All I Want for Christmas is... Everything

Christmas has always been my favourite holiday. I suppose this is because my birthday is right after Christmas, which I always found exciting as a child.

I love the holidays because people are usually happy and I get to see family. Whenever we travel to Bolivia, which is not very often, it is at Christmas,  therefore I associate the holiday with good memories of seeing my grandparents and the rest of my family.

People can ruin Christmas by making it all about them or by being too materialistic. Of course, presents are a big part of Christmas, but they should not be the only focus. It's normal for kids to give a lot of importance to their presents, but as we grow older, we should realize that Christmas is not necessarily about spending
money.

My favourite part of Christmas is the morning of the 25th, when it's just the four of us - my parents and my older brother, and we are in our pajamas, in the living room. We open most of our presents at this point, and we have hot chocolate or coffee. Honestly, I could care less about the presents. I love this moment because we are all happy to be together and that's all that really matters.

I hate how people get stressed out about not having the perfect tree or decorations, because when Jesus was born, he did not have all those fancy things. Christmas is definitely about receiving, but it is mainly about giving back. This doesn't mean that charities should guilt us for not giving them all of our money.

In my opinion, people should lower their expectations of Christmas when it comes to presents. A few years ago, my presents weren't that exciting and I remember being sour about that. Looking back, I hate myself for it because material things shouldn't matter, when you are having a good time with family and you are healthy.

It bothers me that some people make such a big deal about not getting the latest iPhone for Christmas or that their friend got better presents than them. I prefer being modest for Christmas because I already have so much in this life, I don't need material things that will grant my happiness only temporarily.

As for retailers, it's best to just ignore their tactics. The music and the crowds are definitely annoying, but it is only a matter of time before January rolls around, sadly.

Love the Way You Lie

I had never really thought of how journalists might lie. Everyone likes to say the media lies and while that might be true, I was shocked at the examples shown in class. Lying in order to make a story better (or simply to have a story) is unprofessional.

Perhaps embarrassment is not enough of a consequence. I guess being fired is the logical consequence. By providing false information, the journalist is soiling the name of whichever publication he or she is working for.  The magazine/newspaper should fire the journalist to no longer be associated to him or her.

Prison seems a bit extreme to me, as the journalist's behaviour is wrong, but not exactly illegal. I don't think a journalist being in prison for lying is reasonable.

Appropriate punishment for lying is subjective. It depends on the culture or the situation. I have heard of people getting their tongue cut off for lying. This isn't a common practice in North America.

The truth is, people get away with lying all the time.
Sadly, journalists are relied on to provide information. and if it discovered that they lie, what is the public supposed to think of them?

Poetry Analysis

"Toronto one"

By Donna McCaw

The Spell of Crazy Love, page 60

I picked the poem Toronto one because of the title. This poem can be found in the book The Spell of Crazy Love, which is a collection of poems by Donna McCaw. I was drawn to the book because of its clean, simple design, and how the font reminded me of Lord of the Rings. Scanning through the table of contents, I  immediately noticed Toronto one, because I like the city of Toronto. I would like to move there soon.

Donna McCaw is a local, since she is from Elora, which is very close to Guelph. She attended the University of Guelph as well as the University of Toronto.

Perhaps, the poem is based on the author's own experience, because it is set in Toronto, where she went to school at some point.

The poem explores themes of loneliness and emotional distress. The woman in the poem is sitting alone in her Toronto apartment. The space is too big, it feels empty because she feels lonely.

I like the following line;

photogenic as hell

because it illustrates how the woman is pretty, without actually saying so.

caught in an emotional crossfire

Means that she had a fight with someone, perhaps a boyfriend, but one should not assume this. 

too many empty echoes

too much sterile space

is a way of expressing how her apartment is too "clean", without life, because sterile means free from germs, specifically in a medical environment. Many people have an aversion to hospitals, perhaps this is why the word sterile was used.

The woman in the poem might be depressed, but this is a strong assumption to make.

I like the line;

 portrait in black and white

because it reminds me of the earlier line, "photogenic as hell". Perhaps what the author means by portrait is a photograph, which, depending on the date of the poem, could be because colour photography was not available at the time.

I like how the poem loops
. The first line is "sitting on a lonely chair", and the last one is "woman on chair in kitchen".

The Right Age to Vote

As much as I think kids my age should be taken seriously, I don't think it would be a good idea to lower the voting age to sixteen.

I wanted to vote this election. This was the first time I ever showed interest in Canadian politics. I think I was just interested in knowing what political party's views matched my own. Therefore, I took a quiz online. I was not surprised with my results.

Since the election was so long, I think it was often the subject of conversation. Discussing my views with my family, (or keeping my mouth shut because I didn't want to make an ignorant comment) I realized that I know nothing about politics. I was only focusing on what party I'd like to be elected, and not about the bigger picture, such as which party would be the best fit for the country.

I think I'm not mature enough to make a proper decision on which political party to elect. The right to vote makes you feel important, but it's a responsibility that shouldn't be taken lightly.

I say responsibility because people should vote. I hate when people don't vote, and then complain about the results, or that they are not "well represented".

I don't think the voting age should be lowered to 16, because most 16-year-olds are not informed enough on politics. I can say that when I was 16, I knew very little on the political parties.
Also, I feel like at 16, you don't really care about politics, to be blunt.

My Adaptable Mind

I am a curious person, because whenever I don't know something, I like to google it and find out more about it. I think this is because I like to have trivial knowledge. It makes for interesting conversations.

I like to think I'm a person who takes the initiative. When I notice no one is raising their hand in class, when the teacher asks a question, I usually like to speak up and try to answer.

I am a very empathetic person. I am able to understand what other people are going through, which I think is a good quality.

I must work on expanding my horizons and display multi-disciplinary thinking, because all I think about is fashion, movies and books. I focus on the Arts much more than I do on Science, because I'm not good at Science and Math. I wish I were.

Education is the Key?

Darryll Suliman Amaoko's video is powerful not only because of its message, but because it is a rap.

He is expressing a shocking, unpopular opinion, but not in an arrogant way. He is criticising post-secondary studies, which just by itself stands out. To be even more original, Amaoko gets his point across by rapping. His use of repetition is effective, since I can remember exactly how he says "education is the key".

The video is inspiring because it reminds us how university is not the only path to success. Amaoko lists examples of influential people who did not pursue higher education, such as Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates.

I question myself as I am watching this video. I am well aware that university is not the only option, and that it is an astronomical amount of money, yet I aspire to attend university. I am not sure if this is because I have been conditioned to think that university is good, and not going is bad, as simplistic as this sounds, but I am very eager to go to university.

If something were to happen, and I could not or did not attend university, would I feel a void?

First Post

I have always enjoyed writing. I think this is because ever since my brother and I were young, my mom would take us to the library to encourage us to read.

Throughout my school years, I've liked English class because I get to write a lot. Writing is one of my skills, whether it'd be in English or French.

I chose Writer's Craft to keep practicing my writing skills, as I do not want to lose them, or put them to waste. My intention with this class is to try my best.

Writing skills are useful for anyone, but for me, as I would like to study communications, perhaps more specifically journalism, writing skills would be especially helpful.