One Small Thing: Strong Will

Beside my desk, there is a plant similar to many bamboo shoots but with more leaves. It was a Dracaena braunii (Lucky Bamboo). This plant is completely opposite of the marvelous bonsai tree, the center-piece of our living room. The bonsai is very welcomed, cared for by all, whereas the leafy plant lay in the corner. It wasn't ugly but it was only there. When the bonsai tree is watered, it is too, just that no one payed attention. This all stopped after a few months. The little plant was only watered every two weeks, most of the times when it was nearly dehydrated. Somehow, it's still alive.

It's always cramped in a corner and mostly forgotten. Even the pot's color faded over time. Maybe for the first few days, it felt like living hell, no water for weeks! Maybe it was about to wilt, but the will of living kept it alive. After a while, it adapted to the circumstances and waited out the long days of dryness. A few of the green leaves are wilted and crisp, but all the others, are green and healthy.

In Canada, the suicide rates of 2009 is about 4 000. Why? Most of the suicides were because something very depressing/sad happened. It was so hard to live through that so those people decided that they didn't want to live anymore. For example, if some one is being bullied, they'd think that they don't have a place in the world anymore. So the "best" solution would be to go away.

The plant could've too. It could've gave into the fact that it was unwanted and leave the world completely. But it didn't, holding on to the one fact that it can still live or that it can still survive another day. Life is all about hard bumpy rides and letting go. Even in the darkest storm, there is always a rainbow. It's not the rainbow that doesn't always show up, it's the watchers who don't look.

In a show called Chinese Got Talent, among all the contestants, there was a boy named Liu Wei. He was like any other amazing pianist, but unlike them, he was armless. Without arms, he could only play piano with his feet, and feet aren't as agile as hands. He surprises the crowd even more when he told them how he had only began playing since he was 19. It would be less shocking if he was armless from birth, and started playing piano at a very young age. For if he did, his feet would've stretched and changed overtime to make it more possible to press the piano keys. Even though he is armless, he still manages to learn and play a piece that has the same difficulty level as Fur Elise. He even confessed that it was difficult to play with his feet, but he continued to practise and play piano no matter what because it's what he wants. It is his will. When the judge asked him how he manages to keep on playing, even without arms, Liu Wei answers:

"I think that there are only two roads for my life. One: just go die quickly. Another: live wonderfully. Nobody says piano has to be played with hands."

Dit « Non » à Confédération

Aujourd’hui c’est le jour de la confédération. Beaucoup d’entre nous pensons que la confédération est une bonne idée et ils sont obliger de voter pour la confédération. Bien sur, la confédération va nous protégions contres les américains et beaucoup d’autres menaces et ca va nous aidons avec le commerce. Mais nous pouvons fait une alliances avec les autres colonies et avoir la même protection. Moi, je pense que la confédération est une mauvaise idée.

Les petites colonies comme les Maritimes n’avoir pas beaucoup d’argent. Si nous joindre la confédération, nous devons aussi donne d’argent a ses colonies aussi. Ca va être très difficile avec ses colonies car nous n’avons même pas beaucoup d’argent et maintenant, nous devons aider les autres colonies. Nous allons perdu beaucoup d’argent car ils ne pouvais pas lui supporter. Avec autant d'argent éclipse, nous n’avons pas assai d’argent de construire les chemins de fers.

Si nous joindre la confédération, nous sommes forcer d’être représenté par la population. Nous sommes déjà la minorité comparer avec le Canada Ouest et si on ajute les autres colonies nous avons encore moins des représentant. Nos idées vont disparu.

Toutes les autres colonies sont anglaises et nous sommes français et les autres colonies ne vont jamais l’accepter. Dans les assemblés, nous n’avons pas un voit car toutes les autres représentant parlent anglais. Ca va être très difficile de communiquer et fait les débats car nous parlons les différentes langues. Car les anglais sont les majorité, ils vont surement nous forçons de parler anglais et petit a petit, nous vont perdu notre culture et langue. Aussi, en sujet de la culture, le Canada Ouest sont les catholiques et nous sommes les orthodoxes. Nos religions sont différentes alors ça va produit des conflits entre nous. Comme les français, nous devons protéger notre langues et cultures.

La confédération est une idée terrible. Nous ne savons pas si nous pouvons le profiter et c’est un grand risque. Notre gouvernement c’est plus stable et nous pouvais garder nos pensées et idées. Nous pouvons conserver notre culture et religion. Je pense qu’une alliance est plus bénéficial et ça va fait plus de bonne chose pour toutes les colonies.

Mr. Mclean

Middle school … a whole new world with a whole bunch of new teachers. My home room teacher was a man named Mr. Mclean.

He is a stout, chubby, man with a hunched back from constantly scribbling notes on projects and homework, also from sitting in front of a computer screen for more than half a day. Recently, he cut his hair into a short buzz cut, similar to a military hairstyle. On top of his nose lies a pair of glasses which he takes off frequently to rub his eyes and/or face.

He has a messy cursive writing with a few deranged letters or maybe just a line substituting a letter or two. He often adds an extra ‘i’ or forgets to cross his t’s by mistake, his words small and hard to read. No one in his class minds because he doesn’t use his chalkboard frequently. Most of his assignments are typed up and projected onto a SMART board for everyone to copy down. The more writing he can avoid, the better. Throughout presentations, normally, teachers have paper and pen in hand, ready to jot down any comments. With Mr. Mclean, it is only his keyboard and monitor nearby. He used to have a desk and a computer desk, but after a while, he only used the computer desk. During class, the silence of pencils flying across paper is joined by the sound of punching in letters and some clicking of his mouse.

One thing in common with plenty of other teachers is that he loves coffee. Black coffee seems to be his favourite, for in his blue mug is usually drowned in a dark black substance. He carries his mug with him around the whole school sipping it once or twice. None of his classes starts without taking a few sips from his mug that seems to be filled with endless coffee.

During class, he talks so that the classes down the hall are able to hear his lecture word by word, even with his door shut. After he stops talking, his words seem to linger in the air and bounce across the room. That is his way of getting a message to sink in, burning his words into people’s mind. He thinks that many topics are obvious so when he is asked a question, his answers always come out sarcastic and exasperated.

Surprisingly, even after 4 months of being in his class, everyone’s hearing is perfectly fine. He loves efficiency and hates slow progress and everyone is constantly wondering – what will he teach us next?