Being honest, grade 10 was crazy. Crazy in a crazy way. Lots of ups and downs, and lots of new lessons being learned. I’m walking out of this year as a stronger student. So, what happened this year that makes me feel this way? 

 

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING I TOOK AWAY FROM THIS YEAR? 

My goal since grade eight has been to find a balance between my school work and personal life. Every single presentation like this one I have mentioned that specific goal. This has been one of the most frustrating and confusing things I’ve dealt with. This year I started growing a better understanding on how to actually handle and achieve this goal which made solving it way simpler. So, what do I mean by all of this? 

I’ve been so stuck on this question I’ve made for myself about balance, I never thought deeply about what I’m actually asking from myself. I’d say PGP taught me this but it more inspired me to just THINK, I needed to think more. The task of making sure you have a perfectly balanced life is pretty impossible. Life, school, and everything else in between is unpredictable and completely unfair. But its okay! It’s not about making sure If perfectly balanced, its how you deal with the work when it comes to you. When things come at me in every which way, it’s about the mindset you’re in, organization you have, and your determination level. Once you’ve done that, it’s important to respect yourself when you’re working. The process of creating is just as important as the end product. This is where the balance comes in, if you get your work done in an enjoyable and stress free way, then the work side of life doesn’t feel so heavy. 

WHAT AM I PROUD OF AND WHY

I created quite a few artifacts this year that I’m really proud of but these 3 really stand out to me because they all remind me of important things. I think its important to look at your strengths just as much as things you should improve on as this creates a healthy perspective on yourself. Make sure you’re improving, but also reflect on the good and appreciate your hard work! At least for me!

OVERCOMING FEAR: WW2 podcast. As everyone knows, I strongly dislike interviewing people. It’s been something that has scared me since I can remember. I get this weird sick nervous feeing when I talk to new people, and it’s not something I can control, but it’s something I can fight. That’s why this project was a big milestone for me. Emily and I drove out to Port Moody to interview a WW2 veteran named Svend!

When we were assigned this I instantly was like yeah I’ll just get my other group members to do it, I’ll find a way out of it. But as the time to interview him came closer I became clearer than If I don’t go, we wont have an interview. So after many conversations with Ms. Maxwell and my mom, I decided to go. I was so nervous but I knew it would be ok, and it was. He was a lovely man and it was a great experience. The end product of this podcast is something I’m very proud of and I know I wouldn’t be happy with it If I hadn’t gone out of my comfort zone and done the interview. 

 

PERSISTENCE: Phone plan project: This project seemed pretty normal in the beginning but when I tell you I was wrong, I was so wrong. For some reason this math messed with my head and it took me weeks to understand it. Asking questions, revising, drafts, etc…. I spent quite a few nights trying to take all this data from real world situations and form in into a well made math project. I genuinely had never been prouder of myself once I presented my project and had done all the math correctly. I persevered and I never gave up even when I was confused and frustrated and that is why I’m proud of this project.

 

A DRIVE TO CREATE: Movie trailer: I talked about this project in my last MPOL, but I’m just going over it one more time because it genuinely is my favourite thing I’ve ever made. I went into this project with such a strong drive to create something I am happy with. I wrote the script, filmed, directed, and edited the whole trailer, and was totally happy with doing all of it. I felt in my element during this project and I think the director role in projects is somewhere where I thrive because I honestly enjoy what I’m doing. We also had a large amount of creative freedom which also contributes to the fact that I really enjoyed this project. I hope in the future I get to do more projects like this. 

GRADE 11 GOAL

As PLP is only 2/8 of my classes next year, I need to make sure I take all the tools I learned in the last three years of PLP into regular classes like pre-calc, econ, and even things like art and yearbook! Just because I don’t have my PLP teachers making sure I’m getting where I want to go, doesn’t mean I can’t get the grades I want. I need to be my own PGP.  What I mean by that is, take the form we filled out in the beginning of the year of the grades we want and how we are going to get them for example.  I need to do that for my non PLP classes and I need to be the teacher in that situation making /sure I’m learning and achieving what my goal is. I need the PLP in me to stand out in all my classes. 

Grade 10 grew me for the better, and I’m going to miss having most of my classes in PLP.