When I get stuck on a problem, I have strategies for what to do next. They include moving on to the next problem, looking at the answers or restarting the question. If I don’t know what I am doing at all, I move onto the next question and come back to it at the end. This helps me because I continue the flow of answering questions and I stay focused. Then I can use my excess time to figure out the question that I am stuck on. Sometimes I look at the answers to see the solution and try to figure it out based on the new information. I kind of work backwards and make sure the steps I do are right to get to the correct solution. If I am in the middle of the question and the numbers just aren’t working out and I know that its not going to lead to the solution, I restart the question. This helps restart my brain and ease confusion.
I can prevent some school-related stress by finishing as much homework and assignments in class. Most of my stress is caused by homework and trying to complete it on time. I stay up late trying to finish it because I have extracurricular activities that I need to do after school that takes up a lot of time. So finishing homework in class will help me reduce my amount of homework and lower my stress levels.
When I am feeling anxious about a test, I can calm myself by telling myself that its not going to be hard and to get it over with. Gaslighting by telling myself it isn’t hard helps me a lot because I know how do to the work, but its just my brain telling me I cant do it. But if I tell my brain that its not going to be hard and that I can do it, then it gets rid of those negative thoughts. The tests are only an hour long so telling myself to get it over with helps because I’ve already finished three other blocks of classes and the time will go by quick.
When I need to boost my mood or re-focus, I listen to music. If I am tired and need some energy, I listen to up beat music to get my mood up. If I need to lock in and finish quickly, I listen to rap because its fast pasted and lowkey. Music really helps me in determining my mood and focusing on work that I need to do. It blocks out any other noise in the classroom and puts me in a different zone. Wearing my earbuds is also a sign to other people that I am locked in and to not disturb me while I am working.
For my career project, I chose pharmacist, diagnostic medical sonographer and audiologist. I chose these careers because I am interested in medical science but don’t want to work in a hospital setting. Since grade 7, I wanted to become a pharmacist because I always knew that I wanted to make and test products as a career. Medicine and drugs were the most fascinating to me because of the affects it has on the human body. I chose the other two careers based on my highest matched jobs from my Blueprint. I haven’t really though about backup jobs so that’s why I chose from My Blueprint instead of my actual opinions.
The main takeaway of my research is that the steps it takes to get into the career is a long process and very challenging. For my careers, I need to go to university and complete the schooling for 4-6 years. For all my chosen programs, I need to take undergraduate classes before going into the actual program of choice. There is a lot of pre-requisites courses and requirements I need to take, and I was confusing for me to research about because there was a lot of information. I now know that I need to plan my post-secondary education before I apply and make sure I have the required courses to go into the program.
The school that I am most interested in right now and has been for a while is UBC. I want to go to this school because it is close to home and it is a highly rated school. The programs that I am interested in are the bachelor of pharmaceutical science and entry to practice PharmD degree. I want to pursue pharmacy in the future and do it as a career and these undergraduate courses will be the first steps to get me there. These programs lead to a master’s degree in pharmacy and even a doctor’s degree if I want to continue studying for a longer period.
I think I am ready to plan my career journey based on my prior knowledge and what I have learned in this project. I need to plan my grade 11 and 12 courses carefully because I need to take certain high school classes to get into different programs. I also need to be sure that I want to do pharmacology in the future because I will be spending a lot of time studying and getting ready for the job. I can prepare myself by finding job shadowing opportunities to see what this career is like before I make my decision to study it. I can also talk to other people who are studying or doing this career right now. However, I will never know what it is actually like until I do the job, so it can be tricky choosing a career that is perfect for me.
Core Competency Reflection
Examples of where I communicate clearly and purposefully can be seen in the way I organize my information and present my slides. My text boxes were neatly organized and had big font so people could see the information. I wasn’t reading off my slides, and I spoke what came to my mind which gave others more information about how I felt about the job, and it felt natural speaking about it. I also put in photos about my jobs so people can easily know what the career is about.
I seek, develop and weigh options as demonstrated by choosing certain post secondary programs over others. I researched many post secondary programs and weighed out the pros and cons of each of them and chose the option that I liked the most. I compared what each program has to offer and chose which program stuck out to be based on the content of the classes and the reputation of the school. All my post secondary programs were in BC because I want to stay close to home and that was a pro for me.
An example of something I have spent a lot of time learning about is the tasks of the careers I chose and their pros and cons. I watched a lot of videos and articles and summarized the information based on the common points from all of my sources. I did this because people have different opinions about pros and cons and I wanted to get a common answer from most people who do this career. For the job summary, I used My Blueprint, Work BC and other websites to write my research because some sources left out information that others had. I wanted to make sure that I had all the important information in my presentation.
I really like Harajuku fashion, but I would never wear it myself because its too bold and flashy for me. I like looking at the different styles of Harajuku fashion because there are so many. Harajuku fashion is not one specific look, there are many styles that have sub-styles to them as well. Some styles are Decora, Gyaru, Lolita and more. I love how unique and creative their outfits are and how each person has a different way of dressing even if they are part of the same style. Personally, I haven’t seen any people wear Harajuku style in Canada, but there are probably people who do. Japanese culture has become popular over the past few years and Harajuku fashion has become known to most of the world. I see people on TikTok wearing Harajuku fashion, especially Gyaru that live in America, Canada or Britain. Their style isn’t as extreme as people in Harajuku, but you still can tell that they take inspiration from them.
The style of Harajuku fashion that I like the best is Decora (picture above) or Gyaru. I love the bold, flashy and eye-catching qualities both styles have. Decora contains neon colours, fun accessories, layered clothing items and flashy hair and makeup. People layer many skirts, dresses and shirts for more colours and a unique silhouette. They wear dozens of bright hair clips, bows, bracelets, necklaces and toys all over their body. Their hair is usually coloured brightly and in ponytails, pigtails, buns or more. The makeup that they wear is also very bright using eyeshadow, blush and stickers that they put on their faces. Gyaru fashion is like Decora from its flashiness. Gyaru has many sub-styles that are different from each other, but my favourite one is Tsuyome or Kogal. Tsuyome Gyaru has a more mature and cooler look while Kogal is schoolgirls. Most Gyaru’s wear big eyelashes, extreme makeup, big, curled hair, long decorated nails, bleached hair, leg warmers and short skirts. Tsuyome Gyaru’s wear lots of animal print like cheetah and leopard (in picture below). Kogal’s wear their school uniform but with some modifications to fit the Gyaru style. I like watching Egg Magazine’s TikTok’s because I like seeing different types of Gyaru looks. The Egg Magazine is a magazine company for Gyaru fashion. Inside the magazine there are makeup and hair tutorials, style guides and inspiration. The video below is what inside of the Egg Magazine would look like. There are many more styles of Gyaru out there and its very interesting comparing each style to one another.
I think that Harajuku is very popular among young Japanese people because they want to break out of the strict conformity of Japanese culture. Older generations value similarity, organization and repitition. This can be seen by the work culture and overall society of Japan. Younger generations don’t like the pressure and stress put on them and want to break free. It’s a way for them to rebel against the older generations without causing any trouble. I don’t think Canadian youth has this sort of similarity compared to Japan’s youth. In Canada there are a mix of different cultures and societal ideas. There isn’t a need for youth to rebel and wear different clothing based on the opinions of others. Even older generations are open to new fashion and dress the popular trends.
Right now, I am ok with my style because it is very comfortable. Everyday I basically just wear a hoodie and sweatpants, or if its warmer out an athletic t-shirt and shorts. Almost all my clothing is athletic wear because I do hockey, go to the gym or have other activities everyday. After school, I don’t feel like changing because sometimes I’m in a rush and that’s why I wear athletic clothes everyday. Also, this semester, I have PE, so I don’t feel like wearing nicer clothes and changing when class starts.
Fashion is not very important to me because I don’t obsess over small, new trends and follow every single one of them. But I do follow the popular trends like baggier clothing and wearing popular brands like Lululemon and Aritzia. Almost everyone wears these clothing styles right now, and I want to fit in. It’s also hard for me to get into fashion and wear certain outfits because of my limited wardrobe. Most of my clothes are from hockey teams and tournaments which I get every year. I have so many of these clothes that I don’t have to go shopping for new things. Sometimes I have cram in my clothes to fit in my drawers. However, I do like wearing clothes from my current team because I am proud of where I play, and I love hockey so much that I want to be connected to it everyday.
If I had an unlimited wardrobe my fashion sense would change a bit. At the stat I would wear nicer clothes like more jeans, sweaters, cute tops and more. But I think as time goes on, I would revert to my old style. I won’t feel the excitement of wearing different clothing anymore and I also might feel uncomfortable wearing it. Nicer clothing also doesn’t fit with my lifestyle because I am very active and wearing comfortable, athletic clothing is very important for my day-to-day life. I also think I would have a hard time picking out an outfit because I have so many options to choose from. I would need to try on what looks good with other pieces of clothing and that will add on time. Basically, in the first new months I would wear new, and more stylish clothing but after a while I would get lazy and wear hoodies and sweatpants again.
My future fashion trend prediction is that more older trends will come back, specifically from the 90’s and 2000’s. People are already bringing back old trends like low rise pants and in general Y2K outfits. According to Glamour some of the predicted fashion trends for spring 2025 are boho, vintage florals, polka dots and more. Bohemian style became popular in the 70’s, vintage florals are old, and polka dots were popular in the 80’s. If Glamour’s predictions are correct, then we will see the return of old trends, even older than the ones we see get re-popularized now. But I still think that 90’s and Y2K fashion will get super popular in the future and 70’s-80’s fashion will get a little popular.
I think that Japan is very creative with their sandwiches because it was a new concept to them. Bread only came to Japan in 1543, while rice was more popular and their main source of carbs. They may have not known what to do with the bread and started experimenting with putting different food items in it. Japan is also a very creative country in general, and some Japanese people come up with bizarre ideas. There also isn’t a right or wrong way to make sandwiches so they had the freedom to put whatever they liked in it. Japan also has different bread styles than us and so they will take a different approach to sandwiches. Our bread is more dense, thick and savoury. Japan’s bread is more light, soft and sweet. The most popular bread that they have is shokupan which is a soft, white milk bread. This bread became popular after WW2 when the government promoted bread as an alternative for rice because there was a shortage. Canadian sandwiches are very big, dense and is almost always savoury. It almost always contains some sort of meat, vegetables (lettuce, tomato…), sauce and bread. Japanese sandwiches can be the same but are smaller, lighter, simpler and sometimes sweet.
The most creative meal that I’ve had that I could think of right now is Japanese style spaghetti. It is made with ketchup instead of tomato sauce and has wieners, peppers, onions and mushrooms. Like sandos, this dish is very Japanese-ified and they put their own spin on another culture’s dish. I think that they used ketchup because it is more popular and has a sweeter flavour (which is more of their taste). My mom makes it for me a lot because it’s a quick, easy and delicious meal. She got the recipe from my grandma who was born in Japan. Personally, I don’t think it would taste good in sando form. I wouldn’t like the texture of noodles and bread together because they are very different but like each other. Noodles are wetter and mushier while bread is dry and soft. The taste of the bread is also sweet and wouldn’t go with the tanginess of the ketchup sauce. Although I think that noodles and bread should go together, they still exist. Yakisoba pan is popular in Japan and contains yakisoba noodles in a hot dog bun. However, I think that it works because yakisoba has more of a salty, savoury flavour and a hot dog bun is used which is less sweet and light than shokupan. Still, I don’t think it would be as good as other sandos.
Right now, I would be most excited to try a classic fruit sando. It is made with un-crusted shokupan (Japanese white bread), whipped cream and fruits like strawberries, kiwis, oranges, grapes and more. Even though it is very simple, I want to try it because I always see videos with people eating these sandos, like in the video below. They hype it up and I am very curious to see what is so special about it because it seems very plain. I want to try the ones specifically from the convenience stores like 7-11 because I feel like it tastes the best. Sometimes cheap food tastes better because you got it at a good price. I also want to try katsu sando for something savoury. It’s made with un-crusted shokupan, katsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet), cabbage and tonkatsu sauce. It is another classic sando and is again very simple. This sando is more like Canadian sandwiches with meat, vegetables and sauces, so it will be more familiar to me. I haven’t made any of these sandos yet because I don’t eat and make whipped cream and katsu often. My family also doesn’t buy shokupan or bread that is like it. Sandos can’t really be made without shokupan because that’s what makes it unique. When I went to Japan in grade 2, I didn’t eat any sandos so I’m excited to try them when I go in the future.
If Anpanman gave me his head to eat, I definitely will. First of all, I would probably be injured for him to be giving me part his head because it has healing abilities. I would want his help because he is very friendly, and you can’t say no to his face. Secondly, his bread head contains red bean paste (anko) inside and it is one of my favourite fillings. When I go to Asian style bakeries I always get something with red bean inside. I love the lumpy texture and sweet flavour it has. Finally, I love to eat in general, and I would be curious to what his head tastes like. I also might be hungry if I am fighting off Baikinman with Anpanman. I would also want to try other characters like shokupanman, melonpanna and creampanda. I already love melonpan and I really want to try shokupan and creampan because the characters make them look so tasty.
Hammett, Emma. ‘Cardiac Arrests – How to Perform CPR and Using an AED’. First Aid for Life, 27 Aug. 2024, https://firstaidforlife.org.uk/how-to-perform-cpr-and-use-an-aed/.
CPR Reflection
In this CPR unit I have learned how to tell the difference between a heart attack, an angina, a stroke and a cardiac arrest. Heart attacks happen when one of the heart’s artery gets clogged by plaque. That part of the heart gets no blood circulation and no oxygen. If the blockage gets cleared and chest pain disappears then its an angina, but if its still clogged the heart starts to die and is a heart attack. Cardiac arrests happen when the heart stops beating and pumping blood. The heart muscles will fibrillate because it is getting no oxygen. Strokes happen when there is no blood circulation to the brain because of burst or blocked blood vessels.
One of the main takeaways from this unit was learning the correct steps to do CPR and use an AED. I learned that you need to press 5cm or 2 inches into the chest at a rate of 100-120 compressions/minute to effectively preform CPR. I also learned that the AED gives a shock to the heart, restarting it to its normal rhythm.
This unit connected to the nutrition unit that we have learned previously by knowing the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Some big causes of heart diseases and strokes are smoking, obesity, high blood cholesterol and more. These risks can be avoided by having a healthy diet and lifestyle such as eating lots of fruits, vegetables, choosing whole grain products and to stop smoking. These concepts have already been taught in our nutrition unit and it ties in nicely with the CPR unit.
Core Competency Reflection
One area of CPR in which I’d like to spend more time learning is the causes of heart problems. I want to know how the plaque clogs the arteries and what it is made out of. Also how smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and other factors increase the risk. I like learning about the scientific aspect of how the body works and how these problems can happen.
Examples of where I communicated clearly and purposefully can be seen in my physical CPR test. I asked my partner what happened and told her to call 911 with the description of the dummy. When the AED was turned on, I made sure we were both clear before the shock was delivered to ensure our safety. I also listened carefully to the instructions from the AED and followed them perfectly.
One of the ways I can see using this learning to help others is when someone is actually having heart problems. If they are having a heart attack or angina I can tell them to take aspirin because it helps with those problems. If they are having cardiac arrest I know how to preform CPR and use an AED to save their life. I can also teach and direct others on how to preform CPR in case of an emergency in the future.
Valentine’s day in Canada has some similarities and differences from Japan. Both cultures give and receive chocolates to express love, appreciation or kindness towards another. The chocolates or gifts also mean different things depending on what is it and who you give it to. However, the confessing culture is different. In Japan people give chocolates to others that they like even though they may have never spoken or interacted with them before. While in Canada, people give chocolate to their significant other who they are already dating. No one really confesses on Valentine’s Day. Personally, on Valentine’s Day I do very little to celebrate the actual holiday. This year I gave chocolates to my close friends, but I usually don’t give anything. It is also one of my best friend’s birthday so I focus more on her celebration. I feel like Valentine’s Day is a bit cringe and sappy and I don’t think it is that important.
Regardless of how I feel now, Valentine’s Day in elementary school was important to me and others. I liked decorating my Valentine’s Day bag that held the treats classmates gave out. The best part was seeing my bag full of candies and eating them later. Although, I didn’t like writing my Valentine’s cards and attaching the candy to it. It took up a lot of time because I had to write everyone’s, including mine, names on it. When I was in the younger grades, I didn’t know how to spell certain names, so I had to get help from my mom, and I was slow at writing. Giving out chocolates to classmates stop at the end of elementary school in Canada. But in Japan, it carries on to high school and even to workplaces. People feel obligated to give their classmates, co-workers or other acquaintances. This type of gifting is called “Giri Choco”. Stated in the website below, some companies banned Giri Choco because they think it is useless and puts an obligated burden on people. It can also create misunderstanding on what type of gift they are receiving. The intention of the giver could be giving a giri choco but the receiver may think they are getting a honmei choco (love chocolate). I agree with this reasoning and think that Canada should not take on the excessive giving of giri chocco.
I don’t like the concept of kokuhaku in Japan because its very different from Canada and I feel like its more awkward. Kokuhaku is basically confessing your love to someone, but unlike Canadians, Japanese people confess to other that they barely know. In the west, people get to know each other before finding out their true feelings and confessing them. In Japan, many people confess to other that they have barely interacted or talked with. I find this weird and awkward because what if they start dating and come to realization that they don’t like each other anymore. Its also weird being confessed to by someone you barely know because you wonder why they like you if they don’t even know what you are like. Honmei choco is given to love interests and are usually homemade. Girls (usually) buy chocolate making supplies from the department store to make for their love interest. This chocolate is homemade to show the amount of effort and affection put into the chocolate in hopes that they would accept their confession. I also don’t like this concept if you aren’t already dating because you put so much time and effort into making chocolate just to maybe get rejected.
However, kokuhaku has some positives. It is very direct, and you know the person’s true feelings. Situationships don’t really exist because almost everyone is direct with their feeling and there is little room for misunderstandings. According to this video, confessing and dating goes quickly. They go on a few dates before someone ends up confessing. Majority of people in Japan confess before officially dating because they are scared that they are going to lose the other person if they don’t make it clear that they like them and want to date. Meanwhile, in Canada and other countries, people don’t really do confessions and just start dating. After a few dates, both parties know whether they like each other or not and will keep going out with them if they want to pursue a romantic relationship. It is based off intuition and reading each others vibe.
Valentine’s Day in Japan and Canada have many similarities and some differences. The types of chocolate given are the same like tomo choco (friend chocolate), giri choco (obligation chocolate) and honmei choco (love chocolate). But Japan takes the level of gifting to the next level, and it seems more intense. I am happy with Canada’s way of Valentine’s Day and I wouldn’t want to change it to the way Japan does it.
I have learned many new skills in English 10 like identifying poetic devices, finding meaning in poems, and understanding Shakespeare. These skilled have helped me find success with other classes. I now use a variety of words that are at or above grade level and that has shown a deeper understanding of the concepts being taught. In English 10 I have made a lot of new friends and connections with my peers. We help each other out with assignments which is beneficial to our mark. Out of the whole course, the assignment that I was most proud of was my newspaper and poem for my novel study project. I showcased many skills I have learned in the class like writing in different perspectives and creating my own poem using poetic devices and hidden meaning. The final result came out really well and I believe that it is my best assignment.
Examples of where I communicate clearly and purposefully can be seen in the monument we made. Our monument has a lot of meaning and my partner and I put a lot of thought into building it. The parts of our monument clearly convays the impacts of the battle and its easy to tell what is going on. On the graves it has the number 6,500 and a Canadian flag next to it. This number represents the number of dead and injured Canadian soldiers who have fought in the battle. I decided to put a Canadian flag so people clearly know that its Canadian soldiers and not soldiers in general. The guy on the top is leaning away and has a cloth to his mouth. You can tell that he is trying to get away from something harmful, which is what we were trying to tell.
Some things I think about before dividing tasks among group members include thier strenghts and what they are comfortable with. I let my group memebers decide what they wanted to do before I could. I was fine with any task but I wanted to make sure that they were comfortable with theirs. Their strengths and comfort carry on to their work. We wanted to have the best work possible so thats why we divided our tasks into our strengths.
I can work on representing and adressing multiple perspectives in this project by asking my group members who were doing the writing portion what they thought of the monument. My partner and I created the monument on our own and didnt show our other group members what it was going to look like. I should have shown our outline before we built it and asked for feedback. They could have had good ideas to put in the monument and we missed out on that.
I used creative thinking skills to come up with a landing pad for an egg being dropped from various heights. I knew that I wanted to make a type of trampoline for the egg to bounce off of safely. I recognized that plastic wrap is bouncy and stretchy like a trampoline. I also decided to use yarn to support the plastic wrap and to help cushion the egg’s fall. When we tested the trampoline objects bounced too high and fell out of the structure. Our group decided to add a barrier so that the egg doesn’t bounce or roll off and crack. During this project I took in all my group members ideas and put them together to make a final landing pad. I wanted to make sure everyone ideas were included and heard. The landing pad was very successful and the egg survived all of the heights that it was being dropped from.
I will participate in class more often by sharing information that I know. When the teacher wants us to answer a question, I will raise my hand and answer. I will also contribute my ideas when we have a class discussion. I usually hold back because I don’t know if my ideas and answers are the correct ones. I should step out of my comfort zone and participate more. Having a wrong answer or a bad idea isn’t the end of the world. Participating in class is also beneficial to me because I will understand what we are learning on a deeper level.
When I disagree with someone, I will be patient and talk about our ideas. I want to work on this goal because I often get impatient and annoyed with people who disagree with me or don’t get what we are doing. When people ask simple questions, I get annoyed because I think that it’s easy. I should acknowledge that people need support on different things and help them to the best of my ability. When I disagree with someone, I will try to see where they are coming from and their thinking. I will be more open-minded and use their ideas.
