RusseLL Gardiner

This year has been very different than the last, I have learned many things about myself as a person. My most prominent change has been my adaptability, especially during winter camping. Winter camping taught me new skills but my main takeaway was my ability to adapt. During camping, many challenges were thrown at us that we had to learn to overcome. For example, while making quinzees we had to adjust it to the terrain and try to make it as livable as possible. When we were done and it was time to sleep the quinzee was rather small, there were 3 of us and we would not be sleeping comfortably. We had to adapt and figure out the best possible layouts for sleep and was nothing like home but we worked with what we had. During walks, we would have to change our gear depending on the temperature and how long it was. I would bring extra clothing in case I got colder or warmer. I taught me to adapt to best fit my situation, this is a very helpful skill that can be used every day and is something that is very good to have.

I have learned dedication and the ability to keep going throughout this year. Things have been rough with assignments and getting work done on time and the pandemic has made things nothing but harder. There are many times when I just want to give up or just get it done and not well but I have learned to push myself and get things done that I can be proud of. This Pandemic has brought an entirely new type of education that is being rather difficult for many to adapt to. With our grades only being able to go up during the pandemic many have had the thought of not really trying. I too had this thought but I decided otherwise. It took one higher mark to convince me that I want to see improvement in myself. I worked hard on my assignments and tried my best to give it my all. I wanted to finish this pandemic on a high note and do something I can be proud of. There have been many times when I want to just give up and sit and do nothing but I always convince myself to keep going. This year has taught me a new proper work ethic that can help me get through the years. Yes, sometimes I can get distracted but I can always get myself back on track.

I have discovered new things about being a Canadian citizen, most importantly, giving back. This was previously rather foreign to me, I knew you should be nice but I had next to no clue about community service. I hadn’t done anything like it before, when I first started I had no idea as to what I was supposed to do. My first day of community service was with Right To Play. It felt so foreign to be doing such an activity but it became natural rather quick, we became the kid’s best friends in days. After experiencing it first hand I realized how important it was to give back to your community, it was so much more different than being told “active citizens are good” in ice class. A community without giving back would be colourless and cold, it's something all communities have and it can be what stands out most. It may not be helping a huge amount of people but for those, you do help it can change their day, and that's all that matters.

My Final Podcast