Eric Pinkerton

The ICE year has been a long journey. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. It was a year of much learning. I learned a lot about Canada and it's history as well as current issues in Canada today. I bonded with classmates old and new. I learned and changed as a person, as a student, and as a Canadian.

As a student I learned valuable time management skills. I also learned how to avoid procrastination. The most valuable lesson though, in my opinion, was learning to ask others for feedback and help. While working on the Ottawa podcast in the week preceding Winter Break, I spent much time talking to my friend's asking them what they did in their podcasts', asking them for feedback, etc. I also spent a lot of time just talking to them about it while I was working which helped me flesh out ideas and made me feel supported. This seemed to work because I did quite well on that project.

I feel that I grew as a Canadian because of civics and the history units. This is because I learned more about what makes Canada, Canada. I learned about Canada's dark history with indigenous peoples and battle for minority rights. I also learned about Canada's roles in both World Wars and how they contributed to it's character. One of the most interesting units though, was the North Unit, where we learned that Canada isn't necessarily the great northern nation people think it is. We also learned that it could be if it wanted to. Learning more about how Canada functions and how it came to be where it is now made me a better Canadian. This is because I could then acknowledge what makes me Canadian and what makes Canada, Canada.

Lastly, I learned a lot about myself as a person. I've tried to take this year as a chance to better myself. I've tried to be more positive in my relationships with my friends. I've actively tried to become friends with people who I haven't gotten along well with in the past. To my surprise this actually worked. During winter camping in February I took the time to get to know some people in my group who I've dislike since 7th grade. We worked together as a group to build our quinzees, putting aside past differences. As corny as it sounds, it was a great experience to work along side them as equals, friends instead of foes.