2015 Anthology of Award Winning Essays

141 Pages·2015·1.45 MB·English

Award Winning Essays 2015 / Les essais gagnants 2015
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A Message from the President
& CEO and Program Manager
“Everyone and everything that shows
up in our life is a reflection of something
that is happening inside of us.”
Akela Peoples, M. Ed. Marni Angus
President & CEO National Program Manager
– Alan Cohen
The Learning Partnership The Learning Partnership
There are rare moments in life that completely change how we look and feel about the
world around us – moments that can be heart-wrenching or heart-warming, monumental or
unassuming.
The pages of this anthology are filled with stories of young people that describe a significant
event – a turning point in time – that changed the trajectory of their lives. The stories are
insightful, thought-provoking and inspirational.
The Learning Partnership is proud of the 111,000 students in Grades 6 through 12 who have
shared their stories through our Turning Points program, which began 16 years ago. This year,
15,000 publicly funded school students from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador submitted an essay in English or in French.
On behalf of The Learning Partnership, we thank all students who participated in this year’s
program. It takes courage to share such personal accounts and we are impressed by the incredible
fearlessness you have demonstrated.
We also give special thanks to the many judges, teachers and program partners whose time,
dedication and contributions continue to make Turning Points possible.
To our hard-working staff members – it is your passion and efforts that make Turning Points
such an impactful and successful program across the country. We thank you and we feel privileged
to work with you.
Reading these stories gives us all at The Learning Partnership great confidence in the future of
our country.
Akela Peoples, M. Ed. Marni Angus
President & CEO National Program Manager, Turning Points
The Learning Partnership The Learning Partnership
Turning Points – 2015 Award Winning Essays | 1
Table of Contents
Calgary .......................................................4 Newfoundland and Labrador .................44
Grade 6 ......................................................................5 Grade 7 ....................................................................45
No More Hide and Seek .......................................5 I Am Different ...................................................45
A Little Seedling Is All It Took ...............................6 Trying Something New ......................................46
Journey through the Brain ...................................7 You’re Never Alone ...........................................47
Grade 7/8 – English ....................................................8 Nova Scotia ..............................................48
Fixing What’s Been Broken ...................................8
The Truth Unfolding ............................................9 Grade 6 ....................................................................49
The Day My Best Friend Came into My Life ........49
Cherish Every Moment ......................................10
Family Flip .........................................................50
Grade 7 – French ......................................................12 My First Time on Ice ..........................................51
Non à la violence ...............................................12
Mon petit frère .................................................13 Grade 7/8 .................................................................52
Monsters ...........................................................52
Une deuxième chance .......................................14
The Worst Thing Kids Will Hear .........................53
Grade 9/10 – English ................................................16 The Tragic Trip ...................................................54
The Flame .........................................................16
The Eyes of Compassion ....................................17 Grade 9/10 ...............................................................56
Cobwebs ...........................................................56
The Gum on the Bottom of my Shoe,
Stuck Forever .....................................................19 Caterpillar to Butterfly Reborn ...........................57
Don’t Let Them Define You ...............................58
Grade 11/12 – English ...............................................21
Leaving the Rest Behind ....................................21 Grade 11/12 .............................................................60
She Restored Hope ............................................23 And There I was ................................................60
Just For Today ....................................................62
New Brunswick .......................................25 The Girl with the Raven Hair ..............................63
Grade 7/8 – English ..................................................26 Niagara Peninsula ...................................66
Stronger ............................................................26
Shaken Faith .....................................................27 Grade 11/12 .............................................................67
Confidence .......................................................28 Keep Climbing ..................................................67
World War Me ..................................................68
Grade 7/8 – French ...................................................30 Rusted From the Rain ........................................70
Rose ..................................................................30
La dame en pyjama rose ....................................31 North Bay .................................................72
Le temps n’est pas infini ....................................32
Grade 9/10 ...............................................................73
My Understanding of Beauty .............................73
Grade 9/10 ...............................................................34
Simple Joys of an Old, Blue Tractor ....................34 Unknown Opportunities ....................................74
Metamorphosis .................................................35 Seeing Shadow .................................................75
Moving Forward ................................................37
Grade 11/12 .............................................................77
Successful Failures ............................................77
Grade 11/12 .............................................................39
Perfectly Imperfect ............................................39 The “C” Word ...................................................78
Wake Up Call ....................................................41 The Point of Change .........................................80
My Full Potential ................................................42
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Greater Toronto Area ..............................82 Saskatchewan .......................................120
Grade 6 ....................................................................83 Grade 6 ..................................................................121
The Thrill of Horror ............................................83 A Duck Named Charlie ....................................121
Still the Same Me ..............................................84 Losing in Playoff Final ......................................122
My Yearnings and Learnings ..............................85 School Memories .............................................123
Grade 7/8 .................................................................86 Grade 7/8 ...............................................................124
Struck With a Bolt of Courage ...........................86 It’s Not About Winning ....................................124
My Backpack Full of Bricks .................................87 The Call that Changed My Life ........................125
Prisoner in My Own Body ..................................88 You Never Know What You Have .....................126
Grade 9/10 – English ................................................89 2015 Turning Points Adjudicators ........127
What the World Needs ......................................89
Hello Jerry .........................................................90 Participating Schools ............................133
Paddling On ......................................................92
In Appreciation ......................................136
Grade 9/10 – French .................................................94
La rose de ma vie ...............................................94
Grade 11/12 – English ...............................................96
Facing My Reflection .........................................96
Mirror, Mirror ....................................................97
That’s All Yolks ..................................................99
Grade 11/12 – French .............................................101
Le perfectionnisme est un défaut .....................101
Échapper son ombre ........................................103
Une motivation inconnue ................................104
Sudbury .................................................107
Grade 7/8 ...............................................................108
Guardian Angels .............................................108
If It Never Happened .......................................109
Pay It Forward .................................................110
Grade 9/10 .............................................................111
Undying Love ..................................................111
Ivan Moore ......................................................112
Forever and Always .........................................113
Grade 11/12 ...........................................................115
A New Lens .....................................................115
Grieving and Growing .....................................117
Hitting Rock Bottom ........................................118
Turning Points – 2015 Award Winning Essays | 3
Calgary
Ce qui persuade, c’est le caractère de celui
qui parle, non son langage.
Ménandre, Greek Dramatist
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Alberta
Grade 6
Aatifah Ahmadi
First Place – Grade 6
Calgary Board of Education
No More Hide and Seek
N
othing will ever be the same. I cannot get back what I have lost. Now those memories have
vanished forever. We used to play everything! I miss those times… especially playing hide and
seek. Maybe she had the same memories. I always used to feel happiness spreading through my
body. Her beautiful smile even made me more joyful. All sisters fight, and we did too. Back then I was
four, one of my sisters was six, and my older sister was seven. Now it has all disappeared, the joy, the
fun, and our relationship. I always wish it would come back.
It happened on Valentine’s Day, 2007. How ironic, the day to celebrate love. My father took her
to the hospital because she was dizzy. The doctors said she was all right but she was diagnosed with
cancer...brain cancer. Every day her small life changed, bit by bit. Every day she kept on getting weaker
and weaker. My parents wouldn't stop praying. Back then, my siblings and I didn't understand what
was happening; we were at a young age. We just thought that she wasn't feeling well and everything
would be all right. Little did I know.
On October 18, 2007, my mom brought her back home because my sister didn't want to pass
away in the hospital. She wanted to pass away at home. One tear rolled down my mom’s cheek. My
sister spent her last days with my parents. On October 25, my father dropped my siblings and I at my
grandparents’ house. We watched television and played.
Back at my house, my sister had passed away. My parents burst into tears. Even my dad! He never
cries, but this time he did. Nobody has seen him cry since. I feel sad now when I think about it. I didn't
understand what was happening eight years ago, but now I do.
There isn't a day that passes where I don’t miss her. This is my reality; nothing will be the same. We
cannot get back what we have lost.
Aatifah is a grade 6 student who loves to play her saxophone, read, play sports and be active. She speaks English
and Pashto and is currently learning to speak French and Dari. One day Aatifah would like to travel the world and
either be an author, engineer or teacher.
Turning Points – 2015 Award Winning Essays | 5
Alberta
Ester Tane
Second Place – Grade 6
Calgary Board of Education
A Little Seedling Is All It Took
T
he girl who is my best friend for life is the girl who made me a better person. Her name is Angie
and she is my little sister. She is like a seedling that is growing every morning. April 13, 2008 was
the day that changed me. There was a bright blue sky and a warm breeze was moving through
the air of Albania. There I was, taking a step at a time, every step I took, I got closer to screaming cries.
I felt as if my bones were going to collapse.
There I was, staring at my new baby sister.
I always thought the attention was on me, but that day I learned that I was not the only one who
was going to get the attention. I was jealous but excited. I mean, how else could I have felt? I had a
baby sister!
Now, I wake up every morning to a cute hug. A hug might not sound like much, but to me it feels
like I have x-ray vision and I can see how much that person cares. I have learned to share, to forgive,
and to be responsible. One little seedling is all it took. I was tiny and did not know how to feel when
she was born. I know that I love her more than anything now, but before, I felt jealous because I was
the only child, not knowing how to take care of someone smaller, and not really knowing how to
share.
We are and always will be there for each other. It really does not matter to me how much smaller
she is than me; our relationship is stronger than anything. I know she cares about us, not because we
are her family and she has to love us, but because if one of us is hurt, it is like a bolt of sadness rushing
into her heart and a tear rolls out of her eye as if it were a raindrop before a rain storm. She cares, she
shares, and she forgives. I taught her just like she taught me.
Ester is a grade 6 student who was born in Albania and moved with her family to Montreal and then to Calgary.
Ester speaks Albanian and English, plays basketball, swims and is in the band program.
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Alberta
Salma Dahmani
Third Place – Grade 6
Calgary Board of Education
Journey through the Brain
“O
uch, my head!” is all my sister would say. This was right after my mom had passed away.
My dad was worried about her headaches, so he took her to the doctor. I was very worried
also. I was sitting on the couch, and with every sound I heard, I would look out the window
to see if they were back yet. An hour later, they came back. My sister was tired, so she went to bed. My
other sister and I were anxiously waiting to hear the news about her. My dad was sad but soon blurted
out that she had to get a CT scan. After the news, nobody talked and we all just went to bed.
While I was in my bed, I felt very worried. My mom had suffered through cancer and so had my
dad. I did not know what would happen to my sister. My family has been through so much but with
patience we will come through. Why does cancer exist? Where does it come from? All these questions
kept running through my head until I fell asleep.
I woke up quite late and my dad and sister were already at the hospital. As I was eating my
breakfast, I was thinking about my sister and about what would happen. My dad came home and took
us to the hospital to see my sister. That was the moment that we found out she had a brain tumor. I
was absolutely devastated. I could feel the tears running down my cheek - first my dad, then my mom,
then my sister.
Now, this brings us to today. My sister has had four surgeries. The most recent one seems to be
working. She takes a lot of medications but she still has headaches here and there. She is also doing
chemotherapy. There is still hope. Even though I lost my mom, my dad stayed strong and did not give
up. He survived cancer and so will my sister. Going through these hard times has made me a stronger
and more positive person.
Salma is a grade 6 student who she wants to be either a police officer or a doctor. Salma sees herself as a leader
and a helper especially when others are facing hardships.
Turning Points – 2015 Award Winning Essays | 7
Alberta
Grade 7/8 – English
Madison Boisclair
First Place – Grade 8
Calgary Catholic School District
Fixing What’s Been Broken
I
remember that dull, icy pain that crystallized in my chest when she said those words. How it ached;
how it burned. Or her eyes; the way they made my skin crawl as she glared down at me. It had
started as a perfectly normal day, how had it taken such a turn?
I sat in my room, my eyes glued to the TV. Wintry light peeked through the blinds, giving the
bedroom an eerie glow. My t-shirt exposed my arms, putting fresh, deliberate wounds on display. I
knew I had a problem, but I never had the motivation to stop. I was too low in despair, addicted to
sadness.
I didn’t think she’d open the door, but she did. My mother walked in, her face frozen in horror as
she saw the new scars. I jumped up and tried to dart past her, but her hand clamped around my wrist
like a lion’s jaws around its prey.
“Madison,” she growled sharply, examining my damaged skin.
“I’m sorry,” I bleated.
“I thought you were trying to stop doing this!” she shouted at me. Her voice roughened and
trembled, like rusty metal bars were scraping together in the back of her throat.
“I’m trying!” I lied. Really, I’d been doing the opposite; I’d been giving up again.
“I can’t believe you! You said you’d try to get better,” she snapped, dropping my arm. I could
feel bruises forming where her fingers pressed against my flesh. “You broke my heart, Madison,” she
uttered lifelessly.
Though her voice was dull, I knew she meant it. There was pain in the subtle way she moved, the
way her lips quivered, and the look in her dark, watery eyes. It was heartbreak. Guilt coiled in the pit of
my stomach like a whip. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat. I broke my mother’s heart. I was a
monster.
We just stood there. She glowered at me and I stared at the carpet. She was the first to cry. I slunk
to the floor in rhythm with the tears sliding down her cheeks. Her face was red, her forehead wrinkled,
the veins in her neck bulging grotesquely. Every little sound she made sounded so strained, it made me
feel sick. Tears dropped from my eyes as she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
“Mom,” I whimpered.
That was when a switch flipped. The motivation I needed was suddenly there! I wanted to get
better! I’d never cared enough before, even with the frequent therapy; I just didn’t care. But seeing the
impact I’d had on my mother changed things. I’d do whatever it took to get better.
8 | Turning Points – 2015 Award Winning Essays