Adventures at School

Hey guys, so I hope you both have been doing well! I have been having such an awesome time at my new school, with the new staff, students and environment. It is totally different from what I was used to for SO LONG! But I am so glad I am in this program, participating in everything they have to offer. It has definitely opened up my eyes to what this world is like, rather than going to a comfortable environment everyday close to home. Sometimes, we need to break out of our comfort zones, be a little crazy and daring in order for life to reveal to us the next level. In these times, we learn the most, and it is very valuable.  

            The students here are extremely studious, yes it can be very intensive sometimes, but I am learning to persevere in every situation. We should NEVER EVER give up on life. We may want things to happen right away, see results immediately, but some of the most precious things in life are the ones we patiently wait for.
            There is less than two months left of school for me, and I am already starting to miss some of the things here, but I know in these two months, I will make everything count. I will work hard, and to keep an open mind to enjoy myself. I also want to leave a positive influence on every single student at my school. I know it was not a mistake that I got in, that everything happens for a purpose. Even though my purpose in life is not always clear, I know there is always the Lord I can trust in to straighten my paths.
            I have also learned this semester that happiness is not based on possessions, status, experiences, appearance, grades, career, age, abilities or circumstance. Real joy is everlasting, and it is something you have no matter what the situation is. Emotions may go up and down, but true joy is found in something else. The Maker of the universe. Sometimes if we feel like God is not there, maybe it is because we are not even quieting down are busy lives to even try to here the faint whisper God is conveying to us.
            Now to get into some of the specifics of what I do everyday at school...well…let me tell you guys the story of last week starting on Monday. We had Math in the morning, and oh goodie, we started out with our final Calculus test! Then we had Chemistry for two hours. We had an in class assignment where we had to build organic chemical reactions with what I call Chemistry Lego! Then we had to present our stop motions from the week before. Then after lunch, we had biology. We also had presentations, on biotechnology to prepare us for the next day. I bussed home after, which took two and a half hours. 

On Tuesday, we did a full day DNA lab. It was from 9:15 to 4:30 pm (got to sleep in a bit, school usually starts at 8:30!) and we got to pull out many of our hairs to get the DNA from the hair sheath. After many processes and steps with ultra cool high tech equipment, at the end of the day, we got our results of the D1S80 segment of our DNA. It is a very short segment, and scientists actually do not even know why it is there, but everyone has the same sequence of DNA bases there. The difference is the number of times the sequence repeats itself. I figured that my particular combination from my mother and father is one in every 150 people. Surprisingly, that is actually pretty common. Someone in my class came out with a rarity in the 4000s. Then I bussed home after, took a different route, and it took me 2 hours!!!

Wednesday came along, and we had homeroom in the morning. Then I had a three hour long spare, where I just lulled around doing nothing! I really should have been studying, but we couldn’t stop discussing our semester hoodie design. I can not wait when we finalize our ideas and get our hoodies!! Then in math class, we started Vectors!! So from now on, I will call math Vectors, just cause it is more accurate and it sounds cooler than “Calc”. It was all review from grade 11 physics. Then it was biology, and we also started a new unit, genetics. Then I bussed to the nearest subway station to get picked up by my mom.

Thursday, it was Chemistry first thing in the morning! We wrote our organics test, and I was so relieved afterwards! We got a diagnostic quiz question afterwards of grade 11 stuff to prepare us for the next unit, yeh, I remember nothing, do you hear that Taro King?  Then it was biology class, and it was pretty funny, because here at my school, we do not have substitute teachers. When educators are sick, the program still has to go on for that school, and so my teacher was not available at the beginning of the class. Instead, the principal had to substitute our class for the first half! Then after lunch, we had Innovation for the rest of the day. This time is pretty much homeroom, just it is more dedicated to our Innovation Project. This is worth 7% of our mark in all of our courses, and in groups, we have to design an exhibit for the centre, and present it to the design team to convince them that it should be on the floor in the future. So far in the past, only one exhibit has been approved! However, for this week, we had to write a biology competition/contest. I started the first question, and I was like easy enough, then after that, it was all in Latin…after about half and hour or so of torture, some people started to hand it in early. I joined in with them a bit after, and our teacher said we can have some free time outside to let the others who are taking a bit more seriously finish the competition. So we had some free time, and we just hung out at the piano and sang songs, it was like recess all over again! Then when it was over, we just had an Innovation meeting until the end of the day.

Finally, Friday! I got to sleep in for a little bit because physics was in the morning, and I did not take physics here. I arrived at school, about half an hour of spare left. Then it was homeroom, and it was pretty fun, because we got a guest speaker that day! They were grad students of immunology, and world Immunology Day is today! So they introduced to us the immune system, and some of the organs and cells part of it. My favourite has definitely got to be the macrophage, a monster engulf-er of pathogens! We then had an activity, where each group got a little test tube of liquid, and one group in the room had the infected one. (They were not dangerous.) We then used micropipettes, like the ones from Tuesday’s lab, to contaminate each other’s tube. At the end, we discovered that my group had the infected one, and we only mingled with one other team, so they got infected as well. Then after lunch, we had chemistry class. Even though it was an hour long, we did like two mini experiments and an activity. For the first one, we discovered what is inside diapers and feminine hygiene products that keep us dry. We put sodium polyacrylate with water, and the water was literally absorbed by the powder, and the whole thing turned not a gel-like consistency. Then we divided it up into three different cups, and added in different substances into each. Two of them, the water came back out, and the third one, nothing happened. For our activity, we were playing with beans. It was something to teach us equilibrium. Then our teacher showed us a demonstration using another form of sodium polyacrylate. It was so cool, because once again, the powder soaks up the water, and it is like if it growing upwards! She said it was fake snow, and she let us play with it, so awesomez. At the end, we had math and after another repetitive lesson on Vectors, we also had an activity. We had to pick a starting point and using our smartphone compasses, we had to formulate a path of adding and subtracting vectors arrive at a destination. When we were done, it was already the end of school, what a week!!!

Usually, we have a set timetable every week, but every week, something changes just because there’s so much stuff we have to do. We spend a great deal of time with each other, the same 28 students, everyday, all day. So this is one of the different things here, it is a MUCH smaller environment. Curriculum is the same, but I would say we focus more on teamwork, and sometimes, as an introvert, it can be kind of overwhelming!
            The last thing I will talk about is transportation. At first, I thought it was just the WORSE thing about going to school so far away, but I am actually starting to like it! I love the city more and more as I take part of it everyday, and having it reveal to me. Even though it may be boring on the bus, it is the only place where random people go on after a long day of work or school or errands, have some time to rest, and to be together and intimate in a way. We are all the same people, even if it seems like we have nothing in common with another person. People really are like M&Ms, we may be different colours on the outside, but on the inside, we all taste the same!

P.S. Just a tip, get to know your neighbours XP.

P.P.S. Do you like the new layout??

~ Wingless Aura