Year by Year - December 2021 Flashback

As we approach the end of January, and the completion of Semester 1, we feel a sense of relief as the weight of culminatings begins to ease off our shoulders. However, sometimes we might want to reminisce on the days we were most alive... the days when the looming procrastination of projects was just beginning and the merry tunes of the holidays still ringing. Here are the thoughts of Brian S (Grade 9), Anonymous (Grade 10), Alex M (Grade 11), Kevin P (Grade 11), and Alissa N (Grade 12):

How do you anticipate your workload to appear entering the holidays?

Brian: “Honestly the teachers have been pretty nice and reasonable (at least the ones I have) in my opinion when it comes to workload. I think it's more of an issue with my work ethic and focus :( ”
Anonymous: “A lot of culminating activities to do but i don’t think i’m going to do any of them since i want/need a break.”
Alex: “My workload entering the holidays is going to be heavy. I have 3 culminating evaluations and multiple projects.”
Kevin: “I don't think the workload will be very heavy despite having multiple culminatings to work on. Without going to school, I won't have to take tests so I don't have to cram study for them. The workload should be pretty manageable if I don't procrastinate too much.”
Alissa: “Surprisingly, I am on top of all my school work but I have so many uni supplementary apps to work on and I am not. Emotionally ready.”

How do you anticipate balancing procrastination and productivity?

Brian: “This has been and as far as I can tell will continue to be my Achilles' heel in academics (or work in general). When I start working, I like to think that I'm really productive, but getting to doing that work in the first place can often be pretty (and by pretty I mean like really) hard. Maybe binging anime or netflix at midnight isn't the best idea?! Maybe downlading league of legends wasn't the best idea?! Who knows.”
Anonymous: “As i said i won’t be doing any work, so basically only procrastinating.”
Alex: “I need this winter break to relax my mind and body, especially since the weeks leading up to the break have been very stressful. When I’m not doing homework over the break, my goal is to try not to think of it like procrastinating and rather think of it as giving myself a well-deserved reward :) Hopefully my time spent not doing homework will be well spent (ex. playing sports, being outside, spending time with family etc).”
Kevin: “I'll procrastinate a lot, maybe too much but since most of my culminatings are group projects, I think I'll be trying not to disappoint my group members and so I'll be staying on track.”
Alissa: “Haha I do homework and play video games at the same time. You know, getting things done while I enjoy life a little (a lot).”

From your perspective, is "it's the most wonderful time of the year" relevant?

Brian: “Yeah, for sure! My birthday is also on New Years so it's the time of year I look forward to the most in the entire year even asides from school life. Also when I know most of the people in my grade, have made friends, so maybe we can also figure out meetups out of school sometime. Some of us are also doing secret santa!”
Anonymous: “Yes!!! i love this time of year because everything seems so much nicer. people seem kinder, there’s a lot of holiday cheer in the air and overall i just love winter.”
Alex: “Although my winter break will be packed with homework and other activities, I still think it’s the “most wonderful time of the year” since it gives me opportunities to do things that I can’t do during a regular school week.”
Kevin: “If I didn't mind the cold, not going to school to see my friends, and the constant barrage of Christmas music, it would still have a tough time being the most wonderful time of the year (it's autumn, sweater weather is the best).”
Alissa: “With school, every time of the year is the same to me but at least everything is pretty with Christmas decorations and events.”

(What) would you ask Santa (for) now?

Brian: “If I could ask for an intangible it would be better work ethic. If it had to be a physical item, probably a larger desk. My computer takes up way too much room.”
Anonymous: “Skincare lol”
Alex: “Dear Santa, I’d like a pair of sweatpants, some volleyball socks and a super light bridge made out of popsicle sticks that can hold over 40 lbs ”
Kevin: “I would ask him to give me motivation to finish my school work. Otherwise, chocolate is good.”
Alissa: “Santa!! I would so love to get into a university.”

What is a "tradition" of yours during the two weeks of winter break?

Brian: “I sit in my house and don't think about school which is a luxury I have as a niner. Also, I completely legitimately download movies and shows I missed because I was too busy on release and really wanted to check out. I play some indie multiplayer games with my friends to pass time. That's about it I guess!”
Anonymous: “Clean the house and then celebrate Christmas!”
Alex: “We always travel to the USA to visit my family over the winter break. Along with the holidays, many of my family members birthdays appear around the holidays making it even more festive.”
Kevin: “Watch a Star-Wars movie, usually the new one since they release mid December. I guess this year, that won't be possible."
Alissa: “Winter break is so freeing. I catch up on shows or finish video games that I never had the time to play during the school year but then the last day of break is like school work grind time. ̄”

What is your first thought when you hear "first snowfall?"

Brian: “t's changed a lot over the years. It's slowly progressed from wanting to build a snowman, to building a snow fort, to throwing snowballs, to putting ice behind a friend's back. Because of the fact that my birthday is in the season as well, it reminds me of how quickly time passes by, I honestly don't feel like I'm about to be 15 (and my friends often also remind me that I don't act like I'm 15 either, thanks guys).”
Anonymous: “Depends when it is. if it’s on october to early november i think, “it’s too early for this”, but anywhere after that it makes me happy because it reminds me that it’s almost Christmas.”
Alex: “I LOVE SNOW! I really would like to have hugeee snowfall. I don’t really enjoy the winter season when there isn’t snow (since everything looks grey and dead). In my opinion, the first snowfall can be good or bad depending on how much it snows. The more snow the better :D”
Kevin: “I think first snowfalls always disappoint. It would be prettier if the ground was already covered in snow first. Only then does it really feels like winter starts.”
Alissa: “Cold. shoveling snow. omg snow :D”

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