1: My Bench is small, wooden, and easily forgotten. People walk by this bench everyday some unnoticing of its simple beauty, while others sit and admire the view of a busy yet beautiful Downtown Vancouver, and the vast glimmering ocean that lies between you and for some the best and the worst of the past. However once you have left this bench it does not remain in your mind as more than a bench, however for me it is much more than just a bench, to me it represents a view of a past I have not yet come to terms with, a past I both enjoy and regret, my past.
2: When you sit on this bench you overlook both Downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver, the most beautiful and the murkiest parts of our great city. The view of the vast city and busy lives of all the citizens, frantically running in the doors of a building to be on time for a meeting, or the quick walk of someone just trying to escape the madness. You see the sea bus transporting people from side to side, some returning home from a long day of work and others returning after a busy day of shopping. You hear the laughter of teenagers as they make jokes with their friends, and the honking of horns as vast amounts of drivers try to maneuver through the crazed rush hour traffic. At night you see the glow of the buildings and the street lights flickering in the distance, and mostly I see the glow of the Olympic torch where two short years ago all or my memories took place. I feel the cold breeze of the winter nights, and yet I do not shiver. I feel a warm glow inside from the memories that exist. For the beautiful city that lies before me holds the most confusing and memorable times of my past. I feel the arms of my former best friend around me, as I look at the place where all of our best stories come from. What I look at is that faint glow of blue and green that shines so brightly in the night sky, seen from anywhere in northern Vancouver the glow of Shaw tower reminds me of all the friendships I made just two short years ago at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I feel the excitement I felt when Alexander Bilodeau came home with the gold metal for the very first time on Canadian soil. I feel the warmth of the hearts of everyone who came to witness one of the most globally celebrated events every created, a time when the whole world casts aside their misfortune and worries to watch their nations compete on the world stage. We come to watch those who train their entire lives for this one moment when the whole world has their eyes on you, and to those few that receive the honor of getting a medal congratulations to you for working so hard and achieving what so many claim to be impossible, and to those who don’t medal, regardless if you go home without that ribbon hanging on your neck just remember that you made your nation and the world proud and remember you have done what so many before you have failed at, getting this far! Yet with all of the excitement and warmth that I feel, there hangs above my head, in the corner of my mind a memory of a special someone. Someone who as hard as I try can’t be forgotten, the person who’s memory remains in the smallest crook of my mind and who’s face lingers at the most inconvenient of times. You remind me of everything I see wrong with myself, you remind me of how easily you can lose your mind and how simple it is to be blinded by stupidity. But no matter how bad I wish I could forget this, forget you, I smile at the way I felt back then, the glow of your smile remains in my thoughts the same way that your eyes captured my soul. And what do I want? Well simply put I want the moments and the memories that I have to stay with me so that I never forget the mistakes and the hardships of my past, so that I know how to look at a better tomorrow.
3/4: If someone one day dedicated a bench to me, I would want it in a place that had meaning to me and to my friends and family who know or knew me well. I would choose a place where I would go to think, and clear my mind of all the drama and misfortune that seems to come with being a teenager, somewhere my best and loudest laughs were heard somewhere I could be proud of. There are so many places that I could choose but one stands out among the rest, At the corner of 15th and Grand boulevard, on top of the little hill that over looks the soccer field where I spent my childhood growing up, laughing, playing, and even sometimes just thinking. I would want that bench to be a place for people of all ages to come, sit, and escape the craziness of their lives to just look around and think as I have done so many times. Also I would want the inscription to say "No matter what the problem, No matter what tomorrow brings, Just keep looking forward." Short, sweet, and to the point. I don't need it to say about how my life was, and how much people enjoyed having me in their lives, I would just want those who sat on the bench and read the inscription to know that even though times are hard, and things go wrong that you always need to keep your eyes on the future because no one knows what the future will bring, but I promise you its not whats in the past. Also if I had to dedicate a bench to someone or to someones, I would dedicate it not to one person but to a group of people, a group of people who were there for me when i felt like no one else was. That same group of people that shared every laugh and every tear of my high school experience. No names are needed because they know who they are, and if an inscription was needed it would read "Never forget who your true friends are, sometimes it may be hard to see them, but just remember they are always there."
5: I went to visit the park that held my bench on a saturday afternoon, it was cold and on the verge of getting dark. However you could still see the busy people walking along beside, and the traffic flowing smoothly behind you. I walked past my bench and saw a young couple sitting together staring out at the water, admiring the beauty that was before them, and as I walked past a sudden sadness overcame me because I knew that what that couple had I wouldn't ever have with that one person I cant forget. I thought about how I would never be able to hold your hand like that, and i would never be able to cuddle up to you on a cold winter night and yet although I was overwhelm with sadness I remembered that I will always have that opportunity with the right person, and I may not have that with you but thats for a reason and even though I may not know or understand the reason I will one day. That visit to the park reminded me of what that bench really represents, and that is happiness because everyday people walk by it so focused on the negative in their lives and if they would only take one deep breath and think about what makes them happy then maybe for just one second they would remember that things may be rough now but they always get better, and to me that is the most important thing that this bench could represent.
6: I chose a poem to represent my bench, it talks about remembering not only the good but the bad as well. It asks if you will remember? Will you remember the person who was your everything? Will you remember the good times that you had with them or just the bad? or will you simply forget about them? This poem asks what it will take for someone to simply remember them, will it take the rain, sun, smiles, regrets? This poem is a good representation of my bench. It describes the memories we have all faced of that one person you wish would remember you, but no matter how hard you try...they just don't. This poem may not accurately show what my bench represents but it does show what I used to ask myself sitting on that bench, do they remember me? and if they do, what do they remember and what caused them to think about it?
| If I ever die, will you then remember? When you see me cry, will you then remember? When you feel regret, will you then remember? After you forget, will you then remember? When it's pouring down rain, will you then remember? When you feel the pain, will you then remember? When the sun is shininig, will you then remember? When you see me smiling, will you then remember? If you have a heart, you will remember. Now that we're torn apart, you will remember. Remember the love remember the pain remember the hurt remember the rain Remember the times the good and the bad remember the times the happy, the sad Remember the smiles remember the tears remember when you held me when you saw my fears Remember the fights remember the war remember the flowers you left at the door Remember back then when we were two remember me and I'll remember you. by: asiya abdurrahman 7: My personal philosophy of life is that everything happens for a reason, and even though you may not know the reason its still happening you benefit you in the future. I will admit that sometimes this is extremely hard to believe but if i know something it is that no matter what i do that someone is looking out for me and watching over me. I live my life the way that i want to remember it not for how i want someone else to remember me, and if i screw up what ever it happens to everyone because no one perfect and if someone claims to be then they are sadly mistaken. I think that is connects to the poem that i chose because the poem talks about remembering someone who there was love with and pain, good times and bad, smiles and tears, fights and flowers. All of these are either negative or positive no of them are remotely close. However the last line says ill remember you, and if you have to remember someone that means that you and them were never meant to be friends or lovers, you two were simply not meant for each other and that is where my philosophy fits in because if someone is meant to be in your life then they will be, and if they for some reason leave your life and you don't know why you just have to remember that it all happens for a reason. 8: I believe that the purpose of a park is to promote activities outside of your homes, because the more and more advanced that our technology gets the less people are getting outside and going for a walk or even sitting at a park. A park is a place where a family can go for a picnic to relax from a stressful week or a place where bonding between friends can happen. A park is somewhere that lets you enjoy the simple things in life such as the beauty of nature, or to remind you of the joy in life like when you see a young child on a swing set soaring high enough to touch the sky. I think that parks are a very important part of everyday life because with out them our youth would just sit around playing video games and watching television. With out parks all you would see would be high rise buildings and office towers that stretch as far as the eye can see, it gives us a sense of natural in a world that is so modernized. It gives us a sense of community that cant be found anywhere else.
9:
We all sit here and wait,
But the future is so hard to anticipate.
As we watch the clock start to count down,
Your friends and you start to frown.
This is it the last moment here,
So hold these last few seconds near.
They all know what their futures hold,
Some careers are dramatic and bold.
While others are hard to achieve,
But you can get there if you just believe.
As for me i dont know where ill go,
But whatever it is ill continue to grow.
As the final bell begins to sound,
Turn to your classmates and look around.
You may not see them for much longer,
But those memories you share will make you stronger.
So throw your cap and cheer real loud,
Because you have graduated you should be proud.
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