Author: Emma K

PW #6 – The Best Day of My Life

September 29th, 2024 was the best day of my life because it was the day I shot 69. In golf, its always everyones dream to shot under par and it is a big deal when you do. Less than 1% of golfers are able to shoot under par. But I finally did it. it was a random Sunday in September and I had a golf tournament. These were smaller 1 day tournament’s that happened with junior golf Victoria. This tournament was at Uplands Golf Cub which is a private nice club. I went to my home course range to warm up first by hitting balls then we drove to Uplands so I could putt and chip there. When we got there I unloaded my bag and headed to the check in table to check in for the day. When I was there I saw some of my best friends teeing off so I watched them till they were done. Then I decided to go to the range there as well. Even though i have already warmed up at my home course I still wanted to hit only a few balls there. Once I did that I proceeded to the putting green. I took out my putter and 2 golf balls and tried to get a grasp for the speed of the greens because that is one of the most important things to do before your round. Once it was time, I put my putter away, picked up my bag and walked to the tee. When I got there I saw the three girls in my group and Bob, the guy who runs all of the tournaments. The first hole was a par 5 and i got there in 2 but narrowly lipped out for eagle. but i still made birdie. this was a great start to already a great round.

To be continued……

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Personal Response

After I read the book The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, I thought it was quite interesting. Before we started reading the book, I decided to read the blurb to get a better understanding of what I was going to be reading, and it was quite different then I expected. When I saw the title of the book, I thought the book was going to be about a doctor (Dr Jekyll) and his patient (Mr Hyde) but I was completely wrong. I thought the concept of having one person play two characters without the readers knowing was very cool. I didn’t realize or get this idea until about three quarters into the book. I think Stevenson did a very good foreshadowing this scenario as there were very slight clues but it was not obvious to the reader. Stevenson also stated that Hyde was “deformed” and “detestable” which were very smart foreshadowing moments. This concept allowed the reader to have their own imagination as well. Readers could picture Hyde as anyone they chose. During the story, they could continue thinking to themselves: Who is Hyde? Where did he come from? etc. I also picked up on that during the book Stevenson used the concept good vs evil quite clearly. For example Dr. Jekyll really embodies a good person and was a respectable scientist while on the other hand you have Mr Hyde who was a rude man and he only cared about himself. Hyde embodied Jekyll’s alter ego. And the funny thing is that these two people are the same person. This could indicate that all people have part good and part evil in them. Even though Jekyll is a good person, he creates this evil person. Hyde helps Jekyll with the violence needs he has and creates a new purpose for him. Finally, something else I thought was cool is how Stevenson made Utterson tell the story. As he plays the protagonist, the story still does talk about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde much more. Overall, I did like the book. It wasn’t my favourite book but I was still interested because it always had something going on. I was able to stay engaged in the book even though it wasn’t my favourite.

IRJE #5 – A Good Girls Guide to Murder

In the book A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, it is about a girl named Pip. About 5 years ago, a girl named Andie Bell was murdered supposedly by her boyfriend Sal Singh. In school Pip has to do this big project and she decides to do it on the murder. Throughout the book it explores her journey to find the truth and if people were right. She meets people from Andie’ s past and people who were involved in her life.

When you ask people in town what happened to Andie Bell, they’ll tell you without hesitation: ‘She was murdered by Salil Singh.’ No ‘allegedly,’ no ‘might have,’ no ‘probably,’ no ‘most likely.’ He did it, they say. Sal Singh killed Andie. But I’m just not so sure (p.19).

Andie was always a strong believer the Sal was not the one who killed Andie and that something else happened. She is determined to find the truth and wants to know what actually happened. Everyone in the town has believed that is was Sal including the police who quit the investigation because that thought it was Sal. But was is really Sal? Or was that all a lie?

PW #5 – My Grandpa

My Grandpa is one of my favourite people alive. Today is actually his 70th birthday so I decided to take the day off school and spend the day with him. My Aunt picked us up and we went to Starbucks. And since my Grandpa loves Indian food, we went to an Indian restaurant for lunch which was so good! My Grandpa lives in Saskatchewan so he only comes to visit a couple times a year so whenever he is here I try to spend as much time as possible with him.  He is the funniest person I know. We can talk about random things for hours and never get bored. Whenever he can he comes and tries to watch me in my golf tournaments. Last year I had the BC Jr in Kelowna, and him and my grandma drove all the way from Saskatchewan to watch me play. He always texts me about things he made and all his plans. I love that when he comes out we always cook together and make pies. At my old house we had Blackberry bushes all around our property and we would pick them and make pies out of them. I always had the best time! I can’t imagine my life without him.

IRJE #4 – Make Your Next Shot Your Best Shot

In the book Make Your Next Shot Your Best Shot by Dr Bob Rotella, it stresses the idea of anyone can be great if you want to be. He talks about the idea of people putting in the effort and exceeding while if you don’t believe in yourself you aren’t going anywhere. To reach your best potential you need to surround yourself with people who support you and believe in you. If your coach told you at you could just be good or you could be ok…. would you believe in yourself then? Finding people who believe in you and can help you become great is so important.

“I only think you’re delusional if you’re thinking you’re going to be successful in your quest without a work ethic, belief, discipline, persistence, or patience (p. 41).”

This quotes stresses the idea of putting in the effort. No great athlete became great without practice, practice and more practice. If you keep pushing and practicing everyday it will eventually come. Sometimes it will take weeks, months or even years but you just have to be patient. Greatness takes time.

 

PW #4 – Survivor

One of my favourite shows ever is Survivor. I have many favourites but Survivor is definitely at the top of the list. The show is kind of hard to explain because there are so many different concepts involved. But what basically happens is that they are split into tribes with various others members. They usually will have 18 people overall and 3 tribes of 6. Each episode they compete in challenges and whichever teams comes last has to go to something called Tribal Council. They go here at night and they have to vote someone off of their tribe. Whichever person has the most votes is gone. The game does become interesting when advantages get played like idols, block/steal a vote, Safety without power etc. I love this show because it always keeps me interested. There has been 47 seasons so far and I continue to watch and rewatch them. The show is hosted by someone named Jeff Probost and he has ran the show from the start. He runs tribal, the challenges and is basically in-charge of the whole show. Survivor is on every Wednesday night so I always stay up to watch it.

Our Town – Personal Response

After reading the book Our Town and watching the play I had multiple opinions on it. Out of the 3 stories we have read during this unit, this book was my favourite. This book was something that I have never read before. I have never read a book that was in a script/play format so that was kind of cool to read. I found it cool how they had the stage manager be a real part of the play. In my opinion he was the most important part of the story because I think that I would have been lost in the story without him talking. Another part of the story that I found cool was how the story was so set apart. Each act was years apart and talked about completely different things and situations that happened in their life at Groovers Corners. I did like how they did this because he allowed some of the scenes to have more detailed and it allowed us to get a better understanding of what was actually happening. Something that I thought was interesting was how they included so many people in the play. In the book they didn’t have to many people talking. But in the play there were many people in the background scenes and all over the town which I thought was interesting and a good detail.

IRJE #3 – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

In the book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne it talks about how the German’s and Jewish were very different and how the conflicts effected the society. The protagonist of the book is a boy named Bruno who is the son of an Schutzstaffel officer. This story was based off of the Holocaust which was in 1933. In the story, Bruno makes friends with a jewish boy named Shmuel.  One day, Bruno went exploring in the forest and saw a fence. On the other side of the fence was a camp and had many people wearing striped pyjamas. And that is when Bruno saw a boy sitting down. That is how he met Shmuel.

Bruno: We’re not supposed to be friends, you and me. We’re meant to be enemies. Did you know that (p. 54)?

This quote expresses how the jewish and Germans were not allowed to be together or friends at all! This is forbidden and when they did try to see each other they would have to be very secretive. But as the boys were young, sometimes they never understood why they couldn’t just be friends like normal 9 year old boys. Which is sad to think about because now a days we are very lucky because even thought some people did have a hard childhood, none of us had to go through what they did.

PW #3 – My Favourite Season

My favourite season of the year I summer. I love summer because because the weather is hot so I can be in shorts all the time, I can go to the golf course everyday and there is nothing I need to stress about. Summer is a time where I don’t need to worry about doing my homework or when I have another test. In the summer I also often get to travel everywhere around British Columbia for tournaments. It is something I look forward to the whole year. I love going on the ferry and getting to the hotel and exploring a new golf course. I also get to see my friends there sometimes. Often some of my friends are at the same tournament so we also get to spend time with them away from Victoria. Another thing I love about summer is being able to spend time with my friends. We can hangout all the time and get to see each other outside of school and do fun things together. We can go to the lake or go to a water park and more things that we wouldn’t be able to do in the winter. Finally, the last reason why I love summer is because the days are longer. I can be outside till 9pm and it still be perfectly light.

IRJE #2 – The Summer I Turned Pretty

In the book The Summer I Turned Pretty written by Jenny Han, it dives into the concepts of life with friends and family, young summer love and the joys and struggles of being a teenager. Belly Conklin (as the protagonist), annually spends the summer at cousins beach with her family and close friends. Throughout the series, a love triangle begins with Belly and two brothers: Jeremiah and Conrad. As the book goes on, new adventures begin and old memories come back.

I loved the feeling of talking and having somebody really listen to what I have to say. It was like a high or something (142).

Whenever I read this book or think about it , I always remember how well written the book was. This book is a very popular book and is the first out of a series of three. I think the book is a great example of how life can be hard sometimes and confusing but you still have to forget about it all and still have fun. You’re only a teenager once so do what makes you happy.

 

PW #2 My Future

In the future, I hope to do many things. I want to travel, get married, make more friends but most of all, I want to become a D1 golfer. This has always been my dream and if I work hard enough I think it is achievable.  I want to be able to go to a great golf school and play in many tournaments. I’ve already been on some team trips by myself with other kids and they have been the best weeks of my life so I can’t wait to see what that would look like in College. You never know, maybe even some of my best friends will make the golf team at the same college and that would be very cool. My ideal plan would to get a full ride D1 scholarship with many privileges including sports games, food and academic. To achieve this goal, I do need to put in a lot of work. Becoming very good at your sport is not a piece of cake, it takes a lot of time, dedication and sacrifices. Something I am struggling with at the moment is knowing that you can only be a teenager once. And you have to make a decision whether you want to give up hanging up with your friends more and going out or being at the course. After the last few months I have made the choice to go for golf because that is what I really want. I want to see my name at the top. I want someone to be able to say my name and someone else say “I know who She is” because sometimes when you really want something nothing can get in your way.

IRJE #1 – The Feeling of Greatness

In The Feeling of Greatness – A Moe Norman Story by Tim O’Connor, the idea of  determination and grind are explored quite clearly. Moe, a Canadian golfer, was arguably the best ball striker of all time. He never missed a shot. The consistency in him game was incomparable to any other player. He could sit on the range for hours on end in a day and never stop hitting golf balls. Whether it was the middle of winter or a scorching hot day in the summer, you could still find him there.

On some days, Moe would hit upward of fifteen hundred balls—to the point that he couldn’t hold a club any longer. Moe would retreat to the clubhouse and soothe his bloody hands in cold towels. sometimes, he threw the towels i n the garbage, which made tucker furious. The next day, with his hands covered in Band-Aids, he might hit inly his daily minimum of six hundred (p.51).

In the world of golf, Moe is an icon. The chances that we will never see a phenomenon like him again are slim to none. When I hear all the stories about Moe I begin to think to myself “wow, how are these real”. But that is what makes him so great. All his stories and unforgettable and thats how its the greatest of all time.

PW #1 – Victoria GC

One of my Favourite golf courses on the island of Victoria Golf Club. Victoria is a private course which means you must be a member there to play on the course of use the practice facilities. But one of my friends is a member and hid dad is the Head Pro so I’m lucky enough to go and play their sometimes. The course is out on the water in Victoria and had beautiful ocean views. Basically, on the entire front nine the water is directly in front of you. The course is always in beautiful condition with the fairways mowed perfectly with a fringe and greens are always so fast. The course was built in 1893 and it still stunning. The atmosphere there is always perfect as it is quiet so you can practice, and the feel of a private course makes everything better. All the holes are very diverse and unique as you get to see something new every hole. The course can be difficult as the wind at the ocean can sometimes be very strong and the golf course itself is challenging. But that’s what makes golf fun. They are a great practice faculty with a full range, chipping green and putting green. And two simulators. Overall, it is easy for me to say Victoria is one of my favourite courses.

M+M Personal Respense

When looking at the story as an overall, it thought it was well written because the author was able to include lots of details with very intense scenes and he used imagery very well as I was able to imagine scenes clearly. I think this story really emphasizes the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”. I think this because when I saw the title of the book and looked at it, I thought it was most likely going to be a boring book with content that I wouldn’t understand. But as I began to read it more and more, I started to gain some interest in the book and about the characters. I thought that the character development throughout the story was interesting because I had a feeling that Vasili was going to have a change of heart and he did. I did find it shocking though that at the end of the book Tolstoy had Vasili die and have Nikita stay alive. It was an ending that surprised me and something that I didn’t expect. Something that I did dislike about the book was that the grammar and some of the word choices were hard to understand. I found that on some sentences I was confused on what Tolstoy was trying to indicate and they seemed backwards, or words were out of place. But that is how old English was and how they wrote. All in all, I liked the story as I thought the plot was interesting as well as the character involvement.

All about Emma!

Hello, my name is Emma. I am 14 years old and was born on May 20th 2010. I have lived in Victoria my whole life with my mom, dad and brother William who is in grade 12 also at Brookes Westshore.  I am a golfer who has been playing since I was 3 years old. My whole family all golfs as my mom works as a golf pro and my dad played on tour years ago. So golf is in my blood. In my free time I enjoy going the golf course, being with friends, going shopping and hanging out with my brother Will. My dream one day is to either become a D1 golfer and eventually play on the LPGA tour. Some personality traits that I think best describe me are active, determined, focused and loyal. If I had to pick a place to travel I would either pick Las Vegas because it is one of my favourite places ever or Georgia so I can play Augusta National where the masters is played.