Author: Alexa

IRJE#3 We have always lived in the castle

“We have always lives in the castle” by Shirley Jackson is an intriguing story that follows the life of a young girl with antisocial personality disorder, her name is Merricat Blackwood. Merricat lives in a mansion with her uncle Julian and her sister Constance. The rest of her family died from poisoning. Merricat lives in a society where people don’t like their family. Merricat has to go through a lot of tension while getting the groceries for Constance, everyone in her village judges her and makes mean comments about the family. People are still trying to solve the mystery of who poisoned the family. Constance and Merricat were sexually abused by their father. We find out later that Merricat was the one who poisoned the family. She put poison in the sugar because she knew that her sister Constance did not eat sugar, and she wanted her to stay alive because she loved her.

I decided that I would chose three powerful words, words of strong protection, and so as long as these words were never spoken aloud no change would come. I wrote the first word – Melody – in the apricot jam on my toast with the handle of my spoon and then put the toast in my mouth and ate it very quickly. I was one third safe. (p. 49)

This quotation represents how unsafe Merricat feels. She doesn’t like change and she gets scared really easily. That’s why she poisoned her family.

PW#4 Places I want to go to

There are a lot of places I want to go to. I really want to visit Australia because my parents lived there for two years, they said it was so much fun and they loved it. They tell us a lot of stories about it and it sounds so fun. I specifically want to visit Melbourne because that’s were my parents lived. I also want to go to Sydney and penguin island. I want to go to the beach there because it is a good place to surf. I want to visit India, I want to go to the Taj Mahal and ride camels and elephants. I really want to go to Greece it is probably my dream destination I think it is really pretty. I also want to go to Bali. I want to go backpacking through Asia like my parents did, they tell us crazy stories about that too. I want to go to Japan specially, my parents said I would like it. I would like to visit Europe again too. There are a lot more places I want to visit.

Personal Response# 2 Our town

The play Our town by Thornton Wilder, is, in my opinion boring. I would rate it a solid 5/10. I thought it was really boring, specially when the stage manager talked. Half of the play is him talking about what is happening, for one thing it’s a good part in case you don’t understand the acting, but, he is really bad at explaining things and he doesn’t get to the point, he just starts saying random things like the time and stuff. It might be helpful on one side but it is also kind of unnecessary. I also found it very confusing because it it switches the times back and forward; One minute it’s 1901 and the next it’s 1913 or something. On the other hand I kind of liked it because at least there is a climax to the story that is kind of interesting. I liked that it was a play too because the book really confused me. I didn’t like that the stage manager spoke in most of the story then the characters. I found their acting a little over the top. I also didn’t like the setting because it was literally two tables and six chairs, so I also found it confusing. Overall I thought it was a boring play but I still liked it a little bit.

PW#3 Why I am excited for Christmas

Reasons why I am exited for Christmas. I am really excited for Christmas, it is my favourite holiday. I really want to snow this Christmas because I like playing in the snow with my brother. I really excited to put up my Christmas tree and hang the stockings by the fireplace. I really the like the way the Christmas tree looks in the living room  with all the lights. I am also excited to listen to Christmas music while me and my family decorate the house. I want it to be cold outside but warm inside. I am really excited for the break because there is no school and I get to wake up as late as I want. I am also excited because I get get to go to Mexico to spend Christmas with my grandparents, and spend new year’s at Puerto Vallarta with all my cousins on my dad’s side. I really like watching the snow from my window. I am also excited for the presents. I really hope this Christmas is the best.

IRJE#2 The Giver

“The Giver” by Lois Lowry, is a really odd novel, it is clear yet confusing. This book is written in 3rd person. In the first two chapters we are introduced to Jonas (in this case the protagonist), an eleven-year-old boy living in a highly controlled society, that prioritizes sameness and conformity. As Jonas is preparing for the Ceremony of Twelve, where he will receive his life assignment, he reflects on the emotions of fear and uncertainty that spread through his community. The world around him is empty of color and genuine emotion, leading to sense of emptiness.

“It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he felt when he was afraid of the gabble of the baby’s cry.” (p.1)

This quote highlights Jonas’s internal struggles and hints the deeper complexities of his society. It sets the tone for his journey, making his awareness of the fear that underlines the community’s front of perfection, and hints of his eventual quest for truth.

PW #2 How I got a concussion

It all started on September 22nd in Kamloops bc, it was a sunny day. I woke up early that day because I had a rugby tournament. So I got ready in the hotel room I shared with some of the girls in my team. I skipped breakfast because I didn’t wake up on time. I got on the bus with my team and some of the older girls from the league. We listened to music to get ready, and we finally got there. There were so many tents, there were teams from Edmonton and Toronto, all of the rugby teams in bc were there! It was a massive event. So we got ready at like 9.am and started warmup at like 10.am, our first game was at 10.30am. It all started pretty decent, we got tries, they got tries, everything was going great. We had the ball, then someone in my team got tackled, so I got into the ruck ( if you don’t know what a ruck is, it’s when you get over the person who got tackled to protect the ball so the other team doesn’t get it ) in rugby when you go into a ruck the other team is allowed to push you off, to get the ball. So when I got into the ruck another girl tried to push me off, instead, she slammed her head against mine. After that game my head started hurting, but it was sunny out so I just thought it was because of that , so I chose to ignore it. Then we had an hour break to eat and stuff. So I lied down and chilled with my friends. Then it was time for warmup again, my head still hurt a lot. We did a drill were I had to hit bags and get through, but every time i hit a bag my headache kept getting worse. It was time for my second game. I had the ball, and I was running, until I got tackled. I remember my head hitting the ground and I also remember her stepping on my head. After that I can only remember standing up confused. Then I remember crying, and then I remembered were I was and who I was with, then everything turned back to normal. Until my eye started twitching really fast, so they took me to the medical tent and asked me some questions, they knew they had to take me to the hospital. My friend’s mom offered to drive me because my friend hurt her wrist. So I got to the hospital, the doctor asked me some question and I saw some friends that also got injured. After I got back from the hospital, I made it in time to watch the last game. And that is how I got my concussion.

IRJE #1 Stargirl

“Stargirl” by Jerry Spinelli, is a weird yet captivating story. At first I thought it was really stupid and boring, but it is actually really interesting. It is an adult-fiction novel based on a girl that was different than anyone else. It takes place in a fake city in Arizona called Mica. It follows the life of a 15 year old boy called Leo, who meets this strange but fascinating girl called Susan, but she prefers to be called Stargirl. Leo and everyone else at Mica Highschool are puzzled by this girl who shows up with her pet rat and a ukulele, at first. But then Leo discovers that Stargirl liked him, so he started liking her too, and they started dating. Stargirl is an unusual girl, but she is really kind to everyone who stands in her way.

“She is one of us. Most decidedly. She is us more than we are us. She is, I think, who we really are. Or were.” p.g 32

This quote captures, the way stargirl acts, she is curious and she always stays positive. People were wondering if she was real for the way she acted, and that quote is the answer.

PW#1 My trip to France

It was 2018 when my parents told me we were going to move to France, I was shocked at first, but then they told me it was just for six months. I was so excited, and a little nervous, because going to France for six months meant I had to go to school there. Anyways, I can’t really remember when we left, but I do remember the flight there, It was awful, It was so uncomfortable. It started off pretty good, there were a lot of good movies. But then it was time to sleep. I couldn’t, It was so uncomfortable, I tried everything to fall asleep, my mom even made me a little bed under the seats, I still couldn’t sleep. And for some reason I remember hearing the ac of the plane, it was either that, or very strong wind. I tried everything to fall asleep, until I switched seats with my brother and fell asleep on my dad’s lap. The next morning, I woke up to people talking and children crying. When I woke up I it was really late, and I had missed the breakfast, thankfully my dad saved me some of his fruit and yogurt, It was pretty gross but that’s all I had to eat, I can’t remember if I finished it. I can’t remember when we walked off the plane although I remember arriving in Paris. A couple of days later we went on the Eiffel Tower and It was pretty cool. we could see the seine river and all the locks on the railing. After a few days we finally got to see the apartment we were going to stay in for the next six months, I was amazed by how small it was ( the living room, the kitchen and the dinning room were all in the same room ) “This is going to be the longest six months of my life” I thought. It turned out to be great. We didn’t rent a car to move around, we move around on scooters, not even electric ones. The first month was pretty fun because I didn’t have school, because we were still moving in and school hadn’t started yet. We went for walks to the park and ate really good pizza and bread from the corner, thats when I first started skateboarding, I even got to see my best friend that had moved to Italy. It was pretty fun, until school started. I had a lot of friends, but it was the teachers and the staff, they hated me and I hated them. they were so rude and strict. Except I liked that I didn’t have school on Wednesday and the weekend of course, and I also had two twenty minute breaks and one two hour break to eat. I ate at school. Anyways that pretty much sums it up. And that was my experience in France.

Master and Man Response

I didn’t like Master and Man. First of all, it’s not interesting, It doesn’t have a point, its just about two people that want to get to Goryachkin and they ended up in Grishkino, twice, and that is all they talk about for the whole novella which makes it so boring. It is also so long, they talked about how the road was snowy for a whole chapter, there is nothing interesting about it. I also don’t understand most of it, because there is a lot going on at once but at the same time there is nothing going on, its so confusing. I didn’t like any of the characters, not even Nikita, I think he relies a lot on alcohol and his drinking problems really affect his life. I also don’t like Vasili Andreevich, I think he is really selfish and doesn’t care about people, except I thought he was nice for giving up his life for Nikita.

My introduction

Hi! My name is Alexa Castro, I was born in Mexico city on June 21st 2010. I have a little brother who was born when I turned three years old. When my brother was born, we moved to a city called Cuernavaca, which is like an hour away from Mexico city. When I turned eleven years old, my parents decided that Mexico wasn’t safe anymore, so they decided to move to Canada. I have a dog, her name is Lila. She is a rescued dog from Mexico, so we don’t know what breed she is. I still haven’t decided what I wanna do when I grow up, but i’ll figure it out, I really like to travel so i’m gonna travel a lot. I like to play sports, like rugby, volleyball, basketball, and sometimes I like to play soccer with my brother and dad.