the gratitude project assignment :: elly...

This is the last in a series of essays from Grade 8 students from Broadview Public School here in Ottawa.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Viner and Ms. Krochmalnek's classes just before our Canadian Thanksgiving, to talk to them about *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful*. (Read more about that here.) Students were then given an assignment to interview a friend or family member about what they were grateful for, and to submit a short essay based on that interview.   If you have not been following along, you will want to read these.  Seriously. These kids rock.

(Read Julia's essay here, Minseong and Judy's essays here, O'Dane and Evan's essays here,Dylan's essay here, Selina's essay here, Lily & Noah's essays here, Hannah's essay here and  Carson's essay here.)

Elly's essay below just blew me away.  Knowing there are young people like her and her friend Ashley gives me great hope for the future...

For my interview, I have chosen someone who I feel has a lot to say and will not be afraid to tell me what they are truly grateful for. I have known my interviewee for more than 6 years, and through that time they have been nothing but meaningful and honest to me and their other friends and family. Ashley is expressive verbally, physically and artistically and has much to be thankful for. When I asked her what personal quality she was most grateful for, she answered with sight because she loved all the beauty that the world had to offer.

To start off the interview, I asked my Ashley the question ‘what personal quality are you most grateful for?’ She thought about it for a few seconds and the first thing she said was “although I have so much in my life to be grateful for, I would have to say my sight”. The interviewee told me about why she chose this and I thought her examples were absolutely fascinating.

The first one she gave me was about the world always changing. She talked about the leaves and the sky and how crazy it was that everyday is different from the others. Each day has something special about it. The weather is always changing. With global warming, were not getting the same amount of snow and coldness as we used to. When I was little, the snow banks used to be up to the stop signs, though recently, the snow hardly passes a couple of feet. Ashley made a very interesting connection when she gave this example. She related the uniqueness and always changing weather, to people. Everyone changes as they get older. They have new friends, a new personality and they branch off in different directions.

Ashley also loves to preserve the memories she sees everyday. She told me about some of her hobbies that are truly has a passion for her. “I love to take pictures because it is showing someone else how I see the world”. Since everyone sees the world differently, a photo with a lot of voice really opens a window and lets people see into your head. What you take pictures of is completely up to you, and what you choose to capture really shows your personality. Ashley stated that she loves being able to share her experiences with other people who haven’t been able to experience it for them be themselves. Painting, it’s a way of expressing yourself through colour, pattern and shape. This is another thing that Ashley finds herself drawn to. While I was interviewing her, she told me something that really got me thinking, “I like to paint the world, not how it is, but how I see it”. This could be interpreted in so many different ways by different people. When I read this, I think of a forest. If most people were to paint a forest, they would do a couple of brown lines and some green spots, but Ashley would have all the animals and the patterns on the bark, the way the morning sun glimmers and shines off the leaves, and all the gorgeous flowers in full bloom.

One of the last things Ashley talked about towards the end of the interview, was being able to see things the way she sees them. "If they stop and really look at something, just a little closer, they can find beauty in everything”. This reminds me of an expression, ‘stop and smell the roses’. It means that if you take a second out of your day and stop what you’re doing, you can find beauty in nature and in the world. Anyone can, but not everyone will.

Thinking back to the interview, I can really relate to everything that Ashley talked about when she said everyone has a different way of seeing things. Personally, I absolutely love photography and take my camera everywhere with me. I take thousands of pictures when I go on vacation because it is a totally new experience. What also speaks to me are upclose shots of plants and animals, because you cannot see things like that without a special lense.

 

When I share my work with others, some really love it and want to see more, where as some don’t find it that interesting. That is because everyone is unique and sees things in different ways. Reflecting on other things that were said in the interview, I can see that Ashley is truly grateful for her quality of sight and does not take it for granted. She loves being able to see the world and all the people in it from her own perspective, which is unlike anyone else's. By having sight, she is able to look into other peoples interests and differences which is very special. If it were me being interviewed, I may have said something very similar to Ashley, because sight is a personal quality we should all be grateful for.

What are you grateful for?

the gratitude project assignment :: carson...

Our ongoing series of essays from Grade 8 students from Broadview Public School here in Ottawa.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Viner and Ms. Krochmalnek's classes just before our Canadian Thanksgiving, to talk to them about *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful*. (Read more about that here.) Students were then given an assignment to interview a friend or family member about what they were grateful for, and to submit a short essay based on that interview.   I have been publishing a selection of these essays here on the blog over the past several weeks.  You will want to read these.  Seriously. These kids rock.

(Read Julia's essay here, Minseong and Judy's essays here, O'Dane and Evan's essays here,Dylan's essay here, Selina's essay here, Lily & Noah's essays here and Hannah's essay here.)

And now, introducing Carson...

The Gratitude Project: by Carson

My grandma is very special. Born in Windsor she has moved 4 times to Elliot Lake to Niagara Falls then to Atikokan and back to Niagara Falls. She also has a lot of allergies. There are so many I can’t list them all but here are a few, she’s allergic to wheat, grass, dust, citric foods, some fruits and the list goes on and on. She has worked as a school teacher and a chemist. She is also a very strong Christian. The best part about her is, she is a great grandma. :)

I asked my grandma what failure are you most grateful for?

When my grandma worked as a chemist in Windsor there were two guys that were always messing with her when she was doing her job and we all know that when you’re working with chemicals you don’t want to mess up. My grandma, who’s not very graceful, thought she was doing a good job of not messing up. Normally, at the end of a project, you wash the beakers and lab equipment with acid but this experiment was different, you were supposed to clean the equipment with water not acid. She wasn’t thinking and the two guys were distracting her and she accidentally washed the materials with acid and that created a deadly gas and everyone had to evacuate the building. That’s when she realized that she needed to leave that work field because it was putting others in danger. She then decided to start teaching and get married. She is most grateful for the chemical accident because it lead to a safe and more enjoyable job. It also lead to her getting married and having four kids and 10 grandchildren!
 

I think she made the right decision changing jobs. One reason because it lead to me and it also could have saved some people’s lives. ;) It also let her do a job that she enjoyed more which was teaching.

 

the gratitude project assignment :: hannah...

Our ongoing series of essays from Grade 8 students from Broadview Public School here in Ottawa.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Viner and Ms. Krochmalnek's classes just before our Canadian Thanksgiving, to talk to them about *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful*. (Read more about that here.) Students were then given an assignment to interview a friend or family member about what they were grateful for, and to submit a short essay based on that interview.   You will want to read these.  Seriously. These kids rock.

(Read Julia's essay here, Minseong and Judy's essays here, O'Dane and Evan's essays here,Dylan's essay here, Selina's essay here and Lily & Noah's essays here.)

Here's what Hannah discovered during her assignment...

The person I chose to interview was a person named Emma. Emma is 15 years old and a student at Canterbury high school. The reason why I chose to interview her is because I look up to and admire her.

The question I chose to ask Emma was what life experience are you most grateful for? This question could have so many possible answers so I was curious to see how she would respond to the question.
 

The one life experience Emma is grateful for is outdoor ed. The reason why she is grateful for this is because she met a lot of new people and experienced new activities with that group of people. Emma also said that outdoor ed was a great way to meet new people that are going to be into the same things as you because outdoor ed has specific activities.

She also is grateful for the program because it was a change from school. Sometimes it is nice to just drop everything and go to a new surrounding. She was in the Gatineau’s so it was a totally new environment to learn new things in.

Many activities that she did were mountain biking, camping outside and canoeing. These were activities that she was grateful for. Some of these activities she had either not done before or she didn’t do the activity very often. She said that by doing the outdoor ed program she learnt a lot about the activity, actually did the activity and had fun while doing all of this.

I think that by asking Emma this question, I learnt new things about Emma and the things that she is grateful for. I learned that Emma is open to trying new things and she like to engage with new people. I think I would have chosen a different life experience to be grateful for but that is her opinion and that is what she is grateful for. Based on this interview I think that I would like to do the outdoor ed program because she has had a good experience and I might too.

the gratitude project assignment :: selina...

Our ongoing series of essays from Grade 8 students from Broadview Public School here in Ottawa.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Viner and Ms. Krochmalnek's classes just before our Canadian Thanksgiving, to talk to them about *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful*. (Read more about that here.) Students were then given an assignment to interview a friend or family member about what they were grateful for, and to submit a short essay based on that interview.   I will be publishing a selection of these essays here on the blog over the next couple of weeks.  You will want to read these.  Seriously. These kids rock.

(Read Julia's essay here, Minseong and Judy's essays here, O'Dane and Evan's essays here and Dylan's essay here.)

Allow me to now introduce this inspiring essay from Selina!

Name: Jake M.

photo provided by Selina

Biography: I have known Jake for about 4 years now, and he is one of the kindest person I know. He is very inspiring and I look up to him as a role model. I met Jake through dance and that's how I continue to see him everyday. I chose to interview him because he is never negative about anything and always appreciative of everyone and everything. Since he has a very positive attitude towards life, I thought he was the perfect person to interview. Some fun facts about Jake is that he can do a headstand for more than 3 minutes, he has red hair, and he is a male dancer.

Question: What life experience are you most grateful for?

The first experience he was grateful for was a national competition in Hollywood, Florida 2012. This inspiring experience made him truly realize he wanted to be a dancer. During the competition he realized that when you love what you do, you can, and will do anything to achieve what you want to achieve. He thought that maybe if he were devote everything he had into one thing, and maybe if he were to be as dedicated as all the amazing dancers he had seen, that possibly something amazing would come out of it. And thats exactly what happened.

Another experience Jake was grateful for was winning the title of Hamilton’s 2013 teen male dancer of the year. He had his mind set of doing the best that he could, not thinking about winning, but thinking of the experience he was going to have. All Jake wanted was to have the best run of his solo and make his teachers, family, and friends proud. When they called his name saying that he won, the emotion and shock he felt was so special no words could describe it. It showed him that all the hard work he had been doing had payed off and proved to everyone that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

The last experience is he is very grateful for, is my favourite. He figured out that if he wanted to take dance seriously, being 185 pounds wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Jake used to not think before he ate which caused him the problem. He first started with an intense dieting of absolutely no exceptions of unhealthy junk. Then made up a routine where he would do 300 crunches, 40 push ups, and run 2k every day. Within only 2 months, he lost an astonishing total of 40 pounds, and eventually gained 5 pounds of muscle. Jake is especially grateful for this experience because it has made him truly appreciate the taste of fruits and vegetables and what they are doing for your body. Now he can live a healthy lifestyle of 150 pounds for a 15 year old boy. : )

Conclusion: Upon reflection I think that Jake is someone who many people are grateful for and who has an very inspiring aspect on life. He has been able to choose dance over football already knowing how tough it is to be a male dancer with all the bullying and has been the one that wins in the end. He is very grateful and appreciative for what he has and I hope you can see that too. ; )

the gratitude project assignment :: dylan...

Our ongoing series of essays from Grade 8 students from Broadview Public School here in Ottawa.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Viner and Ms. Krochmalnek's classes just before our Canadian Thanksgiving, to talk to them about *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful*. (Read more about that here.) Students were then given an assignment to interview a friend or family member about what they were grateful for, and to submit a short essay based on that interview.   I will be publishing a selection of these essays here on the blog over the next couple of weeks.  You will want to read these.  Seriously. These kids rock.

(Read Julia's essay here, Minseong and Judy's essays here and O'Dane and Evan's essays here.)

Now, let's see what Dylan learned on his assignment...

Interviewer:  Dylan

Interviewee: Steacy

Brief Biography:

My Mom is very close to me and we have had lots of experiences together. From some of these experiences, I've noticed that she has to make a lot of tough decisions like when she decided to go to teachers college and become a teacher even though she would have to work much more often. I thought about it and I knew that she had to have made some decisions that she’s really grateful for. That is why I chose my Mom for this project.

Question:

What decision are you most grateful for?

 
1.      My Mom's first decision that she is really grateful for is her decision to join the purification challenge when she was young. This was a group of kids that had to run a certain amount of distance every week. By doing this challenge, my Mom figured out that she was a good runner and she joined cross country and had a lot of fun. She stills enjoys running now and it is one of the reasons she can stay fit.

2.      Another decision that my Mom is grateful for is her decision to work when she was in university. She is grateful for this decision because this helped her pay for school. She is also grateful for this because it helped her organize herself so she wouldn't just party with her friends every night.

3.      The last decision that my Mom is really grateful for is her decision to go to Europe with her sister for 2 weeks in 2010. My Mom is grateful for that decision because even though she was away from her family for 2 weeks and it cost a lot of money, she was really glad because it was very interesting seeing all the foreign countries and exploring the world.  She also had a lot of fun.

Conclusion:

Upon reflection, I think that my Mom was really thinking deeply about my questions and taking them seriously.  My Mom wasn't very resistive of my questions and answered them without any pushing. I think that my Mom was running out of answers by the last example but I do think she was grateful for the decision.

 

I can connect with her first decision, since my soccer team has to run 3 kilometres every practice for the past 2 years. This I am grateful for because now my dad, Mom and I go for after dinner runs sometimes for fun.  If I hadn't been running, I wouldn't have learned to enjoy it and would be missing the great family talks we have on our runs.

the gratitude project assignment :: o'dane... evan...

Our ongoing series of essays from Grade 8 students from Broadview Public School here in Ottawa.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Viner and Ms. Krochmalnek's classes just before our Canadian Thanksgiving, to talk to them about *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful*. (Read more about that here.) Students were then given an assignment to interview a friend or family member about what they were grateful for, and to submit a short essay based on that interview.   I will be publishing a selection of these essays here on the blog over the next couple of weeks.  You will want to read these.  Seriously. These kids rock.

(Read Julia's essay here and Minseong and Judy's essays here.)

Now, introducing O'Dane and Evan...


Interviewer:  O’Dane
Interviewee:  My dad

I chose to interview my dad because he’s been in my life since i was born, i chose to do my dad because he has an interesting background that I’ve never heard before. An interesting fact about my dad is that he was a deep sea fisherman before he migrated to Canada.

Question:

What person are you most grateful for?

My dad chose his grandmother because when he was born, he was born in her hands, in her house.

Another reason he chose his grandmother that he is most grateful for is because she raised him from just a baby to an adult.

The last reason why he chose his grandmother is that she is very loving and kind, she was always be loving and kind to everyone she knew in every way possible.

I can relate to this because both my parents have done the same with me except the adult part yet. Both my parents are loving and caring and want to help in any way possible and have raised me till now.

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Interviewer:  Evan B.

Interviewee: David B.

I’ve known this person since I was born because he is my dad.

I thought it was a good idea to interview my dad because I wanted to know what he is most grateful for. My dad has been collecting bikes since the early 80’s and has a large collection of current and vintage bicycles.

Question: 

What life experience are you most grateful for?

Answer:

My dad is most grateful to have discovered cycling at a young age. Cycling has been the mechanism that has enabled many different positive aspects of his life.

He always enjoyed riding bikes when he was young and this led him to try racing and that in turn taught him about training, nutrition and how to be a bicycle mechanic.

My dad has travelled to many places all over the world because of different races he has travelled to. He has met many people from different countries because of cycling.

Conclusion:

Personally I’ve always liked riding my bike and it’s a great form of transportation cause you get a great workout from it and you can ride with your friends, also when you start riding it introduces you to a great community.

the gratitude project assignment :: minseong... judy...

Our ongoing series of essays from Grade 8 students from Broadview Public School here in Ottawa.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Viner and Ms. Krochmalnek's classes just before our Canadian Thanksgiving, to talk to them about *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful*. (Read more about that here.) Students were then given an assignment to interview a friend or family member about what they were grateful for, and to submit a short essay based on that interview.   I will be publishing a selection of these essays here on the blog over the next couple of weeks.  You will want to read these.  Seriously. These kids rock.

(Read Julia's essay here.)

Now, introducing Minseong and Judy...

Interviewer:  Minseong K.

Interviewee: Tarik

Brief biography:  He is my French teacher.

I have known him for a 2 month now.

I choose him because he is a good guy talk to.

Question:  

What life experience are you most grateful for?

Answer: 

Learning how to cook

Reasons for his answer:

1. he got to learn about various cultures and discovered their food
2. he got a lot more creative then before
3. he thinks it is a great opportunity  to be a chef
4. HE LOVES COOKING!!!!

Conclusion:

Up on the responses, I think he loves cooking and I like cooking myself so I think he is cool with me and he is also a good cook because I have tasted his food before and I know that he works hard to be better and better so I think that is something that you can be grateful for...

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Interviewer:  Judy S.

Interviewee: Ghada

This person is my mother; I have known her my entire life.

I chose her because she is my inspiration and idol.
An interesting fact about her is that she has a strong personality and determination.

Question:

What decision are you most grateful for?

Answer:

The decision I am most grateful for is leaving Lebanon to come to Canada.

I feel like my kids are safer.
Better education.
Cosmopolitan atmosphere.
 
Reflection:
I can’t agree more with my mother. Bringing us here to Canada was a great decision. I’m so grateful for her decision. The political situation in the Middle East is so bad. A war might erupt any time, which means we could have been in great danger and lack of education.

wherever gratitude goes...

It was time to step out of cyberspace once again, and back into the community.

They loved *the gratitude project* at ArtsPark.

They loved *the gratitude project* at Your Story Retreat.

But how would it be received by people just going about their business, on a busy street, in the middle of a summer work day?  Hence the experimentation component of this “public engagement experiment”!

On Monday, August 19^th, the lovely Chrisann joined me as we set up a pop-up gratitude project on Sparks Street, a busy pedestrian street in downtown Ottawa.  We set up during lunch hour, when hundreds of public servants and tourists mill about for reasons known only to them.  Admittedly, I was nervous.  How would people react to *the gratitude project*?  Would I be able to just put myself out there, and detach from the outcome?  Well, there was only one way to find out…

In our 90 minutes on Sparks Street, we collected close to 30 expressions of gratitude for our “gratitude wall” (a re-purposed garden trellis)!  Several people came to us without prompting, drawn by the visual expression of our key  question: what are you grateful for?  Others stopped when invited: hi there – would you like to participate in the gratitude project?  Either out of politeness or out of genuine curiosity, they took a few moments to hear about the project and participate. However the majority of people just walked on by.  I would even say some people executed what appeared to be highly-trained, tactical avoidance manoeuvres!  It became clear that, if you are standing on the street with a clipboard over lunch hour and attempting to make eye contact, it is assumed you want money. In some instances, they would direct a quick “no-thank-you” our way, while with others, we simply didn’t exist.  If-I-don’t-look-at-you; you-are-not-there.   Our friendly greeting was met with stone-cold silence. Very interesting! (This is an experiment, remember?! J)

One of my favourite moments was the gentleman who quickly said “no thanks” as he walked by, but who then turned around and said: “actually yes, I would like to participate. tell me more about this…”.  I loved that!  It showed me that, even though people kept on walking, they were probably thinking about it.  I mean, how can you read the question what are you grateful for? and not even think about a response??  You may not share it, or barely even admit it to yourself, but chances are good that you. are. thinking. about. it.

Another wonderful outcome of setting up in this environment was the potential for reaching tourists.  A couple of the items posted were in languages other than English or French – gratitude goes beyond language!  And, as in the other locations, wonderful conversations were had.  Those who get it, really get it.    So affirming! 

I’m glad we did this… and that I was able to detach personally and really look at this as an experiment.  Society as a giant laboratory.  If ever YOU are interested in trying this out in your community, get in touch by leaving a comment here, or via our Facebook page.  I can share the logo and the list of questions I use to engage people.  Or, you can do your own thing and let me know how it goes!

Wherever gratitude goes, gratitude grows.

gratefully yours,

jag

this. from a beautiful young japanese woman who was worried about her english.

looks pretty perfect to me.

 this. from a young woman who picked the question: "what person you've never met are you most grateful for?"  (i loved her sense of humour)

this. just a sampling of the many who expressed gratitude for family.

it was certainly the theme of the day.

reaching for the words...

I’ll be honest: it’s difficult for me to put words to the experience of bringing *the gratitude project: dare to be grateful* out into the community.  I keep leaning into words like overwhelming, exhilarating, exhausting, gratifying, positive…  It is clear that this initiative struck a chord with the people who attended Hintonburg ArtsPark.  Let’s face it: I live in a very grateful community!   What I didn’t expect was how easily people would “get it”… how open they would be with sharing their gratitude… how seamlessly we would progress to very deep levels of conversation… and how quickly they invited me to be part of other events or initiatives.  Yikes!  Oh the places we could go… 

As I continue to process the experience, I’ll leave you with some images from the day.  I'll upload a few more on our Facebook page.  Many thanks to my friend Stuart Hickox for joining me and serving as an amazing ambassador for *the gratitude project*!



ready and waiting...

this girl kept coming back to add more. "I love this - it makes me think!" she'd say...

gratitude

what person you have never met are you most grateful for?

what makes you happy?

grateful for...

what decision are you most grateful for?

grateful for...

even Mayor Jim Watson and City Councillor Katherine Hobbs got into the spirit

tag team gratitude ambassadors: stuart & jag...

just jag - so very grateful for it all!

  gratefully yours,

jag