What is destination imagination? That’s a complicated question, with a complicated answer. Destination imagination is a tournament in which different teams of students compete against each other in different categories. However, it feels like there’s a million regulations and tiny details to focus on. Working in groups can also be difficult, so this experience had lots of ups and downs. Come with me as I dive into the process of our Provincials destination tournament, and the steps it took to get there.

Destination imagination, also known as DI, is a competition meant to let students think creatively to solve challenges. There are a number of different challenges, each with their own rules. My group was assigned the engineering challenge, called High Wire Act. In this challenge, we had to create a transporter that would carry different weights up a rope. We had to encorporate this machine into a story that included a contemporary circus. 

When brainstorming ideas, my group decided to leave most of the design aspects to one of my group members, because he had a 3D printer, and had a ton of knowledge on engineering. Our first team choice element was a dance. We decided to choreograph a dance to the sone Circus by Britney Spears, because it felt very on point. More on that later. We also had something called a “daring display.” This was basically meant to be sort of a mock version of an act from a real contemporary circus. For this, we decided that two of our group members would lift a third into the air, and he would jump through a hoop. This took a TON of practice and trial and error, and was one of the more difficult parts of our performance to figure out. However, it was very successful in the end.

Our other main component was, of course, our story. We decided to do a circus full of older performers who weren’t sure whether they could continue to perform. I played the ringmaster, and I was trying to convince the rest of the circus that it was worth it to stay. We incorporated the machine into our show by saying “we should build a machine to do the work for us.” At the end of our story, we decided to keep the show on.

After Regionals, my team had prepared to fix the issues that had arisen. We practiced our lines, made edits to our performance, and worked on out props and script. However, on the day of Provincials for Destination imagination, me and one other teammate were the only ones who showed up, do to unforeseen issues, and one teammate getting very sick. So, me and him performed our instant challenge, but he had to leave for a huge soccer tournament. It was very disappointing that I had spent my free time on this project, just to have no one show up. I was unable to present by myself as per tournament rules, and due to the fact that our machine, backdrop, props, and characters were either destroyed or not there. I’m not sure exactly what lesson I can take from this, other than sometimes other people let you down, and there’s nothing you can do about it. 

To summarize, Destination Imagination this year was a challenge, in more than one way. My group’s communication errors and planning problems caused some issues. My team was severely unable to show proficient qualities during provincials, as they left me stranded. I feel a bit bad for everyone who helped make DI happen, and I feel like I get to feel a bit bad for myself for being stood up. However, if we had been able to perform, I’m sure we would have done amazing, due to our machine functioning very well, and our team choice elements. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

In our latest project, we were tasked with asking ourselves the question: What type of health matters to you? Well, I think that many different types of health are important. I value mental and physical health because I think that they relate very closely to one another, and are both crucial so that I can maintain a healthy lifestyle. I chose to focus on physical health because it’s something that I actively worry about and regulate. My physical health also affects every other aspect of my life and I wanted to share how I stay physically healthy, and what steps I take to stay that way.

This project had two main components: A workbook and an informational video. They both related to the specific topic that we chose in different ways. I chose to focus on physical health, but specifically how to avoid injury when participating in a physical activity. That meant that for the workbook, I was doing research and compiling the evidence I had found in it. Throughout each of the sections of the workbook, we had to start by thinking about why we picked our specific topics, and why they were important to us. I talked about how the topic relates specifically to my life, because I play multiple sports, and avoiding injury is always important to me.

The second section of the workbook was all about asking and answering questions. We asked questions, and did the research to answer them. For example, one of my questions was “what stops us from taking care of our bodies?” I answered by explaining what kinds of things can lead to neglecting your personal health and ways to avoid such things from happening. 

For the final section, we came up with more in-depth solutions to the questions that we asked in the second part of the workbook. This part of the workbook was about planning what kinds of things we would say in our videos. I planned to show the effects of how not taking proper care of my body has affected me, as a warning to others. I also planned some positive ways to inform others about how to take care of themselves.

Lastly, was the actual video. I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to say in my video, and what I wanted it to look like. I immediately started a storyboard, and correlated the audio with the images I wanted. This was rather easy, but it meant that I had to really think about how I wanted to phrase my video. I didn’t want to shame my viewers, but I also wanted to scare them into taking care of themselves, and avoiding injury. I feel as if I did a good balance of both, while still keeping it very real and relatable. You can view my storyboard below.

 

I started production on my video soon after I was finished my storyboard. I decided that I wanted to animate my whole video, and painstakingly spent hours hand drawing each frame. I’m very proud of myself for finishing it, even though my hands felt like they were going to fall off by the end. After finishing recording the script, editing, and adding background music, I was finished! I was very proud of my finished product. It felt nice to have made something that could benefit other people, and hopefully inspire them to take care of their bodies in future activities! I go into deeper detail in my video, which you can click the video below to watch. Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

*Before reading this post, please listen to my podcast.

I never really get the chance to talk about myself in school projects. I don’t talk much about myself normally, so being asked to do so for a project gave me mixed feelings. I ended up being left me a bit conflicted about what to I should or shouldn’t share, but ultimately I think this experience was very eye opening for me. Come with me to unpack my take on our latest project, peas in a podcast. 

Recently, I’ve worked on a few different podcast episodes throughout different PLP classes. The topics have been varied, but the process of writing the script as well as editing and recording were the same. The skills that I gained through these podcasts, specifically figuring out how to use garage band, have been key factors in helping me create my podcast episode: Stick With It! Right?

When trying to pick a topic for my podcast, I had a few ideas. However, I knew that my podcast would be published to Spotify for the whole world to see, so I wanted to be very careful about what personal details about my life I wanted-or felt like I was able-to share. I decided to focus on my many years as an Irish dancer, as I thought it might be interesting enough to talk about on a podcast, but not too boring or personal. I also realized that I never had the chance to reflect on my time as a dancer, so I thought it would be the perfect time to do so.

While writing the script, I chose to create two five minute long podcasts. One explaining my time as an Irish dancer, and how I felt inclined to continue forcing myself to commit to it, even when I no longer found it enjoyable. The second would be about the psychology of why exactly people are prone to do this, and explain some ways to make sure you love what you’re doing with your free time. The first part of the script was incredibly easy to write for two reasons: one, I was just speaking about my personal experience, and two, I had been needing an outlet to reflect on why I stuck with it for so long. The second episode, however, did not come as easily to me. It made me do a ton of research, and dig deep into the reasons behind why I had done what I had done. All in all, they were both very valuable for me to complete, and I definitely learned more about myself through writing about my experience.

The editing process was very similar to how I had made all of my other podcasts. I recorded everything straight into garage band, and made some background music to make the episode a little more entertaining audio wise. I was able to pull the skills that I had learned throughout other projects to make this podcast as good as it was. Finally, I created some cover art, and my episode was finished! I learned so much about my own actions, and those of thd people around me through this project. To understand exactly what I’m talking about in this post, please listen to my podcast! Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

What is an apology, and why are they important? This in an important question, and one that we had to ask ourselves during our latest project, Ology of Apology. This project focused on the past wrongdoings of Canada, and what we can do today to try and remember those affected. Come with me as we explore the mistakes of the past and the apologies that followed, emphasizing the journey towards reconciliation.

Our project had two sections: One, a book about the effects that internment had on Japanese Canadians, as well as how it continued to affect them after the war. This book is called Obasan, by Joy Kobawa. This book contains some mature themes, so be advised. Second, we created memorials for wrongdoings of the Canadian government. We would then present our memorials, and the meaning behind them, to our classmates, to help them gain a greater understanding of the tragedies of the past. Click the link below to read the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9723.Obasan

After reading Obasan, I was curious about exactly what the government did about all the suffering it had caused. Here’s what I learned: The apology towards Japanese Canadians for their internment during World War II is a significant acknowledgment of past injustices committed by the Canadian government. During the war, approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians were forcibly relocated and detained in internment camps, facing discrimination and loss of property. The Canadian government’s formal apology, delivered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017, recognized the pain and suffering caused by these actions, which were rooted in racism. The apology showed regret for the violation of rights of Japanese Canadians; however, it could not take back the damage caused by the Canadian government. Doing research on this topic, as well as reading the book Obasan, was a very eye-opening experience. Learning about injustice is always valuable and teaches us to not make the same mistakes in the future.

Next, of course, was the actual memorial. My group was assigned the Komagata Maru. For those who don’t know, this was a ship carrying almost 400 south Asian immigrants to Burrard Inlet. The passengers were denied entry, as well as food and water. After two months, they were forced to return to India. This was justified by racist laws meant to keep immigrants from Asia out of Canada. We tried our best to honour the passengers, as well as the shore committee, a group of immigrants who already lived in Canada and raised money as well as other resources for the passengers.

Our memorial idea was a tiled wall shaped like the hull of a ship. This wall would have the same number of tiles as passengers, and would feature a hand reaching for resources right in front of it, but just out of reach. This memorial is quite self-explanatory and visually bold, and is meant to make people think about the real experiences that went on right here in Vancouver, years ago. The real memorial would have a waterfall feature over the tiled wall, which would represent how the majority of people in Vancouver didn’t care about what happened to the passengers. The water would obscure the ship, showing how little Canadians cared about it’s passengers.

Overall, this project has provided me with a new perspective. I learned a lot about the history of Vancouver, and why it’s important to create proper apologies. Reading the book Obasan was an uncomfortable but important experience. Looking at history from a new perspective is essential when forming an apology. The reflective memorial created for the Komagata Maru serves to honor the passengers and raise awareness about the injustices that occurred, putting emphasis on the importance of remembering past mistakes to find reconciliation and prevent history from repeating itself. Thank you for reading, and have a great day!