Adam Ngui

Before I knew it, I had to walk onto the Orpheum stage and perform my violin solo with the orchestra. My hands trembled, my legs shook, my heart rapidly beat, but I knew I had to look calm, confident, and charismatic for the audience. I bowed, taking a look at the thousands of people who were watching me, brought up my bow in the air, took a deep breath in and out, and then gently drew the bow on the fingerboard. 

I played to my heart’s content as I moved my body to the beat of the piece, guiding the orchestra to my playing. Before I knew it, I played the final note of the piece and I was finished playing. All the hard work and determination that I put in throughout all the years had paid off, as I had played at the Orpheum as a soloist. 

Slowly, I gently brought my violin down to my legs, took a long look at the crowd which was clapping and cheering for me, and I gleefully bowed, as if I was saying, “Thank you so much!” to every single person watching me. As I reminisced about the performance a few days later, I learned to always be grateful for all the opportunities I receive.

Xavier Tran

The airplane's wheels gently bounced along the brightly lit asphalt as I awoke with blissful alacrity. The pilot's composed voice announced a joyous fact over the intercom: I had arrived in Italy.

This trip was the only thing sitting between me and grade eight. In my final fleeting weeks of summer, I needed a final send-off from my years in elementary school.

Fresh out of the airport, my stomach grumbled ferociously, so I hurried to the nearest pizza restaurant I could find. The first bite was a moment of pure happiness. The delectable flavours rushed to my taste buds, and shut out any stress.

In the three weeks that followed, my family and I traveled across the country. We rode across the gentle crawling waves of the sea, explored towns straight out of history books, and enjoyed the greatest food imaginable. 

My trip to Italy taught me to find joy in hard times. It is certainly a vacation I will never forget, and was the best possible way to end such a happy era.

Boston Gray

As I entered the Burnaby 8 Rinks arena I saw the glistening ice rinks. 

Walking beside me my dad casually said, "I bet you a Frosty from Wendy's you won't score tonight." 

I glanced at him and smirked. 

"Deal." 

I walked away. I strapped on my skates as I was getting ready for my second season game. As we started the game it was a close 0-0 and I was getting nervous. Looking at our coach he seemed normal except for one bead of sweat dripping down his head. My second shift started as we were breaking out of our zone. 

My teammate skated to the middle of the rink, and seeing the opportunity, I said, "Pass to the left!"  

As we were skating to their zone I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Yeah! Here!" 

As he passed me the puck I saw an opening and took a slap shot that landed in the top left corner of the net. Before the other team could react I scored our first goal of the game. 

After the game, my Dad got me the promised chocolate Frosty we agreed on. Eating my Frosty in the back of our car I knew I had truly won the day.

Joseph Gerard Permanente

A feeling of great eagerness and joy became present in my emotions as I entered the school gym of Corpus Christi in the summer of 2023, preparing myself for a 3-day Catholic retreat. That year, I performed with the worship band for the first time and fully immersed myself in the experience of spending a few days with God and my closest friends. Yet what made this retreat more intriguing was severing our connections with the rest of society. 

Once the final day arrived, I was completely captured by the incredible warmth and passion for Christ's love shared by everyone at the event. As I strummed my guitar, they sang in unison to the band’s worship songs, formulating moments where I found true happiness with the people there. We couldn’t help but indulge in the wonderful memories we were making as tears of joy came forth from many eyes, along with numerous arms across shoulders and even hands waving in the air.

To this day, thinking of the retreat never fails to bring a smile to my face as I reminisce about the events that occurred. It taught me lessons of utmost importance, reminding me that I truly am not alone and that God is present within the ones I love most.