#14 - Why Do White People Have Black Spots

The movie "Why Do White People Have Black Spots" was a very powerful and insightful. The different perspective of teens living in third world countries is an amazing view to hear. A few of the things that I will remember from this is when one boy asked "Why is it - oil and war move together?". I was shocked by this question as I would never think of that if I were given the chance to as the world something. He was so insightful and intelligent on the world's problems, even though he is living in a third world country. Something else that surprised me was, "I want to tell everyone to never give up in life. They should continue what they are doing. Then they will gain something from it." This was such a simple statement to the world, however, it has stuck with me as while he has so much, he still thinks about encouraging others to succeed, though we have much more and we compete in everything that we do. 

#13 - The Challenge Day 100

In my opinion, I think that we need to have a variety of students participate in challenge day as we want people from all different groups to have this amazing experience. I don't think that there is any 'fair' way to hand pick students to participate, however, if we have a sign up for it, I don't think there will be a large variety of groups. I think that challenge day should be a group of IDCI students that don't normally associate with each other,  becoming united as one. Challenge Day, I hope, will be an amazing opportunity for students to realize that everyone has a story, and that we can't judge just based on looks and first impressions. Also, I think that we will be blown away by the stories that will come out through the day, and will make us more aware of how to stop bullying in our school. 

#12 - Nelly Furtado's View

In Furtado's interview with the Globe and Mail, she did admit that she did donate the 1 million dollars in response to the trip she took to Kenya and that the money was from the private concert she gave to Moammar Gadhafi. I think that she is trying to right a wrong, however I don't think that she should be criticized for it. There are many artists that have preformed for Gadhafi and Furtado is first to publicly donate the money to a great cause. I think that she does feel better now about her choice and thankful that Free the Children are willing to accept the money, even with Gadhafi's name attached. I do support Free the Children's choice to accept the money as it will help many girls with getting an education and better way of life. While many will frown upon the Furtado's choice to do the concert in the first place, we must remember to look at the full picture. There are so many performers that have gotten millions more than Furtado did and have gone back again and again. The only reason that we aren't being cruel to those people is that they didn't publicly donate the 'dirty' money to build schools.

#11 - Commenting on Comments... round 2

The comments on the article about Nelly Furtado's very large donation were very negative and it didn't seem as though many were not educated about what Free the Children does. There were many saying that the money will just go to fund more wars and trafficking of drugs, though I think that for any comment can be taken seriously, people have to understand all sides of the story. Also, the majority of the comments were stating that she should have given the money back to the Libyan people as that is where the money was taken from, however, I believe that if the money was given back Libia, it would just disappear again into the members of government's wallets. Many others think that this is a large PR campaign, however I think that if it was, she wouldn't have announced it at We Day, but through a magazine or another event. Overall, the comments on the article were very harsh and I don't think that any of us can judge her as the full story has not been revealed.

#10 - Nelly Furtado Donates $1M

I think that even though the money came from a private performance given to Moammar Gadhafi, Nelly Furtado didn't do it because she felt guilty for accepting the large amount of money. I believe that Furtado was inspired and moved from her trip to Kenya this summer and that she felt that she wanted to be a part of the change that she saw happening. As the concert for Gadhafi was in 2007, I think that if she was doing this out of shame, she would've donated the money to a charity closer to the event. Also, Furtado has agreed to match every dollar donated to Free the Children to build all girls boarding schools in Kenya up to $500 000. I think that she is doing a lot of good with the money that may have come from a bad source, but it could also be from her other work and concerts that she has done. Personally, I don't think it is as simple as; the money is all from Moammar Gadhafi or it is from her other concerts, I think that it is a large mix of many events in her life that changed her view on the world. No matter what the media says, Furtado is changing the lives of thousands of young girls with this money, and we shouldn't lose sight of that.

#9 - Poster

The poster that I worked on with Sarah and Emily was SPIRITED! I think that it was a good choice for the task as our school is very spirited. We have many teams and clubs that we our school supports and cheers on. Also, we have raised amazing amounts of money for our community in Serra Leone and United Way Stair Climb. I was pleased with the results of it as it looks good and attracts the attention of the students in the cafeteria. However, I think that it could have been improved if the 'field' in field hockey had been spelled correctly the first time. 

#8 - A Love Letter to Canada

Jack Layton's love letter to Canada was inspirational and hopeful for all Canadians. Even in his last days, Layton was optimistic and hopeful, as he has been over his entire career. He thought of the citizens of Canada, his friends, and thanks many people for how they have helped him throughout his life and for their support through his battle with cancer. I liked that Layton talked directly to certain groups in his life that made and impact, others battling cancer, his party, etc. and how he offered pieces of advice and encouragement for the future. Throughout the entire letter he talks of many teams that he believes in and can improve in the future. One of the largest teams is the entire country of Canada. Jack Layton gave his hopes of what our country will turn into, even though he is now gone, I think that many people will try to make his vision a reality as it was very important to him. Overall, I think that the letter to Canada was a thank-you and a bucket list. He talked to and thanked all of those that have helped him, however, he also told them his goals for that area of his life. He didn't want he dreams to end even though his life was. I feel that he gave others his ideas and dreams so that they could be done even without him. 

#7 - My Own Story

In my personal life, someone that I look up to is my sister Jacqueline. As we are only two years apart, we are closest in age. She always taught me how to do things, like how to see over the bar on the swing or to how to play basketball, she is always helping me out. I'm the closest to Jacqueline as we have a lot in common and get along well, though we have had our share of arguments. Though there isn't one event that sticks out in my mind of Jacqueline being a 'hero' I always remember her being there whenever I needed her, like when I was hurt, sick or just wanting someone to talk to. Jacq has always been an amazing influence in my life and has taught me how to always see the positive side of things. Jacq is in University now and living away from home, however, when we talk, it seems as though she never left. I know that we will always be close and I will never stop looking up to her. 

#6 - Commenting on Comments

The comments on this article are very powerful and different. There is one side, Banting students, (past, present and future) and then others that believe that this is hazing and an unnecessary school event. Those that support Banting, and have experienced field day loved the experience and want it to continue as they believe that it bonds the students to each other. Also, the future students are excited about field day and are hoping that all of the negative attention coming from this article won't force the school to terminate any future field days. While those that haven't experienced it think that it is hazing, and a way that embarrasses all of the students having to do the activities.

#5 - Grade Nines Get Down and Dirty - Just to Fit In

I think that this would be an amazing experience for anyone that chooses to, to go through. It would be a great way to bond together and it may cut down on the amount of bulling and judgement there is at other schools. I think that if we were to do it at IDCI, we should do it with all grades before we do it with only grade nines as it could seem like initiation if we were to just start it next year without the other grades experiencing it as well. Also, I don't think that is a negative way to begin high school as it is more of a team building exercise that allows you to be more comfortable around your peers.

#4 - Pat Tillman

I think that Pat Tillman was a leader both on the football and battle field. He lead his team through many losses and victories, however when 9-11 happened, he decided to join the army to do his part in protecting his country and punishing those responsible for the many innocent lives lost.

While I think that Pat Tillman was a great leader, I'm not sure if it is right to call him a hero. Yes, he did join the army and fought fir his country, however he also didn't work with his unit as a member of the team. He wanted to make a difference in his own way. While his intentions were good, I think that by having a different end goal in mind than the rest of his unit, it created a divide within the team. In my opinion, having two different goals in the same team can turn out very badly as it creates many more conflicts and doesn't allow for the team to focus on the tasks at hand which is how mistakes happen. I don't think that we will ever know what happened on the day that Pat Tillman was shot, however, we do know that it was by friendly fire and that many think of Pat Tillman as a hero in football and the army.

#3 - Ineffective Habits

Top 5 Ineffective Habits: 
1. Drug Use 
2. Negativity 
3. Lying
4. Instigating Arguments  
5. Immaturity 


In my opinion,  one of the characteristics that is most damaging to a successful life is drug use. It interferes with all parts of your life and doesn't allow for you to maintain a job, stay healthy, or keep a place to live. Another characteristic that I believe to be most harmful to a successful life is instigating arguments. I think that you have to be mature to succeed in life, and so if you are constantly instigating arguments and blaming others for something that was your fault, you won't be able to make healthy relationships within your personal and work life. This in turn would make being successful, a difficult task. 

#2 - The Leader Within

I think that we are all capable of great acts of leadership and heroism given the right circumstances as it was shown during the tragedy of 9-11. We sometimes don't have the option if we want to deal with a problem or if we want to run away, there are times that we are stuck in the situation that is life or death. Although all of the people on the hijacked planes died that day, the passengers that tried to fight against the men on the plane were just ordinary citizens. They were faced with a situation that many can only dream of and they took action, knowing that if they sat there and did nothing, many more lives would be lost.
Think of your family, neighbours, friends, the strangers that you walk past on the street. If they were put into a similar situation, how would they react? I hope that we never have to find out, however, I don't believe you have to be a police officer, fire fighter or a professional football star to be considered a hero. I think if your actions are trying to make life better for other people than yourself, you are a true hero.

#1 - Definition of Leadership

My definition of leadership is when someone is that is caring, respectful, positive and good at problem solving. I think that a leader is also someone that wants to help others, whether it is with a group working towards a common goal or just being there for someone to talk to. All of these traits are important to me to see in a leader as they are characteristics that I aim to have.