Being a twin is something big, but being a triplet now that's a challenge. Being a triplet also has consequences, and for my family that consequence happened to my little brother CJ (Colin but most people know him as CJ). We were with my parents out in Lethbridge wedding dress shopping for my mother because she was about to get married and something was wrong with my brother; he was rushed to the hospital in Lethbridge where we heard that it had to do something with his heart. It was devastating because we knew he wouldn't be able to go to my parents wedding, but my mom snuck him out to go to it anyway.
Later, in grade 10 we were near the end of the year, in quarter 4, when we were told that my brother would have to go in for open heart surgery to get a valve put on his heart and we went to Edmonton for his surgery and a lot of my family showed up for support. On the day of his surgery my family started to leave when he was in surgery, most of my family left including my brother Trez and my sister. My father, mother and I stayed in Edmonton with my brother CJ. After a successful surgery the doctor said that it will take 3-6 weeks for him to recover, but knowing that my brother was still young I knew he would recover fast, before the given time, and I was right. We went home four days after his surgery. In fact, the day after his surgery he started to walk and that's how I knew he would recover fast.
On February 6, 2017 a life changing moment happened, my brother CJ had a severe stroke that could have killed him or could have been prevented, but neither happened, he wasn't killed by the stroke nor was it prevented, but the stroke did cause his right side of his brain to go dead. After that he couldn't move his left side of his body, but he had feeling in it which was a good sign; however, he couldn't move his left arm or leg. I thought this immobility was something that would stay for good. We didn’t know what caused the stroke, but it turned out that it had to do with that valve they put in a couple years before. It seems the valve got infected.
After a couple months in the hospital my brother is now doing fine. There is no more infection on the heart valve and he’s been going to therapy trying to get that left side working again. Through all this all I had was hope, hoping that my brother would be fine would get better. He has been sick all his life, not knowing what was going to happen in the future for him. Through this experience I know that I now have the courage to give my brother CJ, the courage to get through all of this and I know that he already has some of that courage because of what he has been through already. I will try hard to give him even more courage and hope because family in the best courage and hope you will ever need.
-By Dennis Mountain Horse
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
Figuring Things Out
Everyone’s saying "you should know where you want to go
by now", but everything went by so fast that I’ve barely had time to think about it. I
feel like I’m stuck - stranded in a desert, not knowing where to go or what to
do. I'm just looking around, sand burning my feet, trying to find someone to help, but
there’s no one, nothing, but sand. Finally, I see something and I bust with
excitement! I run as fast as I can towards it, but it disappears because
it was only an illusion. That’s what happens with me, I find something and it
disappears on me, and I have no idea where to go next. I’ve had ideas on where
I want to go, what I want to do with my life after high school, but how do I
know it’s the right path? There are so many paths to be taken, and my destiny
is just be the one out of 10000. Everyone that I know, knows what
they’re going to do, half of them are already signing up for classes for next
fall, and here I am still waiting for a sign to know what path I should take. I had a thought that maybe I’ll take a year off, find myself, and make some money, but then there is the question lies beneath me: "Am I going to go back to school, or will
I be too happy making money and not want to go back?" There are so many
questions in life that will not be answered until the time is right. I guess
now I’m just waiting for the right time to come to me. I guess one day I'll figure it
out.
-By Aspen Larson
The Road
I don't find my life terribly stressful at this point, especially since I’m almost done high school which will be a huge weight off my shoulders when it's done. However, when my life does get stressful I calm down and free my mind by listening to music, working on cars, and most of the time I go to the middle of the mountains to touge. I like to listen to many songs, but one of my favorites, "Seize the Day" by Avenged Sevenfold, stands out to me because of the meaning it has to me. When I listen to it I have always picture it referring to someone who wasted their time and the regrets it and it’s too late for them to go back. The chorus always brings me inspiration to "seize the day". People die and memories fade, so the point is to live now or never.
I have been into the car culture for along time now and hopefully in the future I still will be involved in it. I currently own eight cars, but only one runs and drives, while the others are projects on which I get to learn and improve my skills to get them running and driving. I am hoping to find a place that will let me apprentice, so I can be around what I love to do. My favorite place in the world other than my farm would be highway 532 in the Rocky Mountains. The road goes through a valley at the top of the mountains then it drops into the bottom of the mountains into a larger valley. Just before the switchbacks start to go down the mountains I love to stop and look over the valley. It makes feel refreshed, energized, and like I can do anything. I learnt to touge on that road with my dad; we used to drive it every weekend in the summer. If I feel stressed and just want to take a break in the summer, I will make the two hour drive from Lethbridge, or four hour drive from my farm just to feel those feelings and to enjoy the relaxing, beautiful drive.
-By Michael Marshall
I have been into the car culture for along time now and hopefully in the future I still will be involved in it. I currently own eight cars, but only one runs and drives, while the others are projects on which I get to learn and improve my skills to get them running and driving. I am hoping to find a place that will let me apprentice, so I can be around what I love to do. My favorite place in the world other than my farm would be highway 532 in the Rocky Mountains. The road goes through a valley at the top of the mountains then it drops into the bottom of the mountains into a larger valley. Just before the switchbacks start to go down the mountains I love to stop and look over the valley. It makes feel refreshed, energized, and like I can do anything. I learnt to touge on that road with my dad; we used to drive it every weekend in the summer. If I feel stressed and just want to take a break in the summer, I will make the two hour drive from Lethbridge, or four hour drive from my farm just to feel those feelings and to enjoy the relaxing, beautiful drive.
-By Michael Marshall
The Demons Inside Me
I'm going to tell you about how I beat the demons that are inside me, that were controlling me most of my life, and made me angry all the time. When I was a kid I had some very bad stuff happen to me and I was full of anger and hatred ever since. While I was growing older I just got madder and madder at everyone I ever met. I eventually got so mad that I got sent to a place for a few months to help me get my anger under control and to be able to understand people better. After I got out of the place I tried the techniques they taught me and the techniques were starting to work and starting to make me a better person, after so many years of having the demons torture me. Every time I get angry and they start to show up again I just think of the techniques I was taught and it helps slow them down quite a lot, to the point that I can eventually control them and make them disappear completely. The more I think about them the more I realize how easy it was to be able to control them and I recognize that in my past I wasn't trying to stop them, but instead I let them consume me and control me. The only way I'm able to control them is if I face them myself and not ignore them, or brush them off as a small deal because if I do they will come back to haunt me later and be much worse than the small problems they started off as. I defeat my demons by facing them head on and telling them to screw off, or I will fight them if it comes to it. The other way I can defeat my demons is by buying a old car and smash it up over the weeks to the point it doesn't look like a car then send it to the junkyard to kill them off once and for all. -By Joshua Page
Courage and hope. Although they may sound different, the meanings of both of those words are often attributed to the the determination that keeps us moving forward. In Language Arts I often wrote stories about fictional characters without telling about my own story. The truth is I often don't talk about it because I do not know how to explain it myself. I've gone from bad times when I was younger with family drama and getting bullied, to the confident and happy young man that we all see today. It may sound cliche, but courage helped me move forward. I needed to have the courage to explore areas I would never have gone before. I needed to talk to people I would have never talked to before. This growth is not something that we can achieve within a day or week, it will only come once you are willing to move forward in your life. You cannot force it, but when the day comes you will know.-Dillon Johnson
Family
The first thing I thought about when I hear the words courage and hope, is my family. We have been through a lot of struggles as a family, but we have never given up on each other because we all know that we belong to each other. My mom and I have asthma, but my mom's asthma is way worse than mine. In the beginning of our journey to Canada my mom got an unexpected asthma attack in the airplane and the journey turned into a complete nightmare. We hadn't even arrived to Canada yet and we almost lost hope. I hated the disease so deeply because of this; it lasted for about ten minutes, but it felt like ten hours. Somehow, she got better and we continued our journey with hope for a better future. Then everything started to get better when we arrived safe. The first month in Canada was so boring that we had to sit at home 24 hours a day, missing home and friends, but the longer time we spent here the more we liked it. My mom had a couple more asthma attacks after that, but as usual we were all there for her and thank God she got better. I really hope we don't have to go through that again.
- By Tomas Haile
- By Tomas Haile
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
All my life I’ve always tried to make my
parents happy and proud of me, well maybe not always, but I know that they want
what’s best for me which means the career that makes the most money. This is
something I struggle with. See I’m not the brightest student out there, and I
can sometimes be hard working, but when I am I know I get results. I also want a
job that I’ll enjoy on doing, a job that I’ll honestly be proud of, even if my
parents aren’t, but since I want to make
my parent’s proud I have no clue on what to do. There are times where I actually
don’t feel like I’m living life to the fullest; I don’t blame my parents of
course, I honestly blame myself for not having the courage to face them and tell them about the pressure they’re putting on me. Sometimes I think it would be best to take a year off after high school and maybe get a
part time job while I figure my stuff out.
Secretly, I kind of do have an idea of
what I want to do for a living; I really don’t care much about wages, I just want to
travel. I want to explore the world while I write stuff like a journalist. I
want to experience different cultures and learn languages. I want freedom. Ever
since I moved to Lethbridge I’ve always felt trapped, and over and over I keep
thinking that there’s something out there and I want to explore it. I want to
hear different viewpoints on things and write about it. I want to put myself out
there and experience things I have not experienced before.
-By Stephen Protomartir
Is It Worth It?
There were moments during my high school year that I thought I was going to be a chef. I wanted to go to the culinary arts school at the Lethbridge College. I was all in for this career that I’ve never even tried just because I like to cook. I never ended up going through with it because I was given some advice to not rush into something that I'm uncertain about, but there are problems with this advice and my reaction. The first issue is that I’ll never know if I would have like that career because it got tossed to the side and forgotten about.The second issue is that I have found that passing up education at any point can be a bad thing. Over the years I have found sometimes it is better to just go for it. Yes, it’s a lot of money to go to school, but money on education is never wasted, and it doesn't hurt to learn more than one thing so you have something to fall back on if you end up not liking your career.
-By Tyson Langager
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJbQphVcGxA
This is a link to the video clip entitled: "All About Learning. Why is Education Important?"
-By Tyson Langager
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJbQphVcGxA
This is a link to the video clip entitled: "All About Learning. Why is Education Important?"
“There's is something inside they can`t get to. That they can't touch. It`s yours. Hope.” This is a quote said by the prisoners in the film Shawshank Redemption. This reminds us that hope isn't something that can be taken away from a person so easily. As long as we don`t give up there is no person who can take hope away from us.
I started gaining an interest in basketball when I was 13 years old. I think it came from watching my older cousin, who was 17 around the time, playing with his friends. I would always ask to tag along and whenever he did let me come with him I would get lost watching them play. It was about time for basketball season and I really wanted to go and try out, but I was afraid of getting cut and not making the team, so because of this fear I didn’t go to the first try out. My older cousin confronted me about this and asked me why I didn’t go, after explaining my reasoning behind my decision to miss the first try out he took me to the court near where I lived at the time and he played basketball with me for a few hours. It started to get dark, so we started heading back home and as we were walking back to my house he told me if I really like basketball I should try out because if I didn't I would end up on sidelines, watching my friends play. The talk he gave me wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me want to go and tryout. My cousin gave me hope that I could possibly make the team. In this situation I was the only one discouraging myself. I didn't have any trust myself, but my cousin gave me the hope and the courage to tryout for the team.-By Mawien Arop
Don't Let Fear Take You Over
I feel vulnerable in life when I have to put myself out there and do things I'm not comfortable doing, such as going out of my way to talk to others and talking in front of people or groups. I hated doing this and felt nervous up until probably this year, but I realized I wasn't the only one who felt this way and that if everyone else could do it without any problems then I could too. I realized the people you're talking to don't care whether you are nervous or not, they are just there to listen to what you have to say. Even though I may have hated doing these things in the moment and I sometimes just wished it would be over, I now know that it only benefited and allowed me to progress and work on developing a new and useful life skill because the only way to overcome things like this is to continually do them over again and practice until you are comfortable. This will allow you to start to become comfortable with the uncomfortable moment life throws at you. Being able to overcome anything, whether it's big or small, takes a tremendous amount of courage. Sometimes society can try and put limitations on what you can do, but as long as you listen to yourself and truly believe you can do something you will be successful and be able to overcome anything. Even though I still dislike talking in front of people I am no longer nervous when I have to. -By Joshua Lambert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0HRAtBquKg
This is a link to a motivational video entitled "Overcoming Fear".
Monday, 3 April 2017
Brandy, My Best Friend
Role models are important to an individual because not only do they guide an individual to make
positive life choices, but they also provide inspiration and support to one's life. Brandy Little
Bear is my auntie, my best friend, and my role model. If I could explain Brandy in one word it
would be extroversion because she is the most outgoing and positive person you will ever
meet. There is never a dull moment when I’m with her and I can always depend on her when I
need comfort or someone to cheer me up through the hard times. Something we always like to
do is cruise to go get a slurpee and sing to 2000 throwback songs in the car. Brandy wears her
heart on her sleeve and always puts everyone else before herself. She feels as if her purpose in life is to help others who are in need of it. Ever since I was a little girl she kept me close to
her, almost like I was a little sister, not to mention Brandy is only nine years older than me so it was
more of a sister relationship between us, and it still is like that. She never left any of my siblings
and I to feel unwanted or lonely. She resides in Calgary and over the summer she was the only
one who encouraged me to get a job up there. Brandy also supported me while I lived with her
for the few months while I was up there working.
I look up to her because of how strong she is as a woman, and how she just goes for what she
wants. Brandy is no pushover, she helps where she is needed and wanted, but never lets anyone take advantage of her. She is also someone who takes chances and risks in her life,
someone who isn’t afraid of anything. Brandy moved up to Calgary with only the clothes on her
back after high school knowing it wasn’t going to be easy, but had hope that in the end
everything would play out perfectly. Now nine years later after moving up there she has a beautiful
family, she enrolled into Mount Royal University and has a stable place to live with all the extra
necessities she would want, and deserves. Going on six months ago, my parents went through a
separation. Times were really hard for everyone in my family. Throughout this challenge that we
were faced with, Brandy has continued to be my shoulder to lean on. When I need to go
somewhere to get away for a bit, she's the first one I call. If I didn’t have her in my life for support
and encouragement, I don’t think I’d be as strong as I am today. She always pushes me to do
my best, and when something doesn’t go the way I hoped, she's there to tell me the right things
that I need to hear. Brandy will forever be my best friend.-By Sydney Shade
The Reason I Play
When I was much younger I would always want to go see my sister
and my brother play their school sports.
Going to see how my siblings play and how they connect with people, mostly
watching my brother playing volleyball, caused my mind to open up. After watching his
whole volleyball season whenever I got the chance I would try to set or pass
the ball. When grade seven came along I wanted to tryout for the school
volleyball team. And that is where it all started my passion for this sport. I
was one out of two grade seven kids to make the senior team. Through my middle school
years I’ve stuck to the same sport and still love it. Going into grade ten
was nerve-racking because I didn’t think I was going to make the team, it was more difficult because new kids
from different schools were trying out to be on the team. After I made the team I
created goals for my career. My JV team got second at cities, my SV team got
second at cities and won a zone banner, got top ten at provincials and got top
five at nationals. Hopefully my next
goal is to play for a post-secondary program. I love this sport and I will for
many years, I’m glad my brother started playing because if he didn’t, I don’t
think I would have started playing I would have stuck to playing basketball.
-By Tim Kelly
The Darkness in My Life
The darkness in
my life would be living up to the expectations of others. People always expect
too much, and it is hard to make everyone happy. For this darkness to go away,
others should not expect so much from you. I think if everyone lived up to
their own expectations and did not worry about anyone else it
would be a lot easier to please others. It puts a lot of pressure on someone to
try and live up to other people's expectations. Everyone should just have to
worry about themselves and reach the expectations that they have set for
themselves. If people can learn to do what they would like, they would be
happier than always feeling the need to do what others want from them. This also
connects to social media because people see what others are like and they try
to be like them, and they are not being themselves.
-By Brayden Chapple
Hope for the Future
At times I constantly find myself dwelling on the future, whether it’s about an assignment that's due or even just a busy week. I often catch myself playing situations over in my mind and wondering how I’m going to approach them, but usually they don’t go so well in my head. I don’t even have a clue what is to come next and this scares the hell out of me. Nobody can truly know. I have faith that everything will work out okay, and also hope for a good future, a future in which I’m not a disappointment to myself and others, but in many instances I cannot help myself, but to assume the worst. I think nothing is going to work out sometimes and I’ll be left a failure. My family and others may have some expectations that can put a lot of weight on my shoulders and failing them is probably one of the biggest fears of mine. I don’t enjoy letting people down in my life. It’s just that they have hope for me to do great things for myself and not make any of their mistakes, but nobody is perfect. Not everything we do has to be great and we cannot prevent ourselves from doing any of the wrong things in life, that is why they are called mistakes. We can only have the hope and courage to be the best that we possibly can. I cannot do everything others wish for me to do because not everything they want is exactly what I want. If I could do all the things everyone wanted me to do I would, but first I need to do what I want. I wish to simply be the best version of my myself and it upsets me that I cannot make everyone proud, but that just isn’t realistic. I need to find the courage to do the things I wish to do, and the hope for a good future. -By Cetan Pitre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=163_C5UVU-I
This is a link to the song "Hope for the Future" by Paul McCartney.
Family and Cars
The vision I have of my future has both cars and family in it. When I say family, it's not just blood family, in fact sometimes it's not blood family at all. Family for me is who's there with me when I need them.
There are three special cars in my life, two are my dad's, and the other is mine. One of my dad's has been made into a tribute car, while the other is in the process of becoming one, and my car is very special to me because if it weren't for someone very dear to me I wouldn't have it. The special someone, who the two cars are being meant to tribute, is the same person who made it possible for me to have my car. This vision of my future is so perfect that it scares me because there is always something that goes wrong. The whole reason the cars my dad owns are tribute cars is because things didn't go the way we wanted them to. The very person who made it possible for me to have my car, also never got to see it. She also never got to see the one car my dad had, at the time, finished. This is why the tribute cars have become tributes, but they were not bought with that intention.
Family has become way more important to me over the last year. My family has grown because I consider more people family because they were there when I needed them. The one thing with family is that no matter what they'll always be reunited, it just might be a lot longer of a wait then most hope. When my dad and I are in these cars together it feels like that wait to be reunited is over, even though it's still a long way out. In these cars we feel connected to her even though she's gone. That's the reason cars and family are the key points in my future.
-By Brett Gross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKAFK5djSk
This is a link to the song "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa. Much like the cars, this song is like a tribute to the person I have lost.
Family has become way more important to me over the last year. My family has grown because I consider more people family because they were there when I needed them. The one thing with family is that no matter what they'll always be reunited, it just might be a lot longer of a wait then most hope. When my dad and I are in these cars together it feels like that wait to be reunited is over, even though it's still a long way out. In these cars we feel connected to her even though she's gone. That's the reason cars and family are the key points in my future.
-By Brett Gross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKAFK5djSk
This is a link to the song "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa. Much like the cars, this song is like a tribute to the person I have lost.
The Shadows of My Life
In my everyday life, I do my best to hide my vulnerability in situations that I’m uncomfortable with, like a big group of people that I’m not familiar with. I don’t know why, but I do distance myself. I will usually spend most of the time on my phone when I’m in a big group of people I don't know. I get anxiety in situations like that because I have trust issues. I’m not afraid of people judging me, but always in the back of my mind lies the thought of not being good enough. I don’t know why I question my self-worth, I just do. I’m vulnerable, but I do my best to keep my vulnerability hidden in the shadows. Not many people understand what its like to question their self worth, or get anxiety during a time that is odd to get anxiety in. Personally, I believe that anxiety is a demon that keeps you captive in the dark shadows of fear. Everyone tells me anxiety is just fight or flight, but to me all I wish I could do is take flight out of my body when the big burden drops on my chest like a 200 pound boulder. The bright side is what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. I know as I grow up that I will learn from these experiences that I am going through and I will be an even stronger person. Day by day my courage grows because I stand up to my personal issues every morning as I get ready for school. At the end of my journey all these issues will help shape me into a stronger, better, and happier man.
-By Nolan Brooks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXl6QpWQ5xo
This is a link to the short film "Nothing Will Stop Me". It is a motivational video, reminding us that "there is nothing as powerful as a changed mind."
This is a link to the short film "Nothing Will Stop Me". It is a motivational video, reminding us that "there is nothing as powerful as a changed mind."
Pow
When I think of what I am passionate about I imagine myself on top of my closest local mountain at Castle. I love every moment of it! Looking at my best friend right beside me, then looking down to pick my line, the wind and the snow hitting my face like a wall of pins and needles. Every time I carve I get I get a slash of pow in my face, inhaling it, suffocating me like I’m under water. Let’s not forget that adrenaline rush! It's almost like I can just feel it rushing through my veins.This is what I love. I love every bit of it, even sitting on the chair looking at what’s next to ride, building that courage to look for harder terrain, waiting on the chair for that next run in, the bumps and bruises, the laughs, and especially the memories made with the ones I’m lucky to share my passion with. It’s been quite hard to pursue it this year being that I’ve been to busy with work and school. Going to school all week and work on the weekends makes it quite difficult to get up to the mountains and shred some pow but I haven’t let that stop me from getting out. I’ve only been out four times this past season which is better than nothing, but I just hope I can find more time next year and in the years to come. -By Saje Pitre
The Humbling Rains
 |
| Photo taken by Tristen |
-By Tristen Cook
https://mail2.holyspirit.ab.ca/owa/redir.aspx?C=kkFBlw1XeVDznmwLksEUFd-uLFRiPmXANhNja0s9PvVG45q053rUCA..&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dO0YxeTjFn70
This link is to a music video by Puscifer. This piece, entitled "The Humbling River", mirrors the metaphor I have established in my blog piece.
Breaking Free
-By Kourtney Sazaski
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtuOk0IFjiY
This is a short video entitled "Things About Anxiety Nobody Talks About". It is a very informative video outlining the various difficulties people with severe anxiety face.
My Heroes
This story has been told by my
both of my brothers and my mom and it tells about how much they love me and everything they did
for me. Everything started in El Salvador where I was born. My dad wasn’t there
for me and brother, or my mom. I was a baby and I didn’t know any of this. My
brothers were there for me when I needed them the most. My older brother used to take care of me and my other brother; they were my heroes. I thank God
because I have the best brothers in the world. Without them I wouldn’t have
been able to do much. My brothers gave me everything they could and even though
they were young they tried their hardest to feed me and take care of
me. When I turned two years old one of my brothers went to live with his aunt, and
I was left with my other older brother Alex.
Alex is the biggest hero there is; I
feel like he is an even bigger hero than superman because he is stronger than superman; he is
everything to me. When kids, my age bullied me my brother Alex stepped up and
protected me and it didn’t really matter if he lost the fight he would protect me
from the bullies. Sometimes I wish I could have done the same thing for him as well, but I wasn’t strong enough. I was scared, but Alex gave me the courage to be stronger
and he has been my hero all the time. I couldn’t have asked for a better brother.
When we came to Canada he protected me even more and he helped me on homework
because I didn’t understand much, but as time went on I started to do it
by myself and he started to change. He acted different and I thought he didn’t
like me anymore and wouldn’t protect me anymore, but he was still there for me and he continued to protect me from fights I got into.
Three years later after we came to Canada
my older brother came as well, I missed him so much and was eight years since the last time I
visited him. I hugged him and thanked him for taking care of me
while I was a baby. I really love that I have the best brothers ever. They will
always be here for me when I need them the most even though sometimes it’s hard
for them, but they try to give me the best. My brothers motivate me to do even
better at boxing and motivate me not to quit easily, so no matter what I have to try it first and
if it doesn’t work I have to finish what I start with their help. My brothers
Alex and Brian are the biggest inspiration for me and I hope I can be the same
role model for my younger brother that I can teach him what my brothers
taught me.
-By Melvin Ariza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s1wOJUIkx4
This is a link to the song "Hasta el Final". This song is about never giving up in life. This relates to my brothers because kept pushing me to never give up once I started something I wanted to accomplish.
Because I Dance...
Passion to me is doing something that you love and never getting tired of it. My passion is dance; dance has been a huge part of my life. I've been dancing for 5 years, and these years have been the best years of my life. Before I started dancing I was really shy and had no confidence at all. Then I found Urban Beat Dance studio; I fell in love with dancing and the feeling of a kind and welcoming studio. I started dancing hip hop for 3 years until I recently started tap dancing last year. I love to dance because I get to meet new people and be a part of team that I call my dance family. I have gained confidence from performing in front of hundreds of people at competitions every year and plus I have become a better person from dancing. Probably my favourite thing about dancing is all the fun and pretty costumes that we get for competitions and the adrenaline I get right before I hit the stage. Dancing is a good therapy. If I am having a bad day or something is bothering me I dance because dancing clears my head and makes me not think about the situation. This year will be the last time I get to dance with my dance family and share the competition stage with them. Dance has taken me from a shy awkward teen with a low self esteem to a self assured confident young women I am today.
-By Keely Cernetic
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_ExXKEE4Q5jR2ZsQWJKR0E2TXdaTC1hdVRsRHhtZVNseThZ/view
These links are to some recorded videos of my "dance family" and myself practicing.
These links are to some recorded videos of my "dance family" and myself practicing.
Connections Across the Ocean
I am passionate about a few things in my life, but the
most important has been learning anything to do with Japan. Last summer I had
the opportunity to go to Japan for two and half weeks with Catholic Central, travelling
to our sister school in Sendai called St. Ursula’s. The first part of the trip we toured around Kyoto
for a few days taking in many sights. Then we took a bullet train to Sendai to
meet up with our host families. In Sendai, we would tour the city and spend
time with our host families after classes.
I already knew who I was staying with In Japan because
I meet her when she was an exchange student at CCH in Grade 11. The student I
stayed with was Ginga Watabe. I first met Ginga when she was in my Science
class first quarter In Grade 11. By talking each day and hanging out together
at school, we both knew if I ever came to Japan I would stay with her. At the
time, I did not know for sure that I would be able to stay with her but hoped
it would happen. Ginga and I both enjoyed the times we had together in Canada.
At the end of the school year it was time for me to go
to Japan. I was excited and also a bit nervous travelling such a long way. When
I first saw Ginga again in Japan, I was so happy that I was able to spend a
whole week together with Ginga and her family. They took me everywhere and
treated me like royalty. They were so very kind and welcoming towards me. Even
though I had never met her family, I felt as if I had known them for a long time. They
would always thank me for the helping Ginga when she attended our school in
Canada. I do not think I did anything special, but to them it meant so much.
There were times when there were language barriers between us, but I would
always try speaking the language to the best of my ability.
There were many fun things we did together during my
visit. Fireworks was one of my favorite things with Ginga’s family. I think
they celebrate any happy occasion with fireworks. We lit off fireworks a few
times while I was there. Fuga, Ginga’s younger sister, was the one who taught me
how to properly do fireworks the first day we got there. Ginga’s Mother and Father
would always teach me new Japanese words and tell me about their culture. Throughout
the day, I would use the little bits and pieces of Japanese that I knew to talk
with them. My host family would always ask me questions about Canada and I would
try explaining as best I could in English so that they could understand. We
would always be laughing and enjoying the time together no matter what we were
doing.
Close to the end of my trip we went to the bookstore.
I asked Ginga’s father if there were any books on how to learn Japanese in
English. We ended up finding a few books. When I was going to pay for the books,
her father insisted paying for them. He told me It was a present from him and
that the next time we see each other we can talk in Japanese. This made me want
to learn the language more because of the gift he gave me. I am taking Japanese
class at school to learn a bit more of the Japanese language. One day I hope I
can talk to Ginga and her family and be able to tell them things I was not able
to before.
From the moment I was there, until the time I left
Japan, I felt a part of Ginga’s family. The connections I made across the world
are very memorable and I will hold dear to my heart. My experiences there have
made me even more passionate about Japan and the culture. Every day was a
fantastic time and there was not one moment where I was not smiling and having
fun. I would take a trip like this again if I had the opportunity.
-By Sarah Cassidy
https://cchjapan2016.wordpress.com/
This is a link to the CCH photo album from the 2015-2016 trip to Japan.
https://cchjapan2016.wordpress.com/
This is a link to the CCH photo album from the 2015-2016 trip to Japan.
Living With Demons
Sometimes I feel
as if I’m in a dark room by myself, and all I can hear are voices. Sometimes I
think it’s my voice or someone else’s voice but I don’t recognize it, it’s very
vague sometimes soft, sometimes harsh. Then I hear “be afraid” be afraid of what?
Life, the people around me, and the risks I take? Then I start to think to
myself “maybe I should be afraid.” Then when I want to talk to someone about
what’s going on nothing comes out of my mouth. It’s like I’m screaming what I
want to say, but nothing is coming out. From the second my eyes close to the
second they open up, the demons inside me never leave.
I am now
familiar with the feeling of not being able to catch my breath, the feeling
like the walls are closing in, the feeling of passing out, and the feeling of never
ending shaking is the worst thing in the world. I would never wish this upon
anyone it’s like a nightmare but you’re and awake and it never ends.
When I try to
explain what’s going on people think I’m crazy or there is something wrong with
me, they say “you need help” or “or you need medication” but what is medication
going to do for me? Keep me sane? Yes, but I don’t want to be on medication my
whole life. I need to take charge of my life and be in control, I need to find
the courage inside of me to fight and have the hope that one day it will all be
okay.
-By Briana McKenna
http://thoughtcatalog.com/jacklyn-krol/2014/01/what-its-like-to-have-severe-anxiety/
This is an article that explores what it is like to have severe anxiety and how debilitating it can be.
This is an article that explores what it is like to have severe anxiety and how debilitating it can be.
Hope and Fears of My Future
There are some things about my future that I am
looking forward to and other things that I am really scared about. Some people
have told me that I will never be able to achieve my goals, but I believe I can
achieve my goals as long as I have hope and as long as I work hard. After
graduating high school, I plan to go to college and get a job operating
construction equipment. I am looking forward to being able to live how I want,
without anybody telling me what to do or how I should live my life. I am
excited about being able to work a decent job, do the activities I enjoy and
live my life how I want to.
There are some things that worry me though. Since
social media is becoming more and more popular, I am worried that I will not be
able to talk to as many people face-to-face because everyone will be using
their phones to “interact” with each other. Also, I do not want to be one of
those losers who are in their homes all day making YouTube videos for money. I
want to be working outdoors, driving vehicles and interacting with people
face-to-face.
I do have hope for my future though, and that is all
that matters to me. As long as I have hope and work hard, I believe that I can
make my future life the best life a man can have.
-By Daniel Lueke
Left Astonished
Every once in awhile, I go up into
the mountains with my family. Driving up, I love looking out my window watching
all the trees and wildlife pass right before my eyes. Opening the windows to
smell the clean air always makes me happy. Whenever we arrive in the mountains,
we set out to explore. Hiking is my
life. Whenever I hike, I let go of my worries.
When I hike, I always look around me to see all the wonders that mother nature
made for us
to love and cherish. I follow paths that I know will leave me
breathless. When I get to the special spot the
path leads me to, it always leaves me to be in awe and astonishment that we live in
a world like this. There’s always a lake at the end of my destination. Dipping
my feet in the cold refreshing water makes me be relaxed and comfortable for
what I have accomplished. As I sit there, I listen to all the wildlife around
me with my eyes closed, reliving my
adventure to get to where I am now, enjoying that I feel free and renewed.
I see with my own eyes the beauty from my hike and take pictures to have the
memory last longer. The reason I’m passionate about hiking and the mountains is
because of my mom. She always looks so at home whenever we are away from
everyone else, with just her family and nature to keep her company. She looks like her self again - happy, young
and full of life. Seeing my mom like this makes me happy and relieved because
she works so hard and cares for everyone.
-Hannah Irwin
Friday, 31 March 2017
Cowardly
You want to tell how you feel, but you can’t because you’re too much of a coward to see his reaction. You don't know if it’s good for you or if it’s bad, but what if you’re too late to tell everything…
I found out that you’re in love again. Well, it’s good thing that you’ve already moved on from the past. I am happy for you, yes I am, but i can’t stop my heart from breaking because you’re in love again, and i’m not the lucky one.
The moment the news came out, I lost all my senses and reality struck me. I found myself in a dungeon of emptiness. You are in love and it’s not with me. I guess it will never be me. I can’t blame you for that. I can never blame you for that because it is I who never found the courage to tell you how I feel. It is the cowardly me who chose to stand in the quietness of my feelings. I chose to keep you on standby not telling you how I feel, but I guess I am losing you forever with all the "what ifs" haunting me. I wish I had the courage. I wish I can outgrow these feelings soon. For now, I’ll keep my distance. Just let me heal this shattered heart in silence.
After long months I’m back in the Philippines. There’s someone who told you that I’m here. I didn’t expect that you were going to message me. You asked me to go out with you and I accepted. I didn’t expect that I would see you again. We ate, we watched movies, we did the things that we used to do when we were still together. All the feelings that I felt for you is back. There’s a hope that build in my heart; I’m hoping that we can be together again and hoping that we can still fix our broken relationship, but I remember that you already have a new one. Maybe this is not the right time for us, but I’m hoping that someday when we meet again you’re free already, and hoping we can still have another chance. When the right time for us has come, I’m not going to let you go AGAIN.
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
For Fun
As my father and I lined up to race in the 2000m obstacle course I was happy I was finally turning seven and could do the obstacle course, as it was a dream of mine. I lined up against all of the other kids in this obstacle course. As the gun goes off we all take off at a full sprint, and I reach my first obstacle, its a single handed monkey bar over top of mud and the bars covered about 30 meters. I leaped and started my way as I swung across the bars. Looking down into the deep mud I started to doubt myself as if I were facing gravity against me and so I fell. I looked up and saw all the other kids passing and looking down at me. I start to get up and head to get out of this pit of mud, but it was up to my waist, but I hear my father shouting go go! I’m finally back on land, but trenched in mud. I had to run 470m to my next obstacle that was a huge wall we’d have to climb. It looked so tall that I couldn’t see it all, it must of been twice or more the size of my father and he's about good 6 feet tall. Finally, as I got over the wall I got myself into 7th place out of 20. Next, I’m army crawling through the dirt as there is a net over top of me not allowing me to to do any other action, but crawling. Finally, the net ended and I can stand. I go into full sprint passing 3 others it's about 750m to the end of this obstacle race course, so I start to give everything I have I’ve got about 100m left. At this point it’s another guy and me left, but my legs start to give and I trip and he takes the victory, but I wasn't mad I got 2nd because even though I didn't win I was just trying this out for fun.
-By Gopi Parmar
Tuesday, 1 November 2016
Passion and Meaning
We discover passion and meaning when we are doing what
we value and love the most, we grow as individuals because we realize what
really matters to us in life and not just what makes us happy. We
truly discover passion and meaning is when we find that one thing in our life
that you absolutely love and cannot get enough of. When you find passion and
meaning you’ll know you’ve found a love for someone or something. That is what
passion and mean mean to me. It is like when I get to wake up at 5:00 am and drive two
hours just to go fishing in some of the most pristine waters that Canada has to
offer and then after the day of fishing in Fernie, BC. I go out to a restaurant to eat and have a drink then drive and drive two hours back to Lethbridge in the pitch
black, after a day of catching amazing fish in beautiful back country where the
bears and cougars roam. The reason why this gives me a sense of passion and
meaning is because at the end of every school week I have something to look
forward to, and at the start of a tough week full of exams and nonsense the
fact that I know that I’m going to be able to go fishing on the weekend just
keeps me going. If I didn’t have that in my life it would be very tough
to make it through the week.
-By Lucas Ferguson
Not Ever Losing Hope
Hope and courage found in people who never give up, they keep going even when there’s no reason to, and why is that they have something inside that helps them keep going. I think of the darkness in my life as the part that wants me to fail. It wants me to give up and agree with my inner demons, taunting me to go back to failing class and doing bad things. I don't want to give up to the darkness. No matter what happens to me, no matter how beat down, I always have hope in the future of my life because I know there's going be a better time. I look forward to the positive. Sometimes I want to give up and give in to my demons, but I always imagine the damage I'll do to myself. It hurts sometimes and I don't know how to deal with it other than keep looking forward and stay positive.
Right now I'm currently mourning my great auntie. She passed away yesterday and I had to call my cousin last night to let her know that everything is going to be alright. Everything isn't going to alright though. I had to deal with my grandfather passing and he was like a second father to me. I didn't really feel like the same person after he passed and I still don’t. I've been through a lot this year and honestly I've thought of giving up. I never did though and I never plan to. The plan is to hang on and let life take its course.
-By Mark Duckchief
Career Choices
When I was a little boy, I've wanted to be an aircraft pilot because I had a passion for airplanes. From the fighter jets to the passenger airlines, to me they were the coolest thing ever. Though my parents told me that I have to work hard in school to be a mechanic, back then I thought I had it, I thought that I was going to be an actual pilot. But, as the years go by my marks started going down slowly, to where I started struggling in class. Struggling to pass math was the biggest challenge, and it still is because I'm not good at mathematics, I never was.
In grade 9, a speaker came to class talking about apprenticeships all those post secondary related things. He talked about how I can get an apprenticeship as a mechanic, and I thought to myself, "would a mechanic be something that I'd like to be for the rest of my life?" I looked into it further, and took the classes that I needed to be one. It turns out that I only needed a couple of classes and I was set for the academic portion of it. I got hooked into the job because I started appreciating cars more. I appreciated how little things that need fixing can do so much and how little damages can impact a car's performance. I was determined to be a mechanic and I've come a long way on that path and I don't intend to stop, although several times my mother would tell me that there are other jobs than that and they pay more, but I want to enjoy what I do, not work at a place where I'm thinking of quitting every time I'm there.-By Stefano Badilla
My Super
My superhero in my life is my mom, since I was one. Since I
was one my mom has raised my brother and I. She has always been there for us no
matter what and she never complains or gives up on us because we were too difficult. My mother even went back to school
to become a nurse so that she could support my brother and I. My mom is
incredible and sometimes I don't think she knows it. I'm so glad to have the
mother I do because I know that whenever I need help she will be there to help
me. My mom works hard all the time so that my brother and I can enjoy
ourselves. My mom works so hard and never asks for anything in return; she is
the most amazing person. This is how I know not all superheros wear capes. I
didn't realize how much my mom did for me until I got old enough and saw how
hard my brother and I were to raise. She didn't rely on anyone and she did everything
for us; she is amazing I don't know anyone stronger than her. I will never take
my mother for granted she has the strongest will I have ever seen she has an incredible
amount of perseverance. My mom is my superhero, who is yours?
-By Zachery Martin
Getting Past My Monsters
-By Dalton Huehn
The Struggles of Life
Life is definitely not easy. I remember when I was younger when times were simple and I
didn’t have to worry about anything. I miss those times and I feel like I didn’t get enough of it.
Growing up was easy for me until my mom and dad split up. I was about 12-13 when they split
up, so it wasn’t easy for me to accept because I knew what was happening, it wasn’t like I was
oblivious to their divorce and the fact that I knew that happened changed me in some sort of
way. After their divorce I would shut myself out to others and would just keep all my emotions
bottled in and I still do, so when my parents split my sisters went to live with my mom and I stuck by my dad's
side since day one and I can tell ya that we’ve been through so much crap, that when I look
back at it I just laugh in amazement that even through our worst times we got through it all and
made the best of those situations. It’s crazy that with a little courage and hope you can make
the best of situations. With even a little bit of courage and hope you can accomplish big things.
When my Dad and I were at our worst moments it seemed like there was nothing we could do to
make things get better, but as time went on we slowly but surely started making the best of what
we had. My Dad told me that if I wasn’t with him at our worst he would’ve given up. We kept
each other going and kept pushing ourselves to do better. Without my Dad I probably wouldn’t
of been here in Lethbridge. I honestly think if I stayed in Calgary I would’ve started living the
life my dad always wanted to me avoid and without me who knows what my dad would’ve done.
I'm glad that I stuck around with my dad because if I didn’t I don't think I could've lived with
myself if anything happened to him. He was my motivation and I was his. Without having each
others back who knows what life we could’ve been living right now.
My Dad is the most important person in my life. He always gave me hope to have a
good life. I’ve seen all the crap he’s been through and I know what he has done. Knowing all of his
struggles in life gives me motivation to make sure that I will have a good life. He’s told me
numerous times that he doesn’t want for me to live the same life as he did. He wants me to be
successful and to live a happy life. Hearing those words is what gives me courage to do better
and makes me hope for a good life.-By Mario Sicay
Demons
-By Casey Schneider
Demons by imagine dragons
http://data.whicdn.com/images/129947865/large.jpg
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