Why being at boarding school is awesome

So as you probably know I’ve only been at boarding school for a couple of months and I really enjoy it (I guess after 2 years it might be a little more annoying). As I have experienced high school both as a day student and a boarder I can now tell you what’s the best for me.
First of all, the boarding school is a beautiful building that actually looks like a jail from the outside and a hospital from the inside. If you are a boarder you will have the extreme luck to meet Melody who trust me is always adorable! You can’t take your shower or listen to music when you want (that’s only for girls apparently). And you have to eat the cafeteria’s most refined dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I know from there it might seem horrible but these are just small drawbacks that are quickly forgotten.

Boarding school is an amazing place because you get to live 24 hours a day with your best friends. You are never alone and can never be bored because there’s always action and discussion (but not never-ending debates with your parents). Even if you might miss them at the beginning you will soon realize that it’s awesome not having them on your back!! And as for your brothers and sisters, fighting with them 2 days a week is more than enough. As a boarder you have the extreme privilege to be invited to the boarding school party organised by the extraordinary representatives.
And in winter, no more cold on your way to school: you’re already there!
But most of all boarding school is the place where your class friends become your friends for life. Where you create ties that might last forever. And where you spend so much time laughing that you’ll probably end up immortal.

Thx for reading ;)
Bahia

Learning manual work

As we all know, we don't learn any manual work in school anymore. It is a subject that should still be taught, especially nowadays when we try to reduce our carbon footprint.

In our current society, we buy everything, and if something breaks, we buy a new one. If we learned how to work with wood and sew, we could buy less and repair things that break or modify objects that we don't need any more to make new useful items that we need and want. For example, with clothing, you can modify a dress to make a shirt if there is a stain or a hole in the skirt, or carve some wood that was from an old box to make a new decoration item.

Furthermore, by learning manual work, we could develop new skills that we are not able to develop in other classes as we are manipulating materials and thinking what to make and how. The art classes that we have in middle school are a great start to develop those skills, but we could go further and it would benefit the students all their life. It would also make it possible to change the popular view that to be intelligent, you have to be good at math and science in general and that there aren't any other ways, by changing it to the fact that there are many different kinds of intelligence. Students that have difficulties with science but are good with the manual discipline would not be marginalised and seen as stupid, but would be helped to find an appropriate study path that would allow them to be happy and succeed in their careers.
Céline

Why you should be writing a story

Wait! I know what you are thinking. Something like “ugh, how typical for a English Literature assignment.” I agree that it’s quite typical, but I believe you might be interested in what I have to say concerning this subject.

I like to compare the action of writing with the art of carving. In the beginning, you just have a block of clay. Your tools are your mind and imagination, and each one of the little strokes you give the clay is a word. But be careful ! Your strokes can’t be careless, or the whole sculpture will be weakened. Like your strokes, your words have to be carefully chosen so they can precisely render the effect you chose them for. For example, do you see the differences between “see”, “watch”, “observe”, and “notice”? They are quite slight, but choosing one of these words over another can change the meaning of a whole sentence. And once you’re done, once you’ve checked your work again and again for imperfections, you finally take a step back, and admire your masterpiece.

Of course, it’s a difficult thing to do, but in the end it’ll be a great experience. Writing will enable you to acquire a better knowledge of whatever language you’re experimenting with, and the quality of your expression will also improve. However, those aren’t the reasons for which I, myself, write. It’s actually something that can be found in Lisa’s post about drawing ; the feeling of being in control. When you are writing a story, especially fiction, the only limit to your power is your imagination. You can create whole worlds in the span of a few Word pages. You can create governments, histories, religions, animals.... You can write a story about drama, romance, adventure ! You can create characters, or use already existing ones. You want to write yourself into a story? Nothing is stopping you! You are a puppeteer, controlling everything with your words. All you need is a red thread to guide you ; a plot.

But easier said than done. A plot doesn't always magically appear in your brain when you need one - many writers that suffer from writer’s block can confirm that. However, inspiration can arrive anytime ; on the bus, in your bed, in class… If you are really blocked, I would recommend searching for writing prompts of the internet. They are thousands of them. For example, not so long ago, Solène sent me one that read “You finally build enough courage to talk to that cute someone you see everyday on the bus. Their face turns dark as they respond ; ‘you shouldn’t be able to see me.’” I took that, tried to do something with it, and ended up with a whole story about mythologies that had nothing to do with a scene in a bus. Once you get started, it goes very quickly !

When you are ready, sit down, make yourself comfortable, and take your computer - or your pen. Keep in mind that the best thing to do is write what you would want to read. If you need to read a story with a happy ending, write that. If you need to read something very dark, so be it ! That’s a good way to ensure that you’ll be satisfied with your works.

Finally, ask yourself these three questions ;

1. Who is the main character ?

2. What does the character want more than anything ?

3. How can I prevent them from getting it ? 

Elise