Joshua Kairo

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Up to Date #2 - My Passion Project On Sailing: Resource Reflection

Welcome back everyone, thanks for sticking around! 

Here is the last of the blogs following my journey with my Passion Project. Working on this project has been fantastic, the progress has been great and it has surprisingly even allowed me to get out of my comfort zone a little bit.

To refresh your minds, the novel I am reading is Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi. The novel is essentially a first-person story about the ending of Tania’s sailing journey around the world in a 26 foot boat at the age of 18. Fun fact, when my grandfather/community connection lived in Toronto, he had a very similar boat as the one Tania sailed which was a 26 foot Folkboat.

I am relatively on track with my reading with this novel because I have been reading often here and there, and I am almost 3/4 done. I do not necessarily plan on adjusting my reading schedule, I believe it is fine the way it is and I will finish at a reasonable time. My most important resource would have to be my novel because it provides quotes and first-hand experiences by a talented sailor in extreme conditions. I intend to incorporate this resource in the future by using some quotes in my Ted Talk.

I have also discovered an exceptional new resource! This resource compares how dangerous sailing is to regular life things such as driving on the highway. It discusses the disaster from the 1979 Fastnet race, other sailing accidents and explains how the weather is often the cause of many incidents in ocean sailing races. The source will be included in a link below and I suggest you give it a read as it is very interesting

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/sunday-review/when-sailing-turns-deadly.html

I appreciate you following me on this journey with my Passion Project!

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Here is one of the videos for the Up to Date #2: My Passion Project on Sailing: Portfolio Piece. (Unfortunately they could not be including in the same blog post)

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Up to Date #2 - My Passion Project On Sailing: Portfolio Progress

My Portfolio Progress has been great! I have completed Portfolio Piece #1 and have begun making my mini-documentary for Portfolio Piece #2. I was originally going to do reader’s notes from my novel but I had a really good idea of making a creative writing piece about my personal scariest sailing story similar to my novel. 

Successes I have experienced would obviously be getting my first Portfolio Piece done but most importantly being able to get out sailing last weekend to participate in a race on a fellow sailor’s Shark 24 sailboat at the Niagara-On-the-Lake Sailing Club. It was a great race, there were very light winds but we finished 3rd overall and 1st of the Shark 24 sailboat class. I was also able to record a few videos which was great because they will be used for my Portfolio Piece #2 which is a mini-documentary. I do not want to show all of them because I’d rather save that for my mini-documentary although one of them will be posted right after this blog post. (It sadly was unable to be included in this post)

Everything may seem great but there have also been a few major setbacks. For one, I was asked to come out sailing again this weekend but I cannot because I have plans with family for Mother’s Day. Secondly, the water levels have once again risen very high and the dinghy docks are unable to be put in the water meaning I may not be able to get out sailing on my own boat anytime soon to get more video clips. About the GoPro mount, I have researched and found the one I want although I have not ordered it yet. 

Something new that I have learned is just how much different keelboat racing is from dinghy racing but also the similarities they share. My next steps forward are to buy that damn GoPro mount and get out sailing on my boat whatever way possible!!

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Up to Date #2 - My Passion Project On Sailing: Community Connection & SMART Goal

Welcome back to keeping up with my Passion Project!

If you remember from the first Up to Date blog post, my community connection is my grandfather and he lives in the Philippines therefore we are unable to collaborate although I have asked some questions such as: What is it like sailing on the ocean for a long period of time? What measures did you take to ensure your safety while sailing in the ocean for a long period of time? What has been your most fearful sailing experience? I will ask more questions and discuss aspects of sailing a lot more as I progress through my passion project. 

Successes I have had with my community connection is being able to easily get into contact with him. I simply contacted him through Email and Facebook Messenger, asked a few questions and let him know that if I have further questions, I would get in touch with him using the same method as I initially did. The challenge that I have experienced while getting in contact with him was how little time I have during the day to email or message him as his time zone is 12 hours ahead. This means that by the time I wake up in the morning, my grandfather is getting to bed. Due to this, the only time during the day that I am able to contact my grandfather and possibly get an answer is anytime around 8pm or later in my time zone which would be 8am in the morning for him. Despite this challenge, I have managed very well. 

My SMART Goals have also been moving along pretty good, I have been successful with every part of the SMART goals except for the ‘Specific’ aspect of it. Yes... I am still unsure about this but I am progressing and leaning towards safety, obviously, and just the sailing culture and community. 

I have a quote that my community connection agrees with that was said by my aunt who has been in the sailing community for years. This quote demonstrates how your own safety should be a priority while sailing and how measures should be taken for this because you cannot control the weather. A sailor will be faced with a storm at some point, and he or she should know what to do and how to stay safe. Below is the quote:

“While sailing, you are completely at the mercy of the elements.”

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The Murder of Hae Min Lee: Adnan Syed’s Innocence

In January, 1999 in Baltimore, Maryland, a very intelligent and athletic high school girl was murdered. Six weeks later, Adnan Syed, the ex-boyfriend, was arrested and charged with the murder of Hae Min Lee. Adnan has continually claimed that he is innocent although he could not recall what he was doing that night. After all of the information on this case after almost two decades, and especially after the Serial podcast I believe Adnan Syed is innocent because he would be the ultimate suspect for this case and because there was no solid evidence proving he was guilty of the murder.

Adnan Syed is innocent for the murder of Hae Min Lee because he would have been the ultimate suspect to have committed this crime therefore he could have been set up. After listening to the Serial podcast and researching multiple resources, I believe Jay Wild’s could very well be responsible for the murder and could have set up Adnan. Jay was a highschool friend of Adnan and a key witness. He is essentially the one who put Adnan behind bars after he told detectives that Adnan murdered Hae and that he knew this because he helped bury her body. Although Adnan can’t exactly remember what occurred that day for him, Jay wasn’t any better as he changed his stories over time. A decade and a half after the murder, Jay had finally emerged from the safety of silence to publicly discuss the case. Until then, he had refused all interviews and denied Sarah a recording for her Serial podcast. All of this seems oddly suspicious.

I believe Jay had a lot more to do with the murder then he says. I believe so because he snitched on his friend, but he would not have done so if he was not gaining from it. Is it possible that the true roles in this story were actually switched? I think so, it is quite possible that Jay committed the crime, Adnan was slightly implicated and then Jay used Adnan to escape from the blame. There wasn’t only Jay, there was also Ronald Lee Moore, a criminal who had just been released from a nearby prison just 10 days before Hae Min Lee was murdered. DNA evidence connected him to another murder in Baltimore in 1999. This murder was also of a young asian woman named Annelise Hyang Suk Lee who weirdly even had the same last name as Hae. Even more weirdly the both shared the name of ‘Lee’ with this new suspect?? Probably coincidence... or maybe not but who knows. Unfortunately Ronald Lee Moore committed suicide in prison in 2012 so the truth will never be revealed by him. Considering these circumstances, is it possible neither Adnan or Jay committed the murder? I believe so.

Adnan was convicted solely on the word of a teenager, there was no sufficient physical evidence proving Adnan guilty therefore I believe justice was not done and he did not get a fair trial. Many friends and family who knew Adnan very well, said that he was a good kid and would never have done anything of this sort. It was believed that Adnan’s motive to carry out this murder would have been the break-up with Hae except the murder occurred 3 weeks after the break-up! And he constantly claimed he was over her! Adnan even got to know Hae’s new boyfriend, what more did the police want!? Who knows, but they did get more… a fellow highschool student, Asia McClain, claims she talked to Adnan in the public library at the time when the murder was committed. Although she brought this up after the first trial, if this is the truth then it would have been impossible for him to be the murderer. If they can primarily convict Adnan from a witness then they should also be able to defend him with another witness. There was more evidence supporting Adnan’s innocence then there was proving he was guilty therefore I believe everyone should and could have done better in support of Adnan. 

Unfortunately he got the short end of the stick in every possible way and that is why he was convicted and I hope the truth comes out whether he is guilty or innocent.

Do you believe Adnan is guilty or innocent? I’d love to hear what y’all think!

Feel free to also check out the Serial podcast if you are interested in this case, link is below.

https://serialpodcast.org/season-one 

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Up to Date #1 - My Passion Project On Sailing: Resource Reflection

My reading is nearly on track, I have read 29 pages of ‘Maiden Voyage’ and just began reading ‘The Voyage Of The Frog.’ My reading is not as on track as I would like because I have been a little busy lately but I plan to adjust my reading schedule by beginning to read a little every night and in car rides to get on track. As my reading progresses, I will be getting more reader’s notes done. The most important text and resource to my project would have to be ‘Maiden Voyage’ by Tania Aebi because it is based on a true story about her journey sailing around the world and it includes a ton of usable information and stories. A picture of a map of her odyssey will be included at the bottom of this blog entry. 

(My novel, ‘Maiden Voyage’ by Tania Aebi)

New resources that I have discovered are some great websites with plenty of useful information. If you would like to check them out, the links will be below. I also plan to access some educational videos off of Youtube in the future that I can gather more information and some sailing videos that will be able to be used for my mini-documentary. Hopefully I’ll stay on track for some great work!

https://www.yachtingmedia.com/magazine/sailing-dangerous-sport.html

https://www.getmyboat.ca/resources/boating-how-to/200/sailing-on-the-ocean/

(Tania Aebi’s journey around the world)

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Up To Date #1 - My Passion Project On Sailing: Portfolio Progress

I have very exciting news about this component!

My portfolio progress has been great. I have been researching a GoPro mount for my laser sailboat so I can include my own sailing videos in my mini-documentary as soon as the weather warms up. 

(Laser Sailboat GoPro mount I may purchase)

I also recently attended a brunch with family friends within the sailing community and I managed to ask many questions. They have all sailed for many years and I learned the scariest experiences they have had and their perspectives on safety. I got to hear their opinions and ideas that may be used for my mini-documentary. Unfortunately the challenge is that they all live in Toronto therefore the prospect of meeting again in person unless it is with my aunt is unlikely but here are a few things that they said:

“People never look at their safety equipment until they need it.”

“When sailing, you’re completely at the mercy of the elements.”

The challenge is that they all live in Toronto therefore the prospect of meeting again in person unless it is with my aunt is unlikely. So far, I have been working on reading my books as much as possible and on brainstorming ideas for my mini-documentary. My next steps forward are to begin my reader’s notes and to begin working on my documentary.

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Up To Date #1 - My Passion Project On Sailing: Community Connection & Goals

I have unfortunately not got in contact with my community connection yet but I am hoping to get in touch with him quite soon. It is challenging to get in contact because my grandfather lives in the Philippines which is a completely different time zone although since he is my grandfather, I am essentially guaranteed to get a reply within a reasonable amount of time after I reach out to him. It will also be very easy to get in touch as I can do so via Facebook Messenger.

In regards to my SMART goal, I definitely believe I am doing well with the ‘Attainable’ aspect of it as I am progressing very well. I have talked with many people aside from my community connection and have found many sources which have both helped to gather important information. The challenging part of my SMART goal is the ‘Specific’ aspect of it because am still not sure exactly what I specifically want the purpose to be. At the moment, I am leaning towards my focus being on safety and how intense and dangerous the sport really is but I would also like to be able to discuss how amazing the sport can be. My next steps moving forward with this component is to reach out to my community connection as soon as possible with some questions and decide on the specific aspect of my goal. 

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Basic Parts Of A Sailboat

Here are the basic parts of the sailboat to broaden your knowledge of sailboats and the sport of sailing which will benefit you further in this blog.

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Nothing but Endless Ocean: Volvo Ocean Race

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Grade 12U Level English Necessary for Future Success?

Hello everyone! Here is an important question; “is having grade 12U level english necessary for your future success?”

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It’s fair to say that for many people, english class has most likely became very repetitive in high school by grade 12 after taking it every year for 4 years and I totally agree but grade 12 english is actually very important for future success in our post-secondary studies or even for our daily lives.

High school to post secondary is a huge jump in our lives and having improved skills in listening, reading, writing and comprehension skills would help that transition a lot. English is a basis for all learning and what I mean by that is you wouldn’t be able to travel to Spain and be able to learn chemistry for example, you would need the spanish language skills. It goes the same here in Canada, to be able to even study something or better our studies then we need to have strong abilities in english.  

By grade 12 we are not particularly learning a lot of new content but mostly just refreshing our minds and building on skills to prepare us for certain challenges in post-secondary. Without the grade 12 english you’ll struggle a lot in post-secondary with things like communicating our thoughts, taking important notes about things the professor may say, not knowing or understanding complicated words and so on. Having these skills will just make your life so much easier. That also goes for people who are planning on taking a different route then post-secondary. 

These skills will just make understanding and communicated in the world a LOT easier!!

If your doubting what I have already said, let me also point out that if your hoping to get into any post-secondary program, you will most likely need a grade 12 english credit therefore grade 12 english is very necessary for your future success!

Be smart, be strong and live on ladies and gents.

Feel free to leave comments of your opinions, I’m down to here what you all think!

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A Little About Myself

Hey guys! This is my first blog and I just thought I’d say a little about myself.

I am a pretty active person but I like to chill and play video games too. I play a couple sports including Soccer, Hockey and I Sail and hopefully will be racing my laser radial class dinghy sailboat. My favourite sport would most likely be Soccer with Sailing really close behind, and yes... Sailing IS a sport! I also did wrestling at A.N. Myer up until late November 2017 when I quit after injuring my ankle. The video games I currently play are GTA V and Fortnite but I might get into Apex Legends. I also play/played FIFA Soccer, Ark Survival Evolved and Team Fortress 2.

At school I take all academic courses. I enjoy working out and so I’m taking fitness again. During the school year I do not have a job but I do in the summer. In the summer I work as a sailing instructor teaching younger kids to sail at a summer camp and I am now going into my 3rd summer of teaching.

I have no idea what I wanna do after high school but I am very interested in cars so I am hoping to get into the automotive industry for design kind of stuff but I’m just gonna ride the wave and see where life leads me.

If you have any comments, feel free to write back!!