When I sat down to write this blog about my plans for the future, it really shocked me to realize just how soon that is! I can hardly believe that I’m nearing the end of Grade 11 and that I’m so close to graduating and going off to university. It seems like just yesterday I was a little kindergartner starting school for the first time!
Despite being so close to graduating, I still want to give it my all into being involved in my school. I’m someone who strongly believes in participating and volunteering so, I don’t plan on giving up any of my extracurricular activities anytime soon. In fact, it’s more likely that I’ll end up joining even more groups and clubs before the year is out! I just love to volunteer and know that I’ve made a difference in my school community. Also, I’ve learned A LOT from putting myself out there and getting involved. It’s really impacted me as a person and as a leader. I know that these activities have given me more experiences and memories to take from high school than anything that I’ve learned so far from my textbooks.
After high school I, like many of the rest of you Horizons students, plan to attend MUN. I’ve been there for events like LDW and MedQuest and, from what I’ve seen, it really is a great university. It has given me this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Horizons Program and, not only that, it’s right here at home in Newfoundland. Although I’m not 100% sure yet, I’m thinking about completing the Bachelor of Commerce program and going on to become a Chartered Accountant. Whatever I do though, I know that what I’ve learned from being involved and being a leader will help me in whatever career path I end up taking.
Leadership and volunteering have taught me so much—too much to fit into one blog post! I’ve learned how to cooperate with other people, even those who don’t want to cooperate with me. I know how much effort and work goes into planning big events and making them a success. I’ve learned you’ve got to be organized and focused in order to pull things off and make them as successful as possible. I know that it’s not always easy but, you just can’t give up when you’re helping others and volunteering your time. Most of all though, I’ve learned that being a leader, getting involved and volunteering can really be enjoyable and can open up all sorts of opportunities. As a result of my experiences, I know that I always want to continue being a volunteer and a leader wherever I go, whatever I do. I can’t imagine living my life without involvement or volunteering. I know that pretty soon I’ll have to leave my current activities but, I know that I’ll find new ones that will be just as good and will teach me even more. I’ll always be a leader and a volunteer.
I can’t believe that this is my last blog post. I know that I’ve only been working on this project for a little while but, I’ve really enjoyed reading all of the posts and learning a bit about everybody. I think that this was something great for us to take on and has given me an excellent opportunity to share my leadership experiences with the rest of you Horizons students. I hope that everybody has enjoyed reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it and I hope that I get to see all of you again in the future! :)
My leadership experiences!
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Friday, 17 February 2012
Tweet It!
First off, I’d just like to say that I had never, ever used Twitter before completing this post so, I really had no idea what to expect! As I was searching though, I realized that I had been missing out on a lot. I never knew that Twitter could be such a great source for following inspiring people and organizations! Writing this post really opened my eyes and I had a hard time just picking three people or organizations to focus my post on! However, I finally managed to narrow down my list and here’s who I finally chose:
1) Room to Read
@RoomtoRead
https://twitter.com/#!/RoomtoRead
Room to Read is a charitable organization that focuses on bringing literacy and gender equality in education to developing countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They fund libraries for children, give them a safe place to learn and enable girls to enroll and stay in school. To date, Room to Read has reached over 5 million children and hopes to reach 10 million by 2015. I think that this is such a great program because so many of us take our free education for granted. We complain about having to go to school every day when there are children in the world who would give anything to be in our place. Room to Read is a program that gives these children the opportunity to get an education and make their lives better. This charity is a wonderful way to help these children.
2) Jacqueline Novogratz
@jnovogratz
https://twitter.com/#!/jnovogratz
Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder of the Acumen Fund—an organization whose mission is "to create a world beyond poverty by investing in social enterprises, emerging leaders, and breakthrough ideas." In other words, they are an organization that works to eliminate poverty by looking to solve the "big problem" of poverty rather than making low-income people dependent on charity. I chose Jacqueline Novogratz because I believe that taking on such a big project and creating an organization that has helped over 10 million people to date is truly inspirational. I could never imagine trying to do something so big. As well as creating this organization, she has also written a book about her experiences called, "The Blue Sweater." Jacqueline Novogratz is really a leader who has done something fantastic with her life.
3) New York Times Haiti News
@HaitiRecovery
https://twitter.com/#!/HaitiRecovery
Haiti News is a page run by the New York Times about Haiti and the hardships that it’s facing. Most of us can remember the terrible earthquake that hit the country in 2010 but, that seems like so long ago today. After the news of the $8-$14 billion cost and the
200 000-300 000 death toll died down, I’m betting that most of us forgot about Haiti. However, just because we forgot doesn’t mean that Haiti magically got better. Unfortunately, Haiti is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and has recently struggled with political upheaval, heath crises and hurricanes as well as that horrible earthquake. About 634 000 people in Haiti are stuck in displacement camps and reconstruction of damaged areas has barely begun. The New York Times Haiti News is a page that helps get the word out about these hardships that Haiti is facing. Before I looked at this page, I had no idea that it was this bad in Haiti. I’m ashamed to say it but, before I read this, Haiti was the last thing that I was thinking about. To me, that’s why I believe that this page is important. This is a country that is in such a state and no one is doing anything because regular people like us don’t know about it! I think that this page has the right idea and that getting the message out is the best way to help Haiti. It’s great to know that the New York Times is helping to do something about this.
1) Room to Read
@RoomtoRead
https://twitter.com/#!/RoomtoRead
Room to Read is a charitable organization that focuses on bringing literacy and gender equality in education to developing countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They fund libraries for children, give them a safe place to learn and enable girls to enroll and stay in school. To date, Room to Read has reached over 5 million children and hopes to reach 10 million by 2015. I think that this is such a great program because so many of us take our free education for granted. We complain about having to go to school every day when there are children in the world who would give anything to be in our place. Room to Read is a program that gives these children the opportunity to get an education and make their lives better. This charity is a wonderful way to help these children.
2) Jacqueline Novogratz
@jnovogratz
https://twitter.com/#!/jnovogratz
Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder of the Acumen Fund—an organization whose mission is "to create a world beyond poverty by investing in social enterprises, emerging leaders, and breakthrough ideas." In other words, they are an organization that works to eliminate poverty by looking to solve the "big problem" of poverty rather than making low-income people dependent on charity. I chose Jacqueline Novogratz because I believe that taking on such a big project and creating an organization that has helped over 10 million people to date is truly inspirational. I could never imagine trying to do something so big. As well as creating this organization, she has also written a book about her experiences called, "The Blue Sweater." Jacqueline Novogratz is really a leader who has done something fantastic with her life.
3) New York Times Haiti News
@HaitiRecovery
https://twitter.com/#!/HaitiRecovery
Haiti News is a page run by the New York Times about Haiti and the hardships that it’s facing. Most of us can remember the terrible earthquake that hit the country in 2010 but, that seems like so long ago today. After the news of the $8-$14 billion cost and the
200 000-300 000 death toll died down, I’m betting that most of us forgot about Haiti. However, just because we forgot doesn’t mean that Haiti magically got better. Unfortunately, Haiti is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and has recently struggled with political upheaval, heath crises and hurricanes as well as that horrible earthquake. About 634 000 people in Haiti are stuck in displacement camps and reconstruction of damaged areas has barely begun. The New York Times Haiti News is a page that helps get the word out about these hardships that Haiti is facing. Before I looked at this page, I had no idea that it was this bad in Haiti. I’m ashamed to say it but, before I read this, Haiti was the last thing that I was thinking about. To me, that’s why I believe that this page is important. This is a country that is in such a state and no one is doing anything because regular people like us don’t know about it! I think that this page has the right idea and that getting the message out is the best way to help Haiti. It’s great to know that the New York Times is helping to do something about this.
Friday, 13 January 2012
What I'm Into
Since I was a little kid, I, like many of the rest of you Horizon students, have been someone who loves to be involved. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group or a club that I didn’t, at some point, want to join. In fact, I’ve often had to limit myself from trying to join EVERYTHING. Although I’ve tried my hardest, I’m still pretty busy and I often don’t have a lot of "free time" but, that’s just how it goes. To me, my "free time" is all of my activities. They’re something that I really enjoy and that’s what makes all of the rushing around and business worthwhile. After all, there’s never a dull moment!
When I was in kindergarten, I did one of the best things I could ever do: I became a Spark in the Girl Guide program. I loved it and I stuck with it right up through, becoming a Brownie, Guide and Pathfinder and finally earning my Canada Cord. Now, I volunteer with the Guides as a Junior Leader. Girl Guides is a great program that I’m so happy to be a part of. Through it, I’ve made friends, earned badges, gone camping and helped my community, too. Girl Guides is something that really showed me how great volunteering really is. I love helping out with the girls at our weekly meetings. It’s a great experience to see them enjoying themselves and, the truth is, I have a lot of fun, too! Even though I’m the only person at Guides who’s my age, it really doesn’t matter. I have such a great time volunteering that the time just slips away. It feels really great to know that I’m helping my community. It doesn’t hurt that I’m having a blast while doing it, either!
Besides Girl Guides, I’m also actively involved in my church. I volunteer with the services, I’m a member of the Junior Choir and I teach Sunday School, too. My friend and I share a class of about 10 kids in Grades 3 to 6. Even though I enjoy it, this can often be very stressful! Sometimes the kids don’t pay attention or just won’t listen and calm down. There are days when I come home from church and just want to drop! Despite all this though, I would never consider giving it up. Being a teacher has taught me a lot and I really do enjoy it. I’ve learned how to be patient with the kids and how to figure out the best way to keep their attention. Most of all, I’ve learned that sitting down and just doing "schoolwork" isn’t going to cut it! Whenever it’s my turn to plan our lesson, I try to come up with creative ideas like crafts and games. It doesn’t always work but, at least it keeps the kids’ attention and they have fun. If that happens, I consider the lesson a mission accomplished! It’s a great feeling to know that I’m volunteering by helping with and contributing to my Sunday School and church. Volunteering, especially teaching young kids, isn’t always easy but, to me, when you know you’re helping somebody, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
At my school, I’m part of the Tutoring for Tuition Program, where I tutor another student in my grade in math. I like being a part of this program because I believe that it’s really nice that students can be tutored by their peers. Giving someone that little bit of extra help to pass that test or understand that topic gives you a good feeling inside. After all, if you understand, why shouldn’t you help someone else achieve the same thing?
In addition to tutoring, I’m also on the Math Team at my school. We’re a group of students that get together to participate in several math contests that take place in schools all across the district. I know it sounds nerdy and hard to believe but, I really do have a good time at our meetings. We work together in teams of four to solve a series of questions to score more points than the other teams. Unfortunately, some of these questions can be really tricky so, we often end up just guessing the answer or coming up with something totally wrong! You’d think that this would stress us out or frustrate us but, we usually just end up having a good laugh about it. I actually look forward to our meetings and the fun we have. The best part is, it’s educational, too!
Something else I’m a part of at my school is the art and music program. I’m in Art Club, Choir and Band, where I play flute. I love doing art and music so, these are perfect activities for me. Art Club is pretty low-key and we start and finish projects without hardly any deadlines or schedules. Right now, we’re working on a large tile mosaic that is going to go on the wall in our school. In Choir and Band, we participate in our school concerts and concerts in the community. One of my favourite parts of band is going to and competing in the Kiwanis Music Festival. It feels really good to know that all of our hard work pays off in the end when we participate in the competition. It doesn’t hurt that we get a day off school either!
Finally, my last activity I’m going to talk about is Leadership Group. I know I talked about it in my first post but, it’s such an important activity to me. I really feel strongly about what we do by helping out our school and community. We’re always planning some kind of school event or fund-raiser for an outside group. Leadership Group has given me the opportunity to volunteer and make a difference in ways that I had never done before. That’s why it is so important to me.
Now that I’ve finished writing this it really seems that I’m a part of so much. I guess that’s because involvement and volunteerism are both so important to me. When I write everything down like this, it seems like I don’t have a moment to breathe but, when I’m actually doing everything, it doesn’t seem like that at all! I love and enjoy everything that I’m involved in and I can’t even imagine what my life would be without these activities. I seriously don’t know what uninvolved people do all of the time. They miss out on so much! My experiences from being involved have made me who I am today and I know that if I wasn’t involved I would be a totally different person. My activities and volunteering experiences always have been and always will be a huge part of who I am.
When I was in kindergarten, I did one of the best things I could ever do: I became a Spark in the Girl Guide program. I loved it and I stuck with it right up through, becoming a Brownie, Guide and Pathfinder and finally earning my Canada Cord. Now, I volunteer with the Guides as a Junior Leader. Girl Guides is a great program that I’m so happy to be a part of. Through it, I’ve made friends, earned badges, gone camping and helped my community, too. Girl Guides is something that really showed me how great volunteering really is. I love helping out with the girls at our weekly meetings. It’s a great experience to see them enjoying themselves and, the truth is, I have a lot of fun, too! Even though I’m the only person at Guides who’s my age, it really doesn’t matter. I have such a great time volunteering that the time just slips away. It feels really great to know that I’m helping my community. It doesn’t hurt that I’m having a blast while doing it, either!
Besides Girl Guides, I’m also actively involved in my church. I volunteer with the services, I’m a member of the Junior Choir and I teach Sunday School, too. My friend and I share a class of about 10 kids in Grades 3 to 6. Even though I enjoy it, this can often be very stressful! Sometimes the kids don’t pay attention or just won’t listen and calm down. There are days when I come home from church and just want to drop! Despite all this though, I would never consider giving it up. Being a teacher has taught me a lot and I really do enjoy it. I’ve learned how to be patient with the kids and how to figure out the best way to keep their attention. Most of all, I’ve learned that sitting down and just doing "schoolwork" isn’t going to cut it! Whenever it’s my turn to plan our lesson, I try to come up with creative ideas like crafts and games. It doesn’t always work but, at least it keeps the kids’ attention and they have fun. If that happens, I consider the lesson a mission accomplished! It’s a great feeling to know that I’m volunteering by helping with and contributing to my Sunday School and church. Volunteering, especially teaching young kids, isn’t always easy but, to me, when you know you’re helping somebody, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
At my school, I’m part of the Tutoring for Tuition Program, where I tutor another student in my grade in math. I like being a part of this program because I believe that it’s really nice that students can be tutored by their peers. Giving someone that little bit of extra help to pass that test or understand that topic gives you a good feeling inside. After all, if you understand, why shouldn’t you help someone else achieve the same thing?
In addition to tutoring, I’m also on the Math Team at my school. We’re a group of students that get together to participate in several math contests that take place in schools all across the district. I know it sounds nerdy and hard to believe but, I really do have a good time at our meetings. We work together in teams of four to solve a series of questions to score more points than the other teams. Unfortunately, some of these questions can be really tricky so, we often end up just guessing the answer or coming up with something totally wrong! You’d think that this would stress us out or frustrate us but, we usually just end up having a good laugh about it. I actually look forward to our meetings and the fun we have. The best part is, it’s educational, too!
Something else I’m a part of at my school is the art and music program. I’m in Art Club, Choir and Band, where I play flute. I love doing art and music so, these are perfect activities for me. Art Club is pretty low-key and we start and finish projects without hardly any deadlines or schedules. Right now, we’re working on a large tile mosaic that is going to go on the wall in our school. In Choir and Band, we participate in our school concerts and concerts in the community. One of my favourite parts of band is going to and competing in the Kiwanis Music Festival. It feels really good to know that all of our hard work pays off in the end when we participate in the competition. It doesn’t hurt that we get a day off school either!
Finally, my last activity I’m going to talk about is Leadership Group. I know I talked about it in my first post but, it’s such an important activity to me. I really feel strongly about what we do by helping out our school and community. We’re always planning some kind of school event or fund-raiser for an outside group. Leadership Group has given me the opportunity to volunteer and make a difference in ways that I had never done before. That’s why it is so important to me.
Now that I’ve finished writing this it really seems that I’m a part of so much. I guess that’s because involvement and volunteerism are both so important to me. When I write everything down like this, it seems like I don’t have a moment to breathe but, when I’m actually doing everything, it doesn’t seem like that at all! I love and enjoy everything that I’m involved in and I can’t even imagine what my life would be without these activities. I seriously don’t know what uninvolved people do all of the time. They miss out on so much! My experiences from being involved have made me who I am today and I know that if I wasn’t involved I would be a totally different person. My activities and volunteering experiences always have been and always will be a huge part of who I am.
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