Hey All,
Sorry I haven't written in since January. School has been
unbelievably busy and I'm realizing more than ever how much you truly need to
give up in order to reach your goals. February was very busy and I learnt lots
of new things.
In February I donated blood
to the national blood service (NBS) first the first time. I was a little
nervous but it was worth it. When I went to register before I donated, the man
who was registering people asked me how my grandfather was. I was a little
surprised but I remembered that my grampa used to work for the NBS. This man remembered
him from 20 years before. It was sad because I had to tell him that my grampa
had passed away 2 years ago.
Last week Thursday was my birthday and I can honestly say that I
enjoyed the whole day. I went out for supper with my family at Spur, a family
tradition since we were kids. If it's your birthday, no matter if you're a
regular or if it's your first time, they’ll sing to you. It makes you feel
embarrassed, yet loved at the same time. And you get free ice-cream with
sprinkles on it. I was also told a week before not to make any plans for the Saturday
two days later.
On the Friday, the 7th of March, I got my ears pierced for the
first time. It was not as bad as everyone says it will be or as sore. So on the
Saturday, I woke up expecting a surprise and I had no clue what to expect. My
sister told me on the morning that I and she were going to spend the day at
Ushaka Marine World, a huge tourist attraction in our city. I was amazed and
completely surprised and thrilled because I had not even thought of it. My
sister had gotten free passes to do all the activities because she works as a
volunteer at Ushaka twice a week.
Anyway, we arrived at Ushaka at around 11 am and were there till 5
pm. We did everything - went on the water slides (This place has the highest
waterslide in Africa, although I skipped that one), watched the dolphin and
seal shows, Walked through the aquarium, got photos of us printed, Had lunch
at.. You guessed it, Spur and then did some shopping. When we first got there
we went to watch the dolphin and seal shows. It was amazing to see to
relationship between the trainers and the animals and how much these animals
love and trust the trainers.
We then went on the water slides and even though I am getting
older, my sister is still as protective as always. We decided to go on this one
water slide which leads to a deep pool at the end and my sister, being the
protective sister she is, said she would go first so that she could catch me at
the end. She did. We went on it again later but I said that I wanted to go
first and she didn't want to let me. Anyway, she went after me and somehow
during the ride she caught up to me and grabbed hold of me so that we would
slide into the water together at the end. How sweet <3. We also went on this
amaaazzing ride called the lazy river, where you lie on a tube and float or hop
off and swim (we all did that as kids, but now we prefer to just relax!). It is
really nice and relaxing and the best part is that it lasts a long time and
even takes you past a part of the aquarium.
After that we walked through the whole aquarium. The aquarium is
set in an old shipwreck and really looks like it inside too. It was absolutely
breathtaking to see all the different sea creatures and fish. You almost feel a
sense of peace and relaxation when you are down at the bottom of this shipwreck
surrounded by fish. We were lucky enough to see the fish feeding and the diver
being surrounded and I’d say a little swamped by hundreds of fish. We took
about a thousand photos and then decided to have lunch. After lunch we walked
through all the shops and I eventually decide to buy an awesome purple Roxy
T-shirt. That surprise was amazing and I thank my sister for it.
This week I have been writing a discursive essay for English and
the topic I chose was nature vs. nurture. I have never actually found out about
this topic before so I thought that it was a good opportunity to learn something
new. I have come to the conclusion that nature and nurture go hand in hand in determining
the outcome of a person. When I think of this topic, I think of a coin because
it has a flip side like a coin – nature cannot exist without nurture as a coin
head cannot exist without a coin tail. My teacher told me that she wants my
essay to be published in the local newspaper. I’m excited.
I get my writing ability
and love of it from my mother’s side of the family. She is an author of two
books, her brother ( my uncle) is an editor with a PHD in English literature
and both of my grandparents on that side were journalists and my grandfather
also an author. I have also been learning about forces, the kidney and surds
this week. I have started doing Women’s Health magazines 15 minute workouts
which work out great because I don’t have time to waste during the week. They are
only 15 minutes long, but they leave you sweating by the end and moving every
second.
Thanks for your comments and support
Till next time
A.V.M Dwyer
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