Self-Story #1

As I sit at my desk, talking to my friends. The classroom was so loud I could barely talk to my friends but all of a sudden the room was quiet. “Grade twelves, please make your way down to the gym, and please bring a chair as well.” As Ms. Isaak’s voice came over the intercoms. The classroom then became loud again. I stood up, grabbed my chair, and headed to the hallway. As one foot slowly moves Infront of the other, I slowly walked down the crowded hallway making my way to the gym. I entered the dark, quiet chatter gym having the only light source coming from the stage. As I slowly step down the stairs holding my chair “one step, two steps, three steps” I say to myself, so I don’t fall down the stairs. I look around the gym and it looks the same as it always does on this day, paper poppies on the wall, a table in the center of the stage with the Canada flag on the front of it. I follow my classmates down a row of chairs, as we came to stop to places our chairs down, I placed my chair right next to Tomas.

Silence slowly fell over the gym as the service was about to start. I sit quietly in the silent gym, I look down to see a red poppy pin, pinned on my left side of my chest. As it reminds me why we have these services on November 11, every year. Ms. McKinley walks out from the side of the stage and begins to start the service as she does every year. “Please stand,” Ms. McKinley said as O Canada begins to play. I stand there looking at the Canada flag and singing our country’s national anthem. Singing O Canada makes me remember how I am grateful for being a Canadian and living here. The national anthem slowly fades away into silence and a PowerPoint begins to play.

I look up at the screen that is back on the stage, squinting my eyes to see. The powerpoint begins to play, and the sound loud trumpets begin to play as well. The red powerpoint sides begin to play showing many soldiers name that fought in world war one that lived around the Rosthern area. I saw many names of the soldiers that I recognized as the slides went through. Once the powerpoint was over, I once again saw Ms. McKinley walk onto the stage to introduce our guest speaker. Having a soldier as the guest speaker is always an honor to be able to hear what he has to say about Canada. As the guest speaker does his speech, I think about how so many people fought in the world wars to make Canada safe, to be able to have pride and honor to be a Canadian. As his speech came to an end, the gym was loud with people clapping and then was completely silent once again for moments of silence. Standing up for an unknown amount of time always seems like it was a long time. My legs begin to move back and forth as I can’t stand still for much longer. The odd sound of a cough or an accidental foot hitting a chair is the only sound that was made. Being able to have a moment of silence for the soldiers who passed fighting for Canada shows how we will remember them on this day every year.