Throughout the year, the Integrated Canadian Experience has given me the chance to learn about the Canadian identity and what it means to be Canadian. When I first started the school year, I had no idea what to expect. I started off separated from all my friends who where coincidentally all in another class. Starting the year off at Wanakita, I didn't get the chance to ask for my friends to be in my cabin. Split up from my friends, I had to make new ones. There's something about learning about new people that's fun. The rest of Wanakita went how it always had gone for the past 4 years; I came home, my belongings covered in dirt, and I smelled of smoke. Our next trip was at the Toronto Islands. I was put in a group with my friends, Cam and Will. We rode our bikes around the island, interviewing whoever we could about the islands native wildlife. Next, we would travel to Ottawa to learn about our country in the 20th century. We spent 3 days in the city, visiting different monuments, museums, and art galleries while learning about out countries role in the past 120 years. In out free time, we our teachers planned fun nights where we attempted (and failed) to complete an escape room, and we spent one night bowling. Out of all our trips throughout the year, this one was perhaps my favourite. Our final outing of the year (due to challenge week being canceled) was the dreaded winter camping trip. The cold, unforgiving Canadian wilderness was hard to conquer during the winter months. It felt like we were in the middle of the arctic, even though we weren't even in what's considered Northern Ontario. We faced and overcame challenges, and learned about the indigenous Canadians and their practices. Unfortunately, our school year was cut short due to COVID-19. We would have to substitute going to school for online learning. This may sound funny, but I actually miss school. Sure, I get half the day off, but I never realised how much more fun it is to actually spend time with your friends in person rather than over a video call. I believe that this important lesson taught me to not take things at face value, and why it is important to see every side of the story before making an argument.

For our final project, I created a mini documentary on how COVID-19 affects public spaces, which can be found here: