Author: Adrien

IRJE #2: Villains Make the Stories Happen

The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, is a series of 6 books in where 2 girls, Sophie and Agatha, are taken from their homes to the mystical school called The School for Good and Evil. Really, the school was actually 2 different schools, one magnificent, grand, and expensive school; the school for Good, and one run down, old, and dumpy school; the school for Evil. In the first 3 books, Sophie and Agatha go through their 3 years in the school, Sophie in training to be a princess, and Agatha trained to be a villain. In the last 3 books, their kingdom faces attack from the School Master, and they have to team up and defeat him. My quote is from the first book, though.

She had always found villains more exciting than heroes. They had ambition, passion. They made the stories happen. Villains didn’t fear death. No, they wrapped themselves in death like suits of armor! As she inhaled the school’s graveyard smell, Agatha felt her blood rush. For like all villains, death didn’t scare her. It made her feel alive.

This quote made me think deeply for a while when I read it, because I think there is a lot of meanings behind it. I think it demonstrates off the bat a different way of thinking. It makes you think about how villains affect the stories we read, and how if there were no villains, every hero we know wouldn’t be a hero, because they never saved anyone from anything.

PW#2, How I Got Hit by a Car Pt.1

It was a Wednesday, May 16th if I remember correctly. It was a normal day at school, I can’t say I was very liked, and I had restrictions on my computer and stuff. So I can’t say it was a very good day, but every single day went like this, so I just did my work all day, and kept to myself. The only thing that was different about that day was that I had an appointment with the doctor right after school, but it was right after school ended, so I had to do the appointment right after school was over, in one of the extra rooms. I had the appointment, in which I expressed my frustration with the current state of my life, so I left angry and sad. I had ridden my bike to school that day, which meant I had to ride it home. So I got on my bike, and started biking home. I took the shortcut like I always did, because going down the big hill took to long and was a waste of time, because I added and extra 10 mins to my journey, and i had to bike a long time uphill to take the way I was supposed to, because that road was 2-way. So i decided to take the shortcut by the bus stop, because that road took me directly where I needed to go, and fast, even though the road was only 1-way, and I was going the wrong direction. The last thing I remember was me riding on my bike past the “do not enter” sign.

IRJE #1 – Harry Potter (I chose a different book from my independent reading book because I couldn’t find a quote from my book)

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” written by J.K. Rowling is the seventh out of seven books in the Harry Potter series. The series takes place in an world parallel to ours except for one twist; Wizards and witches (people who are capable of doing magic) exist among the people. The novel explores the life of a wizard boy who lives a miserable life with his aunt and uncle, who gets sent to the magical school of Hogwarts at 11 years old, where he learns about his past, why his parents are dead, and much more. He ends up in a massive feud and battle with a villain named Voldemort, and the final battle happens in book 7, the book where this quote is from

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present.” (p. 722).

In this quote, I mainly focus on the first sentence, and to me, this quote has a very deep meaning, I think it symbolizes different points of view or different outlooks on life, and it makes you rethink how you live your life.

PW #1 – Swimming

I really enjoy swimming, I started swimming when i was 5 years old at the YMCA in Edmonton. I originally started just doing lessons, then eventually I joined a club in the YMCA. It wasn’t really a real swim club, because they didn’t do any swim meets or anything. In 2019, me and my family moved to Montréal, and I got put in some shady, non-registered swim club, which didn’t do swim meets either. I only did that for a little but though because then Covid hit, and they closed down EVERYTHING. Especially in Quebec they locked down everything more than everywhere else. At one point there was a public curfew; you had to be in your house by 10:00 PM, unless you were out walking your dog or something. Anyway, I didn’t do swimming until I moved to Victoria. when I moved to Victoria in the summer of 2021, and almost immediately, my parents put me in lessons. They quickly realized that I was to advanced for all the lessons, and out me into my first real swim club, the Juan de Fuca Royals, in winter 2021. I have been in the Royals since then, and have swam in competitions all through the summer of 2022, 2023, and 2024, and plan to continue swimming competitively for a long time.

My opinion on the book “Master and Man” by Leo Tolstoy

Overall, I think the book is kind of pointless. I can see how to an adult it could be interesting  but for a bunch of teenagers, I feel like it has no real meaning except for the fact that 2 men get stuck in a snowstorm, and only one lives. personally, i would not read this book again, and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone either. I think it is interesting though how a book written so long ago could so accurately predict how rich people act. because all rich people or people with power want is more money, and it’s interesting to  see that the same was true from a book written almost 130 years ago. It would be a lot more interesting to me if the book was more captivating, and easier to read. The way the book was written, combined with the content, made me want to do nothing but put the book right back down. I also feel like if it had more engaging content, aside from them literally riding a horse and getting stuck in a snowstorm. I think it also could have been a lot better if it continued for longer, instead of just ending when it did.

Get to know me – Adrien

My name is Adrien Mills, I’m 14 years old and was born June 1st 2010. I was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but after a couple years moved to Edmonton, Alberta. I lived there for 5 years and spent most of my childhood there. Five years later, we moved to Montréal. our experience there wasn’t great because we moved there right around when Covid started. But 2 years later, we moved to Vancouver island and have finally settled. My dream is to go to France, because having lived in Montréal, I’ve wanted to see how the French culture differs. I also want to go to Japan, because my mom went there as a teenager, and she says it’s just so amazing, and I’ve heard many good things about it.