth of thought and emotion that deserves greater appreciation.

One of my favorite aspects of German is its ability to capture complex emotions in unique ways. A great example is the word Vorfreude. This word, which translates to the joyful anticipation of something yet to come, has no direct English equivalent. It perfectly describes the spark of excitement and happiness before an anticipated event. Vorfreude is something we all experience daily, whether it’s the thrill of planning a trip, the anticipation of a celebration, or the joy of knowing you’ll see a friend after a long day at school. Vorfreude can always be found in the simple moments.

The word ‘Vorfreude’ always reminds me to savor the build-up and not just focus on the outcome. These layers of excitement to ordinary moments have made me look for joy in the everyday.

PW#3

My big achievements this school year are my grades and my courage to make new friends. It was difficult to begin the school year without my best friends, Regina and Fernanda, since they returned to Mexico. Even though that was difficult, I still ended up making some amazing friends. This year, my marks in school have improved a lot because I am putting more effort into getting good grades, focusing better and learning from mistakes I had in the past. Overall, I think I made a lot of good achievements so far and hope to make many more.

IRJE#2-Good Girl, Bad Blood

The book I’ve been reading is Good Girl, Bad Blood, and it’s a fascinating piece of fiction by Holly Jackson. This book is a sequel to Good Girls Guide to Murder, which I read last summer. The sequel is really interesting, and the characters and plot have hooked me since the beginning. Even if it’s not a relatable book but a murder mystery I found some quotes really funny and relatable.

“But sometimes my mouth starts saying words without checking with my brain first.” (p.120)

This quote made me laugh because this is something that happens a lot to me. I constantly find myself saying things which I later regret and I end up wondering why I said it in the first place. Even though the book is about mystery and crime, the characters often have these moments that make the story feel real and relatable. Because of this, I enjoy reading this book and I cant wait until I finish it and continue to the next book in the sequel.

 

 

PW #3: The Passage of Time

There’s something about the world around me that’s… nostalgic almost. If you’ve lived around the Colwood/Langford area for a large part of your life you probably know what I mean. Like when you take a walk up the street you grew up you have the realization that everything has completely changed since you were a small child. Maybe it’s that park near your house that’s been bulldozed, or that store that’s closed its doors that you used to go to all the time when you were younger, or maybe it’s that field that you used to walk around in that got developed into a neighbourhood. Whatever it may be, it represents the passage of time.

Seeing the changes happening around your world is a feeling that nothing else can really match, and it feels so odd looking back to how everything was when nothing you see looks the same. You’re almost a stranger to the place that you’ve been living your entire life when you compare how everything was. Maybe it’s something that you notice every so often with places you used to visit all the time, or maybe it’s something that you’ve never really noticed. Taking a walk through the same place just a decade later shows the effect that time has on the world around us.