While we're still learning religions, today, every table had a question and a statement - which we answered, agreed with or disagreed with. It was a simple task and our homework was to take either question or statement and blog about it.
I chose to take the statement, which is: Moral actions positively contribute to a society.
True or False? What do you think? Well, here's what I think.
Everyone has different morals and honestly, in a society with tons of different morals - more or less, they're going to counter act each other at some point.
For example, some people might want to always be peaceful. That's a good moral. Except for the fact that other people in the same society will be peaceful until they need to defend themselves.
Of course - one will always be peaceful and the other will not always be peaceful, these two moral actions counter act with each other. Good morals but they interfere with each other - not making a positive contribute to the society.
So honestly, a moral action do positively contribute to the society but when they start to bother another moral action - there's no positive to it anymore.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Finding Freedom In Forgiveness ( This I Believe)
An act so hard to commit is but possible to do is forgiveness.
Doing it is simple, but it does mean you're at peace with whatever you have forgiven, instead of it being an unsettled problem, seemingly haunting you.
After going on the 'This I Believe' site, I searched for essays and found one that honestly, spoke to me. Forgiveness has always been a hard thing for many - which is why there are grudges and people that are insane with rage over something that occurred, never taking the time to forgive the situation and the person that offended you. Forgiveness doesn't come easily but when you accept it, you, yourself will warm up to the idea of it and soon - forgiving people will be as easy as opening your eyes but it makes you feel better.
In this one essay, a woman and a male discuss how they forgave each other. The woman was raped in 1984 and chose the male in the line up of suspects as the rapist but had been wrong - putting an innocent man in prison for 11 years. The man, in jail, was able to understand where the woman had come from but forgave her, knowing that she had been sexually assaulted, acting on her fear. After finding out the man had forgiven her, the victim of rape forgave herself for putting an innocent man in jail and forgiving the man himself who raped her but instead, chose to forgive him so she could be free of hatred. Forgiveness is a powerful but easy thing to do - and it does so much.
It appealed to me especially how they just forgave each other. Wow. Rape is a difficult thing to overcome - if I had been the woman - I would have been angry with rage and then finding that I put the wrong man in jail, would always feel guilty for doing so in the first place. Forgiveness would have been one of the last things on my mind and it just surprised me and put me in awe how this man and woman were able to do it so easily, without getting too upset with each other. Even after the process of forgiveness - they managed to stay friends and honestly, that is true forgiveness there. You forgive each other, no second thoughts and don't regret your forgiveness, but instead create a stronger bond with the person you forgave and live without hatred, making you a better person.
I've been one for grudges and to know that it was possible to forgive so easily - I know it would be hard to forgive something for something similar to their situation but if it's possible, I'd be glad to do it, no matter how long it takes.
Doing it is simple, but it does mean you're at peace with whatever you have forgiven, instead of it being an unsettled problem, seemingly haunting you.
After going on the 'This I Believe' site, I searched for essays and found one that honestly, spoke to me. Forgiveness has always been a hard thing for many - which is why there are grudges and people that are insane with rage over something that occurred, never taking the time to forgive the situation and the person that offended you. Forgiveness doesn't come easily but when you accept it, you, yourself will warm up to the idea of it and soon - forgiving people will be as easy as opening your eyes but it makes you feel better.
In this one essay, a woman and a male discuss how they forgave each other. The woman was raped in 1984 and chose the male in the line up of suspects as the rapist but had been wrong - putting an innocent man in prison for 11 years. The man, in jail, was able to understand where the woman had come from but forgave her, knowing that she had been sexually assaulted, acting on her fear. After finding out the man had forgiven her, the victim of rape forgave herself for putting an innocent man in jail and forgiving the man himself who raped her but instead, chose to forgive him so she could be free of hatred. Forgiveness is a powerful but easy thing to do - and it does so much.
It appealed to me especially how they just forgave each other. Wow. Rape is a difficult thing to overcome - if I had been the woman - I would have been angry with rage and then finding that I put the wrong man in jail, would always feel guilty for doing so in the first place. Forgiveness would have been one of the last things on my mind and it just surprised me and put me in awe how this man and woman were able to do it so easily, without getting too upset with each other. Even after the process of forgiveness - they managed to stay friends and honestly, that is true forgiveness there. You forgive each other, no second thoughts and don't regret your forgiveness, but instead create a stronger bond with the person you forgave and live without hatred, making you a better person.
I've been one for grudges and to know that it was possible to forgive so easily - I know it would be hard to forgive something for something similar to their situation but if it's possible, I'd be glad to do it, no matter how long it takes.
L is AGAIN For LUCKY (:
Last year, basically the whole Middle School of ISKL had tested their learning profiles in their Humanities classrooms. These learning profiles are categorized by letters, or double letters - your learning profile describes how you work best. Basically, you would take these tests by figuring out if you're gestalt or logical, which hand do you use more - the left or right body part that you usually choose to work with. If you fall - do you catch yourself with your left or right? If you want to hear something - left or right ear? I have everything on my right, a common learning profile: L.
For LUCKY, of course! (:
Now, to explain my profile, I'll start with how I learn best. Teachers, listen here - don't you want me to be capable of getting good grades? Or better ones? Then this is where you should pay attention to - so you know where to seat your students or know what to do to for us to learn better, or best.
Alright, guilty as charged, I am a person who fidgets. I fidget, not with my hands, but with my chair and my feet. Whether it's swinging my feet, nearly falling off the chair, putting my feet on the table, hooking my feet on some part of the chair - the chair and my feet are basically wrestling the whole class, but fidgeting or moving some part of my body helps me learn better. Teachers that have told me to sit still or give me the edge to sit still leave me to fidget with my hands and get distracted, resorting to passing notes or just zoning out completely (secretly swinging my feet.) Second, I don't like breaking things down. It's like breaking down an art piece, it doesn't make something easier either - it makes it just jumbled and messed up for me. An art piece shouldn't be broken down, you take it as a whole since the artist created it to be a whole - not pieces of a whole. If I were to take in the whole picture of an idea - I could immediately figure out what was happening or what I would be working down. It would be like reading Greek if I were to break everything down, then go over it about 20 times before understanding it even a bit. I'm also very closed off and don't like sharing my personality too much and getting it mixed into my education, so I attempt to bring in a different type of personality instead of mine (personally what I do but L's in general do not like to share themselves.)
Referring to earlier, it's a need for me to keep moving while learning. No, you don't need to kick me out on to the field while reading a book but try to ignore my constant moving or I will resort to doodling on anything I can find (besides the furniture.) I need a silent place to think, well only when generating my ideas or pondering something alien to me and when I do so - a loud classroom can bring out a cranky person in me that will try anything to get the classroom some what quiet. Under stress, I also prefer a quiet class, and I only get stressed if I'm dealing with something alien or on the verge of yelling my lungs out until the classroom is dead silent.
Strategies to help me learn is to sit where I can process my thoughts internally, somewhere quiet and where I can't disrupt others (or others disrupting me.) A balance of craft and skill would be good and keep me steady in learning - an imbalance would cause me to try to balance that again, with or without a teacher. Helpful activities for me are Lazy 8's and Thinking Caps, blinking while tracking with my eyes, martial arts, sports, writing and drawing the non-dominant hand and basically moving around helps me. I know it's disruptive but it may help and you probably already know due to my excessive foot swings or feet placement.
For the teachers - I get completely shut off from the class under stress. I snap easily, break easily at anything that will frustrate me any longer or people who aggravate me until the last moment. It can take me quite a while to iron out the stress as at times the cause can be unknown. When I'm relaxed, I'm easy going and can think straight enough for class. As a profile L, I can access gestalt/logic integration more easily than other gestalt profiles.
An Extra:
The Lazy 8's don't help much but swinging on my chair does (I apologize for that, teachers.)
If I flee the classroom out of anger, probably best not to follow me as I don't ditch the rest of class but will return at some point.
Refrain from giving me a lecture when I'm irked.
For LUCKY, of course! (:
Now, to explain my profile, I'll start with how I learn best. Teachers, listen here - don't you want me to be capable of getting good grades? Or better ones? Then this is where you should pay attention to - so you know where to seat your students or know what to do to for us to learn better, or best.
Alright, guilty as charged, I am a person who fidgets. I fidget, not with my hands, but with my chair and my feet. Whether it's swinging my feet, nearly falling off the chair, putting my feet on the table, hooking my feet on some part of the chair - the chair and my feet are basically wrestling the whole class, but fidgeting or moving some part of my body helps me learn better. Teachers that have told me to sit still or give me the edge to sit still leave me to fidget with my hands and get distracted, resorting to passing notes or just zoning out completely (secretly swinging my feet.) Second, I don't like breaking things down. It's like breaking down an art piece, it doesn't make something easier either - it makes it just jumbled and messed up for me. An art piece shouldn't be broken down, you take it as a whole since the artist created it to be a whole - not pieces of a whole. If I were to take in the whole picture of an idea - I could immediately figure out what was happening or what I would be working down. It would be like reading Greek if I were to break everything down, then go over it about 20 times before understanding it even a bit. I'm also very closed off and don't like sharing my personality too much and getting it mixed into my education, so I attempt to bring in a different type of personality instead of mine (personally what I do but L's in general do not like to share themselves.)
Referring to earlier, it's a need for me to keep moving while learning. No, you don't need to kick me out on to the field while reading a book but try to ignore my constant moving or I will resort to doodling on anything I can find (besides the furniture.) I need a silent place to think, well only when generating my ideas or pondering something alien to me and when I do so - a loud classroom can bring out a cranky person in me that will try anything to get the classroom some what quiet. Under stress, I also prefer a quiet class, and I only get stressed if I'm dealing with something alien or on the verge of yelling my lungs out until the classroom is dead silent.
Strategies to help me learn is to sit where I can process my thoughts internally, somewhere quiet and where I can't disrupt others (or others disrupting me.) A balance of craft and skill would be good and keep me steady in learning - an imbalance would cause me to try to balance that again, with or without a teacher. Helpful activities for me are Lazy 8's and Thinking Caps, blinking while tracking with my eyes, martial arts, sports, writing and drawing the non-dominant hand and basically moving around helps me. I know it's disruptive but it may help and you probably already know due to my excessive foot swings or feet placement.
For the teachers - I get completely shut off from the class under stress. I snap easily, break easily at anything that will frustrate me any longer or people who aggravate me until the last moment. It can take me quite a while to iron out the stress as at times the cause can be unknown. When I'm relaxed, I'm easy going and can think straight enough for class. As a profile L, I can access gestalt/logic integration more easily than other gestalt profiles.
An Extra:
The Lazy 8's don't help much but swinging on my chair does (I apologize for that, teachers.)
If I flee the classroom out of anger, probably best not to follow me as I don't ditch the rest of class but will return at some point.
Refrain from giving me a lecture when I'm irked.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Herc - You Need Serious Help
Alright, today - I post a summary for a chapter in the book 'Hercules' by Geraldine McCaughrean.
Apparently, she's quite the mythologist for a writer, especially Greek Mythology. This time, this post is kind of a challenge.
This summary has to be about 50 words or less. I decided to go with less. :P You'll never know if it's because I'm lazy or if I just have no idea what to write.
Honestly, it's probably a mix of both - another bad thing.
I'm a really bad role model right now. -.-
Anyways, sorry, I'm going to start on that summary! :)
----------------------
Hera has always tried killing or ruining Hercules's life and never succeeds. Strangely, the ones that had succeeded, were Vice and Virtue, the two mysterious women in the forest. The two that when came into your sight, the birds stopped singing and haunting music had begun to play. Trying to recall the tune, he murders his unfortunate teacher Linus, accidentally but somehow - right after, he remembered the tune.
---------------------
I have that itching feeling that's way more then 50 words. But it's good, right?
I've never met a person with such anger management issues but this Hercules has to be one of the many I know that don't exist.
So really, Herc....
You need a shrink.
Apparently, she's quite the mythologist for a writer, especially Greek Mythology. This time, this post is kind of a challenge.
This summary has to be about 50 words or less. I decided to go with less. :P You'll never know if it's because I'm lazy or if I just have no idea what to write.
Honestly, it's probably a mix of both - another bad thing.
I'm a really bad role model right now. -.-
Anyways, sorry, I'm going to start on that summary! :)
----------------------
Hera has always tried killing or ruining Hercules's life and never succeeds. Strangely, the ones that had succeeded, were Vice and Virtue, the two mysterious women in the forest. The two that when came into your sight, the birds stopped singing and haunting music had begun to play. Trying to recall the tune, he murders his unfortunate teacher Linus, accidentally but somehow - right after, he remembered the tune.
---------------------
I have that itching feeling that's way more then 50 words. But it's good, right?
I've never met a person with such anger management issues but this Hercules has to be one of the many I know that don't exist.
So really, Herc....
You need a shrink.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
10 Memories
This blog is inspired by Taylor Mali.
Actually, it's more of the fact this is my homework.
Yes, a visiting author just gave us homework.
But - that's why he's awesome :)
1. I remember the sound of waves, crashing, crashing, on to the sand.
2. I remember the eagle, the eagle that was free and flew away, away from everything.
3. I remember the feelings, the vivid feelings that had crashed upon me as I held my baby sister.
4. I remember the white tiger trapped, trapped in what was supposed to be called the only way to save them from extinction.
5. I remember the friend that I never saw again, never again after a supposedly jolly time.
6. I remember the ache in my chest, the ache, as I relived things I didn't want to know of.
7. I remember the feeling of pride as I climbed to the top, everyone applauded to the young child, the young child that swelled with pride.
8. I remember the pondering I had done as I looked in pictures, the pictures that could explain myself.
9. I remember the jealousy that took me over when something rightfully mine, was taken away from me.
10. I remember the scared feelings as I exposed more of myself, exposing what I try to hide.
Actually, it's more of the fact this is my homework.
Yes, a visiting author just gave us homework.
But - that's why he's awesome :)
1. I remember the sound of waves, crashing, crashing, on to the sand.
2. I remember the eagle, the eagle that was free and flew away, away from everything.
3. I remember the feelings, the vivid feelings that had crashed upon me as I held my baby sister.
4. I remember the white tiger trapped, trapped in what was supposed to be called the only way to save them from extinction.
5. I remember the friend that I never saw again, never again after a supposedly jolly time.
6. I remember the ache in my chest, the ache, as I relived things I didn't want to know of.
7. I remember the feeling of pride as I climbed to the top, everyone applauded to the young child, the young child that swelled with pride.
8. I remember the pondering I had done as I looked in pictures, the pictures that could explain myself.
9. I remember the jealousy that took me over when something rightfully mine, was taken away from me.
10. I remember the scared feelings as I exposed more of myself, exposing what I try to hide.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Daedalus VS Theuses (My POV)
It's great to be doing blogs again! :)
I might not do as good as usual since it's been a while, but I absolutely hope that it will return! :D
Right, today's blog is on two videos my class had watched yesterday (a special day of school on Saturday.) This blog is on response questions about both of them - of course, I'll be answering them.
One had been on Daedalus and Icarus - The murder of Daedalus's nephew, the building of the maze which a minotaur was kept in, the invention of wings (made out of feathers), Icarus's death by not following rules and all the way until Daedalus died, miserable of his doings.
The other had been on Theuses - Where Theuses finds his father is king (leaving his mother behind), murders a minotaur, betrays his wife (leaving her stranded on an island), comes home with black sails and the father kills himself (of sadness.)
Now, let's start the Q & A's, shall we?
Which story did you enjoy the most? Why?
Personally, I prefer Daedalus and Icarus to Theuses since Theuses had been about, basically, an extremely rude person. Betraying his family members, betraying his loved ones, destroying innocent people/beings and not being too smart on his return. Of course, Daedalus wasn't too smart to get too aggravated with his own nephew (resulting in murder), but this story had been more realistic. It was a good father-son relationship but Daedalus could have just accepted his son the way he was, clumsy. Daedalus had not been happy with things he had done, of course - but what is there to do about it? He had done it for his protection, his son's protection, their happiness - his only fault was murdering his nephew.
Was it the characters or the story that you enjoyed?
I'm actually not too sure - it really could've been both. The story line was great and Daedalus had not been bad to fit with it. All of the characters and the plot went well - I couldn't have disagreed more.
But honestly - it should be the story. Always the story - the plot is usually the more bolder of a written piece.
In thinking of the themes in these stories, what do they have in common?
Both stories have will, slight justice and conflict. Under will, Daedalus had will to live in happiness with his son, keep both (father and son) protected and able to live freely. Promises are part of will since Theuses had promised, on his own will, to return to his parents, to be there for his loved ones too. Slight justice was when the minotaur had died (of course it hadn't been justice for the princess, therefore making it slight.) Justice was also when Daedalus had vengeance on King Minos (the king trying to murder Daedalus) but it was slight justice since Daedalus wasn't completely victorious - killing in vengeance is never justice. Conflict? Wow, that's a lot. There was death, murder, lies - this happened in both stories. Lies was basically Theuses lying to himself. Lies was when Daedalus murdered his nephew, thinking more about his own son.
Lying to themselves.
These stories kind of brought down the mood now that I'm reflecting on them, but really, they do have serious story lines.
Oh right! Like I said.
"Always the story..."
I might not do as good as usual since it's been a while, but I absolutely hope that it will return! :D
Right, today's blog is on two videos my class had watched yesterday (a special day of school on Saturday.) This blog is on response questions about both of them - of course, I'll be answering them.
One had been on Daedalus and Icarus - The murder of Daedalus's nephew, the building of the maze which a minotaur was kept in, the invention of wings (made out of feathers), Icarus's death by not following rules and all the way until Daedalus died, miserable of his doings.
The other had been on Theuses - Where Theuses finds his father is king (leaving his mother behind), murders a minotaur, betrays his wife (leaving her stranded on an island), comes home with black sails and the father kills himself (of sadness.)
Now, let's start the Q & A's, shall we?
Which story did you enjoy the most? Why?
Personally, I prefer Daedalus and Icarus to Theuses since Theuses had been about, basically, an extremely rude person. Betraying his family members, betraying his loved ones, destroying innocent people/beings and not being too smart on his return. Of course, Daedalus wasn't too smart to get too aggravated with his own nephew (resulting in murder), but this story had been more realistic. It was a good father-son relationship but Daedalus could have just accepted his son the way he was, clumsy. Daedalus had not been happy with things he had done, of course - but what is there to do about it? He had done it for his protection, his son's protection, their happiness - his only fault was murdering his nephew.
Was it the characters or the story that you enjoyed?
I'm actually not too sure - it really could've been both. The story line was great and Daedalus had not been bad to fit with it. All of the characters and the plot went well - I couldn't have disagreed more.
But honestly - it should be the story. Always the story - the plot is usually the more bolder of a written piece.
In thinking of the themes in these stories, what do they have in common?
Both stories have will, slight justice and conflict. Under will, Daedalus had will to live in happiness with his son, keep both (father and son) protected and able to live freely. Promises are part of will since Theuses had promised, on his own will, to return to his parents, to be there for his loved ones too. Slight justice was when the minotaur had died (of course it hadn't been justice for the princess, therefore making it slight.) Justice was also when Daedalus had vengeance on King Minos (the king trying to murder Daedalus) but it was slight justice since Daedalus wasn't completely victorious - killing in vengeance is never justice. Conflict? Wow, that's a lot. There was death, murder, lies - this happened in both stories. Lies was basically Theuses lying to himself. Lies was when Daedalus murdered his nephew, thinking more about his own son.
Lying to themselves.
These stories kind of brought down the mood now that I'm reflecting on them, but really, they do have serious story lines.
Oh right! Like I said.
"Always the story..."
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Final Post! I'll See Ya In August! Class of 2017!
My last blog! Wow. The end of the year - that went by way too quick. But, no thanks, I don't want to repeat. :P
I'd like to say a quick and welcoming to the 7th Grade teachers reading any of this!
IT'S THE END!!
1. What piece of work and learning are you most proud? Explain.
The piece of work and learning I'm most proud of is probably the travel webpage I did just recently for Ancient Greece. Even though I was supposed to write a simple 15 day trip to Greece for educational groups - my partner and I didn't just get carried away - we made a whole site. He made a commercial, put up pictures of his own experience and I spent 5 hours thinking and making a simple itinerary. Honestly - it's the most time I've spent on work. Ever. Even weirder, this was a simple one. But it makes me proud that I put loads of effort and time in to this when it didn't even need half as much as the effort I put in. After a while, even my partner started nagging me about how detailed the schedule was.
2. What were your greatest challenges? Explain.
My greatest challenge for the whole year is making the effort. In fact, you can do a literature circle, answering with maybe a word or two. That would be easy, of course. But, no. Of course you'll get a bad grade - if you did a bad job, you'd see the bad grade coming. If you want to get a good grade - you make the effort. Like I said, it's the hardest part. You make a goal, dedicate your effort and you actually have to mean it. Bad grades? You don't mean anything, you basically just unconsciously write something not even worth seeing.
3. Reflecting on your growth this year, what did you learn about yourself as a learner?
I learned from my growths that I'm good at communicating effectively when I ignore everything but the subject we are discussing. Even if you are supposed to discuss a matter with someone you aren't particularly close to (maybe a colleague), just ignore it because it's part of your grade/education/work to communicate effectively about the subject. If I randomly just start talking about social matters - our communicating effectively? It's dead. Just STAY ON THE SUBJECT and it'll be a breeze, trust me.
4. To evaluate your work habits, choose 1 of the following from each category ( and provide explanations):
a) Behavior
Satisfactory
Explanation: Well, haha, I have to say - I'm not the model student. I've slipped up plenty of times in class where I just become loud, noisy, a little weird, angry because of what happened yesterday and so on. Me, being me, I can hold grudges for a long time and those sometimes bust into class when someone is fooling around past the boundaries or sets me off.
b) Participation
Satisfactory
Explanation: I can say that I participate when I finally get the nerves up to ask a question that everyone else knows the answer to but me. That's the main reason I don't raise my hand - it's pretty embarrassing when I'm the only one that doesn't know the answer or conclusion. I don't raise my hand when I don't know the answer and sometimes I just don't raise my hand to let other students answer. If people are raising their hands to answer questions, there's that thought that you might get it wrong and some people say: "That's SO easy." or "That was SUCH an EASY question." It's a little nerve wrecking but when I'm 100% sure, I go for it.
c) Organization
I'm super organized
d) Effort
Satisfactory
5. Based upon your reflections, write two personal learning goals for Grade 7 next year.
Goal 1 - In Grade 7, I plan to raise my hand more often to ask questions that I don't know the answers to, no matter if everyone else does.
Goal 2 - In Grade 7, I plan to think more creatively and out of boundaries. Basically: THINK OUT OF THE BOX. Why? In school, I pretty much keep inside of the box. The only thing I really exceed the boundaries for is writing & reading.
6.Is there any more information about yourself that you would like the teachers to know?
If you see me bringing the same book to class for the whole year - Do Not Panic. I always keep losing the book, picking up another one, finding the lost book, trying to read it, losing my page, starting again, etc and repeat.
If I make exaggerated expressions, I'm in deep thinking (weirdly enough.) I like to choose my own groups but I keep making the bad move to wait until everyone is done choosing their own groups so I can go choose one last minute. But then someone I don't particularly want to work with asks me, therefore, guilt takes me often.
7. Finally, cast your minds back to the first few months of middle school (when you arrived in Grade 6 ) what "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" could you pass on to the Class of 2018?
- Don't wait last minute for homework. You won't end up with as much of a high grade as you would've got if you started it early.
- Don't expect good grades, remember, it's a big transition.
- Expect more homework but not loads of it (you'll get that in High School.)
- Don't worry about the locks and locker at all. The locks are easy to use and soon, you can do it easily. You may forget at times but you can always go to the office, your band teacher or PE teacher for the combination again.
LAST, but no least - GOOD LUCK.
Sooner or later, you seem to learn these things by yourself as the year goes.
All my teachers in 6th Grade this year are spectacular, being fun but know how to get work done efficiently. Special thanks to Bronwen Narsiman (Humanities), Pamela Smith (Math & Science) and Darren Smith (Physical Education) - my core teachers. Thanks to my other teachers - Paz Molina (Visual Arts), Jane Thompson (Homegroup & Health), Leanne Fulcher (Drama), Marie-France Blais (French Basic) and James Housego (Beginner Band.)
You guys are awesome! Thanks for the great year! :)
I'd like to say a quick and welcoming to the 7th Grade teachers reading any of this!
IT'S THE END!!
1. What piece of work and learning are you most proud? Explain.
The piece of work and learning I'm most proud of is probably the travel webpage I did just recently for Ancient Greece. Even though I was supposed to write a simple 15 day trip to Greece for educational groups - my partner and I didn't just get carried away - we made a whole site. He made a commercial, put up pictures of his own experience and I spent 5 hours thinking and making a simple itinerary. Honestly - it's the most time I've spent on work. Ever. Even weirder, this was a simple one. But it makes me proud that I put loads of effort and time in to this when it didn't even need half as much as the effort I put in. After a while, even my partner started nagging me about how detailed the schedule was.
2. What were your greatest challenges? Explain.
My greatest challenge for the whole year is making the effort. In fact, you can do a literature circle, answering with maybe a word or two. That would be easy, of course. But, no. Of course you'll get a bad grade - if you did a bad job, you'd see the bad grade coming. If you want to get a good grade - you make the effort. Like I said, it's the hardest part. You make a goal, dedicate your effort and you actually have to mean it. Bad grades? You don't mean anything, you basically just unconsciously write something not even worth seeing.
3. Reflecting on your growth this year, what did you learn about yourself as a learner?
I learned from my growths that I'm good at communicating effectively when I ignore everything but the subject we are discussing. Even if you are supposed to discuss a matter with someone you aren't particularly close to (maybe a colleague), just ignore it because it's part of your grade/education/work to communicate effectively about the subject. If I randomly just start talking about social matters - our communicating effectively? It's dead. Just STAY ON THE SUBJECT and it'll be a breeze, trust me.
4. To evaluate your work habits, choose 1 of the following from each category ( and provide explanations):
a) Behavior
Satisfactory
Explanation: Well, haha, I have to say - I'm not the model student. I've slipped up plenty of times in class where I just become loud, noisy, a little weird, angry because of what happened yesterday and so on. Me, being me, I can hold grudges for a long time and those sometimes bust into class when someone is fooling around past the boundaries or sets me off.
b) Participation
Satisfactory
Explanation: I can say that I participate when I finally get the nerves up to ask a question that everyone else knows the answer to but me. That's the main reason I don't raise my hand - it's pretty embarrassing when I'm the only one that doesn't know the answer or conclusion. I don't raise my hand when I don't know the answer and sometimes I just don't raise my hand to let other students answer. If people are raising their hands to answer questions, there's that thought that you might get it wrong and some people say: "That's SO easy." or "That was SUCH an EASY question." It's a little nerve wrecking but when I'm 100% sure, I go for it.
c) Organization
I'm super organized
d) Effort
Satisfactory
5. Based upon your reflections, write two personal learning goals for Grade 7 next year.
Goal 1 - In Grade 7, I plan to raise my hand more often to ask questions that I don't know the answers to, no matter if everyone else does.
Goal 2 - In Grade 7, I plan to think more creatively and out of boundaries. Basically: THINK OUT OF THE BOX. Why? In school, I pretty much keep inside of the box. The only thing I really exceed the boundaries for is writing & reading.
6.Is there any more information about yourself that you would like the teachers to know?
If you see me bringing the same book to class for the whole year - Do Not Panic. I always keep losing the book, picking up another one, finding the lost book, trying to read it, losing my page, starting again, etc and repeat.
If I make exaggerated expressions, I'm in deep thinking (weirdly enough.) I like to choose my own groups but I keep making the bad move to wait until everyone is done choosing their own groups so I can go choose one last minute. But then someone I don't particularly want to work with asks me, therefore, guilt takes me often.
7. Finally, cast your minds back to the first few months of middle school (when you arrived in Grade 6 ) what "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" could you pass on to the Class of 2018?
- Don't wait last minute for homework. You won't end up with as much of a high grade as you would've got if you started it early.
- Don't expect good grades, remember, it's a big transition.
- Expect more homework but not loads of it (you'll get that in High School.)
- Don't worry about the locks and locker at all. The locks are easy to use and soon, you can do it easily. You may forget at times but you can always go to the office, your band teacher or PE teacher for the combination again.
LAST, but no least - GOOD LUCK.
Sooner or later, you seem to learn these things by yourself as the year goes.
All my teachers in 6th Grade this year are spectacular, being fun but know how to get work done efficiently. Special thanks to Bronwen Narsiman (Humanities), Pamela Smith (Math & Science) and Darren Smith (Physical Education) - my core teachers. Thanks to my other teachers - Paz Molina (Visual Arts), Jane Thompson (Homegroup & Health), Leanne Fulcher (Drama), Marie-France Blais (French Basic) and James Housego (Beginner Band.)
You guys are awesome! Thanks for the great year! :)
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Totsiens, Чао, До свидания, Adios. Goodbye...
Dear Mother and Father,
Tonight, I am leaving the community and I will never return. I know it is absurd to do such a thing but I too have my reasons. It has been a pleasure to be a part of the family unit that both of you have established many years ago but I can not live here any longer after being The Receiver for quite a while and learning the truth behind this safe community.
Yes, the truth. To you, this is just the safe, amazing community anyone would be lucky to live in. But during my training to become the next receiver - this is a prison, with no feelings and no pain. Life, here, is completely dull, after finding out the truth. The Receiver is the only one I can trust truthfully, ever since I watched you, father, do a release 'ceremony' on a poor and innocent newborn.
In my training, I had learned of many amazing things that don't exist here. Being The Receiver, I receive memories with true pain, more tremendous then a simple scrape on the knee. Then, I learned about dancing, singing, jokes, lying, color, what life was like before this controlled community existed. Back then, you could choose your spouse! Create your own children if possible! Feel. There was this terrific memory The Receiver had given to me. It was with true love in it unlike what exists in our family unit - as you like to all it 'enjoying.' Love is the opposite of obsolete and the way it feels.. I can not describe. The memory had been of a real family that is blood related were all in a room. They were sitting on couches, opening gift boxes that were wrapped and the atmosphere was full of love. The way everyone was smiling at each other and the coziness of it all especially with the warmth of the fire. *Pgs 122-123* These memories motivated me to want to figure out and find if this still existed. Elsewhere. There are other communities and this community that we know are controlled like ours, or as we say 'perfect', but elsewhere? Who knows, there could be color there! Or real happiness which none of the community have ever experienced except for The Receiver and I.
But then, the sadness of the memories. I had to learn of other things that existed that were not always happy. There are two main types of pain - physically and emotionally. I had taken a memory of going down on a slope and breaking my leg on an object called a 'sled.' It had hurt much, blood was everywhere and I couldn't move. Then there's emotional pain - my least favorite type of memories. I had received a memory with extreme pain in it - a battlefield. I watching the scene as innocent people died. A dirty, bleeding boy had crawled to me, begging for water and after he had taken his drink of water, his eyes rolled back as he died before my eyes. There were no tears as I watched the scene before me for hours until I couldn't take it anymore and shook myself out of it. *Pgs 119-120*
Finaly, after discovering why the community is so controlled - it was true, the wanting to live elsewhere bothered me. If I want my life, I'll live it how I want it to be without anyone telling me "Marry the young man" or "take that job for money!" The motivation was fueled by the pleasant memories I received and thought about for a long time. Living in elsewhere might be a large risk compared to here but it's a risk that's worth taking. People should be allowed to choose for themselves. Mother, father, what job have you guys wanted to try? In Elsewhere - that might be possible! Then there's the real feelings which just might exist in elsewhere. There's that big chance this might all not exist but it's better to find out then never. My life is mine.
The feelings I feel for the both of you and Lily are infact enjoyment because the feeling of love with our family unit has never once come up - especially to people who find love so obsolete. Father - I understand why you released the baby, though. Why you lie to our faces every night, just being quite joyful about your work - but I understand. Why I have to come home and hide my own assignment secrets for my own family. You do it because you're doing your part to keep this community under control, keeping the population down. For myself, I do it for the safety of the community - none of you would be able to stand the memories. Everyone in the community do their assignments to help run the community no matter if you have to lie or not - it's all kind of like a game. Everyone does their part. But all your feelings happen to be fake. Lily was not angry and both of you have never been truly happy. Color - wow, color. I have the ability of seeing beyond and objects have this difference to it, like a tint or shade, it just stands out a lot.
While I leave the community, or 'die in the river', my new memories will spread to the rest of the community and The Receiver has stayed behind to help all of the citizens calm and get used to the memories. Eventually, all of you have started learning about the past for the better. If I ever come back or hear of your comunity - it's going to have much more then it does now (color, weather, feelings, pain, music,etc.) I have taken Gabriel with me as he has some memories and he was about to be released - which is quite unfair and the both of us are taking on a new start.
Thank you, mother and father, for raising me but I must leave now that it is time.
Farewell,
Jonas
Tonight, I am leaving the community and I will never return. I know it is absurd to do such a thing but I too have my reasons. It has been a pleasure to be a part of the family unit that both of you have established many years ago but I can not live here any longer after being The Receiver for quite a while and learning the truth behind this safe community.
Yes, the truth. To you, this is just the safe, amazing community anyone would be lucky to live in. But during my training to become the next receiver - this is a prison, with no feelings and no pain. Life, here, is completely dull, after finding out the truth. The Receiver is the only one I can trust truthfully, ever since I watched you, father, do a release 'ceremony' on a poor and innocent newborn.
In my training, I had learned of many amazing things that don't exist here. Being The Receiver, I receive memories with true pain, more tremendous then a simple scrape on the knee. Then, I learned about dancing, singing, jokes, lying, color, what life was like before this controlled community existed. Back then, you could choose your spouse! Create your own children if possible! Feel. There was this terrific memory The Receiver had given to me. It was with true love in it unlike what exists in our family unit - as you like to all it 'enjoying.' Love is the opposite of obsolete and the way it feels.. I can not describe. The memory had been of a real family that is blood related were all in a room. They were sitting on couches, opening gift boxes that were wrapped and the atmosphere was full of love. The way everyone was smiling at each other and the coziness of it all especially with the warmth of the fire. *Pgs 122-123* These memories motivated me to want to figure out and find if this still existed. Elsewhere. There are other communities and this community that we know are controlled like ours, or as we say 'perfect', but elsewhere? Who knows, there could be color there! Or real happiness which none of the community have ever experienced except for The Receiver and I.
But then, the sadness of the memories. I had to learn of other things that existed that were not always happy. There are two main types of pain - physically and emotionally. I had taken a memory of going down on a slope and breaking my leg on an object called a 'sled.' It had hurt much, blood was everywhere and I couldn't move. Then there's emotional pain - my least favorite type of memories. I had received a memory with extreme pain in it - a battlefield. I watching the scene as innocent people died. A dirty, bleeding boy had crawled to me, begging for water and after he had taken his drink of water, his eyes rolled back as he died before my eyes. There were no tears as I watched the scene before me for hours until I couldn't take it anymore and shook myself out of it. *Pgs 119-120*
Finaly, after discovering why the community is so controlled - it was true, the wanting to live elsewhere bothered me. If I want my life, I'll live it how I want it to be without anyone telling me "Marry the young man" or "take that job for money!" The motivation was fueled by the pleasant memories I received and thought about for a long time. Living in elsewhere might be a large risk compared to here but it's a risk that's worth taking. People should be allowed to choose for themselves. Mother, father, what job have you guys wanted to try? In Elsewhere - that might be possible! Then there's the real feelings which just might exist in elsewhere. There's that big chance this might all not exist but it's better to find out then never. My life is mine.
The feelings I feel for the both of you and Lily are infact enjoyment because the feeling of love with our family unit has never once come up - especially to people who find love so obsolete. Father - I understand why you released the baby, though. Why you lie to our faces every night, just being quite joyful about your work - but I understand. Why I have to come home and hide my own assignment secrets for my own family. You do it because you're doing your part to keep this community under control, keeping the population down. For myself, I do it for the safety of the community - none of you would be able to stand the memories. Everyone in the community do their assignments to help run the community no matter if you have to lie or not - it's all kind of like a game. Everyone does their part. But all your feelings happen to be fake. Lily was not angry and both of you have never been truly happy. Color - wow, color. I have the ability of seeing beyond and objects have this difference to it, like a tint or shade, it just stands out a lot.
While I leave the community, or 'die in the river', my new memories will spread to the rest of the community and The Receiver has stayed behind to help all of the citizens calm and get used to the memories. Eventually, all of you have started learning about the past for the better. If I ever come back or hear of your comunity - it's going to have much more then it does now (color, weather, feelings, pain, music,etc.) I have taken Gabriel with me as he has some memories and he was about to be released - which is quite unfair and the both of us are taking on a new start.
Thank you, mother and father, for raising me but I must leave now that it is time.
Farewell,
Jonas
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
There Could Be Love And There Shall Be
This week's blogpost is yet again focused on The Giver Literature Circles - the fourth one. The third blogpost was commenting and that's the reason it is missing from my blog. Find it on one of my peers' blogs - Cienna's. Again, moving on, this blogpost is more precisely focused on freedom and choice.
Here's what the blogpost is based on:
'Gabriel's breathing was even and deep. Jonas liked having him there, though he felt guilty about the secret. Each night he gave memories to Gabriel: memories of boat rides and picnics in the sun; memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes; memories of dancing bare-footed on a damp lawn.
"Gabe?"
The new child stirred slightly in his sleep, Jonas looked over at him.
"There could be love" Jonas whispered.
The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away.' - The Giver (A MUST READ!)
We are supposed to find the reasons of why this passage and chapters 16-18 relate to freedom and choice and I have many ideas to that - since I enjoy thinking of these things often.
My first reason that the 2 chapters and this passage relates to freedom and choice is because in this passage - Jonas chooses to not take his pill (when everyone else has probably never even thought of that, especially doing it on purpose.) He showed that he has a spark of freedom in him - slowly removing himself from the things that keeps the environment so safe, weak and boring. The pill keeps away emotions, the memories teach him the hidden past, The Giver told him of why it was safe and that made Jonas not want to always be in this environment that oddly reminds me of an empty kiddy playpen made out of plastic and has no way out except to climb over.
Also, Jonas -in these 2 chapters- had asked his parents if they loved him and they only 'enjoyed' him. Love is obselete to them, absolutely meaningless. Even Jonas knows it's the complete opposite, especially when he thought "Meaningless? He had never before felt anything meaningful as the memory." But the parents wouldn't know better - it's drilled in to their mind is that they know these words but never use them (because the emotions never occur to them) and to them, it's meaningless, sadly. This relates to choice because if they knew love meant something, would they choose to say they loved Jonas? But it doesn't exist to them.
Finally, when Asher, Jonas, Fiona and the other twelves play their game and as Jonas realizes it is war - it relates to freedom and choice because if the committee didn't have such a tight grip on control, it would bring freedom and the twelves would soon figure out it was war. Then, it relates to choice because if they had seen what Jonas had seen and knew war existed: would they still play the game of war?
Here's what the blogpost is based on:
'Gabriel's breathing was even and deep. Jonas liked having him there, though he felt guilty about the secret. Each night he gave memories to Gabriel: memories of boat rides and picnics in the sun; memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes; memories of dancing bare-footed on a damp lawn.
"Gabe?"
The new child stirred slightly in his sleep, Jonas looked over at him.
"There could be love" Jonas whispered.
The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away.' - The Giver (A MUST READ!)
We are supposed to find the reasons of why this passage and chapters 16-18 relate to freedom and choice and I have many ideas to that - since I enjoy thinking of these things often.
My first reason that the 2 chapters and this passage relates to freedom and choice is because in this passage - Jonas chooses to not take his pill (when everyone else has probably never even thought of that, especially doing it on purpose.) He showed that he has a spark of freedom in him - slowly removing himself from the things that keeps the environment so safe, weak and boring. The pill keeps away emotions, the memories teach him the hidden past, The Giver told him of why it was safe and that made Jonas not want to always be in this environment that oddly reminds me of an empty kiddy playpen made out of plastic and has no way out except to climb over.
Also, Jonas -in these 2 chapters- had asked his parents if they loved him and they only 'enjoyed' him. Love is obselete to them, absolutely meaningless. Even Jonas knows it's the complete opposite, especially when he thought "Meaningless? He had never before felt anything meaningful as the memory." But the parents wouldn't know better - it's drilled in to their mind is that they know these words but never use them (because the emotions never occur to them) and to them, it's meaningless, sadly. This relates to choice because if they knew love meant something, would they choose to say they loved Jonas? But it doesn't exist to them.
Finally, when Asher, Jonas, Fiona and the other twelves play their game and as Jonas realizes it is war - it relates to freedom and choice because if the committee didn't have such a tight grip on control, it would bring freedom and the twelves would soon figure out it was war. Then, it relates to choice because if they had seen what Jonas had seen and knew war existed: would they still play the game of war?
Thursday, March 10, 2011
You know what is - Black and white. :)
The song - made by the community featuring myself - Dee Zee!
But that's not what we're here to talk about today. Infact, in the 6A team at ISKL, we're reading The Giver by Lois Lowry and this is the second blogpost on it. There were 3 questions to answer back on this site: http://isklrewired.blogspot.com/, the 6A team site. I chose this question to respond to:
When Jonas learns all about colors, he claims "it isn't fair that nothing has color". Why does he say this?
This question is a good one and, well, it's answer is basically like a question: Would you like the world without color? Thinking about all the reasons of a world without color, anyone could understand Jonas. But anyways, here's the explanation...
Colors are beautiful and to us, it's just a typical part of our everyday world, it soon becomes something we don't really think about. Well, except for when you're learning it and in art situations but otherwise, they're like a chair. No one has actually thought of a world without color, well, because it would never happen, but we never know.
When Jonas said it wasn't fair and when we really look in to colors, they are actually beautiful and just make everything more vivid and amazing. I mean, what would beautiful, gentle scarves be without their color? Nothing, just soft items that are barely acknowledged or described as anything more then comfortable and has a pattern.
If you were the only one besides The Giver that knows about color, wouldn't you say it isn't fair that nothing has color? I mean, we're so lucky, we get color everyday. Their community has no color at all, objects just barely acknowledged and probably with no color, definitely no art classes. Some people take colors passionately and use them like that in their art pieces. It wouldn't be fair for a person to not find out that they could be a good artist.
Jonas said it wasn't fair to live where nothing has color since colors actually fill the world, making it more interesting to us and can be undefining at times.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
A Day In The Giver
Would you want your future to be decided by others? Why or why not?
Honestly, I would never like to have my future be decided and written out for the rest of my life. Our lives in Malaysia aren't even that controlled, rules for safety, rules for property, not any rules that are in The Giver. We have choices if we want to do some work, choices to do what we want. In The Giver, they don't really have a choice to do volunteer hours or else they don't graduate and have to have their own private ceremony later and are shunned for it.
Of course, freedom of choice is important for choosing what you have to work with or live with. What if you don't like the choice they give you, it may not fit what you're interested in. Having a spouse, they may be most compatible, single and appropriate, just for you, but that doesn't matter if it happens to be someone you weren't very interested in. All those romance movies and romance comedies would have to make a run for it if the government chose your spouse.
The main idea is: I would never want to have someone deciding my future. If it was my parents pushing me to become a doctor or something, just because it was good for my future, I would only choose a job with a passion for it, my eyes wide open and concentrating on it. It would never be just that person's choice, it would be mine as well. If someone was pushing me in to a relationship, I would push back as much as I could if I didn't want it. If it was someone I did take interest in, again, no one would just push me in. Never, am I going to let someone run my life when it is mine.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Hatshepsut Reflection
The reflection on the latest show of Kids' History...
Why do you think Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs created monuments?
I think the pharaohs made monuments in honor of themselves. For example, Hatshepsut made Djeser-Djeseru in honor of herself, with scenes of her reign covering the walls. But, some pharaohs created monuments for gods and other great ones.
What monuments in our society are similar?
Some monuments that relate to those in the past are like The Washington monument, the one where Abraham Lincoln sits in a giant chair (all made out of cement.) People had made that in honor of him, since he was a very well respected president. There's also monuments of gods for people of those religions to respect, since they believe in it very much.
How did the using google docs as the main portal for collaboration help you with the assignment?
Since it was online and Shannon and I both had internet, it was easy to access to work on the script and note taking. Having the script actually helped a lot since we got in all the videos done in about 20 minutes.
What did you learn from this assignment?
Well, of course, I learned more about Hatshepsut's life and the achievements she did (1st female pharaoh, promoter of Egyptian trade, etc), and I also found out the key is: Organization.
What was challenging?
For Shannon and I, it was getting all of the videos, pictures and conversation on to IMovie. Her laptop was loaded full of things from 2 years ago to today and it was slow working with it. For pictures, we've tried dragging it to IMovie from Google Docs. We've had some discussions about how to put it on and ended up kind of frustrated with it. You would think that if we can get all the hard work done in about an hour, it would take us less to put it all on to IMovie! Exactly the opposite.
Which Schoolwide Learning Results were evident in this assignment?
I think collaborate constructively and learning enthusiastically were the most evident in this assignment because Shannon and I had worked together quite well to do our work, getting the video contents completed quickly. We didn't even have to split up the work, we just knew what to do with out telling the other what to do. Learning enthusiastically because it was part of our motivation to do our work. It was fun getting to move around outside of the class a little bit while getting work done. Shannon could be a stand-up comedian, which makes it that much funnier. Anyways, since we don't mind each other, we enjoyed each other's company and looked forward to doing the video, it was learning enthusiastically for us.
Why do you think Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs created monuments?
I think the pharaohs made monuments in honor of themselves. For example, Hatshepsut made Djeser-Djeseru in honor of herself, with scenes of her reign covering the walls. But, some pharaohs created monuments for gods and other great ones.
What monuments in our society are similar?
Some monuments that relate to those in the past are like The Washington monument, the one where Abraham Lincoln sits in a giant chair (all made out of cement.) People had made that in honor of him, since he was a very well respected president. There's also monuments of gods for people of those religions to respect, since they believe in it very much.
How did the using google docs as the main portal for collaboration help you with the assignment?
Since it was online and Shannon and I both had internet, it was easy to access to work on the script and note taking. Having the script actually helped a lot since we got in all the videos done in about 20 minutes.
What did you learn from this assignment?
Well, of course, I learned more about Hatshepsut's life and the achievements she did (1st female pharaoh, promoter of Egyptian trade, etc), and I also found out the key is: Organization.
What was challenging?
For Shannon and I, it was getting all of the videos, pictures and conversation on to IMovie. Her laptop was loaded full of things from 2 years ago to today and it was slow working with it. For pictures, we've tried dragging it to IMovie from Google Docs. We've had some discussions about how to put it on and ended up kind of frustrated with it. You would think that if we can get all the hard work done in about an hour, it would take us less to put it all on to IMovie! Exactly the opposite.
Which Schoolwide Learning Results were evident in this assignment?
I think collaborate constructively and learning enthusiastically were the most evident in this assignment because Shannon and I had worked together quite well to do our work, getting the video contents completed quickly. We didn't even have to split up the work, we just knew what to do with out telling the other what to do. Learning enthusiastically because it was part of our motivation to do our work. It was fun getting to move around outside of the class a little bit while getting work done. Shannon could be a stand-up comedian, which makes it that much funnier. Anyways, since we don't mind each other, we enjoyed each other's company and looked forward to doing the video, it was learning enthusiastically for us.
The Link To Our Rubric: https://docs.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/Doc?id=ddht9gz8_47fqcnd9cc
Find a rubric box that's empty.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Another Presentation down... 200 to go!
A few days ago, our class presented presentations on cities/towns/places we have lived in before. Using the internet, we all got our research and facts together, making 21 amazing presentations! Mine was on a smaller city based in Indonesia...
I believe the best thing I did on my presentation was the graphics and design, the layout, mostly. The graphics were clear and showed where the island was in the world and where Pekanbaru is in Sumatra (the island.) The design was spread out, fit and it was all spaced from one another. Overall, the graphics and design was the best I probably did.
For future presentations, I should bring notecards so my oral in the presentation is done well. Reading off the screen is not a good thing to do in a presentation since, well, the audience can read off the screen! The presenter should be fully ready, knows what to say and runs the presentation smoothly. I wasn't fully ready, still worrying about my presentation, thinking of what to say and running the presentation nervously. Notecards and more information is probably the key to my next presentations.
I learned to have some notes written for my oral from another's presentation. He had notes on the presentation itself, to sum up the important things on the slide. Another is to have some interesting facts that are still on the subject. It kept people entertained instead of yawning because of your fully-factual presentation.
I think that my performance was odd but OK. Because I didn't know what to say, I read off the screen, probably making some classmates bored. My city was a smaller one and there were less facts that weren't very interesting. I kept hesitating because I wanted to stop reading off the screen but didn't know what to say, making it more awkward for myself and everyone else. They were just waiting, staring at me to go on. But, now I know one of the keys to presentations: NOTECARDS.
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0Af9rSXv2Lhs2ZGRodDlnejhfMThkY3p6ZGtmaw&hl=en&authkey=COzdqNkM
Monday, January 10, 2011
Happy New Years! Who's got a resolution?
Hi, it's Dhabitah reporting for the first time in 2011. Enough with the reporting, it's time to get down to my New Years.
Like every new year, people make resolutions for the year to try to complete. My own 2 resolutions is to find happiness in anything I do and to go in confidently to any situation. For finding happiness, I guess it's because to look negative on every situation, it really dulls the world to your view. To even look negative on something, it brings down the mood a lot to me. It's like when I have to go to an event I don't like, I don't smile, I don't move around much, I'm like a rock. All this makes my own mood turn into a rock, even my personality at that particular event that I don't enjoy.
My other resolution is going confidently into any situation, which works. Like on my holiday, I wanted to try something but I wasn't fully confident about it. Sometimes I get pushed into something I don't want to do like try a new food that I know I wouldn't like. Turns out, I actually didn't like it. Of course, trying new things is nice but I would like to do it with myself being OK with it.
My holiday on the other hand... It was... normal. I visited some family, went to a themepark, had a little bit of fun, stayed up late and got to see friends. I got reminded of summer in a way, staying up until 6 AM with my friend, the internet, and sleeping until after lunch. Visiting family and going to the beach, teasing eachother and suffocating eachother in water via banana boat. I watched movies again and again, laughing at the movie "Grown Ups" with Chris Rock and Adam Sandler in it. But my Christmas was spent at Genting Highlands and its themepark.
The themepark was spectacular and the type of put your heart in your mouth. But maybe that's because I don't go to many great themeparks. Just the other day, I was hearing about a better themepark but I've never been to it. My favorite ride and probably the only thrilling ride I went on was the Flying Coaster. I passed it, looking at the people screaming in terror, horror and just screaming and laughing for the fun of it. It was Christmas Eve and there were lots of people rushing around. My sisters started pushing me into going and I thought it looked fun... Kind of. Even though we had wrist bracelets, we still had to pay 10 RM for this ride for each person and we got onto the seat. Nah, it was more like a bed. I was the shortest height possible on the ride so I climbed up another and I started panicking. Then, they closed the casket and I was more terrified as I was now lying on my stomach, gripping the handles as hard as I could. I heard a loud click and the Flying Coaster was going up slowly. I started trying to talk to my sisters who were already too occupied. I saw a woman and she saw my face which pretty much got her thinking: "I'm not going on that ride." I regretted it just a little as I shut my eyes, clenched the handles that were far from me and was too upset to scream. I was trying to open my eyes but I spun upside down, clenching the handles tighter. There were some sharp turns and I was panicking, thinking of if I let go, I would hit the metal casket in pain. Once it was done, I was shaking as I got off and my sisters were laughing at me while 'comforting' me. People looked at me, pitying me, and I simply shrugged, my hands still shaking just a bit. But it was fun and I'll be ready next time. I think. :)
Like every new year, people make resolutions for the year to try to complete. My own 2 resolutions is to find happiness in anything I do and to go in confidently to any situation. For finding happiness, I guess it's because to look negative on every situation, it really dulls the world to your view. To even look negative on something, it brings down the mood a lot to me. It's like when I have to go to an event I don't like, I don't smile, I don't move around much, I'm like a rock. All this makes my own mood turn into a rock, even my personality at that particular event that I don't enjoy.
My other resolution is going confidently into any situation, which works. Like on my holiday, I wanted to try something but I wasn't fully confident about it. Sometimes I get pushed into something I don't want to do like try a new food that I know I wouldn't like. Turns out, I actually didn't like it. Of course, trying new things is nice but I would like to do it with myself being OK with it.
My holiday on the other hand... It was... normal. I visited some family, went to a themepark, had a little bit of fun, stayed up late and got to see friends. I got reminded of summer in a way, staying up until 6 AM with my friend, the internet, and sleeping until after lunch. Visiting family and going to the beach, teasing eachother and suffocating eachother in water via banana boat. I watched movies again and again, laughing at the movie "Grown Ups" with Chris Rock and Adam Sandler in it. But my Christmas was spent at Genting Highlands and its themepark.
The themepark was spectacular and the type of put your heart in your mouth. But maybe that's because I don't go to many great themeparks. Just the other day, I was hearing about a better themepark but I've never been to it. My favorite ride and probably the only thrilling ride I went on was the Flying Coaster. I passed it, looking at the people screaming in terror, horror and just screaming and laughing for the fun of it. It was Christmas Eve and there were lots of people rushing around. My sisters started pushing me into going and I thought it looked fun... Kind of. Even though we had wrist bracelets, we still had to pay 10 RM for this ride for each person and we got onto the seat. Nah, it was more like a bed. I was the shortest height possible on the ride so I climbed up another and I started panicking. Then, they closed the casket and I was more terrified as I was now lying on my stomach, gripping the handles as hard as I could. I heard a loud click and the Flying Coaster was going up slowly. I started trying to talk to my sisters who were already too occupied. I saw a woman and she saw my face which pretty much got her thinking: "I'm not going on that ride." I regretted it just a little as I shut my eyes, clenched the handles that were far from me and was too upset to scream. I was trying to open my eyes but I spun upside down, clenching the handles tighter. There were some sharp turns and I was panicking, thinking of if I let go, I would hit the metal casket in pain. Once it was done, I was shaking as I got off and my sisters were laughing at me while 'comforting' me. People looked at me, pitying me, and I simply shrugged, my hands still shaking just a bit. But it was fun and I'll be ready next time. I think. :)
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