My weekend was different than it usually is. On Friday after school, the only thing I did was sleep, I slept from 4 to 8, and I missed dinner so I got to help the next day at dinner. After waking up on Friday I went to have dinner in Tim Hortons with a friend since I cannot go out alone. Then I came back and had a sleepover with Regi and Fer in my room since we were waking up early on Saturday, but I slept at 3 and woke up at 7. After waking up Regi, Fer and I went to JDF to leave Regi for her ice skating practice, and afterward, Fer and I went to Denny’s to have breakfast. At Denny’s, we had pancakes and smoothies, but we didn’t like the pancakes. Just after finishing eating, we went to watch Regi at her class, and then she finished and we went back to school on our way to school, we saw Mr. MacKnight at the stoplight, then we continued walking to school. Later that same day I went to Langford with Shaun, Regi, and Fer to get Tacos from a restaurant named “La Taquisa”, which is actually a very good restaurant. We finished eating and then we went to Dollarama and got chips and boxes for our rooms. Then we came back to school and we saw Keira, Vitto, Juana, and Dany on the bus, and we walked together to school. Just as soon as we got back I went to the dining hall because I had to help the dorm parents sign in everyone at dinner. I thought I was going to get bored, but I actually had fun. The next day I went to have breakfast and then we decided we wanted to go to eat, so I got ready and at 1:30 we left school and headed to downtown. We went to eat at Cactus Club and I ordered pasta that was actually really good, I loved it. After finishing eating we went to buy hoodies, but I left my bag at the bus station and realized when I was at school already, so I lost the hoodie. We got back and we had dinner here and then we got bored, so we decided to play Uno, and 1 won one round. We finished and then I headed quickly to my room to move my mattress from my room to Regi’s room because we had a sleepover Regi, Fer, and me. Then, Monday was just a lazy day. I went to have breakfast and then I went to save on with Fer and Regi and I got Cheetos, and then we watched a movie, “The Conjuring”. The movie finished and then I went to my room and just watched a series. After doing that was already time for dinner, so I went to the dining to get dinner and then went back to my room for the study hall. Just after that when study hall was done Ivanna and I decided to move our room, so we moved the closets, the desks, and our beds.  After doing that, we just went to bed.

Over the last eight or nine years, I have been to many places within British Columbia as well as a select few locations in the province of Alberta. Of course, I enjoy it, but it also comes with another fact; I have been almost nowhere outside of Canada. In fact, up until January of this year, I hadn’t left Canada ever, and I had only been out of the province once, to the neighboring province of Alberta. With this, I have knowledge of every aspect of British Columbia, as I have visited the upper regions numerous times. For example, I have flown five times this year. Four of those times were domestic, the other two were the only time I have travelled internationally. On top of this, I have embarked on too many car trips to count; at least thirty this year. Keep in mind that all of the trips I am talking about have been longer than two hours, and trips that are longer than two days. I know the ins and outs of Vancouver Island, along with many spots that are kept quiet to keep tourists away. As for the rest of British Columbia, my time has been spent in the Nechako region in Smithers, and I have learned all about the local spots from my family that are also kept quiet. Eastern British Columbia is the most scenic by far, with a large portion of the Rocky Mountains running through a few smaller towns, along with a small portion of Alberta. Alberta also has some amazing spots that are off of the tourist trail. Back in May, I made a special trip to Calgary to visit my family, and they also showed me some stunning locations that aren’t in the main core hub of the Rockies. Kananaskis Country is a separate part of the Rockies that is 50km south of Banff. It is truly amazing, and it doesn’t have the crowds that gather more north in Banff. On the journey to Kananaskis on Highway 7, you will pass a rather interesting landmark. A rock that geologically formed in a farm a few kilometers off of Okotoks. This rock led to Okotoks urban planners running out of names for buildings somehow. They have the Big Rock High School, as well as the Big Rock bowling alley. I think about eight buildings in Okotoks start with ‘big rock’. As you continue the trek to Kananaskis, more specifically Sheep River, which is the exact spot, you pass through a town called Black Diamond. It has a retro diner straight from the 70s, and the ice cream was fantastic.

I have extensive knowledge about locations in Northern British Columbia, such as Crater Lake, 5km south of the Hudson Bay Mountain Peak. It is pure mountain water in the lake off the glacier, and it is freezing cold. I also filled a water bottle and drank from the lake (don’t worry, I was fine). A local then proceeded to tell me he skinny dipped in the lake on the returning hike after I had drank the water, an interesting turn of events. Very ‘pure’ water that I drank. Anyhow, it was still a fun experience. Another lake that I enjoy trekking to is called Guess Lake, or Paradise Lake to residents (I will refer to it as paradise, as it sounds better). The road to Paradise is well, not exactly paradise. It is an extremely bumpy, narrow trail with sharp rocks, extensive wildlife, and can be difficult to tackle in harsh weather conditions. It is, to be exact, seven kilometers out into the Babine Mountain Range, with another twelve on a more well traveled trail, before you reach the main logging road to Smithers. The lake is a journey, but totally worth it to any willing to make the trip. Hunting is also good, and grouse are prominent through the trail. It is a true wonder, and Northern British Columbia is a very beautiful place.

     Sheridan Lake Summer Trip

Something exciting I did this summer was going to Sheridan Lake with my family and cousins from my dad’s side of the family. At Sheridan Lake, my cousins and I went to claim our bedrooms, boys upstairs, girl’s downstairs. After we all claimed our beds, we went outside to the dock and went swimming for a couple of minutes, it was very cold. Later my dad discovered that there were leeches in the water so none of us went swimming anymore except my uncle, he went floating out and came back with 5 leeches on him and had to pull them off.

My cousin Nyla and I went on one of the 3 paddle boards to go look for frogs in the little corners with mud, bushes, and lily pads. The water we looked for the frogs in was very shallow. We used a net and a bucket with water to catch the frogs so we would not get bugs and leeches on our hands. Every time we would go back to the dock, we would have caught around 2 frogs at least, big and small. In the little spot we would go to, there were a lot of frogs but usually they were all camouflage, but you could see their eyes. When we would come back there would always be gross bugs and leeches on our paddle board and paddle.

During the time we went to Sheridan we usually would spend most of our time out on the lake paddling, because we did not want to swim with leeches. Sometimes we would come inside and watch Disney movies with my youngest cousin Abigail, and we would sing frozen songs while all the adults were outside. It was an incredibly fun trip. 

This summer I went to Mojácar, a town in the south of Spain. It is known for its white houses that often remind people of Greece. The original town is located on a hill but nowadays there is an expansion down the hill next to the Mediterranean Sea. I had never been there, but my friends recommended me to go. This year I had the opportunity to decide whether to go to the same place as other years or somewhere else, and I decided to go to Mojácar. I had such a great time there, my parents and I went to several beaches with transparent water and precious environments, including Playa de los Muertos, Playa del Mónsul, or Playa de Marina de la Torre. The food there was amazing; I mostly ate pasta, pizza, chicken, or beef, but my parents tried many other different things they assured me that they tasted really good. The hotel we stayed at had a big pool where we stayed either in the mornings or in the afternoons. The weather was really hot at first, but once you get used to the 45 degrees at its coolest, it is nice. The sea water was also hot; you could get into the water without even noticing. It was great to stay by the shore reading a book or just looking around. The last day we stayed there my father and I woke up early to go to the beach to watch the sunrise and, even if the sunrise was not the best one I have ever seen, the moment made it super special. Being inside the water, the beautiful views, and the peaceful moment of having a whole beach for yourself created an unforgettable memory. I also visited the Alhambra of Granada which was really beautiful. It was my first time there and I enjoyed it very much. The building was really impressive, but the gardens were what truly impressed me the most. I visited the Mezquita of Córdoba for the second time, but this time I visited it at night and I was even more impressed than the first time. I really recommend visiting it at night; it would be a unique experience you will never forget. I enjoyed this trip a lot. 

My summer was very fun and exciting, I liked it a lot, a few days before leaving school I started to miss school and I went with one of my best friends to Los Cabos, we stayed in a house that was kind of old but it was very fun and we ate very good, coming back from that trip I spent a week in Puebla, I went out with my boyfriend and rested, then I went to Cancun with my parents and my sister to a very nice resort and it was amazing, I ate a lot, I went to Cancun with my parents and my sister, it was amazing, I ate a lot, I was in the slides, in the Arcade, the beach and my dad ended up buying the membership, coming back at times it was boring because I ran out of things to do at home, I was up all night every night, I would stay awake until 4 or 6 in the morning talking to my boyfriend and I started to get dark circles under my eyes and I started to sleep all day, then I started to go to sleep a little earlier for my health and then the summer started to go by very fast, out of nowhere I was already seeing everyone for the last time and that made me cry, I started to feel like I didn’t want to come to Canada and I started to overthink things a lot but I still wanted to do it, I could say goodbye to almost all my friends and that made me happy, my family, my boyfriend and in general I liked the summer because although it wasn’t perfect I had a lot of things to do, I had fun and I was with the people I love, if I could repeat a summer I would probably choose this one.

I had a decent weekend, but to be honest, it passed by so quickly that when I think of it now I can’t seem to remember what I did on Saturday. The weekend, started off like any other, long awaited; feels like a paycheck to paycheck life style. The weekend gave out a false sensation of lasting a while, but oh boy was I wrong.

“It flew by us like we were standing still”

(A crewmate of the B-17 Superfortress which was named by its crew as Memphis Belle (the crew member was referring to a new type of weapon that Nationalistic Germany made; the first ever Jet powered controllable vehicle (jet fighter)))

While many can argue it was a reasonable length, I can re assure you that it was not. On Saturday (October 7th) Blake and I biked to Sidney for a water from Starbucks (yes, I have Starbucks near my house) and got some Pizza from Pizza Hut. After which, we turned back and bussed home. After these operations, I had to go and bike a Kilometer back to my place. This whole operation took us 4 hours to complete. After Saturday, Sunday was a big Blur; All I did was spend time with my dog and Call Ryan on Discord.

Monday however, was a day and night difference to the two previous days; I spent the whole day cleaning the house and helping my parents with tasks that later would allow us to celebrate Thanksgiving in peace. The Turkey, was surprisingly well made, however, the inside was dry. To improve this, next year I am going to Marinate the Turkey for a couple of hours (Specifically 10; a bird has a maximum marinade time of 12 hours, anything above the limit makes the Turkey soggy and not really tasty.

Just around the end of august this year, my parents decided to buy be a racing simulator. For those who don’t know what a racing simulator is, it is basically a steering wheel with pedals that you can plug in to your computer in order to play certain racing games. The reasons I got my racing simulator was because 1: my friends had ones and they wanted me to be able to play with them, and 2: I had always wanted one. Once the wheel arrived I was so excited, and I tried out some racing games. I was absolutely horrible with the racing wheel on the first day, but after about a week or so I was much, much better. The first game that I got for the racing wheel was F1 2023, the second game I got was Need for Speed Heat, which I didn’t end up playing much, and the third game I got was BeamNG Drive, which I had already downloaded years before, but I booted it up with my racing wheel. On my birthday, I am going to be completing the racing set, and my parents will be buying me a stick-shift simulator.

When I have nothing better to do at home I like to sit down and relax to one of my favorite shows in the whole damn world, The Walking Dead. The walking dead: Daryll Dixon. Every Sunday, I watch a new episode of Daryll Dixon that just got released, and I love every one. Daryll, from America, makes a bunch of mistakes by trusting a group that allows no fighting. He made friends with a scared person, and then when that person goes and with others they come back with him as a walker (zombie) so he gets mad and punches one of them and both Daryll and the guy he hit gets kicked out and taken to a boat to be made into slaves. Daryll starts to puke blood in the cell to make the guards let him out and when they let him out they try to kill him but Daryll fights back, he then gets keys and unlocks all the cells, raising hellfire on the boat. While they are trying to escape by boat the line holding it breaks and drops the boat. Daryll turns around and sees a weird walker that was running up these stairs to get to him. The walker, or, runner tore apart his friend and started to eat him and started to charge towards Daryll. The reason their called walkers is cause they can’t run so I’m guessing when Daryll saw that he was quite shocked. Daryll jumps off the big boat onto the one dropped in the water and eventually ends up in France. He makes his way around trying to find people and stumbles across a place with nuns and a boy, the nuns think Daryll is the one to take the boy, Laurent, to a safer place so Daryll goes through a lot of trouble trying to find a way to get him to that “safer place” while being hunted down by a gang named the Guerrier or something because he killed the leader’s brother. I just finished I think episode four? It ended with Daryll and Laurent getting caught by the Guerrier and being brought to an arena where he’s going to have to fight a very fast, dangerous, adrenaline injected zombie. I’m going to have to wait till Sunday to see what happens.

This weekend was wild and I’m going to tell you all about. This week was Thanksgiving. But before we talk about our big feast, I have to talk about how we got there, so right after school my dad drove me all the way toComox. It was great to see my family. After I got home, I had a little bite to eat and then went to bed. By the way, ever single day I was getting great sleep which was great. On Saturday morning, I watched some soccer games that were live on my computer. After that I did a core workout, then I made breakfast and hanged out with my brother. I was also helping my Dad with putting the boat in it’s shelter and mowing the lawn. After that my Mom came home and told me that we were going to a restaurant called Martine’s, it was a great meal I had Seafood linguine it was creamy and delicious. When we got back home I was very tired, so I watched a little bit of TV, then went to bed. Finally the day I was looking forward to the most, the actual dinner. Before that though I did another intense core workout and also going to the turf with my Dad. My goal was to burn as many calories as I could, so I could eat a lot! I helped with making the food. The food was on the table, but first we all had to tell what we were thankful for. The meal was great because the turkey was crispy while also being juicy. After dinner we watched Lupin, then crashed to bed. The next day I went for a run and a soccer session in my front yard.After, It was time to head back to Victoria

One of my least favorite holidays of the entire year is Thanksgiving. I never understood why Americans or Canadians for that matter took it so seriously, especially after all the unnecessary planning that goes into it. You first must prepare for it, days or sometimes even weeks in advance to make sure you have prepared all the ‘necessary’ food for your dinner (e.g. pumpkin pie turkey and so on). You must do this by cooking and slaving away at a hot stove for hours on end, for people who most likely won’t appreciate your tedious amount of work.

Another example of why there’s so much planning that goes into a stupid holiday like Thanksgiving is the number of people that are expected to attend a traditional good old American Thanksgiving. Every Thanksgiving I’ve been to, except my own, has had up to one hundred family members/friends attend, which is an outrageous number, to say the least. One is because the quantity of people who are gathering is so grand it can mean if only one person happens to be sick, the rest will become sick the morning after.

Furthermore, whoever gets stuck in the position of hosting has at least two main jobs. One is the job of cooking which I have mentioned before, and two is the washing of every single plate, fork, and or spoon that is used throughout the night. At first, this could seem to be an extremely small task, however, once you start to think about the number of dishes that can be used in less than an hour the job becomes much more grand.

With all I have written, people might expect me to hate Thanksgiving or even not celebrate it at all. Nevertheless, I never have, and I never will. There are many reasons as to why Thanksgiving is such a beloved holiday which is why I do not hate it. Yet, I do hate the so called ‘traditional’ Thanksgiving that most people think of when it comes to this holiday. Because of these so called ‘ways’ show to us by the media on how to have a perfect Thanksgiving dinner, many people find Thanksgiving brings unwanted emotions of loneliness or sadness because of reason such as not being able to celebrate it with family like other people around them can. Thanksgiving can also bring a sense of pressure to have a grand dinner even though the general population can only seek to have one. There are many more reasons someone might hate Thanksgiving, regardless this explains why it’s one my least favorite holidays of the entire year.

This weekend, my mum and I went to Gabriola Island which is an island just off Nanaimo for my birthday and we stayed for two nights. It is a small island which takes about 10-15 minutes to drive from one side to the other. While we were there, the Thanksgiving Studio Tour was happening on the island which was fun to be apart of. It happens once a year. Artists on the island showcase and sell their artwork they have created and every one of them are so unique. There were wood carvings, pottery, paintings, metal work, woven baskets and so much more. The weather was nice while we were staying so we got to walk around to see the different studios and we went on a few hikes with our dog. I was amazed on how quiet it was and everybody seemed so nice. In the mornings we walked down to the beach, which wasn’t very far, and watched the sunrise while we went for a walk. You could see Vancouver from the side we were staying at. On Monday, we went to see a few more art studio then it started to drizzle so we decided to head back to the ferry. Around noon, we had a 30 minute ferry ride back to Nanamio then drove back down to Victoria.

One of my favorite ways to spend my time is through doing engineering. One of the reasons I like engineering is that it’s full of challenges. Challenges are always fun to overcome when their in an area that I like. Creativity is anther important skill when doing engineering. Creativity is important because when doing engineering, you often need to consider new perspectives. Creativity is also often found in engineering because of the endless complexity and new ideas that can be used in engineering.

Anther application of creativity is in logic. This may seem surprising, but logic can be part of creativity. Logic can also be fun because of how you can use it to overcome problems with it. Anther part of engineering that I like is that is like a 3D puzzle. It’s like a 3D puzzle because it’s basically a logic puzzle and it has three dimensions. The reason this makes me like it is because puzzles are types of challenges that I find especially fun to solve.

One of parts of engineering I like is mechanisms. I like mechanisms because of how complex and intrici systems. Anther reason I like mechanisms is that it can be a challenge to assemble them, and as stated before, I like challenges. A second area of engineering I like is robotics. I like robotics because they combine two different types of engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Anther reason I like robotics is that it really brings in how much of a challenge keeping things in place can be, as well as sowing us how dynamic motion can be in an 3D environment.

In conclusion I think that we can all agree that the things I like most about mechanical and electrical engineering are the challenges I face and complexity of things.

It’s no secret that when it comes to music, I’m the black sheep of my family. I was probably dropped on my head when I was an infant, as I like barely musical, fast, ridiculously obnoxious music, spanning anywhere from punk to metal to electronic. Since I’ve moved to Victoria, I’ve gone to ~13 weird, DIY shows. (I hesitate to call them concerts, since most of them take place in community centers with barely enough space to house the bands themselves.) As you can guess, the group that goes to these shows is… a little odd. They’re some of the friendliest people I’ve met, don’t get me wrong, but they’re definitely strange. The last show I went to, I got (accidentally) bodyslammed into a wall by a random middle-aged guy who lost his balance and fell into one of the merch tables. Although the shows, music, and generally everything about the scene that I’ve found myself in seems chaotic and violent in nature, there’s an extremely welcoming, group-oriented mindset. If someone falls, there’s at least 3 people there to pick them up before they hit the ground, and if someone’s injured, everyone stops everything they’re doing to help them. As a wise, random person said, “We’re all here to have fun. It’s not fun if we don’t take risks, but it’s even worse if we’re not here for each other”

The best night for myself was in CDMX was in this year 2023, when I did a party with my friends in my house. They went like 200 people for me and more people the party was one of the best nights in this year. I remember that we were so many people that the police arrived, but in my opinion was the best night and it was worth it. It was so fun the vibe that we had a lot of any types of drinks.

Last year, I started playing soccer as a hobbie with my friends every evening. I started to like the goalkeeper position, so I played it more often and got better at it. I wanted to join my school team, but they didn’t accept me because I didn’t register on time. I kept playing by myself and with my friends, watching videos, and playing with older and stronger kids. I really got into it and when I went back to Mexico, I played for a month in the second team’s academy of my citie’s best team. I kept training but never played an actual game. Currently, I’m in Canada for studying and to play soccer. I’m still trying to find a team, but I’m sure I will.