Destination Imagination

DI stands for Destination Imagination, and it is a project based program that teaches kids life skills. These skills include being innovative, creative, collaborative, and more. In PLP, we enter the tournament every year. My group is in the fine arts challenge, and and here is a bit about my experience from the provincials tournament, and the lead up to it. 

Past Experience

I have done DI before. In grade 4, my friends and I entered the tournament. Covid was going on that year, and we were doing everything either online, or in my basement with masks on. We didn’t really know how long Covid was going to last, but we tried our best to make the most of what we could do. We were in the fine arts challenge, and we decided we were going to make a Malala music video. We made all of our music by ourselves in garage band, with help from my Mom who was the team manager. My group consisted of 5 people; Madeline, Ella, Cece, Paxtyn, and me. Paxtyn has a great singing voice, so she sang the chorus, and the song. We all wrote the lyrics to the song, and it is actually good!

When we finally finished our music video, we all felt a sense of relief. We had filmed everyone separately online, and then somehow put it together. Ella’s cousin named Buzz is really great at editing. The awards ceremony was online, and we were all really proud when we won globals in grade 4! We came 2nd in our instant challenge which was still something to be proud of.  I cannot add the video, for some friends in my group do not want the world to watch. You can probably find it online if you look up 2018/2019 DI Global Finals.

Preparing

Doing DI this year was different through. We didn’t get to choose our groups, and we were working with people we hadn’t before.  My team struggled with getting things done, so one weekend, when we had 2 professional days, we met up at my house and got to work! We had lots of fun playing with the saw, and painting. We finished all of our props on those 2 days which left only a couple things to do. We had to complete the costumes, forms so we could enter the tournament, and most importantly, PRACTICE! 

Team Work

My team and I went through some hardships along our way. Teamwork was one of them. Not all members were helping at times, because they were distracted by games, and texting on their iPads. As I’m sure most people know, it can be frustrating to work in a group that doesn’t help a lot of the time. My teammates showed up, and I that’s sometimes as much as you can ask of someone. 

Instant challenge

Although I cannot disclose much information about my teams instant challenge, I can say that I am proud of us, and I thought we did really well. 

Final Product

I think we have a lot to learn for the next DI competition, but for our first, in person regionals event, I think it went okay. We all need to know our lines better for the provincials, and some of our props broke, so those need to be fixed. Our team did not place. We came 4th. If we had 4 more points we would’ve been 3rd. Although it matters to me a lot, it doesn’t to some, and that’s okay. But I want to do better in the next competition, so watch out team! The Colosseum Crushers are coming! Other than some minor details, I am proud of our group, and we can get better for the next event. Good job to The Colosseum Crushers!!!

Thanks for reading! Keep your eyes peeled to see how my team did in the Provincials!