Resourcefulness – Knowledgeable Thinkers who use multiple resources for research (K16) During the summer of 2019, I was able to partake in a once of a lifetime experience, tagging along aboard a Hokudai research ship, and learning what oceanographers and researchers do at sea. This was an experience that I feel ads alot of value to my life, and also helped me understand how the research done at the ocean can benefit us, humans.
Knowledge is gained through an eye-opening experience, and when one is able to partake in the experience, they learn more from it. During 2019, my science teacher generouslly invited me and two other students to tag along on the research ship, so that we could gain a further understanding of the world of research and science. I went with the intention to know if science was an option for my future career. I also wanted to see the different modes of research that oceanographers use. This falls with the husky of knowledgable thinkers who use multiple resources of research, and the habit of mind of curiosity. The cruise itself lasted for 3 days and two nights, and we stayed in Hakodate for a day and a night as well. Hakodate was a beautiful city filled with vintage items and buildings, and they had the best hamburger restaurant I have ever been to, Lucky Pierot, The first day we explored and learned about the coastal city, and we gained an appreciation for the history of this unique location. Through this, we used our curiosity to gain a understanding of the city of Hakodate, and its history. The cruise itself started on our second day. We were all very excited, and we were talking about how it must be on a ship. However bad news struck, as we learned that a typhoon was on the way, so our cruise on the seas would be delayed one day, however the good news was they would let us on the ship and allow us to tour and stay the night on the ship. We were able to see the engine room as well as the deck and we were given our cabins. Inside the ship, there is movement, that made me really dizzy. On the third day, we were able to go out to sea, and we were able to experience hands on, the life of an oceanographer and researcher. We were allowed to steer the boat, fish for squid and fish, dissect them, clean the decks, and we were given lectures on tidal movement, as well as biodiversity. We were given the opportunity to throw jars into the ocean that would track ocean currents, and we were also able to measure levels of ocean temperature and plankton abundance through the use of their expensive research machinery, We also were able to go up on the observatory deck to observe the life above the seas, in the form of ocean birds. Through this, I gained an understanding of the importance of multiple research resources. We learned that these different modes of research all contribute to our overall understanding on how the ocean and organisms within, function. Through these data we are also able to predict and understand where the state of the ocean is headed. Without these informations, we will be none the wiser, and thus we would not be able to make smart decisions on climate change control or the preservation of endangered species. This was eye opening in how these different methods all are each important in their own way. On the last day we had to head back to port, however, on the way we were able to steer the ocean drone that allowed researchers to see what its like under the waves. We also were given the task of giving the ship a thorough clean. On this day however, I started suffering from extreme fatigue and nausea as I had not slept well the night before. However, as we got back on shore, I started to feel abit better after we ate some more hamburgers. Overall this trip was a very eye opening experience, that I value very much to this day. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity I was given. In the end I learned so much about life on and within the sea. The curiosity that I had, gave me so many memories that I can carry with me, and tell my children about. I attached some pictures above that show myself using different methods of research to gain an understanding of the marine life. That is me dissecting a squid, and also the tool that they used to calculate ocean temperatures. I also attached a picture of the ship I was on, as it itself is a tool of research. Through this experience, I learned that pursuing new experiences will create memories and eye opening experiences that will last a lifetime. I also learned that there are many different modes of research that go into our understanding of our world. In the future I will be more open to understanding these many methods of research, and maybe even use them. I loved this research trip. Curiosity and Knowledge is goals.
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K14 - Confidence – Knowledgeable Thinkers who are confident and explore new experiences (K14)
We all start life in the same state, knowing nothing, our mind is a blank slate. However as we live, we gain insight and experience, never to be the same again. This scenario is better put by Plato, in his famous allegory, The Cave. Please look at the above attached image of the cave as you read along. In this famous work by Plato, one is told to imagine three prisoners tied up to rocks, facing a wall. Behind the prisoners is a fire. Between the fire and the prisoners, people from the outside walk, casting shadows on the walls that the prisoners are forced to see for eternity. The Prisoners have never seen anything else so they do not realize that what they see are shadows of objects in front of a fire, much less that these objects are inspired by real things outside the cave. But! Imagine that one prisoner escapes, goes out the cave and experiences the world, a whole new experience compared to the mere shadows he had seen before. He has been enlightened, having experienced and seen something he cannot unsee. Now imagine that he goes back to tell his fellow prisoners who are tied up, about what he saw. But once he goes inside the cave, he realizes that his eyes have been blinded, and unable to see inside the cave. The fellow prisoners hear him and think he is crazy, as they do not understand nor comprehend the things he profess to have seen. And therefore they resist escaping, as they fear going outside. In simpler terms, what this means is that once one experiences and understands something, they cannot undo it, and others will not understand the importance of it, unless they too open their eyes to experience new things. If we fear learning new things, we are trapped in ignorance like unto the prisoners who remain chained, forever seeing glimpses of what reality could be, never really knowing what it is. I myself have seen this allegory apply to my life. When I was in America, I absolutely detested singing. I would just mouth the words in music class and when my teacher would ask me to sing, would comment that I sounded like a turkey. That hurt. I moved to Japan in 2016, and came to HIS, and once here my schedule had choir in it. And I was freaking scared and anxious, as I really did not enjoy singing with people. Sure enough, my first day here, I was asked to sing row row your boat in front of the choir. My voice cracked, I was sweating and I was embarrassed. At this point, I like to say that I was still a prisoner looking at a fraction of the reality I could be if I could sing. Fast forward a bit, and concert time was rolling around at my school, I for some reason wanted to challenge myself and make the most of the time I had in choir, so I started to sing, horribly at first, but then my teacher encouraged me to perform in a trio at the school concert. At first I was hesitant, but I agreed. I. Was. So. Bad. I literally couldnt get the dance down, and I struggled so hard, however I gave it my best. The above left picture is me putting on a show for 750+ people!, and I can proudly say I did my best. Once the concert was over, I was overcome with a feeling of pride and self satisfaction that I, a turkey had been able to sing in front of people! I never looked back. The year after that, I willfully pursued opportunities to sing and perform, and lo and behold I was given the opportunity to perform in a quartet with me being the lead character. I performed with all I had, unleashing my inner cheesiness, as I played my part as a boyish character who didnt want to grow up in the piece, I Wont Grow Up. I have attached a video clip of the performance above. This is definately a part of the best hours of my life. After this one, I was able to see music and performance from a whole new perspective, and I realize that that was the moment that I had come out of the cave, and seen reality and perspectives, I can now never unsee nor forget. For those who are reading this, the experience I felt you will most likely not understand, however I do encourage you to do something similar. Pursue new and mysterious things that scare you, and you will never look back. What I have learned from this experience is that Plato was right. Experiences make the man, and I love them. My goal is to pursue an online degree while working, so I can transfer to America once I have enough money. My side goals are, to go deep sea fishing for a summer gaining experience and money there as well. Although obscure this is my wish and my goal. I will not stop anything from letting me get experiences in my life. Marketing Team
Socially Personally responsible individuals that demonstrate reliability & commitment (S26) At Hokkaido International School, there is an annual concert held at the Kitara Hall in Nakajimakoen. In this concert, students are given the opportunity to perform and show what they have learned over the past year to an audience of over 1000 people This is a night where the students, parents, and teachers all come together to celebrate the hard effort we put into the arts. This night is one of the great highlights that this school provides. One of the great things that we learn at HIS is the importance of being reliable and staying commited. We do this through simple acts such as coming to class on time, to practicing and performing solos in front of our peers. But all-in-all this requires us as students to be socially and personally responsible, by showing our reliability and commitment to the tasks we are given. For me I was able to exercise this through the unique opportunity I had at HIS to be part of the Kitara Marketing Team. Through the course of the months leading up to the concert, we advertise to a wide range of audiences, the experience that our international population has to offer. We put up posters in stations, publish videos and fundraise at festivals. Being a part of this team required a meeting once a week, as well as work outside of school. We would visit local Japanese schools, use our connections as plugs, selling tickets to our concert as we went. We also created a system for the students to sell tickets to their parents and family as well. Our team made a goal every year to fill the hall with as many people as we could, with this years goal being 1000. So far, we've had an audience of about 600-750 people annually. Through this experience I learned how a large scale marketing/financial project is carried out, and I am grateful I was able to take part. Me and a fellow team member were in charge of collecting the money and tracking how many tickets were out at a certain time. If we slacked off or chose to quit and be lazy, the whole operation would have suffered. We all did our part to stay true to the task and we pushed through the months. On the concert day, nothing was more satisfying than seeing the seats in the concert hall fill up with excited and people who I know would wave at me from the seats. Sadly this year, this is not the case, as the coronavirus has disrupted many plans around the world. But the past two years have been such a blessing in which I was able to feel the benefits of being commited and responsible in my duties as a committee member. Above are pictures of the concert as well as a picture from one of our meetings. I will cherish the memories that the Marketing Team gave to me. Those evenings were ones I looked forward to, and I really was able to grow. Once I am in the corporate world, I would like to once again feel and experience these emotions. I am going to study International Business in college, and I know that experiences like this are far from over. Once I am in a career, I will be able to go into a task like this with experience behind my back, and all I need now is to hone and perfect it. This experience has taught me much. My goal for this specific husky is to work on my personal organization. One thing that I learned in this process was that each member must be fully on top of their own work for the project to move forward smoothly. Over the past few months I have been using a planner, planning each day and jotting notes. My goal is to do this for the rest of my life, and I know it will come in handy in group scenarios as well. Over the past two summers, I was a lifeguard at the Teine Pool, a waterpark in Sapporo. It is usually very busy and has up to 1000+ customers a day. Being a lifeguard requires alot of knowledge and also requires one to be able to act accordingly to any situation that might come ones way. We are trained in first-aid, how to appropriately take action with customers and also how to keep the park safe. For me, I was given a unique job due to my skills in english. Due to Sapporo being a somewhat touristy vacation destination, the pool does have its share of international customers, and they, like everyother customer out there are subject to follow the rules, and also sometimes are in need of help. Due to my skills in english, I was put in charge of helping these international customers by acting as a translator.
This falls under the husky of being Internationally minded, while using my knowledge and lifguard skills in a real world situation. This means that we must be understanding of other people, and also use our skills to make a situation better by being aware of these differences. There was one specific instance where there was a mother who was looking for a lost child in a crowd of more than a thousand people, and she couldnt speak japanese. I was asked to go over and try to help out. By listening to her and communicating to her I was able to calm her down as the rest of the lifeguards looked for her child. We found the child, and she was very thankful. A lifeguard isnt all about saving lives by jumping into the water, or getting a tan on the lookout chair, being a lifeguard is about helping others have a good time at the pool. By using my english skills, I was able to use that knowledge to help someone elses day go a little better. Through this experience, the staff noticed that I was able to effectively use my knowledge of both languages to help international customers. Because of this, the staff decided to give me a special nametag, stating that "I can speak English." I wore this nametag for the rest of the lifeguard season. Because I now know the importance of using my knowledge of languages in real world situations, I will do my best to learn even more Japanese this year. On the job, we are typically not allowed to take photos for understandable reasons. Above however, is my name badge, and a picture of part of the waterpark that I work at. On the very right is a picture of lifeguards going through training, so that they may be able to effectively help any swimmers in distress. Like all other lifeguards, I had to go through this training before I became a lifeguard. Grit – Solution Creators who persevere. (S9)
Everybody has goals, and everyone has dreams. Usually these goals are quite lofty in nature, and require lots of effort and perseverance in order to be achieved. These goals also need to be achievable, and if it is, it is up to us to attain them. Perseverance is also known as grit. Grit is the action of sticking to your goal and pushing through pain and discomfort. Grit will lead us to a better place. One particular instance in which I was able to exercise grit, came in october of my junior year. I was given the opportunity to summit the highest active volcano on Hokkaido, Mt. Yotei with 10 of my classmates. The view from the top is said to be amazing. In addition to this view, I was attracted to the fact that this hike was not a day hike, but would take place through the night, after which we would summit at about the time of sunrise. I invested in this hike as not only another summit to add to my checklist, but also a hike to test myself. I bought myself proper equipment, new backpack as well as warm clothes. The mountain itself is split into ten checkpoints along the trail, the top two being above the treeline. The hike itself started around 9:30 PM, and we set off at a nice clip, and we had good conversations and were excited for the summit. However it became pitch black, and after hiking through the dark for an extended peroid of time, it felt as if we were not making any progress. To make things worse, the trail condition was rough, and the ground was damp. I only had the checkpoints to tell me how far we were from the summit. By checkpoint 5 I was fatigued, my backpack felt so heavy, and I drank a whole bottle just to get rid of the weight. At this checkpoint I realized that after this point I could either quit or continue, continuing meaning I would subject myself to further pain. However I knew I would not forgive myself if I just gave up because I was tired. I chose to commit myself so that I could have faith in myself and also prove to myself that I am in control of my will and mind. Through the next few checkpoints, I went one step at a time, at times taking breaks for myself, so I could replenish energy through my caloriemates. At this point sleep deprivation started to kick in, and I fought to keep my body awake. I visualized the sunrise to motivate myself to keep going. At checkpoint 8, it started to rain, and my hiking companions started to express their frustrations. They said that the year before, they had quit, and maybe that was an option this time. After a group discussion, we decided that we would not give in and that we would press forward. Finally at around 4 am, we reached the top of the crater. at the time I didnt feel a rush of satisfaction or a realization of having accomplished a goal, but what I did realize was that It was dark, cloudy and very windy. Sadly, due to the high elevation, a rush of clouds had swept in, making it too dangerous and cloudy for us to see the sunrise. I did however, take a picture of the summit sign and the scenery to document my grit and it is a representation of the effort I put into this grueling climb, On the way down, the sun came out, and I was able to see how high we were. I was able to admire the fact that I had climbed up this whole way. It amazed me that I had survived Mt. Yotei with no sleep, and not to mention, running shoes, as my hiking shoes had broken the day before. I was filled with satisfaction. On our way back from the mountain to the campus, we stopped by an Onsen, where we talked about what we had just accomplished, and whether or not we would do it again. I said I would not do it again, but now that I think of it, It was a great experience, and I feel so proud that I accomplished that hike. Through this experience, I was able to understand how important grit is, first hand. I was able to experience the happiness that came after the hard work that I put into the hard climb, when I looked back and saw the mountain that I had stood at the top of. Nothing can beat the sense of accomplishment I felt at that moment. I would like to apply grit to my studies and try as hard to study as I did, when I was trying to reach the summit. I would like to continue seeking out opportunities outside of my outdoor class, such as in college, to hike and enjoy nature and the effort it takes to be happy, Husky H3 - Motivation – Honest Learners and Leaders who are self-motivated and self-directed
Imagine not eating for a day. Hungry. Now imagine not eating for 5 Days. This is exactly what I did 1 year ago. Seek Discomfort. This is the motto of the increasingly popular YouTube channel, YesTheory, The channel is made up of four highly motivated individuals who are on a mission to inspire the masses into doing something that they are not accustomed to. From things like running marathons to ice baths, and living like you only have a day left to live to exploring new countries with no money in your pocket, the members of this YouTube channel form the epitome of a self-motivated and self-directed individual, that pushes one to their limit. Self motivation is doing things with your own volition. Self direction is leading yourself to do new or unpopular things. In one of YesTheory's videos they did a 5 day fast. No food, and only drinking water. It clearly showed that the individual, Matt, was suffering through the pain of his body craving food. However he persevered and overcame his bodily temptations and went the full five days. What intrigues me though, was that he said that after four days, his body seemed to have adjusted to the lack of food, and that he felt productive, and frankly, not bad. By the time the fifth day had come around, Matt found himself enjoying the fast, and had developed a small distaste for food. After watching this video, I was hooked. I wanted to do this. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and lead myself into new experiences. I texted my friend Haru and we decided that we would go for 5 days without food, and be there for each other to motivate and check in on how each other was doing. Before starting the fast we researched up the effects of fasting, and acknowledged that if any bad symptoms arise, we would quit. We found that fasting also has some positive benefits, such as detoxing and elimination of fat reserves on the body through a process known as Autophagy. A week later, we embarked on a journey without food. Only water. On the first day, it was quite easy avoiding food, and I focused on doing other things, such as reading and studying to keep myself occupied. My family ate dinner without me, but the smell of the dinner did smell quite good. But I remained motivated to pursue my self directed goal of 5 days no food. On the second day, hunger set in. I was getting hungry and I could feel my body getting colder in the toes and the fingers. I got in bed and tried to warm myself up. I couldn't concentrate on studying anymore, and my mood was shot. Haru and I texted to each other how hungry we were, but then we visualized how nice it would be after 5 days to conquer and achieve our lofty goal. On the third day, I died. Inside me my stomach was empty, and I could feel the hunger literally take over. I was thinking about food all the time, I could not study at all and to make matters worse, this was the week of Christmas, and I had a Christmas party to attend. I stared longingly at the food but didn't eat. I had made a goal for myself, and I committed to pursue it. I went to bed hungry. On the fourth day I woke up and discovered something alarming. I was 4 days in, yet I had no hunger. The pain of the hunger I felt before had dissipated and through this I felt an increased motivation and desire to achieve my goal. Later in the day I went downtown, and I noticed how many food options there were in Sapporo, (so many, its ridiculous.) At this point I realized that eating three times a day is healthy, but not necessary. People were spending so much money on food, I started to wonder how much money was spent on unnecessary food around the world. I realized we were privileged people to be eating three meals a day. On the fifth and final day I felt amazing. I counted down the hours with Haru, down to the 120th hours of our fast. And on the final minute of the fast, we called and we ate food together. We ate the best grapes, apples and bread that I have ever tasted. I also finished a whole thing of hummus and cucumber. Together we reflected on our seemingly impossible journey, a five day fast. We were so proud of having conquered ourselves and felt that we had successfully been self motivated and self directed. This was an experience we would never forget. Above are pictures that I took to document my fast. It shows the food I ate after the five days, as well as pictures reflecting the mood I was in during the ordeal. Through this experience I learned the importance of choosing to do things we have never done before. These experiences are the ones we never forget. And to do this, we must persevere by being self motivated and self directed. No one is going to do that for you, as it has to be done by you. I was able to take away from this experience, a story that I can tell others and an experience in which I gained self confidence that I am in control of my own desires and actions. I would like to do this again sometime, but now I am focusing on other goals, such as working out. If I fast again that would mean a huge loss of muscle. This was a good experience, and now I am looking forward to accomplishing other goals in which I can conquer myself. Engagement – Effective Communicators who actively and empathetically listen, speak and discuss (E21) Three weeks ago, I was able to experience for the first time in my life, snowshoeing. (crossedthat one off my bucketlist.) It was a great experience being able to trek through the snow, with our destination being summiting Mt. Sapporodake. Little did I know that this experience would turn into one where we as a whole outdoor class would need to exercise our communication and thinking skills to our full extent as our trip turned into one where it became a literal matter of life or death.
We started our experience by hiking up to the hut which was located halfway up the mountain. Our group consisted of my outdoor class, and our teacher, Mr. E, as well as a volunteer supervisor, from niseko. For the first night we stopped at the hut, made dinner(hamburgers) and then we relaxed and played cards until we called it a night. All was well on the first day. The next day we woke up and decided to summit the mountain. We started out with 6 people. 5 students and the supervisor from Niseko, however due to circumstances, the supervisor and one student had to return to the hut, while the four of us continued to the top. At this point we were without an adult, but we were led by an experienced leader, Krzysztof who effectively led us to the summit, where we were able to take in a breathtaking view and take shirtless pictures. (these pictures above are some pictures from the summit.) On the way back to the hut however, we met our supervisor, who was making his way to the summit. We offered to go with him to the summit, but he told us to go back down to the hut, and would only be 20 minutes behind us. Naturally as students, we agreed and left him. Little did we know that this would be a mistake that would challenge us as a group for hours. After a descent that consisted of us jumping down ravines and sliding down cliffs, we made it back to the hut. We then waited for 20 minutes, then 30, then an hour, after which we realized that our supervisor might be missing. We then exercised our communication skills and told our teacher exactly what had happened with the missing individual near the summit, and we then tried to communicate with the man using our walkie talkie system. We then actively listened for any response. There was none. We made the decision to split up once more, one group going back to the bottom, while the other would go with the teacher to look for the missing man. I talked with Mr. E. and promised to call if I found anything or heard anything, and that we would call Mr. P. our emergency contact if we had no information by 3 pm. We then parted ways. Little did we know that the missing man had gone all the way back down to the bottom of the mountain, as my group showed up to the car, we were relieved to find a smiling safe man sitting in the car. However, we still had three members looking for this man at the summit. Through a series of communication mishaps by this individual, the search party kept searching for him for three more hours. When we eventually got back together, we had a talk with the individual, and through discussion we were able to figure out that he had gotten lost and had gone in a completely different direction out of radius with our walkie talkie. Furthermore, he did not know how to use the walkie talkie which had led to further confusion and the search party looking for an extra few hours. Through this experience I was able to learn the importance of communicating effectively, and the importance of listening to directions, and seeking them out if you do not understand something. Also one extra lesson I learned from this experience is the importance of the buddy system no matter how old you are. I do not have any pictures from the search as I was not a part of the group, and while the man was missing, we did not feel like taking pictures, so these pictures are what I have.) My goal is to use the buddy system whenever there is a chance to get lost from now on, as well as embrace nature and head out with my buddies whenever possible, because this was a great experience overall, I love nature. Also, I will always make sure everyone in the group has an emergency plan, such as a meetup point and walkie talkie knowledge. Adaptability – Understanding Collaborators who work well with diverse individuals and situations (U7)Adaptability – Understanding Collaborators who work well with diverse individuals and situations (U7)
And causality In an increasingly global world, that is connected on so many levels, socially, economically, and culturally, it is inevitable that markets and people everywhere will in someway need to accomodate for a multicultural and diverse market. In order to do so, people have to become understanding collaborators who work well with diverse individuals and situations. Now how does one become understanding of other people or cultures you may ask. Well this is a skill that can only be developed through an open mind and an understanding of the concept of causality. Causality is the definition of the concept that one thing or group affects others, (i.e. one generation affecting the younger generation, or one culture affecting another.) This year in psychology class we were given the opportunity to conduct our very own science project with real world implications and applications. For my project I wanted to choose a social science topic that would help find trends within a wide and diverse range of ages of people in Japan. I chose to specifically research the impact of color shade preference in relation to the individuals age. I created this project based off of the assumption that people have a certain preference for a darker shade when they are young and a lighter pastel tint when they are older. This due to the fact that when we go to the store looking for kid toys, they are almost always a vibrant primary colors, while when you go shopping for decor for old people, they are usually colors that are softer on the eyes, for example, tints. So for this project, I specifically set it up to find if age is a cause (causality) for a certain color shade/tint preference. And if I was to find a correlation, I would therefore be providing an understanding for the people on how to market to a diverse range of ages with this knowledge of what age group likes what shade of product. I had in total 156 respondents to my study, and sadly I was able to determine that there was no correlation between the two factors. However there is still the possibility for causality. Age could possibly cause one to loose intrest in a certain shade and pick up another, and therefore this requires more research. However, I did not have the time nor the means to test this. If I did have the money and means to test this to the masses, I would take this survey to different countries, and run a much larger collection of data to determine if there is a multicultural effect on color shade preference. This above right is my artifact.It is a graph representing the “preffered shade of color” in relation to age. This is a visual respresentation of my data collection. The above middle is the survey sheet that I showed my participants. Overall I beileve that being willing to understand a multicultural and multi age audience is very important. It is the key to being able to market to specific ages or all ages, and all it requires is some insight into what each age/cultural group wants.
Resilience – Solution Creators who demonstrate resilience and flexibility (S11)
Imagine that you just hiked up a tough and grueling mountain climb through the night and just as the sun rises, you reach the summit. As you reach for your water, you realize just how hard of a climb you pushed through as the sunbeams glint off the condensation of your bottle. The satisfaction is pure, raw, more so than any other method of pleasure. The satisfaction of the accomplishment of a hard task that demanded your grit. This feeling is unexplainable unless one actually experiences it. Be it a marathon, a college paper or even a skydive. Now why are these experiences such a source of joy? The answer to this is the product of the grit, resilience and flexibility that it takes to achieve a goal, which equals satisfaction. For me, an example of one such satisfying accomplishment that I experienced was via my outdoor hike at Pippudake. Pippudake is a mountain located in a cluster of mountains in the daisetsuzan area and has 2197 meters of elevation. As part of our outdoor curicculum, we carefully planned and hiked the mountain in August. This hike was my first for the outdoor program, and it fundamentally challenged me in many ways. I was with a group of people I did not really know, and I hadnt hiked up a mountain in months. However, once I started hiking, I commited to the hike and pushed through as we finished the hike together as a group. In this hike I was able to realize some points of the huskies that I was able to develop. Resilience is a tenet that is key to any type of physical activity. Without it, your muscles do not grow, you dont get any better, and you wont get anywhere. It is through pain that we can grow, and out of pain that we experience accomplishment. The hike took a little more than 6 hours. On the hike during the first 2 hours, at the back of my mind, there was the option to say that I couldnt go on anymore and quit, or take breaks every few steps of the way, which I did feel like I wanted to do. However, through krystoffs rave music and his relentless shirtless excursion trailblazing ahead of me, I was motivated to push through the challenges of aching feet, low energy and temptations to quit. I resiliently pushed back against each challenge that came at me. My first artifact attached is a video of krystoff and I pushing through, going offtrail. In this video, we are offtrail, and although grueling to the feet, I was able to experience something that no one who takes the normal trail does. Through this I was able to feel a feeling of accomplishment, looking back. On the hike we were faced with harsh winds and the threat of rain. We were forced to make a decision between pushing through and summiting pippudake, or turning to the right and heading down. Due to having finished 90% of the hike to pippu, we came to the decision that we had done our best, and we although wanted to summit Pippu, turned right and made our way through the beautiful mountains on our way back. This was a scenario in which we had to be flexible. Throughout life we are faced with many decisions such as these, in which we can continue on a hard path or make a smarter decision that comes with the sacrifice of a previous goal. In these cases it is important to be flexible and make the smarter decision. This decision has stuck with me, as I realized its okay and sometimes important to not stick to an initial plan. New events and information can result in our needing to shift from our previous goal in turn for a new one. THroughout life, I belive I will come to face more decisions such as these. By turning right in this case, we were able to take some amazing beautiful photos of the mountains of daisetsuzan. What made it even more miraculous is the fact that as soon as we finished the hike and arrived at the grand cabin, droplets of rain started fallling. It was at this time that I realized that that decision that we made, made our trip end on a good note, and therefore I was able to feel that sense of accomplishment and pride that I mentioned earlier. In reflection of my trip, I was able to learn the importance of flexibility and the joys that can come as a result of a smart on-the-fly decision. I was also able to experience the unexplainable joy of accomplishing a grueling hike. I look back at these memories and the memories brings back more memories that I am freaking proud of. I will never forget this hike, and it has a place in my heart as I was able to connect with my outdoor class and also I gained a further appreciation for the nature of hokkaido. I love that I have the opportunity to make many more choices in life that will require more resilience. I wonder how flexible I can be, and how far it might get me. I am excited for what the future brings. We are caring stewards of their own and the global environment (I19) It is no excuse to say oh, because everybody else is littering, I will not have a big impact on the world. You have just commited an environmental crime. This world is dirty. Because of the many litterbugs and trash that is thrown out around the world everyday, huge piles of trash form on land and on sea. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch for instance, is constantly growing and is twice the size of Texas. This affects the environment, as fish are ingesting this plastic and getting contaminated. This in turn affects us, as our fish supply is contaminated and becomes uneatable. I also felt the need to make the world a better place, so one day, as I was walking home, I passed by a bag of garbage in the middle of a road. I kept walking, but then I felt the need to pick it up and throw it away. I ran back and picked up the bag, brought it home, and threw it away. This is what is needed to make the world a better place. There are more than 7 billion people in the world, and if each of us pick up one piece of trash, using 5 seconds to pick it up, the earth will be 7 billion pieces of trash cleaner. In Boy Scouts, we learn that a scout is clean. It is one of the points in our scout law. This is a code I live by. There is a saying in the boy scout world, Leave No Trace. Leave no trace is the idea that we must leave a place cleaner than how we found it. It means that we need to make the effort to make the environment as good or even better than it was so that other people can enjoy nature as well. With this in mind, I find it very hard to see how people can just litter without a second thought. Furthermore, I am now taking the AP Environmental Science course, and I am learning alot about keeping the environment clean. We are at a turning point in the world, in which we either save the world or not, depending on how we handle pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. We need to make the right decision. Not only for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren as well. With this in mind, I will continue to pick up trash when I see it, and I encourage you all to do the same. |
Tadashi ShichidaSenior @ Hokkaido International School Archives
June 2020
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