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