Purple Crayons and Puddles

For some, it's the great beyond at the far end of the galaxy that triggers the imagination. For others, just the big backyard is filled with magic and wonder. It's at that time where a stick can be a wand and a rock a precious jewel and everyone is friends with everyone. These are the times when the only problems you have in life, are when you lose your favourite purple crayon or when you have to stay inside instead of playing outside in the puddles. Suddenly, none of this matters anymore. You could care less about that purple crayon you lost yesterday or about splashing in the puddles in the rain. You just don't have time for all that silly child-ness, you have to worry about school and homework. What happened? You grew up. You step into that gap between childhood play and adulthood work where you're still trying to figure out who you are and where you fit into this world. These perhaps, are the most important years and just maybe, the most fun...

Years pass by. Slowly you get taller and smarter. You learn new things and you begin to ask inquisitive questions that just pop out of your mouth. You pass through grades, where you feel as if everyday takes a year and you experience more things. Sometimes scary sometimes crazy and sometimes fun. As years whip past, your childhood years begin to blur into a mess of memories all out of place in your mind. Looking back on everything that has actually happened in 13 years it all seemed to have gone so quickly.

It feels like just yesterday when I stepped into the halls of middle school, somewhat intimidated by all the grade eight kids who towered above us all. And now look! We're the big grade eight kids now that all the little kids look up to. This year has been phenomenal. Grade eight has been phenomenal. So many laughs and jokes. But what's scary is that next year is the year of grade nine where you'll walk the halls of high school, once again the newbies and the youngest. Maybe you'll be a bit different. A bit changed... This time you're one year older, one year wiser and you have one more year of life's experiences under your belt. Still, you're exposed to so many new things and you'll be soaking it up and living it all up. Amongst all this excitement comes also learning about yourself and finding yourself amongst a billion other people on this planet.

Trying to find yourself I think is the hardest thing in life. You could almost picture yourself as a puzzle. You're job is to complete the puzzle to form what you want yourself be be like. The tricky thing with this is that this puzzle has so many pieces and sometimes pieces fit in different spots then you would have thought. And sometimes more than one piece can fit. To find your true inner self you have to listen to your gut feeling instead of being told what to do. Sometimes you have to be a bit different from the crowd and that's hard when you always want to fit in.

This year has gone by fast. Too fast and I just don't know what to say to that, it's been indescribable. If I had to use one word to describe this year I wouldn't be able to. I guess you could describe it as superawesomeamazingfun but does that really count for one word? But I guess since I have to end blog post this I'll leave it to one of my favourite quotes that really just ends it well. All I hope is that next year will be just as memorable and just as amazing as this year as some of us head off on new paths in life. Remember to live that roller coaster of life and have fun!

"The end is just the beginning and the beginning is just the end..."

Commented on: Lizzie's Final Post! :)

Rise and Shine

The moon in the high sky begins its descent and the stars light begins to fade. Crickets cease chipping and noises of the city begin. The stary darkness fades as the sky turns into a beautiful oragney, pinky purple colour. The sun rises, birds chirp and the morning begins whether you're ready or not. Some people embrace the early mornings as they find it is beautiful to watch the sun rise. And for most others, mornings are awfully dreadful and unpleasant to wake up to who think that the sun set is much more stunning.

For me, mornings brings adventure. Especially very early mornings. There's just something about them that just get me energized and hyped up for the day. Every morning is a new morning, a fresh new start. Everyday is different never ever exactly the same but loaded with new things. But the only problem with waking up early is that you're dead tired by the end of the day but sometimes it's a great way to get to sleep.

Then there are those mornings that can be very excruciating if you think very negatively about them. But maybe they wouldn't be so bad if you treat them more positively and if you're more optimistic. I've found that if you actually have something to live up to or look forward to in the morning they make mornings a lot less painful.

So when you swing your legs off your bed in the morning be optimistic. Smile and you might just surprise yourself how much better your day goes. Because everyone knows...

"The early bird catches the worm!"

Commented on: Bianca's Post! :)

Starbucks/Tim

You've just been shopping for hours and all you want to do is sit down and have a drink from one of your two favourite coffee shops which just happen to be located right next to each other. What do you go for? The classy black, white and green circle with the lady in the centre, or the brown and yellow oval? The pure white cup or the brown one? It's been long debated. What is better? Tim Horton's or Starbucks? And what is my opinion on this matter?

Starbucks is known for being a higher class coffee shop as opposed to Tim Horton's. From it's buttery leather couches to their smooth glassy tables Starbucks has beautiful interior design and cannot even come close as to compare to the inside of Tim's. Their drinks are simply delicious topped with creamy, fluffy, whipped cream and the actual contents is rich and smooth. Whether you get something hot or cold Starbucks has a wide variety to chose from along with unique names for their sizes of drinks. (Venti, large, grande, medium, and tall, small) I think that with Starbucks it's also more customised. You can chose just what you want and you can say just how you want it done. Starbucks is all about pleasing you, the customer!

Tim Horton's is one of the first things that comes to mind if I think about Canada. They are most defiantly more so aimed towards Canadians is pretty much only situated in Canada, unlike Starbucks which is more an American company. Other than coffee and other drinks Tim Horton's also has quite a selection of snacks such as sandwiches, soups and donuts. But they still defiantly make home brewed coffee very tasty although not as fancy. Everything is always made fresh which is also a very good thing.

All in all, what is better Tim Horton's or Starbucks? I think that if you want to treat yourself you should indulge in Starbucks but if you're just passing by grab Tim Horton's. Both places are both great and quite delicious to treat yourself to a steaming cup of coffee!

Commented on: Lizzie's Post! :)

Clear Waters in the Future

It's a beautiful peaceful day. The water is clear blue and calm. Fish, sea turtles and other marine life swim about happily and care free. All of the sudden the world is spun into chaos. Mayhem disturbs the water causing it to churn and sea life to scatter, helplessly swimming for shelter or a place to hide. A murky substance erupts from the great above, causing a bleak pit of despair and to some, the world collapses entirely.

Everyday, the world is being changed by us, the humans. And everyday, our carbon footprint expands deeper and wider. This April, we took things to the next level by altering our waters forever by a man made catastrophe that we can only take the blame for. The source, oil.

Last month, we committed a massive crime against our oceans by accidentally spilling more than 400, 000 gallons of crude oil into one of our most valuable natural resources, water. By doing so, we have now endangered thousands of feet of water and hundreds of species are now vulnerable, all from oil.

Oil spills are seriously dangerous. They can destroy the most beautiful coral reefs, disrupt schools of fish, attack innocent birds and wreck the natural way of life. And of course when the circle of life is broken everything can fall apart quite easily, but yet, all of this can happen from one mistake that we now must fix.

Oil, may not seem like a big deal to anyone. It's just something we put in our cars to make them go. But for other creatures, not necessarily humans, that may find that it might be the difference between life or death. It can suffocate them as they struggle to hold on to life and it can destroy their homes, leaving them homeless and completely out in the open.

But there is hopefully a brighter future coming our way. As you are reading this, teams of workers are working to help clean up the spill and help out some of the wild life stuck in this mess. Our waters will never be the same thanks to this oil spill, but perhaps we might be able to save most of our living creatures that live in the sea. This might be the worst oil spill yet, but only if we make it so. So here's to the hope for clear waters in the future and beyond.

Commented on: Alex G's Post! :)

Justin Jackson?

Justin Beiber is a kid with amazing talents that have wowed the world simply from his youtube videos. If you think about it, it's actually quite extraordinary. Any kid that's gotten as famous as he has in very little time must have some talent, although looks also play a part in becoming a celebrity. But, many people disagree saying that he is a horrible singer and has a very "girlish" voice that destroys his singing ability. And then there are the people that love him so much, that they compare him to one of the legends of music, the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson worked hard for the many, many years when he was in the music industry, bringing all the latest and greatest hits to the world. He lasted for many new eras of music always finding a way to change and bring music to a new level of greatness. That, is what makes MJ a legend and THE king of pop. In my mind there can ever only be one seat, and that one is already taken by a person who fully deserves it.

Justin Beiber on the other hand is quite new to the world of music, having only created a couple of albums and a few hit singles, unlike Michael Jackson who had created hundreds of hits. But, I do agree, Justin is a very talented singer who can inspire many. So for now, I can't stand to give him the title of king of pop. He just doesn't stack up to MJ at this point. Maybe in 10 or 15 years then we can see if he's still holding up and can finally compare him to Jackson.

Justin vs. Michael. I would have to say Michael at the moment. In time my mind may change but for now the answer is clear, MJ just has so many more years of singing under his belt. But I think that Justin could definitely qualify for another title. Maybe, youngest pop sensation? But for right now, no, I would not say that Justin Beiber deserves to be called the king of pop. The question is, can he survive just as many years as MJ? We'll just have to wait and see how he unfolds as a truly inspiring artist.

Commented on: Emily V's Post - Gainers

Uniforms?

You wake up. Oh, shoot, you slept through your alarm, again! Only 10 minutes to get ready and head out the door. You spring out of your bed and land heavily on the carpeted floor, running to your closet you start digging through your clothes. You randomly stick your hand in and grab a tee shirt and then search for your favourite pair of skinny jeans. Making a messy pile of disarranged pants in your closet you remember that your jeans have to be washed, guess your not wearing those today... Deciding to go for an semi-okayish pair of sweat pants you leap down the last few stairs and grab an apple from the table and head out the door. By the time you get to school, you're late, you notice that your pants and your shirt do not match and that you are probably wearing the most ugliest outfit you have ever seen in your entire life. That's life without an organized uniform to help you in the morning.

A grey kilt, white shirt, navy sweater and a blue, yellow and red striped tie. That is our uniform. Consider wearing just one outfit for quite a few years of your life, it just gets boring after a couple of weeks. But then there are the pros, like in the morning not rushing trying to figure out what to wear. Uniforms are... well they're both good and bad. It's hard to say.

Bad news, uniforms are just not what most people would call fashion forward or a 'do' in the fashion world. They're just not flattering on most people and are dull colours such as grey, navy and white. Most teenagers would not be caught in something like this at all on a weekend because uniforms are pretty much the opposite of comfy. They are stiff, pressed, and made out of materials that are not soft and snugly.

One last thing that makes uniforms okay are that they give people the sense of equality. Everyone is deemed equal. No one has the most expensive shirt, or the most trendy designer jeans. Everyone fits in. But is that enough to make uniforms okay to wear every single day of the school year??? Once again I'm stumped on what to say, split evenly on a fine line.

Uniforms have many pros and cons to them. I think it certainly makes mornings much more easier, but then there's the sacrifice of comfort and style. I think that it's all opinion. Does the comfort and style just cross the line for you? Or can you survive just for those mornings? In the end, are uniforms ultimately in for the better or worse? What do you think?

Commented on: Fiona's Blog Post! :)

One Eye Open, Another Shut.

World hunger. You're probably thinking about some small kid in Africa who's ribs and bones are poking out. Well it's true there are some African children starving from lack of food but what your not thinking of is what's happening locally. It's like you're looking through one eye with the other one squinted, almost shut. You're fully aware and focused on one side of the story but the other half is all blurry. You know that hunger is happening wherever you live you just decide on focusing on the more open eyes view.

Something that strikes me is that there are so many people that are dying. It's worse than a disease and it can wipe out millions at a time. If you can compare it, it's like 300 jumbo jets, completely full, crashing with no survivors everyday! That's how many people die. It's unbelievable to think that so many people are dying because they are lacking something that almost everyone takes for granted. Food.

Most people have food. It's essential to all human beings that want to survive. It's amazing how much is wasted, yet so many people are starving in other countries and would think that they would be lucky to have your table scraps. Not just people over seas though. It's also that person that you always see begging on the streets for money and who lives in a cardboard box. Sometimes they don't even get a meal, so they take what they can get, and sometimes that's nothing...

Sometimes it's hard to open the other eye, because it hits so close to home, but it's just as important. Be grateful for everything you have because a lot of people would kill to live like you. So I challenge you to attempt to open your second eye, and to see the second half of the story. You never know, it might just spark your mind.

Commented on: Lauren's Post! :)