Author: Adrien

IRJE #8 – What do we Really Fear?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood prince, by J.K. Rowling (no I did not steal this from Nathan I had this idea originally) is the 6th book in the Harry Potter series. In this specific book, Harry Potter and Dumbledore go on an adventure to destroy Horcruxes, which are parts of Voldemorts soul, the wizard they are trying to defeat. Towards the end of the novel, Dumbledore dies, which throws a huge wrench into everything and causes Harry to get extremely heartbroken, but also mad, and even more hungry to destroy Lord Voldemort. So him and his 2 friends throughout the whole series, Ron and Hermione, decide to go and hunt down and destroy the remaining 4 Horcruxes. They’re hunt is detailed in the last and final book, though.

“Not while they are merely drifting peacefully below us,” said Dumbledore. “There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” (p. 478)

The part of this quotation i am going to be talking about is the last sentence, I just included the rest because it is all one phrase said. I think this sentence really makes you think about what it really is you are afraid of, when you are afraid of something, or when you are anxious about something. Because if you really think about it, you’re not scared of the dark, you’re scared of what could be lurking within it. This could be said for a lot of other fears. For example, you’re not afraid of elevators, you’re afraid of what could happen when you’re inside one (unless you are afraid of the actual machine in which case that’s more unusual), you’re not afraid of spiders, you’re afraid of what they might do to you, you’re not afraid of heights, you’re afraid of falling, or what happens if you fall, and so on. Of course there are some fears that stand alone, such as the fear of throwing up, or the fear of being homeless, etc. But those aren’t what we are talking about. I think this sentence really makes you dig deep into your fears, and find out what you are really afraid of. Because if you think about it, not everything is what it turns out to be.

IRJE#7 – What is Man’s Greatest Treasure?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling is the 5th book out of 7 in the Harry Potter series. The whole series is about a boy who figures out he is a wizard, and who goes to the magical school of Hogwarts to train magic, and eventually destroys the most evil wizard in all of the wizarding world, Voldemort. In the 5th book specifically, Harry potter is in his 5th year at Hogwarts, and he starts preparing for battles against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He creates Dumbledore’s Army to prepare for battle, and engages in several battles.

“Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure” (p. 186)

This is a very interesting quotation, and it really makes you think. Even years after reading this quotation for the first time when I first read this book, I still can’t fully understand what it means. I think wit beyond measure refers to knowledge or intelligence, and beyond measure refers to without a limit, or a very great amount. Overall meaning that unrestrained or limitless knowledge is man’s greatest treasure. This can be argued, but I don’t think anyone can have limitless knowledge, or be able to know everything or almost everything. I do not think it is possible, and that is why it is man’s greatest treasure, and greatest want, because it is not possible. Mankind will always want most what is not possible.

PW#8 – Private School V.S. Public School. *Disclaimer* My Experience

*Disclaimer* The piece of writing you are about to read is about my experience with public and private school, I recognize not all public school may not be exactly like the ones I have gone to and experienced, and I recognize all the private schools may not be as nice or might not have as much of a positive impact as this one. Please note I am not trying to criticize or accuse every public school of being like the ones I am about to talk about. I am also not going to mention names of schools, as that’s just messed up.

I have gone to public school for most of my life, from preschool until 7th grade. I’ve started private school here last year, in grade 8. But out of all the years I’ve spent in public school, these years so far in private school have been the best so far, maybe not for my personal and social life, as last year was a bit rough, but actual school experience wise, they have been the best 1 and a half years of school I’ve ever had. Having ADHD and autism, school and social situations have been hard. But, in public school, they don’t really give a damn about your situation, or how school is going for you individually, and they don’t really care about you specifically anyway, unless you get a good teacher. But, in general, if you have a problem, or something happens with someone else at the school, they almost will never look into what actually happened, they will just take the side of the person who is more vulnerable, and assume that the person who has the disability, like autism, is automatically responsible because they have autism, and could therefor be more likely to cause problems. They don’t care about you as an individual, they only want to help you if you are causing a problem for the school, or hurting the reputation, and they need you to stop something. In private school, not only do you have teachers who want to see you succeed, and who actually have a passion for teaching, you also get support, and if there is an issue, there is a thorough investigation to find all the details, before making an assumption about who did what. In a private school, they also have the power to expel someone if they do something too bad. In public school, they can’t really do that because you have a right to education. So with a school being able to choose who they accept, and being able to kick out anyone who they don’t want there, it provides a much better, less toxic, fairer environment. And instead of being solid and unforgiving like public school, private school can work towards a solution better. What I like to say is public school will call your parents if you do something wrong and say something along the lines of “The student needs to stop doing this, or else the student will be put under restrictions, and will not be allowed to be in class and will be kept in a separate room”, whereas a private school will call and say something like “This student needs to work on not doing this, we request/need you guys to come into the school for a meeting, and we can find and discuss strategies to work toward a solution that works for everyone”. So basically, public school says that a solution must be found or repercussions will occur, and a private school says let’s meet and work towards a solution.

PW#7 – The First Time I Went to Italy

The first time I went to Italy I went for 3 weeks, and I had a lot of fun. It wasn’t just my family who went, we also went with my grandma. Since we weren’t just visiting 1 place, we were driving all around Italy, we had to rent an old-style VolksWagen van. It really was quite comical, especially because it was a manual, like most cars in Europe. So, my dad was not only driving a manual, which he doesn’t usually do as our car is automatic, but he’s also driving an 8-person massive van, on Italian roads and European traffic, and some places we stayed, we had to drive up or down really steep turns and stuff, so sometimes my dad had to do the drive forward, then reverse, then drive forward again. We went to a small town on the top of a mountain in Florence, we went to a city in Tuscany, we went to Milan, then a more central city in Florence, Venice, Napoli, and then we went to my favourite place in the whole trip: A house in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany, it might not sound good, but the AirBnB we had had wild fruit plants near, it had a ping-pong table, a pool, and dogs we could play around with. And we weren’t exactly in the middle of nowhere, but we were 15 minutes away from the nearest town. It was so hot especially while we were at the house, and there nothing like sitting in a pool in the backyard of a house in the middle of nowhere in the valley of Tuscany, while watching the Tuscan sunset. We finished it off in Rome, and we took a very scenic photo in front of the Colosseum on our last night, then I flied home.

PR to “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens

I think the book A Christmas Carol  by Charles Dickens was an overall good read, I personally enjoyed it more than some of the other books we have read, but it’s also not my favourite. I think out of all the books we’ve read, it was probably 2nd or 3rd on my list. This is a very famous book, and I have watched movies about it, read variations of it, even preformed a play of it at school, so the basic idea of the book is not uncommon, and I already knew what it was. But reading the original thing was different. There are certain details that are only in the original book, such as exactly where each ghost takes Scrooge and what he sees, and what he does before meeting Marley, and what he does after. I think overall the idea of changing someone is an idea that is closely related to real life, and how despite what people think, everyone has the ability to change, whether they want to or not is their decision, and whether they can by themselves or not just depends on the person. I think the lesson behind this book is valuable, saying that even if it seems like someone doesn’t have the ability to change, and will always be the same, that with maybe some help from the right people, that person can indeed change and become a better person. The book again, was written in an older English style, so it was a lot harder and took a lot longer to read, as it was written in a confusing, unusual way. I think what all the ghosts combined showed Scrooge were all very interesting and valuable things to show, and it makes you think about how each event or moment in your life compares to both someone else’s life and your life in later years.

PW#6 – How I Got Hit by a Car Pt.4

Once in the ward, I think I slept. It’s been a while since the incident so my memory is a little foggy, but I’m pretty sure the first thing I did was sleep. When I woke up a couple hours later, maybe around 7 or 8, a nurse came and checked my vitals, which are like my blood pressure and if my IV’s were in correctly or not, and how I’m feeling in general. After that, I learned what happened, I had gotten hit by a car. “You were struck by an oncoming vehicle while riding your bike” is what I think the exact words were. She then told me that the only major thing i suffered from was a broken jaw (I think it was like a fractured mandible and something else). I needed to use the washroom, and I told the nurse this, and she helped me stand up, which I had to do very carefully as I had bruises all over my body and everything, including my head, hurt. I grabbed my IV and fluids tower, and slowly walked to the washroom. This was the only time I really had a struggle and it made me feel worse than I already did. The bathroom was probably about 2 or 3 metres away from my bed, and when I first started walking (I denied help) I almost fell. But I made it without any real changes for the worse, aside from my previously asleep, sore muscles waking up and causing pain. But after I finished using the washroom, I started feeling nauseous. I rested my elbows on the sink and my head in my hands. I looked and the mirror, and saw myself, and had a thought that I would never be back to normal, that’s also when I realized I had bitten a hole completely through my tongue. I probably sat resting on the sink for about 5 mins, and when I was feeling better, I opened the door, and walked slowly (the nurse helping me this time) back to my bed. There was a little food and some drink on my bed, and I slowly drank, and tried to eat a little bit, but I couldn’t really as my jaw was broken and there was a clean hole through my tongue. I just sort of sat there for a couple hours, until I went to sleep for the night.

IRJE#5 – What is History?

The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown is the book I have been reading for a while now. It is about a symbologist named Robert Langdon, who meets a cryptographer named Sophie Neveu at the Louvre museum in Paris when they are investigating a strange murder. The person who was murdered left a code and arranged his body in a particular way that meant something to Langdon and Sophie, But no one else. Them discovering and deciphering the code entangled them in a dispute between the Priory of Son and Opus Dei over a possibility of a child.

“Meaning that history is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and thw winner writes the history books–books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, ‘What is history but a fable agreed upon?’ ” (P.256).

This quotation makes us think about what history actually is, and where it originates from. Because really, there is no way to confirm that history is true, it was just passed down through generations. Same with books, or plays. Anyone could’ve written a book and filled it with a bunch of lies and acted like it was true. Makes us realize that we just take history and believe it true, when the reality could be the exact opposite.

PW#5 – Basketball

I started playing basketball just casually like at recess when I was in 6th grade, and then decided to join the basketball team. I did OK, but it was grade 6 basketball so the gameplay wasn’t good anyway. I certainly wasn’t the best on the team, nor was I even close, I did not know how to play very well, and didn’t get passed to often. However I was good on defense, so that was what I stuck to. In grade 6, when I joined, I think I dropped 1 basket (2 points) the entire season. I joined in grade 7 too, and I practiced more, and thought i was getting better, but throughout the whole season I didn’t score a single basket. After that, I switched schools from Shoreline to Brookes and I joined the team in grade 8. Let’s just say it was not good. I did not do well, and I got made fun of by the other people on the team for not doing anything. So, in grade 9, I did not join the basketball team. despite kind of wanting to, I knew I wouldn’t do anything. But lately I have started to play basketball at lunch, and have been improving a lot more, so know knows, I might get a lot better and join the team next year

IRJE#4 – How Things Make People Feel

The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown is the book I have been reading for a while now. It is about a symbologist named Robert Langdon, who meets a cryptographer named Sophie Neveu at the Louvre museum in Paris when they are investigating a strange murder. The person who was murdered left a code and arranged his body in a particular way that meant something to Langdon and Sophie, But no one else. Them discovering and deciphering the code entangled them in a dispute between the Priory of Son and Opus Dei over a possibility of a child.

Telling someone about what a symbol “meant” was like telling them how a song should make them feel – it was different for all people (p.35).

This quotation symbolises and reminds us of perspective, and how everybody has a different one. Everybody looks at a situation differently, but it also makes us think about the other part of perspective, that everybody views the same thing differently. 100 people can listen to the same song, and if you give them enough describing words to use, each person will probably have a different description of what the song meant to them, and how it made them feel. Same thing with paintings, and symbols.

PW #4 – How I Got Hit by a Car – Pt.3

I don’t remember anything about being in an ambulance or getting transported to the hospital, but I know I was awake, because the doctors told my mom I was awake the whole time, so I must not be able to remember because of the concussion. This is not very good because that means that someday, the memories will all come flooding back, and I will be forced to remember every thought and feeling that went through my head when I got hit, when I was laying on the ground in the forest, and when i was getting transported and put into a bed in the hospital. Anyway, the next thing I remember is waking up in a crowded hospital room, I think it was the trauma bay, with my dad’s, brother’s, and sister’s face looking at me. My brother and sister give me three words to remember, to help with memory. I can’t remember what they are its been a while, but I know one of them was dinosaur. I think I remember being talked to by one of the trauma doctors, but I don’t know what he was saying. I then got transported into a different room to wait for a different doctor. The doctor came, I can’t exactly remember what we talked about, and then I got transported into a ward.

Adrien PR – Our Town

Our Town is a play written by Thornton Wilder. It tells the story of 2 families who are neighbours in fictional town called Grovers Corners, in New Hampshire, in the 1900s.  The teenage girl from one of the families and the teenage boy from the other family end up marrying, and in act three, the wife dies and explores what it’s like to relive a moment in your life through your eyes once you’ve already finished your life. I actually quite likes the play, I’ve definitely heard the name Grover’s Corners before, so I’ve heard of the play before, and I might have even started reading it in my old school. But anyway, I liked it, I found it interesting, I think it did a good job allowing me to picture how life was in the 1900s, and it also did a good job depicting what goes on in families and in households with kids or teens. I found, obviously since it was written way after the other 2 books we’ve read, it was easy to understand. I think they also did a good job with the acting in the actual on-stage play as well, the actors looks well-suited their role, and they all did a great job acting as if they were actually living their life. So, in conclusion, I would read this book again.

 

IRJE #3, The Pentacle

The DaVinci Code, written by Dan Brown, is a book that I haven’t finished yet. It is about a symbologist named Robert Langdon, who meets a cryptographer named Sophie Neveu at the Louvre museum in Paris when they are investigating a strange murder. The person who was murdered left a code and arranged his body in a particular way that meant something to Langdon and Sophie, But no one else. Them discovering and deciphering the code entangled them in a dispute between the Priory of Son and Opus Dei over a possibility of a child.

“The Pentacle – The ancients envisioned their world in two halves – masculine and feminine. Their gods and goddesses worked to keep a balance of power. Yin and Yang. When male and female were balanced, there was harmony in the world. When they were unbalanced there was chaos.”

I think this quote is special as it brings us back to the old times, even before humans really existed, when it was just the gods, envisioning and creating the world. It makes us think, and it could remind us that balance is important, and why our world was made the way it is, and how it has changed since then.

PW#3 – How I Got Hit by a Car – Pt.2

What happened after that is hard to remember, because of my concussion. Obviously, the next thing that happened was I went to the hospital, but, after a couple hours, when I fully regained consciousness, I remembered something. I remembered laying on the ground, eyes closed, and I was crying. I remember sirens, and so many voices talking at the same time. I couldn’t stop crying, and I remember feeling like everything was bleeding, but not feeling anything at all at the same time. Someone, I’m assuming either a cop or a paramedic, was talking to me. He asked me what my name was, I think, and I said Adrien Mills. I distinctly remember him asking what my moms phone number was, and surprisingly, I remembered and told him. I could barely speak, because my jaw was broken. I didn’t know that at the time, I thought I was dreaming or something. I heard a lot of voices in the background, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. I think someone was saying it was gonna be ok, and someone else was on the phone. The last thing I remember was laying terrified, unable to move, saying “What happened? What’s going on? What’s wrong with me?” Then I can’t remember anything after that.

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.