Happy Newyear Everybody! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I sure did! My family came on December 23rd and they didn't leave until this morning. It was sad to see them go but we had a great holiday with lots of love, laughter snd... PRESENztS! Ha ha I got a lot of stuff for college, a whole basket ful. I got a whiteboard to keep myself organized. I was ver excited about that;). I got a book called The Naked Room Mate and 107 Other Issues You Could Run Into in College. I read up on that and I will be all set. I also got College of the Rockiesvsweatshirt, so I basically have to go now, and a lot of other really things. It was wonderful. I had withdrawals for about a week,starting Boxing,especially about not being able to listen to Christmas music. Sigh.... However, it all went by in a flash and before we knew it 2014 has arrived. I am so excited for this year, with college and starting to venture out on my own! I can't wait to start. As my annual tradition here are 8 of my Newyears resolutions that I hope to achieve to make 2014 all I want it to be!
1. Work hard in highschool next year and get good grades in history and biology for College.. it going to be a lot of work, but I will get it done
2. Get ready for College!- Yah!!! iIt's true. I am so excited for college. I just feel like this my big stepping stone, and my next chapter in life. I'm excited for my course that I'll be taking and for the independence, and to kind of find myself a little bit. My whole my family and friends have always been there for me to lean on. I still will have all that support, but I also will have to fend for myself a little, make my own choices, fend for myself a liitle bit. I have a lot of growing up to do, and sometimesI think this is the only way for me to do it. It's a whole chapter, an .i am ready and willing to dive into it.
3. Make a diffrence- I've always been aware of how much I've been given throughout the years and I am very grateful for that. I always love to to give back whenever I can. I want to do BIG things for others.. I'm looking forward to the course I will take in college, Human Service Wok. I've always wanted to learn more about diffrent diverseabilities at a greater depth whitch is what this course is about . It is everything I am intrestested in whitch is great. Eventually,I want to be a mentor for children with diverseabilities. I just want to help them feel good about themselves right from the start, when they are very little. I don't want kids to feel bad about their challenenges like I did in primary school. I want them to believe they are special, that they can anything, and help them realize that sometimes our greatest challenges are our greatest gifts. I also want to do some advocating for the families, to help them get the right equipment or people they need or to help them stand up for their rights. I will definetly need practise on being an advocate, but I figure that what college will be for. I know it may sound naive, but I just want to do whatever I can to make the world a better place.
4. Make some new friends- I'm nervous about making friends at College because of how quiet I am with my peers in highschool, but mom says College will be diffrent. I hope I meet some girls my age and kind of get out there a little bit. . Mom says sometimes the friends you meet in collage are sometimes your friends for life. I won't just meet other people my age,I will meet all sorts of people. My circle of friends just seems to get bigger every year and I'm excited to watch it grow even more!
5. Express myself- Writing this blog has been a great way for me to state my opinions and say how I feel about things, but unfortunately this is the only place where I do that. I have a lot of thought and ideas in my head that I wish I could say out loud to reach out to others and help then. Well, I don't know if expressing them will exactly help others, but they will help me, thats for sue. I just hope I discover my voice, and use it to empower others.
6.Stay strong-This is important for me! When I leave high school, I won't have an aide to help me stretch. I will have to find my own physio in Cranbrook and do my own stretches on my own. When People with Cerebral Palsy don't stretch, their muscles get very tight, like everyone's does, and it makes it harder and harder for them to walk. I hear stories about that happening, and I get afraid. I do not want to lose the strength I have now. I actually gotten kind of proud of it, so when I get to Cranbrook, I want to keep it up. I guess that this will just be one of the many things I will just have to learn to advocate for myself and get done independently. Muscles: use them, or lose, that's what they say.
7. Gratitude Project- Lately, I have been working on a gratitude power point project to show people at the end of this year. I have always said I have had a lot of things to be grateful for and a lot of people who have been their for me over the years, and so I just want to say thank you to everyone in my life. I hope I finish if. I think it will be a great way to say thank you and good bye.
8. Be happy- I may not be smily and giggly and thankful as I'd like to be all the time, but I do like to try. I trust that every year will continue to get better and better for me. I hope to just smile and laugh a little more every day,and let things go a little more each year. .i just want to be happy:)
I wish everyone all the best in the new year. I have a feeling that 2014 will be the year of many great things for a lot of people. Follow you dreams this year and do your absolute best to make them come true! All the best everyone!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Sunday, October 13, 2013
A New Chapter About to Begin
Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I am back at DTSS, doing my last Supergrad year of highschool! It's been a bit of slack semester for me , since I finished all the courses I needed to graduate last year. This year I will mostly be working on transition skills and getting comfortable with the idea of moving on to college next year! Whoohoo! I'm very nervous, but very excited at the same time to start the next chapter in my life. I have picked a major, finally. I want to study something called Community Rehabilitation and be an advocate for special needs kids. Basically, I'm thinking of working with families with children with diverseabilities and being like a mentor to them. I've always wanted to be able to give back all that I have recieved to others in need and this sounds like the perfect way for me to do it. I'm thrilled I found a career path. The only thing is that taking the course means more academic subjects next semester of my Supergrad year. I've had it kind it slack the last couple years, but not any more apparently. In January, I will take Biology and History in the same semester! Yikes! Oh well, I'm not afraid to work hard again! It will get me all ready for College Life!
So, my biggest news lately is this past Thursday My mom and I got to go to the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook B.C to have a meeting with their Diversabilities coordinator about me attending the campus next fall. Me moving away from home is a huge step for both of Mom and I We can use all the guidance we can get. It going to take a lot of preparation for my big move, but this was definetly a step in the right direction.
Once we got to Crannbrook,the college was preety easy to find. Mom and I got inside the building and found it was very accesible with ramps and buttons everywhere! They even had a handicap button to open the bathroom! I had never seen that before! I was very impressed!
The Diveseability Coordinator was awesome! She treated me like a college student. She introduced herself to me before mom whitch made me feel grown up
She was very knowledgeable! Mom and I learned a lot. The Community Rehab that
I want to eventually take when I get to University of Calgary, I can actually start taking my first 1 or 2 years at Cranbrook! I got very excited about that. I knew I was going to college first, but I wasn't sure what I would take, so this is perfect. I would spread my course out over 2 years, whitch would be a good work load for me to start off with just because I need to get used to school work again! I wouldn't have an aide that would go to class with me like in highschool, but they do offer tutors that can help me catch up on work! That would be something I would look into for sure. The tutor would also help me with some life skills as well, whitch I could always use. Mom and I learned that there are grants that I can apply for that can help out with paying for things like home care to come in and help me out every so often! We learned lots!
This was one of I'm sure quite a few College of the Rockies visits. It will be a bit of a process until I actually get into College groove. I'm a quite nervous, like I said, but I think once I actually start living by myself and start making my own decisions, it will be great! I'll just figure everything out as I go along. That's my plan. It's not a very proactive one, I know, but I want to stick to it. like my mom says, everything always works out. After checking out College of the Rockies, both my mom and I are starting to feel more confident about my next adventur. Stay tuned! I'm excited to tell you how this whole roller coaster ride goes. in November, I go again to check out wheelchair accesible residence, where I am hoping to be able to stay while I go to school! Exciting times ahead!
College Life awaits!
So, my biggest news lately is this past Thursday My mom and I got to go to the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook B.C to have a meeting with their Diversabilities coordinator about me attending the campus next fall. Me moving away from home is a huge step for both of Mom and I We can use all the guidance we can get. It going to take a lot of preparation for my big move, but this was definetly a step in the right direction.
Once we got to Crannbrook,the college was preety easy to find. Mom and I got inside the building and found it was very accesible with ramps and buttons everywhere! They even had a handicap button to open the bathroom! I had never seen that before! I was very impressed!
The Diveseability Coordinator was awesome! She treated me like a college student. She introduced herself to me before mom whitch made me feel grown up
She was very knowledgeable! Mom and I learned a lot. The Community Rehab that
I want to eventually take when I get to University of Calgary, I can actually start taking my first 1 or 2 years at Cranbrook! I got very excited about that. I knew I was going to college first, but I wasn't sure what I would take, so this is perfect. I would spread my course out over 2 years, whitch would be a good work load for me to start off with just because I need to get used to school work again! I wouldn't have an aide that would go to class with me like in highschool, but they do offer tutors that can help me catch up on work! That would be something I would look into for sure. The tutor would also help me with some life skills as well, whitch I could always use. Mom and I learned that there are grants that I can apply for that can help out with paying for things like home care to come in and help me out every so often! We learned lots!
This was one of I'm sure quite a few College of the Rockies visits. It will be a bit of a process until I actually get into College groove. I'm a quite nervous, like I said, but I think once I actually start living by myself and start making my own decisions, it will be great! I'll just figure everything out as I go along. That's my plan. It's not a very proactive one, I know, but I want to stick to it. like my mom says, everything always works out. After checking out College of the Rockies, both my mom and I are starting to feel more confident about my next adventur. Stay tuned! I'm excited to tell you how this whole roller coaster ride goes. in November, I go again to check out wheelchair accesible residence, where I am hoping to be able to stay while I go to school! Exciting times ahead!
College Life awaits!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
I LOVE CAMP WINFIELD
Hey everybody! I just got back from my 12th and final year as a camper at Camp Winfield! It was so hard for me to leave the wonderful camp that I've been attending since I was six years old and have loved so much! This year was the prefect year to top it all off! I had wonderful councillors, Suzy and Kaitlyn, and best friends Grace and Carrisa were both in my group. Grace and I haven't seen Carrisa in a couple years, so it was lovely for us to catch up with her again. We talked like we never left eachothe. We spent a lot of time together as a threesome this week, and on rest breaks we would have little"girl talks" . It was wonderful. We really came together this year. Grace and I got to have quality time together too, which was great. We love sharing the magic of camp withe eachother. We really bonded well with Kaitlyn and Suzie, who were awesome, as the councillors always are, as well as all the other campers and camp staff. I think all the camp grads really knew it was their last year at Winfield and we all tried to come together as a group and tried to bond as much as we could. There were tons of highlights of this week. It was the first year I made it to both the to of the "big swing" and to the top of the climbing wall. Those were pretty big achievements for my grad year, I felt. Haha! When we had our camp out night, Grace slept in a tent with Carrisa and I. Sleeping in a tent is hard for Grace but she persevered and decided to camp out with us. That was her big accomplishment and Carrisas was singing at the Open House talent show this year . She really wants to make a career out of her singing so she will take any practise she can get.
I also Remember Camp Winfield's famous sock fighting competition where all the councillors wear only one sock, they all go out into the yard and run after each other, trying to get socks off as many people as they can. The last councillor with there sock on wins.. It is halarious. Ahhh... So many memories.... memories of hanging out as a group and laughing our heads off, drinking ice coffees on the dining hall deck that Susie and Kaitlyn made us, and running around the whole camp going crazy off the caffeine and figuring out whatever mischief we could get into. To wrap up the week, as tradition, all the grads got to stay up all night after Banquet on night 7. It was a memorable, magical evening for Carrisa, Grace and myself. We watched movies, ate junk food, and tried to soak in the significant last moment the three of us would have as campers of Winfield. It was bittersweet moment, and believe me, we tried to make it last as long as we could, but we gave up at midnight, whitch, in my defense, was 1:00 Inveremere time, so I did make it up to the wee hours... Ha ha!
Like I said, it was be incredibly hard to say goodbye to Winfield. It is a truly special place, and I guess you can only go there and see for yourself to understand what I mean. I have been blessed to have great experiences in my home life, but some campers it isn't the same story. Camp Winfield is like a second home for many of us where we feel like we can finally breathe again and be ourselves. For once, we don't feel singled out. There are wheelchairs all over the place. it's wheelchair city! Strolling down the sidewalks of camp feels like we're strolling down a red carpet that was just made for us I have some thank yous that I feel I owe to the many people who made my camp experiences perfect! Thankyou to the councillors and other staff at camp for your continuous energy and smiles and for jumping in and knowing exacty how to care for each camper from hour one. Thankyou to all the programmers and staff who go behind the scence to make the magic happen. Thankyou to the other campers who inspire me each year with great attitudes and for being my friends. Thankyou to Grace Mariah Brulotte and Carrisa Lawrie for your shared friendship throughout the years. You two are the only two teenagers I feel I can truly be myself with. Thankyou to Invermere Lions for donating money to the camp each year and for sending me each year! Your donations are worth every penny! Thankyou to Patti Cowles for attending camp with me on my very first year and giving me the confidence boost to return on my own in the upcoming years. Thankyou to my mom who made that crazy 6hr drive every year. It was a big day, but I know you knew how much camp meant to me. I Love you! And, last but no least, Thankyou to Winfield for truly being the best place on earth. I did graduate this year, but who knows, I may not be finished with you yet. You'll just have to wait and see...
I also Remember Camp Winfield's famous sock fighting competition where all the councillors wear only one sock, they all go out into the yard and run after each other, trying to get socks off as many people as they can. The last councillor with there sock on wins.. It is halarious. Ahhh... So many memories.... memories of hanging out as a group and laughing our heads off, drinking ice coffees on the dining hall deck that Susie and Kaitlyn made us, and running around the whole camp going crazy off the caffeine and figuring out whatever mischief we could get into. To wrap up the week, as tradition, all the grads got to stay up all night after Banquet on night 7. It was a memorable, magical evening for Carrisa, Grace and myself. We watched movies, ate junk food, and tried to soak in the significant last moment the three of us would have as campers of Winfield. It was bittersweet moment, and believe me, we tried to make it last as long as we could, but we gave up at midnight, whitch, in my defense, was 1:00 Inveremere time, so I did make it up to the wee hours... Ha ha!
Like I said, it was be incredibly hard to say goodbye to Winfield. It is a truly special place, and I guess you can only go there and see for yourself to understand what I mean. I have been blessed to have great experiences in my home life, but some campers it isn't the same story. Camp Winfield is like a second home for many of us where we feel like we can finally breathe again and be ourselves. For once, we don't feel singled out. There are wheelchairs all over the place. it's wheelchair city! Strolling down the sidewalks of camp feels like we're strolling down a red carpet that was just made for us I have some thank yous that I feel I owe to the many people who made my camp experiences perfect! Thankyou to the councillors and other staff at camp for your continuous energy and smiles and for jumping in and knowing exacty how to care for each camper from hour one. Thankyou to all the programmers and staff who go behind the scence to make the magic happen. Thankyou to the other campers who inspire me each year with great attitudes and for being my friends. Thankyou to Grace Mariah Brulotte and Carrisa Lawrie for your shared friendship throughout the years. You two are the only two teenagers I feel I can truly be myself with. Thankyou to Invermere Lions for donating money to the camp each year and for sending me each year! Your donations are worth every penny! Thankyou to Patti Cowles for attending camp with me on my very first year and giving me the confidence boost to return on my own in the upcoming years. Thankyou to my mom who made that crazy 6hr drive every year. It was a big day, but I know you knew how much camp meant to me. I Love you! And, last but no least, Thankyou to Winfield for truly being the best place on earth. I did graduate this year, but who knows, I may not be finished with you yet. You'll just have to wait and see...
Saturday, July 20, 2013
I GOT A JOB!
Hey everybody. Wow, I am sure blogging a lot less than I expected to this summer. I'm sorry, but I feel I have quite a valid excuse and that is, drum roll,please.....I GOT A JOB! Yes, after many years of waiting, and wondering how I will be able to become part of the work force, I, Kate Gibbs, landed a paying job as an advertiser for the summer. I was asked to work for a local organization called The Windermere Valley Early Childhood Development Team (WVECD Team) I advertise all summer programs that are going on this year for kids. I work from home mostly, writing up the ads, and sending them the person who is in charge, and she posts them of facebok under the WVECD Team page. I then, go out to the events to take pictures of the kids, interview them about what their favorite part of each program is, and post the pictures on facebook to promote the programs.
I'd never thought of myself as being an advertiser, especially as my first job,but I'm really enjoying it. It involves my two favorite things, writing, and working with children. It was a little confusing at first, figuring out exactly how I needed to make the ads, but, I think I'm getting the hang of it now. Most ads are quite short. When people read an ad, they just want to know the facts about what's going on, and not read a tenthly summary about it. Well, we all know that "short and sweet" is NOT my strong point, but I am learning. ha ha. It's not too bad. I just look up the website for the program, write down basic facts, and contact information. Keeping the ads short is a good learning skill for me to learn, and I have to practise it, because, besides writing these ads for Facebook, I have also been allowed to put my ads in a little local flyer called the Valley Peak that everyone in Invermere reads. My friend Patti and I made a portfolio of all the newspaper articles I've written at the Valley Echo for Work Experience and compiled them into a folder to show off as proof of the work I did. The man who runs that paper says that paper has quite limited space, so I have to make my ads even shorter and sweeter than I did the first time I wrote them. Yikes! ha ha. I can handle it! Writing the ads for WVECD is only going to be a summer job, but Valley peak has allowed me to write for them inb the fall too. I might put bits and pieces of my blog in there. Cool!
Like I said, this job keeps me quite busy this summer. I write one, maybe two ads a day. I love it! Being employed is something I do not like to take for granted. Having physical challenges,it is hard to get jobs, because the building has to be set up perfectly, and the work has to be not to physically demanding. In this town, finding a job that meets that criteria is hard. I went for an interview at the Library once to see if I could get a job, and it didn't work out because of my physical limitations. When that happens to you, you kind of lose hope. You think, "I can't even put books on high shelf myself, who is going to want me to work for them. Those frightening Thoughts of "You can't" come into your head, and you get down on yourself, but you have to make those thoughts leave your head just as quickly as they came in, because the truth is YOU CAN! The right job for you will come along. You just have to be super duper patient, and determined too. Never let your diverseability be the excuse for why you can't do something. If someone thinks you are unemployable, your job for the time being is ,to prove them wrong, and put yourself out there. Don't give up! You can do it!
So, I just wanted to thank my friend Patti for helping me get the job in the first. She's been an amazing help in getting me organized, and doing some of my work with me on the days I spend with her. Thank you to my family for supporting me, and Lisa Lehr, my boss who hired me in the first place. I apologise in advance for maybe not writing so many blogs this summer. I'll try though!
As of this summer , I am officially part of the working world! :)
I'd never thought of myself as being an advertiser, especially as my first job,but I'm really enjoying it. It involves my two favorite things, writing, and working with children. It was a little confusing at first, figuring out exactly how I needed to make the ads, but, I think I'm getting the hang of it now. Most ads are quite short. When people read an ad, they just want to know the facts about what's going on, and not read a tenthly summary about it. Well, we all know that "short and sweet" is NOT my strong point, but I am learning. ha ha. It's not too bad. I just look up the website for the program, write down basic facts, and contact information. Keeping the ads short is a good learning skill for me to learn, and I have to practise it, because, besides writing these ads for Facebook, I have also been allowed to put my ads in a little local flyer called the Valley Peak that everyone in Invermere reads. My friend Patti and I made a portfolio of all the newspaper articles I've written at the Valley Echo for Work Experience and compiled them into a folder to show off as proof of the work I did. The man who runs that paper says that paper has quite limited space, so I have to make my ads even shorter and sweeter than I did the first time I wrote them. Yikes! ha ha. I can handle it! Writing the ads for WVECD is only going to be a summer job, but Valley peak has allowed me to write for them inb the fall too. I might put bits and pieces of my blog in there. Cool!
Like I said, this job keeps me quite busy this summer. I write one, maybe two ads a day. I love it! Being employed is something I do not like to take for granted. Having physical challenges,it is hard to get jobs, because the building has to be set up perfectly, and the work has to be not to physically demanding. In this town, finding a job that meets that criteria is hard. I went for an interview at the Library once to see if I could get a job, and it didn't work out because of my physical limitations. When that happens to you, you kind of lose hope. You think, "I can't even put books on high shelf myself, who is going to want me to work for them. Those frightening Thoughts of "You can't" come into your head, and you get down on yourself, but you have to make those thoughts leave your head just as quickly as they came in, because the truth is YOU CAN! The right job for you will come along. You just have to be super duper patient, and determined too. Never let your diverseability be the excuse for why you can't do something. If someone thinks you are unemployable, your job for the time being is ,to prove them wrong, and put yourself out there. Don't give up! You can do it!
So, I just wanted to thank my friend Patti for helping me get the job in the first. She's been an amazing help in getting me organized, and doing some of my work with me on the days I spend with her. Thank you to my family for supporting me, and Lisa Lehr, my boss who hired me in the first place. I apologise in advance for maybe not writing so many blogs this summer. I'll try though!
As of this summer , I am officially part of the working world! :)
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Kate's Mission Statement
KATE'S MISSION STATEMENT
1. I promise to always be thankful for what I have
2. I promise to always put my amazing family first and that my love for
them will continue to grow enormously throughout the years to come
3. I promise to seek out new adventures and find ways to get into a little bit of
mischief along the way.
4. I promise to be thankful for and loving towards all my friends around me
5. I promise to let my Cerebral Palsy push me forward, not pull me back
6. I promise to continue to show everybody exactly what I'm made of and
to keep teaching others about people with diverseabilities and help them
replace the words "they can't" with "they can"
7. I promise try everything at least once
8. I promise to NEVER GIVE UP!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Graduated!- I'm a Big Kid Now!
Hello everybody! Remember me? Ha Ha. Wow, I haven't blogged in long time! I've been really busy with finish school and, wait for it.... GRADUATING! Yes! This week I graduated from Grade twelve! Wow! Were did the time go! When your little, graduating from high school is something you never think is going to happen, and then BAM, there it is! I have sure treasured my childhood, growing up with an amazing family and being surrounded by the the wonderful people of Invermere, British Columbia. I have a lot of people who care about me that I owe gratitude to, and this was week was a perfect time for me to reflect on that and give thanks.
Wednesday the 26th of June and Thursday the 27 of June were busy days that I will never forget! First of, on Wednesday, all the graduates got to march down main street and show off. We all got dressed up down to the nines. Everyone looked like celebrities , and, as for me, I am quite sure I have never felt as dolled up as I did that day. My dress was a teal coloured short brides maids dress. Paige and Patti did my hair and makeup. They have both been a huge part of my school years so it was very special we all got to be together! Thanks guys! You made me look like a princess that day. After I was done, I went to the local Strands restaurant to get some pictures taken. When all the grads arrived at Strands , we all took a group picture and then started our walk. I had two grad partners, a boy and a girl. We had a great time walking together. When we started out, it was pouring! All the girls were worried their very preety hair getting ruined. We were worried that it wouldn't let, but soon after, it seemed like the clouds had parted just for us, and we started our walk! I was so happy that day! There was music playing in the background, and as I was wheeling down the street with my partners, I was dancing and smiling the whole way. Everyone was clapping and cheering for all of us! It was just a day that once again proved how supportive our town is! Everyone loves to watch the grads every year. The sidewalks are always lined up! It's amazing! When we got about a block away from our destination, I wanted to get out of my wheelchair and walk. That was really important to me! It showed people that I will never give up on walking, no matter what! My partners did great! There were looked awesome, and they did an amazing job of helping me walk. It was an emotional day! I broke down a couple of times. It was a big day for a lot of kids. It was the end of a big milestone! After lots of congratulations and hugs from family and friends, we went into the local curing rink for dinner. I got to lead everyone in! That was cool! The curling rink did not look like a curling rink at all. It was all done up with balloons ribbons, and light! It was beautiful! The dinner was delicious and we got to hear some fantastic, and also some very funny speeches from students, parents, teachers, and the superintendent. We had a mother son dance and a father daughter dance! I got to dance with my dad! He was so happy those couple of days! I loved seeing that!
I even got to dance with a boy! That was a surprise! It was an awesome night and I couldn't believe their was more yet to come!
The next day we had a year end recognition assembly for the whole school where students are awarded for things they've accomplished ! I won two awards. I won one for my writing class, and then I won the citizen of the year award. I was informed I'd be getting an award beforehand, and I was pretty sure it was for writing. I had no idea I was also getting the citizenship one too though. That was a total surprise! I felt so honoured that people thought of me for the award, and again, so grateful for the amount of amazing support I have! The lady who awarded me with it was the a teacher that has done a lot for me over the years. Shes helped me so much and has just been awesome, so it was really special. She printed out a whole speech! I felt very loved that day
Then, there was the big grade twelve graduation ceremony, where we v finally got to get dressed in cap and gown! That felt surreal. I'm sure it did for many of us! It was the "This is it" moment. It took a while to get everybody organized, but soon we were all ready to take the stage. The way we marched in the gymnasium was very formal! We walked on one by one in a specific order The MCs called each of us up and gave a little speech about what our future plans were, as we each walked up and shook the principals hand and got our diplomas. Some got awarded with honours! I was one of them! That was another exciting surprise that made everything seem that much more worth it. As I sat and listened to what the students future plans were, it became surreal to me that kids would be leaving town and embarking on new adventures. Kids that I have grown up with are going away. I was very impressed with what some of them plan to do. We have quite the talented group of graduates. Once everyone was seated , scholarship after scholarship was being handed out. Our community was extreamly generous. I got three, one from the Valley Echo, one from another local paper, the Pioneer, and another from the Columbia Basin Trust Society. I won big! ha ha. Lots of us did. It was amazing! After a marvellous valedictorian speech, it was finally the time to throw grad caps in the air and yell out in celebration! I always wanted to do that! That final cap toss says we made it! We survived! I am now a proud of graduate of 2013!
Last but not least, my parents had been working extremely hard on a garden party that I was going to have after the ceremony! My dad is a gardener, and so he had planned to get the garden ready for a party. He and my mom had planned everything, cooked everything, and bought everything to create the best garden I could have asked for! Tons of family, and friends, and teachers came by to say congratulations. I was so busy talking to everybody, I didn't have time to eat. I got tons of presents, beautiful cards, and MONEY! I have so many people that have been so good to me. I am truly thankful to each and everyone of them! I couldn't of asked for a better graduation. It was perfect.
Thank you so much to my grandparents,my cousin Stephanie who came out from Calgary, and my Uncle Jeff who came out from Tennessee to spend graduation with me. I love you and it meant the world to me to have you there. Thank you to my school system for being so accommodating towards students with diverseabilities. I am well aware that fifty years my education situation would have been very different. Even today, some students with diverseabiilities don't get treated very well, but I am certainly not one of them and for that I thank my school system from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to everybody who helped send me on all my amazing adventures! I will never forget those. Thank you to the town of Invermere for encouraging me every step of the way! Each time I go downtown, I get hugs from everybody. I have loved the relationships I have developed of the years. I love Invermere. Thank you to all my aides and helpers at school for continuing to push me to do my very best! I have made amazing relationships over the years with them! You guys are awesome! Last but certainly not least, thank you to my incredible family who have given me everything. You continue to support me every day, and I know you will always be there for me! I Iove you!
I do plan on attending David Thompson Seconday school an extra year before moving on, before moving on to university. I look forward to coming back! For all the graduates who are leaving Inveremere, I am proud to say that I have attended class with such wonderful student! I hope for the very best for you all! Remeber to always follow your dreams, be thankful to those who have helped you get to where you are, and NEVER GIVE UP! Congratulations grad class of 2013! Let your adventure begin!
Wednesday the 26th of June and Thursday the 27 of June were busy days that I will never forget! First of, on Wednesday, all the graduates got to march down main street and show off. We all got dressed up down to the nines. Everyone looked like celebrities , and, as for me, I am quite sure I have never felt as dolled up as I did that day. My dress was a teal coloured short brides maids dress. Paige and Patti did my hair and makeup. They have both been a huge part of my school years so it was very special we all got to be together! Thanks guys! You made me look like a princess that day. After I was done, I went to the local Strands restaurant to get some pictures taken. When all the grads arrived at Strands , we all took a group picture and then started our walk. I had two grad partners, a boy and a girl. We had a great time walking together. When we started out, it was pouring! All the girls were worried their very preety hair getting ruined. We were worried that it wouldn't let, but soon after, it seemed like the clouds had parted just for us, and we started our walk! I was so happy that day! There was music playing in the background, and as I was wheeling down the street with my partners, I was dancing and smiling the whole way. Everyone was clapping and cheering for all of us! It was just a day that once again proved how supportive our town is! Everyone loves to watch the grads every year. The sidewalks are always lined up! It's amazing! When we got about a block away from our destination, I wanted to get out of my wheelchair and walk. That was really important to me! It showed people that I will never give up on walking, no matter what! My partners did great! There were looked awesome, and they did an amazing job of helping me walk. It was an emotional day! I broke down a couple of times. It was a big day for a lot of kids. It was the end of a big milestone! After lots of congratulations and hugs from family and friends, we went into the local curing rink for dinner. I got to lead everyone in! That was cool! The curling rink did not look like a curling rink at all. It was all done up with balloons ribbons, and light! It was beautiful! The dinner was delicious and we got to hear some fantastic, and also some very funny speeches from students, parents, teachers, and the superintendent. We had a mother son dance and a father daughter dance! I got to dance with my dad! He was so happy those couple of days! I loved seeing that!
I even got to dance with a boy! That was a surprise! It was an awesome night and I couldn't believe their was more yet to come!
The next day we had a year end recognition assembly for the whole school where students are awarded for things they've accomplished ! I won two awards. I won one for my writing class, and then I won the citizen of the year award. I was informed I'd be getting an award beforehand, and I was pretty sure it was for writing. I had no idea I was also getting the citizenship one too though. That was a total surprise! I felt so honoured that people thought of me for the award, and again, so grateful for the amount of amazing support I have! The lady who awarded me with it was the a teacher that has done a lot for me over the years. Shes helped me so much and has just been awesome, so it was really special. She printed out a whole speech! I felt very loved that day
Then, there was the big grade twelve graduation ceremony, where we v finally got to get dressed in cap and gown! That felt surreal. I'm sure it did for many of us! It was the "This is it" moment. It took a while to get everybody organized, but soon we were all ready to take the stage. The way we marched in the gymnasium was very formal! We walked on one by one in a specific order The MCs called each of us up and gave a little speech about what our future plans were, as we each walked up and shook the principals hand and got our diplomas. Some got awarded with honours! I was one of them! That was another exciting surprise that made everything seem that much more worth it. As I sat and listened to what the students future plans were, it became surreal to me that kids would be leaving town and embarking on new adventures. Kids that I have grown up with are going away. I was very impressed with what some of them plan to do. We have quite the talented group of graduates. Once everyone was seated , scholarship after scholarship was being handed out. Our community was extreamly generous. I got three, one from the Valley Echo, one from another local paper, the Pioneer, and another from the Columbia Basin Trust Society. I won big! ha ha. Lots of us did. It was amazing! After a marvellous valedictorian speech, it was finally the time to throw grad caps in the air and yell out in celebration! I always wanted to do that! That final cap toss says we made it! We survived! I am now a proud of graduate of 2013!
Last but not least, my parents had been working extremely hard on a garden party that I was going to have after the ceremony! My dad is a gardener, and so he had planned to get the garden ready for a party. He and my mom had planned everything, cooked everything, and bought everything to create the best garden I could have asked for! Tons of family, and friends, and teachers came by to say congratulations. I was so busy talking to everybody, I didn't have time to eat. I got tons of presents, beautiful cards, and MONEY! I have so many people that have been so good to me. I am truly thankful to each and everyone of them! I couldn't of asked for a better graduation. It was perfect.
Thank you so much to my grandparents,my cousin Stephanie who came out from Calgary, and my Uncle Jeff who came out from Tennessee to spend graduation with me. I love you and it meant the world to me to have you there. Thank you to my school system for being so accommodating towards students with diverseabilities. I am well aware that fifty years my education situation would have been very different. Even today, some students with diverseabiilities don't get treated very well, but I am certainly not one of them and for that I thank my school system from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to everybody who helped send me on all my amazing adventures! I will never forget those. Thank you to the town of Invermere for encouraging me every step of the way! Each time I go downtown, I get hugs from everybody. I have loved the relationships I have developed of the years. I love Invermere. Thank you to all my aides and helpers at school for continuing to push me to do my very best! I have made amazing relationships over the years with them! You guys are awesome! Last but certainly not least, thank you to my incredible family who have given me everything. You continue to support me every day, and I know you will always be there for me! I Iove you!
I do plan on attending David Thompson Seconday school an extra year before moving on, before moving on to university. I look forward to coming back! For all the graduates who are leaving Inveremere, I am proud to say that I have attended class with such wonderful student! I hope for the very best for you all! Remeber to always follow your dreams, be thankful to those who have helped you get to where you are, and NEVER GIVE UP! Congratulations grad class of 2013! Let your adventure begin!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
A Cool Culinary Experience
Hello everybody! I told you I'd be back. Today, I wanted to tell you about my latest Cook Training experience. Last week, my class and I got to go to Banff for a night and shadow the chefs in the main kitchen of the Banff Springs hotel. I jumped at the chance to go. I thought it would be an awesome experience that I just couldn't pass up My Mom accompanied me, and went as my helper. She was excited to go to. Also, a couple of my friends from school, Sierra King and Aaliyah Bone came . It was a great experience that I could share with some friends from school.
Before they went to Banff Springs, my Cook Training class got to go to the SAIT University in Calgary to learn about the Culinary program there. We didn''t go to that part of the trip. My Mom had to drive, and she didn't to go that far in the van, so we just drove straight to Ban ff Springs on Monday morning, which was fine with us. It was a beautiful drive up to the prestige castle in the Rockies.
When we got to Banff Springs Hotel, Aaliyah and her mom were pretty amazed at the place Aaliyah wanted to go exploring right away. We walked around a bit and waited for the rest of our class to get there. When, hey did, we met up with a college at the hotel,Margaret. She showed us around. The Banff Springs Hotel is a very old hotel, built in the late 1800's As we walked around, we got told some haunted stories. Some of them were pretty creepy, like stories of husbands pushing brides out windows and stuff like that. ugh! Aaliyah kept wanting to find the evidence.
Anyway, on another note, we finished our tour, and the rest of that night, we had off. We went out for dinner at earls and shopped around a bit. We finished the night off in the pool, and then, after a busy day, we went to sleep in big, comfy beds, and slept like princesses.
The next day we got to work. We put on our Chef jackets from school, and went into this beautiful, massive kitchen. It's was goergous in there. The equipment is twice the size of what we have in our kitchen. at school. I brought my walker to help me walk in the kitchen, because it would have been to craped with my wheelchair. It was a cool experience to see what it would be like to work there if you had a diverseabiluty. Aaliyah and I stayed and worked in thebakary departent for a while, pitting cookies on trays. We even got to try a pastry. After a while, Margaret met up with us again and showed us around some more. We got a secret tour. Margaret even found special name tags and gave them to us. We got to see the cafeteria where all the staff get there lunch. After our second little tour, we took a picture of all of us in our uniforms, said goodbye to the Bannff Springs, and drove back through through the Rockies. It was a short trip, but a great trip. I couldn't believe we got to do that with school. I felt so lucky. Anothe aazing adventure copleted I wonder what then next one will be?....
Before they went to Banff Springs, my Cook Training class got to go to the SAIT University in Calgary to learn about the Culinary program there. We didn''t go to that part of the trip. My Mom had to drive, and she didn't to go that far in the van, so we just drove straight to Ban ff Springs on Monday morning, which was fine with us. It was a beautiful drive up to the prestige castle in the Rockies.
When we got to Banff Springs Hotel, Aaliyah and her mom were pretty amazed at the place Aaliyah wanted to go exploring right away. We walked around a bit and waited for the rest of our class to get there. When, hey did, we met up with a college at the hotel,Margaret. She showed us around. The Banff Springs Hotel is a very old hotel, built in the late 1800's As we walked around, we got told some haunted stories. Some of them were pretty creepy, like stories of husbands pushing brides out windows and stuff like that. ugh! Aaliyah kept wanting to find the evidence.
Anyway, on another note, we finished our tour, and the rest of that night, we had off. We went out for dinner at earls and shopped around a bit. We finished the night off in the pool, and then, after a busy day, we went to sleep in big, comfy beds, and slept like princesses.
The next day we got to work. We put on our Chef jackets from school, and went into this beautiful, massive kitchen. It's was goergous in there. The equipment is twice the size of what we have in our kitchen. at school. I brought my walker to help me walk in the kitchen, because it would have been to craped with my wheelchair. It was a cool experience to see what it would be like to work there if you had a diverseabiluty. Aaliyah and I stayed and worked in thebakary departent for a while, pitting cookies on trays. We even got to try a pastry. After a while, Margaret met up with us again and showed us around some more. We got a secret tour. Margaret even found special name tags and gave them to us. We got to see the cafeteria where all the staff get there lunch. After our second little tour, we took a picture of all of us in our uniforms, said goodbye to the Bannff Springs, and drove back through through the Rockies. It was a short trip, but a great trip. I couldn't believe we got to do that with school. I felt so lucky. Anothe aazing adventure copleted I wonder what then next one will be?....
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