An Above Average Post About Personal and Professional Success

Hidden within the pages of many books are the secrets to transforming your life. While self-help literature dates back to 2800 BCE, today’s powerful memoirs and guides are unlocking new potential within anyone strong enough to brave the pages. Dive in to discover how these contemporary reads can set you on the path to personal and professional success.

With this project being presented at the spring exhibition 2024, this marks my final post in the Performance Learning Program. With university just around the corner, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on our final project. As we wrap up this final project and prepare to move on to new ventures and struggles, I hope I can squeeze one last lesson out of high school.

Our final project in PLP 12 was called Page to Practice®, and as you might’ve been able to guess, it was about taking lessons learned from books of our choice and putting them into practice in our lives. The book I chose from our list was Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.

The climax of this project was at the spring exhibition 2024, PLP-Con, where us PLP 12s held a discussion panel much like those found at Comic-Con and other conventions. The idea of this panel was to answer the driving question:

💸What can we learn from authors about achieving personal and professional success?🏎️

Obviously, to get these lessons and share them with everyone at the exhibition we needed to read our book. Beneath is my review of Shoe Dog, where I give it ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Shoe Dog" by Phil Knight is a compelling memoir that offers an in-depth look into the struggles and triumphs of building Nike from the ground up. The book provides a fascinating narrative about the early days of Nike, filled with detailed retellings of the challenges Knight faced and the victories he achieved along the way.

Knight’s storytelling is engaging and well-written, effectively conveying the emotional rollercoaster he experienced in transforming Nike into a global, household brand. His sincere reflections and honesty about his personal flaws and questionable decisions add a relatable human element to the story.

However, while the book is dense in interesting storytelling, it does fall short on delivering significant business or leadership lessons. The lessons are there, but they require some analysis to uncover and are not as explicitly laid out as one might hope. For those looking for direct business insights, this may be a drawback.

That said, the book excels in illustrating the importance of perseverance, passion, and authenticity. Knight’s journey is an inspiring example of pursuing one’s vision despite obstacles and skepticism from others. The historical details and Nike facts are an added bonus, making it an engaging read for fans of the brand and those with their own “Crazy Ideas”.

I recommend "Shoe Dog" to Nike fans, non-fiction enthusiasts, and aspiring entrepreneurs. Nike fans will love the detailed history and brand trivia, non-fiction readers will appreciate the honest and engaging storytelling, and those with their own "Crazy Idea" will find inspiration in Knight's restless pursuit of his vision despite numerous obstacles.

Applying Lessons Learned

From the Book

One of the key lessons I learned from Shoe Dog was the importance of perseverance and resilience in the face of challenges. Phil Knight’s journey was filled with obstacles, from financial difficulties to intense competition. Inspired by his determination, I have decided to apply the following lessons to my own future.

1. Embrace Failure and Learn from It

Knight’s numerous setbacks, from financial struggles to production issues, taught him valuable lessons. Viewing failures as opportunities for growth can lead to better decision-making and resilience.

2. Build a Strong Team

Success is rarely a solo journey. Knight’s success with Nike was deeply intertwined with the talented and dedicated team he assembled. Surrounding yourself with passionate, skilled individuals can amplify your efforts and lead to greater success.

3. Stay True to Your Vision

Despite numerous challenges, Knight remained loyal to his vision for Nike. Having a clear, unwavering vision can guide you through difficult times and keep you focused on long-term goals.

4. Innovate and Take Risks

Knight’s willingness to innovate and take “calculated” risks played a crucial role in Nike’s success. Being open to new ideas and willing to step out of your comfort zone can lead to breakthroughs and significant achievements.

These insights from “Shoe Dog” provide a map for navigating the intricacies of both personal and professional life, emphasizing perseverance, teamwork, vision, and innovation as cornerstones of success.

From the Project

Working on this project also taught me a lot about the power of teamwork and collaboration. Our group (Myself, but Dries, Jonny, Annie, and Jordan) had diverse books, strengths, and perspectives, which we leveraged to create an interesting panel presentation. This experience emphasized the idea that personal and professional success is rarely achieved alone. By working together and supporting one another, we were able to produce a final product that was greater than the sum of its parts.

This is my notes card that I was cleverly hiding behind my name tag 😏

Whether I got to say them or not, the lessons or topics from the card above were what I deemed to be the most prevalent and impactful/important lessons one could take forward in life, considering our panel’s theme of “Motivation and Success in the Workplace.”

Exhibition Night

Everyone was nervous on the night of the exhibition, but we knew our parts and spent years honing our skills to keep a discussion going. Unfortunately, we were first up for the night, meaning that our audience was the smallest, not having many questions for us at the end of our discussion. Our moderator (Nathan) did an incredible job keeping the discussion lively with his interjections and questions and calling the end of the discussion. Our members went back and forth throughout our discussion, discussing several subjects on which our books had common or contrasting views. However, I found that a large chunk of the discussion was about topics that Shoe Dog didn’t mention or that I wasn’t prepared to speak about. When I found my time to speak, I think I delivered the lessons I extracted from Shoe Dog quite faithfully and fluently.

The lessons I learned through Shoe Dog and from the books my classmates read were not just theoretical; they were practical strategies that we can apply to achieve our goals. This project was a fitting culmination of our time in PLP, encapsulating the growth, creativity, and resilience that have stuck with us on our journey.

As I prepare to graduate and embark on new adventures, I am grateful for the experiences and skills I have gained through this program. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this incredible journey. Here’s to the future and all the opportunities it holds!

Keenan, signing off.

An Average Post About Intolerance

Intolerance – Film by Griffith (1916)

In a world beset by division and aggression, one weapon stands out as a powerful tool for both sides of the coin: storytelling. Across centuries, stories have served as a powerful tool for both dividing people and bringing them together.

In this project, we were tasked with creating a children’s book to share with a Grade 4/5 class from Carisbrooke Elementary. This book was meant to teach a lesson about the consequences of intolerance in society. We visited the class twice. Once to get an idea of what the kids were like and gather intelligence, and another to present our books and read them to a group of the kids.

“Ron’s Big Mission” – A picture book we read to the children on our first visit to help them understand intolerance.

To get an idea of what to make our books like we first learned about intolerance ourselves, read children’s books with similar ideas, and visited the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre where we learned about the propaganda tactics used to promote intolerance. In other words, the exact opposite of what we were trying to do.

Creating

While creating my book, I struggled through a journey of difficult decisions. Communicating with the Grade 4/5 class we visited through my story has taught me the importance of simplicity and relatability in reaching younger minds.

In the beginning, I found myself failing to find a theme for my book that could translate the complex idea of intolerance into language accessible to the kids. Struggling to find the right ideas, I realized that simplicity was key. Each word and each illustration had to be carefully crafted to capture the consequences of intolerance while still being exactly what it looks like to readers. Through several revisions and iterations behind the scenes (as well as a good bit of time trying to remember what I would’ve liked to see when I was in Grade 5), I was able to create a book that I thought was engaging to a young audience.

This is my book, illustrated painstakingly using DALL-E 3 to generate images.

I put careful thought into each element of the book, starting with the language. I wanted to try and use language I thought a fourth or fifth-grader would understand, but not be too familiar with. I did this because of how I remember enjoying books when I was younger, seeing words that I kind of understood, learning new uses for words I already knew. I also drew from seeing practiced authors keeping complicated language sparse as a way to make the book less frustrating to read if you don’t already fully understand the language.

With the story itself, I wanted to make a point that one person can’t change the world on their own. Sam going to the villages and being brushed off was important to that. I believe that teaching kids the power of things like understanding and friendship is important, but they need to understand that these things don’t come easily.

The art was a struggle for me. I’m not very practiced in the fine arts, so I opted to use AI to create my images, using the Bing image creator powered by DALL-E 3. After regenerating each image dozens of times, getting a consistent art style and consistent characters was nearly impossible for the time frame I had to create the book, so I, unfortunately, had to settle. I think that aside from the differences from image to image and the telltale signs of AI (like broken faces and such), that the images give impact to the story and show the characters as people like us, “with hopes, dreams, and fears.”

Presenting

Me (centre) presenting my book to kids in the classroom

When my big mission came and I was to present my book, I read aloud to the kids who I thought were fairly engaged. I think I could have presented my book more effectively if I had taken more time on each page to show off the images that made up the story, Otherwise I think that the feedback the kids gave my book speaks to how it went.

The only issue I observed in the class with our presentation was that only about half the kids in the class (at least in my group) had a sound understanding of what intolerance meant.

Conclusion

At its core, storytelling possesses a unique ability to humanize the ”other,” overcoming the boundaries of race, religion, and belief to reveal the personalities and commonalities within us all. By sharing personal experiences, struggles, and triumphs, stories invite listeners into their world, offering a glimpse into perspectives that may have previously been misunderstood or overlooked. Through this act of empathy, stereotypes are dispelled, prejudices demolished, and understanding established in their place.

An Average Post About West Coast Identity

In the bustling streets of Los Angeles and Vancouver, a unique phenomenon has taken place. These two cities, each with its unique idea of culture and lifestyle, share a collective identity. The West Coast identity.

In this project, we explored the West Coast identity, where it lies, and how it came to be. This included a trip from our home of Vancouver to Los Angeles California, where we visited many famous or significant places to make a documentary on our group’s topic. My group, which consisted of Ryan blog44.ca/Ryanun and Quinn blog44.ca/quinnsm , had the topic of art and architecture.

Gathering footage for this video and putting it together was a great deal of work, even with the three of us doing our best on our individual parts. Interviews were especially hard for our group, because all but one of our planned interviews didn’t happen due to time constraints or because of an interviewee not willing to be on camera.

Overall, I’m happy with the direction our video took and think that the hours I spent editing payed off, but I wish that our video and maybe even the project as a whole, focused on the driving question more, instead of just the West Coast identity.

The driving question for this project:

“Why are some people able to see around corners in ways others are not, and by doing, shape how we see ourselves in this changing world?”

Although the project’s focus was different than originally intended, valuable learning and information still made it’s way into our videos, giving us insights on how culture is shaped by the world and people around it, whether it be the natural landscape, immigrants bringing their culture into the melting pot, or inventions like the internet.

Our video being focused on “Art and Architecture” made it hard because we had to decide what counted as art or architecture. While some things are indisputably in one category or the other, things like the sea wall at Stanley park may be controversial. We decided to mostly stick to things obviously recognizable as such, but want viewers to know that these definitions expand to other topics too, like our classmates group, The Great Outdoors

Our thesis statement for the video was:

The juxtaposition between the natural and man made beauty on the West Coast have pushed for the development of the collective West Coast identity that is especially shown through our art and architecture

Our group knew that one of the defining features of the west coast is it’s appreciation for the natural beauty in all its incarnations along the west coast. This lead us to consider how that appreciation lead us to try and create art that is beautiful in a new sense.

The west coast now is a tapestry of ideas more than a place on a map, especially in our increasingly interconnected world, where people across the globe can speak to each other over video in the blink of an eye. It is an idea that pushes for innovation and revels in the thrills that accompany it.

In this changing world, where the only constant is uncertainty, our ability to see around corners isn’t just a matter of personal success but also a prediction and vision of what our collective identity is and what it could be. It’s about recognizing that the view one may see around a corner may differ vastly from another, and that true wisdom lies in embracing the many perspectives that shape our shared reality. So, let us not just gaze around corners but create the corners themselves, and lead society in a positive and constructive direction.

An Average Post About Feminism (and the Winter Exhibition 2023)

In a world constantly pushing for ideological upheaval, the battle between feminism and masculism isn’t just a clash of opinions, but a necessary battle that must continue in order for equality to form.

This was the main idea behind my exhibition project, which was a piece of conceptual art designed to get the observer to think about the past, present, and future of gender roles in society.

This was my station on exhibition night. Here you can see the art piece and artist’s statement on the right, with the balloons that viewers could add or pop on the ledge of the whiteboard.

My art piece aimed to bridge the views of feminists and masculists to demonstrate the ideal societal dynamic in a way that someone on both sides of the coin can understand equally. Through the people that I interacted with over the course of exhibition night, I think that I was successful in my effort to make my art piece this way, having people from diverse perspectives come and ask about my art. I do wish that we had been placed in a higher traffic area, as we were placed sort of out of the way at the end a hallway that few people walked through.

My art focus for this project was not on the ideas of feminism but instead, on the powerful effect that they can and needs to have on society in order to achieve real equality. I incorporated the interactive aspect of my art piece with the idea of using the art as an analogy for the real world. I wanted the people to see two sides of a conflict, and how they can work together to create a successful resolution. When doing this, I wanted to make sure that the person interacting with my art knew that it isn’t easy, though. That’s why I chose to use balloons that would be near impossible to perfectly balance.

In Vox by Christina Dalcher, the book that my group for the exhibition read, the patriarchy rules with an iron fist, dragging the women down, much like the blue balloons do in my art, but the reverse can also be true. If we, or even the world of Vox overcorrect after overcoming the oppression of one gender, then the sides will have flipped and the new group in power will be just as bad as the last one. The ending of this vicious cycle is embedded right in the middle of it.

Overall I’m proud of the thinking and work that was put into this project, especially how I was able to incorporate the physical interactiveness of my art to show people how complex and difficult to resolve and far reaching the issue of gender equality really is.

 

 

 

An Average Post About School

A Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Framework À La Hierarchy Of Needs - eLearning Industry

School has its issues. Everywhere you look, there is an imperfect school system. So does a perfect school system exist? I don’t think so, but we can get pretty close. In the modern world, kids are on their phones all the time right? Clearly we like our phones, so why not incorporate it into our schools? Here at Seycove, we do a pretty good job utilizing these tools to keep curiosity fresh and work a little more enjoyable. This is what I presented at our Spring Exhibition this year. We were tasked with analyzing our current school system, and coming up with ways to improve the system with the objective of creating more engaged and informed citizens.

Questions Stock Photos, Royalty Free Questions Images | Depositphotos
What is technologically enhanced learning?

Technology-enhanced learning refers to the use of technology, such as digital tools, physical technology and online platforms, to enhance teaching and learning experiences by allowing students to learn in a way that is more of their own. It encompasses various resources like online courses, educational apps, and interactive whiteboards that aim to improve learning outcomes and develop crucial digital skills.

What are the benefits of technologically enhanced learning?

Technologically enhanced learning benefits Canadian schools by increasing engagement, personalizing education, providing access to vast resources, fostering global connections, and developing essential digital literacy and 21st-century skills, ultimately empowering students to thrive in a technology-driven world.

 

My project is not only focused on technology, but also providing new, hands on learning environments for learners. This is similar to the field studies we do in PLP, but the idea was for them to be far more frequent and local. The main idea with this is to engage students by providing new environments, where a student will be invited to be aware of their surroundings and be engaged in the situation.

What are the benefits of experiential learning?

Experiential learning offers the benefits of active engagement, practical application, and personalized experiences, fostering deeper understanding, skill development, and increased motivation. By providing hands-on, immersive experiences, it enhances memory retention, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to transfer knowledge to real-world contexts, ultimately leading to a more meaningful and effective learning journey.


The biggest part that I, someone who has experienced technology in this way can confidently say that access to things like the internet in the classroom is an incredible tool for enabling curiosity. The other big part for me, is that I don’t have to use my awful handwriting, instead, I get to type, which is also faster.

No matter who you are, you probably have a phone or a tablet or maybe a laptop that you enjoy using for different purposes. That enjoyment does transfer to school or work to some degree, and this causes people to be more engaged in the activities that they take part in.

How does this all create more informed and engaged citizens?

I’m glad you asked. The way that you engage with society and gather information heavily depends on if you have the motivation or reason to do so. Someone who is determined to learn in school, is far more likely to have the drive to contribute to society later on. This also applies to curiosity. The current system does not foster creativity, as characterized by Logan in his project, School Kills Curiosity. Having technology that students are familiar with, and are more than willing to use helps boost engagement.

“Children often struggle to stay on task or interested, particularly if it is not interactive. One of the main benefits of technology is that it can make even the most mundane school tasks more engaging, which will help your students to stay focused. This is particularly poignant when we consider the earlier point of just how comfortable and normalized technology has become for young kids nowadays.” (Emma Cullen What is technology enhanced learning?)

Students who develop 21st century skills and are engaged in their community and school while growing up develop more sophisticated skills and thought processes, resulting in citizens who are naturally more active in society, whether it be as voters, or just developing humanity in one way or another.


Anyway, I think its time I give a little info about the exhibition now that you have an idea about what my project focuses on.

The Metaverse Is on the Way: Here's What You Need to Know - CNET

My project for the exhibition was a short Virtual Reality experience that I created using Unreal Engine. the idea of the experience was to give visitors a short insight into the experiences of many students who end up unengaged in class, with the experience designed to be bland, dreary, and have aspects of “zoning out”.

This is a screenshot of the Unreal editor showing the first scene that I wanted to show people at the exhibition. This scene is of an empty classroom, to show that the student is off in their own headspace, and there is white noise in the background to reinforce this fact within the visitor. The lights of the scene are rather prison like, showing the students attitude towards school.

The next scene worked while I was creating it, but unfortunately there were some fatal migraine-inducing visual bugs when running it off of the headset, so I had to cut it out of the exhibition product, but I still spent a couple of hours on it so I’m showing it here.

This is a frame you could see while wearing the VR set. This environment is designed to be a nice forest area where you can relax with the birds chirping in the background. This is a representation of a more engaging environment a student might find themselves in if this program was implemented.

I had two iPads on the desk next to me displaying articles pertaining to my project as well, the first being the aforementioned “What is technology enhanced learning?“, and the second being “The benefits of learning outside the classroom“. These articles were there to mostly serve as props for my spiel, but I pointed them out while talking so that the visitors could read more if they wanted to (this includes you, reader).


Overall, I think that the exhibition went over pretty well. I developed a pitch early on with my pre-established knowledge, and people clearly thought that my pitch was pretty good, because I came second place in the somewhat convoluted vote at the end. All in all, I think that creating this product and research was a test of my skills and perseverance, (especially the random errors while trying to import and export my project) and was a somewhat enjoyable experience trying to learn something new while under a tight time constraint!!!!

Thanks for reading this far,

Keenan

An Average Post About TPoL 2023

Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.

This year’s TPoL, I basically changed my motto. In the past couple years, my PoLs were mainly focused on procrastination, but this year, I focused on new horizons. I feel that focusing on issues one at a time really helps me to really improve on myself and my work. This year I focused my attention on leveraging specific feedback on my work when I feel it has the potential to level up my work.

While preparing for this TPoL, I reviewed my learning plan as well as my MPoL to see what I had in mind for improvement at the start and middle of the year, and I think that overall throughout the course of this year, I have mostly achieved my goal.


Where I was

This year began with our learning plan, where I didn’t really set a direction for myself. I then had my MPoL, where I recognized my failure to set myself on a successful path, and I amended my learning play, chose a streamlined method of self improvement, which had a spotlight on ways that I could increase the quality of my work. I felt that throughout my thinking the best solution to help me grow as a person and a learner is to make use of the people around me and ask for feedback when I feel it may benefit me or my work.

Where I’m at

During this year, I do not feel that have achieved 100% of what I wanted from my goal for this year. While I have made efforts to engage with classmates or teachers to bounce ideas off of or to help me hone in my work, I do not believe that it has become a habit yet. What I mean by that, is that I have been utilizing the availability of feedback throughout the year, it has mostly been when I have been feeling kind of lost on an assignment. My goal was not to use feedback to get me back on track when I fall off of it, but to strengthen my work with new perspectives and thought processes.

Where I want to be

Although I got a start on my goal from my MPoL and learning plan, I think that in order to ensure that this improvement happens, I need to take this goal in its current state to the next grade level with me, where I can continue to push myself to implement changes within my everyday life with the objective of making myself and more effective and efficient learner. I think an example of this could have been my recent project on schools. Although I did feel that my final pitch and product were successful, I think I could have had a more holistic pitch if I had taken into account more peoples’ perspectives and what each person considers most important.


Why do you feel you are ready to advance to the next grade level?

I am ready to advance to the next grade level because I have made progress in my self-improvement as a learner. I have focused on leveraging feedback to improve the quality of my work and have made efforts to engage with classmates and teachers for their perspectives and ideas. Although I recognize that I still have room for growth in making feedback a more consistent habit, I am committed to continuing this goal in the next grade level and implementing changes within my everyday life to make myself a more effective and efficient learner. Additionally, I believe that my successful completion of my recent project on schools demonstrates my readiness for the next grade level.

Thank you for coming to my TPoL.

An Average Post About Stories of Hope

In a world often fraught with challenges and uncertainties, stories of hope shine as beacons of light, reminding us of the incredible resilience and strength of the human spirit. They serve as powerful reminders that, even in the face of adversity, we have the capacity to overcome, grow, and create positive change.

Today, we embark on a journey of inspiration as we delve into remarkable tales of hope and reflect on the valuable lessons they impart. Furthermore, I am thrilled to present a video that I have personally crafted, taking you on a transformative story of hope that aims to ignite the flickering flame within each viewer. So, let’s dive into these stories, embrace the power of hope, and discover the hidden potential that lies within us all.

After watching my video, consider the story of hope that you went on while watching the video. Throughout the video, did you ever feel disappointed or disheartened? Did you feel sad at all? Did you have hope that the video would get better? These questions, if yes, are the essence of a story of hope.

The four key words for this project were:

Adversity

Resilience

Hope

Survival

After examining the definitions, did you experience any of those, whether it be from watching my video, or from previous experiences in your life? Do you feel you grew from that experience? If you did, you likely experienced all four of those things. They’re kind of like a package deal.

What lessons and inspiration can we draw from the stories of individuals that have faced tragedy and overcome adversity?

The growth that one experiences after overcoming adversity is one of the greatest contributors to humanity’s greatest achievements. Could the civil rights act have been created without the lack of civil rights to begin with? Could we have reached space so fast without the space race? Could we have movements and organizations coming together to prevent climate change if there was none?

No. No we could not. But what separates a story of hope from a story of tragedy? The answer is growth, and in turn, survival. While the definition of survival might just be:

the state of continuing to live or exist, often despite difficulty or danger”                                                                                                                                                                                     – Oxford Dictionary

You might simply look at that and think,  “I’m surviving, continuing to live and exist”. But I think that true survival requires adversity and resilience. This means that in order to truly “survive” you must first be faced with difficult circumstances, and then flourish upon overcoming them. This is seen in my video above, as well as (hopefully) within yourself after watching it.

This is am image that I took of the “Survivor Tree”, a tree which holds it’s own special story of hope, on our visit to the Oklahoma city bombing memorial.

Throughout this project, and especially our trip to the US, we saw many examples of people who saw the light at the end of the tunnel and reached past it even after emerging, taking lessons from each one. The lesson which I thought was most important, is that we can never give up. No matter where the determination comes from, there is always a positive to be had, even in the face of the darkest darks, and the lowest lows. The lessons that we learned and saw should, and will be carried with us for the rest of our lives, moving our fulcrum of adversity further to the side.

 

Thank you.

An Average Post About Hope

Hope springs eternal – if you nurture it. Getty Images / ipopba

Hope is something we all experience, but depending on who you ask, you might get significantly different definitions. one place we can look to for rock solid definitions is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which states that hope is: “to cherish a desire with anticipation to want something to happen or be true”. While this is true, it doesn’t tell the whole story. The objective of our current project, and upcoming field study is to deepen our understanding of, and answer the question of “What lessons and inspiration can we draw from the stories of individuals and communities that have faced tragedy and overcome adversity?“. I will be taking a first crack at it in this post.

What is a story of hope?

A story of hope is a narrative that highlights the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity. These inspiring tales often revolve around individuals or communities who have faced tragedy, challenges, or setbacks, and have emerged stronger, wiser, and more resilient. In this blog post, we will delve into what constitutes a story of hope and how such stories can teach us valuable lessons on survival and resilience.

But how do Adversity, Resilience, and Survival tie into this?

Before we explore the power of stories of hope, it’s crucial to understand the key terms associated with them:

Adversity Is the Fuel of Greatness

Getty Images

Adversity refers to the hardships, difficulties, or misfortunes that people may encounter in their lives. These challenges can range from personal struggles, such as illness or loss of a loved one, to larger-scale issues, like natural disasters or social injustices.

Resilience Toughness Keep Up - Free image on Pixabay

Pixabay

Resilience is the ability to recover from or adapt to adversity. It is the capacity to bounce back from difficult experiences and maintain a sense of well-being, despite the challenges life throws our way. Resilience can be nurtured and developed over time, as we learn to manage stress, develop coping mechanisms, and cultivate a positive outlook on life.

cast away, a good housekeeping pick for best survival movies, stars tom hanks as a man who must survive alone on an island

Cast Away, 20th Century Studios

In the context of stories of hope, survival refers not only to the physical act of staying alive but also to the emotional, mental, and spiritual endurance that allows people to thrive in the face of adversity. Survival often involves drawing on inner strength, determination, and the support of others to overcome the challenges life presents.

 

Stories of hope serve as powerful reminders that even in the darkest of times, the human spirit is capable of remarkable strength, resilience, and survival. By examining the journeys of individuals and communities who have faced adversity and triumphed, we can draw inspiration and learn valuable lessons for our own lives.

Bethany Hamilton is a great place to start learning about hope, adversity, survival, and resilience, which we did in class. Hope, and resilience allowed Bethany Hamilton to face down the greatest adversity in her life, and not live through it, but survive, and thrive afterwards.

What lessons and inspiration can we draw from the stories of individuals and communities that have faced tragedy and overcome adversity?

Stories of hope often:

  • Demonstrate that resilience is a vital aspect of overcoming adversity. By learning to adapt and recover from difficult situations, individuals and communities can not only survive but also thrive. These stories teach us that resilience is not an inherent trait but something that can be cultivated through perseverance, determination, and a positive mindset.

 

  • Involve the power of communities coming together to support one another in times of need. These narratives show that human connection and empathy are essential factors in overcoming adversity. By fostering strong relationships and leaning on the support of others, we can find the strength to navigate life’s challenges.

 

  • Highlight the role of perspective in dealing with adversity. By focusing on the positives and maintaining a sense of gratitude, people in these stories are able to find meaning and purpose in their struggles. This shift in perspective can inspire us to reframe our own difficulties and approach them with a sense of hope and optimism.

 

  • Emphasize that adversity can be a catalyst for personal growth and transformation. By facing challenges head-on and learning from our experiences, we have the opportunity to emerge stronger, wiser, and more resilient than before. These stories encourage us to view adversity not as a roadblock but as an opportunity for growth.

 

Stories of hope offer us the chance to learn from the experiences of individuals and communities who have faced adversity and emerged stronger and more resilient. By understanding the concepts of adversity, resilience, and survival, we can draw inspiration and lessons from these narratives, fostering our own capacity to overcome challenges and maintain hope in the face of life’s trials.

An Average Post About mPOL 2023

Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.

In this year’s mPOL, I want to shift focus. In the past couple years, my POLs were mainly focused on my struggle with procrastination, but lately I feel like I have the habits and strength to overcome the struggles that I put myself through. This year, I want to focus on something that I feel really helped me from the first couple years of PLP. This being specific feedback on each assignments. My goal for the second half of the year is to improve the quality of my work by making a habit of asking for feedback from my teachers or peers when I feel that I need a little something for my work to be up to standard.

 

While preparing for this mPOL, I reviewed my learning plan to see what I had in mind for improvement at the start of the year, and I could see quickly that it needed to change. While reviewing the learning plan from the start of this year, I found that it wasn’t very focused on anything. The main thing that i felt needed to be stated, was that I think that I no longer need to keep my focus on procrastination. It may sometimes still be a problem for me, but I think that I’m ready to focus on new things. While revising my learning plan, I decided that much of my work could use revisions, just like the learning plan. But the problem here is that hindsight is always in 20/20 right? That’s just me looking back much later and using knowledge that was gained far later than when the work was done to begin with. So what’s the solution?
Feedback.

Feedback is something that can be very helpful and can point out what’s missing in your knowledge or work, allowing you to correct it before it becomes a bigger problem. In the last 2 years of PLP, I’ve felt a distinct lack of this very thing, and have decided that this is the best and most efficient way to improve the quality of my learning and work.

A great example of when I could have used some feedback from others was during the winter exhibition. This is because, as stated in my blog post about the topic, I felt that there were many things that I needed to consider while translating my idea into play form that I did not. The main issue I found with my presentation was that the audience might have a hard time understanding what the specifics of the scene meant, as there were minimal props and my play was not long enough to establish these things. If I had consulted someone else with my ideas, I think that we may have came up with a way to make my section of the play much more comprehensive to the audience.

I think that this solution is applicable to almost every single assignment that we do, and that sometimes there will be feedback given to me, but I think that having more than that is important to me reaching my full potential as a learner.

This post started with my chosen solution, not the only one, and I want to recognize that asking for feedback is not the only way that I can increase the quality of my work. Other methods for increasing my work’s quality is to simply use the tools that are given to me. One of the tools that is given to us as students is the rubric for an assignment. A good mark isn’t the only thing that determines the quality of work, but it helps quite a bit. But this brings me to why I chose the solution I did. I felt that throughout my thinking the best solution to help me grow as a person and a learner is to make use of the people around me and ask for feedback when I feel it may benefit me or my work.

The final way that I would like to build on my habits and learning this year is by asking more questions. In my science related classes, I find that I haven no problem asking for clarification or help when I don’t understand something. I think this is because of the way I think, but it works out great for me in those classes. I want to bring that skill into my life in other regards and be able to ask for help and such in any situation.

 

Thank you for coming to my mPOL.

An average post about the North Shore

Hello, and welcome to my reflective post about our latest projects in humanities. This project was called “Shore to the Core” and had us dig deep into a part of North Vancouver’s history and write a zine about it.

This zine was to be created about a subject that was interesting to me. I chose to write about the infrastructure in North Vancouver. I was interested in the infrastructure and the development of the land because I thought that the way population grew in the North Vancouver way after WWII was interesting. Infrastructure is also important to drawing in population because people will want to have roads and such when they move to a suburb.

You can read my full zine here. In the zine I talked about the lumber industry, and how it initially grew the population and economy, allowing the city we know today to be kickstarted. Another factor for population growth I talked about was the “white picket fence” ideal that was increasingly popular at the time. This ideal was all about having a calm, peaceful, suburban life, usually characterized by a white picket fence. My zine mentions the addition of paved roads and bridges that connect to the larger city of Vancouver, and how that helped the population grow even further, as well as the ports in North Vancouver that contributed to the overall growth of the region, in addition to the developments of Simon Fraser University and Capilano University that happened due to the population reaching a level where such facilities would be needed.


The research that went into the zine was much more complicated than the works cited section of my zine shows. To find each source I had to look up different terms related to each subject I was looking for. A particularly interesting source that I found was the BC Ministry of Transportation and Highways’ “Frontier to Freeway”. This specific file was a history of the roads and such in BC, which accurately describes the way transportation worked in BC throughout the 20th century.


Was my zine compelling? You can answer me in the comments on this post if you want to, but I’m going to answer my own question. I DO think that I have created a compelling piece of text with my zine. I think this because of the detailed examples and research that I have shown in my zine and the connections that I have made to the modern world have helped create a convincing argument as to how the development of the North Shore was, if not significant on it’s own, interesting or representative of the world post WWII. I think that this zine shows how the development of Infrastructure and population growth in the North Shore is significant because these events affects the whole population of the North Shore and some businesses for the simple and obvious reason that we all live here and are thriving as a population.

 

Thank you for reading my blog post, you can check back here for more whenever my next project ends. Bye!