English12 Bench Journal Blog Project

1. The Park I Visited & The Bench I Chose

In preparation for this post I visited Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadow, the most relaxing place of my student life. This is a place where my family and I have always enjoyed a picnic. My dad visits me every four months because he works in Seoul, South Korea. Whenever he comes, we spend good times here.

Sitting on a silver metal bench next to a trail in the park, my family chatted and made a lot of memories. Our bench has heard all of the Choi family stories. I chose this place because I’ve poured out most of my life story on this bench. In the future, if I sit on this bench again, I will remember my Canada life and many memories of my school days. This silvery bench will also remember me when I come back to it.

2. What I Saw and Thought on the Bench

This normal-looking park has a nice long trail to walk leisurely. It stretches and surrounds the curved end of a marsh. In grade six, the trail seemed infinitely long to me, but now it is easy to walk along and it has become the most comfortable and relaxing place for me.

With a trail in the middle, on the left, Pitt Lake is widely spread and the other side is a wildlife management marsh. Lastly there is a very old wooden observatory on the trail. Up on the observation deck, when I look around I can see ducks swimming around in the marsh and a flying flock of birds. It is indeed a quiet and peaceful place. The bench I chose is located just a bit past the wooden observatory. Sitting on the bench I see birds sitting on sparsely built wooden pilings in the water and watch boats cut through the water. People occasionally put flowers and pictures on the last bench on the trail. When I happen to see one of them, I stop and look at the pictures and read its inscription.

This time, in peace and tranquility of a place, I recalled many memories of growing up on my new home, Canada. Just like The Little Prince traveled numerous stars, Canada was also a new experience for me as if it was a new star. My Canadian life began at age 11 and a half; in six months, I will be 18 and graduate from high school.

Back in Korea my dream was to become the CEO of a toy company. When most children suffered from attending many private academies after school, I read books at home and played with toys. My nature was far from competition, but as soon as I came to Canada, my attitude changed. I decided to study on my own without any help of a tutor or a private academy. My mind was filled with the desire to become a great student.

Starting on the first day of grade six, I attended school an hour earlier than others to have some studying time. I made many friends and enjoyed my school life. However, that didn’t last long. My right arm was fractured just after a month passed. It was very uncomfortable, but all of my classmates wrote notes on my cast to cheer me up. Because of this I was able to continue my fun school days. Although the cast made it difficult for me to hold a pencil, I always handed in daily homework on time. I’m still proud of myself for that.

After some time, my school held a Kilometre Club. I had no experience in marathons, but I ran continuously without a break and broke my school’s longest record and ranked in first place. When the students’ distance accumulated on a daily basis, there was a ribbon trophy given to those who achieved a certain kilometer distance. With this ribbon, I found persistence and a fighting spirit within me. It also allowed me to taste a sense of accomplishment. On the last day of the Kilometre Club, many students and teachers came out to cheer my longest record. Even the principal congratulated the new record. At the moment when everyone held my hands and rejoiced with me, I learned that praise and encouragement motivated me better than a fierce competition. Through the marathon I gained confidence. With this confidence, I was able to be active out of school activities.

Other than school, a place I did diverse activities the most was at my church. Since grade 6 I’ve been attending St. John's Anglican Church steadily. I wanted to learn about Canadian culture and I got to know people like my family here.

In grade 6 when I first met Priest Gary at the church, he treated me like his own grandson. Although I was a newcomer, he entrusted an important Crucifer position to me. As a result of steadily carrying out the job, I have become a representative Crucifer of our church now. With Gary’s caring, it was possible for me to blend in the church at ease. He had given many encouraging words that cherish in my heart. Gary is now retired, but he still leaves a comment to my Facebook profile picture such as, “Junho, you look great!” Times spent with Gary are lifetime worth keeping.

Along with the Crucifer role, I was also in charge of drumming with the choir.

There were mostly elders in our church, so no one could make use of the drums. Drums were covered up like the Sleeping Beauty, but they woke up again, as I showed up. I practiced the drums with the choir members for Sunday services. At first, I used to say, "I might knock myself out by hitting drums with my head. I’m so nervous!” However, such a thing did not happen, instead, unexpected applause and praise poured into me. My exciting drums between solemn hymns gave vigor and great fun for parish members! I was proud and happy of the fact that I could give pleasure to many people.

Then starting in grade 10, I participated in Sunday Worship Service at Evergreen House (senior's home) located at Lions Gate Hospital. My duties are usually bible reading, flipping hymn pages, and pushing wheel chairs for elders. From doing diverse activities our parish members started to trust me and they said, "You are the future of our church. You represent St. John’s youth. We are thankful to have you, so be proud." After hearing such compliments, I determined to make myself more worthy.

Unlike school full of friends, church has adults in a wide range of ages. That allowed me to learn things I couldn’t learn from school. Through conversing with elders, I found out people’s happiness, pain, and learned about life.

There is a special person who keeps a great relationship with me and my mom as if we are family.

Pat is over 80 years old, regardless of her age, she always remembers my birthday and sends birthday card. She makes goodies and chocolates for me and asks about my studies with great interest. When I wasn’t doing so well in my English 12, she prayed for me to do better. After a while, when I met Pat again she asked, "How is your English mark? These days, I pray for you a lot." I will not forget the kindness she gave me even after I’m grown up.

Looking back fondly, I had lots of pleasant memories and met nice people. Many extensive experiences in Canada have matured me. At the moment I am struggling with university applications and homework, but when I’m free from these, I’ll visit this park again and pat myself on the back for overcoming these.

3. If a Bench were Dedicated to Me...

If a bench was dedicated to me, I would like it to be placed in the garden of the future IT company I will eventually work for. It would be nice if its inscription plate says, "Commemorate Junho Choi for our company's great development. We are all proud for working with you. You will be remembered. "

4. If I Dedicate a Bench...

There are times I walk through the park and find a bench in an inconspicuous place. If I look around on that bench, I can discover unique and beautiful scenery that can only be seen from sitting on that specific bench. I would like to dedicate a bench in a cozy place of this park where my family spent good times, so every time I come by this park, I can recall those memories. Hoping to see others have good times like my family did, my inscription would be, "I wish you make great memories on this bench like I did with my family."

5. A Journal Response about My Trip to the Park.

A revisit of Grant Narrows Park gave me an opportunity to look back my whole Canada life. As I recalled memories, it seemed I’ve done great so far. Now I'm standing on a major point of my life ready to achieve my dream. My dream is no longer a toy company president. It is now a professional presenter in a large IT company such as Samsung, Google, or Apple. My greatest interest in the IT field is the study of new features on the latest devices. I am very confident about giving presentations, so I’m trying my best to reach this goal. Throughout high school, I continuously received academic awards and I was full of confidence. However, as soon as English 12 started, the language barrier didn’t let my confidence through. I had to taste great difficulty. At the moment, I am trying to encourage myself to overcome the barrier. After I achieve my dream, I want to recall my proud memories on this bench again.

6. A Poem Brought to My Mind on the Bench

Sitting on the bench, I can see the trail stretching far and vanishing from sight as it meets a curved end. I chose this poem because I remembered myself wondering what waits at the end of this endless trail.

I Love a Lonely Winding Road

Alora M. Knight

I love a lonely winding road
That takes me where I cannot see
Until each softly rounded hill
Reveals its landscaped mystery.
Where nature's stage creates the plot,
What ever the scene may be.

I love the crocus call in spring,
The first to wake from winter's sleep.
Translucent bits of ivory joy,
So patient under snow banks deep,
'Til they can lift each star like face
And proudly nature's rhythm keep.

I love the fiery autumn hues,
Too harsh to bear in gentle spring
But welcomed by the strident wind
That makes the mighty pine tree sing,
Freeing the crimson leaves that dance
Like bright birds, high on wing.

I love the wonders of this world,
The secrets nature guards so well
From those who have no time to spend,
Who will not lift the ocean's shell
And listen to the murmured tale
That each one has to tell.

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/i-love-a-lonely-winding-road#ixzz3NWiMmx1C
Family Friend Poems

7. How This Poem Connects to My Philosophy of Life

There are times I see an endless trail in the middle of nowhere. Many times my curiosity makes me want to go down the unknown trail. What could be waiting at the end of the trail? What could I see down there? I ponder the trail that seems to symbolize our way of life. The path in front of my eyes is the same as our unknown future ahead of us.

 The crocus in I Love a Lonely Winding Road was the first one who broke out snow-covered plateau in spring. I would like to vigorously move out into the world like the crocus.

8. The Purpose of a Park & My Thoughts about Parks

Parks are places to relax in nature with enjoyment.

To me a park is a peaceful place to rest, a place where I can be close to beautiful nature, and it is also a place to make happy memories with family.

Seasons and weather are different every time we go there, although the park is the same, scenery is always new and diverse. I would like to talk about some memorable days I spent in this park.

One frosty winter morning, the appearance of blueberry farms on the way to the park was such beautiful scenery to express in words. Red blueberry branches glittered under the sunshine while wearing a light pink frost jacket. The world under snow clad peaks was like a pink jewel. When we arrived at the park, the swamp and the lake were mystically filled with wet fog. As we walked in, the fog gradually cleared and the world was full of fresh green again. The scenery of this morning was breath taking.

On another day, my family and I went for a break after finishing my Korean 12 Language Challenge Exam. I couldn't even see right in front of me because of dense fog. It was a little scary, spooky, and mysterious, but we enjoyed the thrilling atmosphere. We were thrilled by the tension of walking into the fog and we shared warm cocoa and coffee in the cold.

After a long walk, we voted for a place to have lunch. I insisted on having a hot cup noodles outdoors on a cold day on a bench. I preferred eating at a bench to a picnic table in this park because benches were less crowded and cozier. The bench our family ate lunch at was near a pond just a bit away from the park trail. The place was really quiet and there were three benches lined up side-by-side. It was an ideal place to eat lunch with a hot cup noodles.

When I finally finished all the preparations to have my noodles, a sudden cold gust struck. My hot cup noodles were already cooled by the time it reached my mouth. At that moment, my dad stood in front of me as a windshield with a thick jacket on. Mom was diving to catch flying lunch containers in the wind and that seemed like rugby touchdowns. Meanwhile, I quickly finished my cold noodles and yelled, "I finished it!" As my dad turned around my mom and I could not hold bursting out laughing. Dad was shedding tears because of the cold wind. My dad sheds tears if cold wind directly blows on his face. My mom and I had a crazy laughing fit as we wiped off our own tears.

Thus, the park provides fun moments and a relaxing environment for me.

9. A Poem Reflecting Upon my Bench Experience

Now, for concluding the post, I will introduce a poem I made. Sometimes there are flowers and pictures lying on a bench at the very end of the walkway. This is a poem based on what I felt from seeing that bench.

The Bench I Remember

Junho Choi

Today on that bench

Someone left behind

Flowers and pictures.

The two people in the picture

They once loved.

They left to the heaven together

Leaving longing to those remaining.

At that bench

Two people in love still there

Yearning of those who loved them remains

Even today, at that bench

New people rest and leave.

Sometimes a gentle whisper

Sometimes cheerful laughter echoes.

That bench

Heard numerous stories

Shared by countless people

In the middle of the night, left alone

Night sky full of stars and the wind

That bench remembers

The stories they shared

Memories they loved

Smiles they had