Misadventures of a Model Student Part 2

Sorry for the hiatus! Loads of homework, exams, applying for summer jobs, and a month abroad will do that to you! Now... what you've been waiting for... Misadventures of a Model Student!

A Scary Surprise, A Lock-down, and Unexpected Respect


I was so excited to start Grade 4. Students got lockers instead of cubbies, and there was always a huge Grade 4-only party at the end of the school year. My face fell the second I laid eyes on my teacher. In my eyes she was scary. Her eyes seemed to pierce into every student's soul and she seemed easily angered and creepy. I sat down in my desk trying to avoid eye contact. I was so afraid she would shout at me, I was a deer in the headlights. Attendance started. As the names were called I began to tremble.

Ways of answering the tell-tale question of presence filled my mind. Should I say 'I'm here' 'Present', cough and raise my hand like I've lost my voice? Sweat poured down my face. The teacher was almost at my name.

I was alone in the class room. It was only me, the scary teacher, and the mocking attendance sheet. My eyes threatened to water and I gritted my teeth in determination. My name was next.

Her lips moved. I braced myself................................... it wasn't my name. She said it again. It was similar, but most certainly not my name. Then I recognized it. She was calling out the direct translation of my name into Hebrew! Without thinking I raised my hand and informed the teacher of my real name. She apologized and continued. It was a close call.

A couple of months passed by and I was still as afraid of her as ever. She had this method of marking work that involved calling students up individually to her desk to check their work. Being the smart girl I was I did my homework every night, but being the petrified student I was I never handed my work in. The thought of being shot down by that teacher sent chills down my spine. Soon I took to hiding behind pillars in the hallway to stay out of her sight. This went on seamlessly until December. 

Every now and then our school would have lock-down drills. In order to hide ourselves from the imaginary invaders we would hide under desks, in corners and lock the door. The funny thing is that even though these drills occurred every few months and they never were the real deal we always dramatically hit the floor like it was a matter of life or death. 

During this particular lock-down our teacher was printing something out in a different room. When the bell rang we stood on a chair and turned the deadbolt without a thought. 

Soon we heard a banging on the door. In seconds we realized what was happening. We all burst out laughing. When the siren ceased we rushed to the door and found a disgruntled teacher standing there. We braced ourselves for punishment.........she was proud of us for not letting her in. Wow.

Despite several events indicating that she was a nice person I continued to be afraid of her. It was only at the end of the year that I begun to see her fun side. She always wore the most elaborate costumes on holidays and at the end of the year she created an EPIC water fight. 

Now I regret being so quick to judge her. I mean there were instances she got mad (she asked me to glue ping pong balls on my favorite shirt for a play, and then there's the instance where a student threw a textbook to the ground and stormed out of the class...) but she was a fun teacher. Pretty cool, I mean as cool as a teacher can seem to a group of 9 year olds.

Tune in next time for more stories of the past with: The Chronicles of Calgary, Misadventures of a Model Student Part 3!!!  

I can't wait!

As you may have guessed (maybe by the name of my blog?) I'm a Harry Potter fan. The series was one of the first sets of books that I couldn't put down and I believe that they have changed me for the better. In honor of this I have placed a countdown to the new movie on this site.

WAIT! WHAT?

Slow down there, I'm not going commercial, I'm not getting paid for the publicity. I simply love the series and want to be able to provide a location for fans to count the number of days to an awesome movie.

(Don't go around expecting too many Harry Potter related posts this isn't that kind of blog. The name World of Levyosa is a play on words since I love Harry Potter and my nickname was Levy. Just enjoy this or hate this while it lasts!)

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile! My schedule has been packed!


NOTE:
If you happen to read this after the movie comes out and I remove the countdown... just roll with it. :)

Some Simple Comparisons

Have you ever found two things that are incredibly alike yet incredibly different all at once? Those of you who are gazing at their screens nodding their heads will be interested by this, those who are raising an eyebrow thinking What the heck is she talking about? will be interested too. And those who are reading on waiting for me to get to the point will hopefully relate to this.

Let's use a current example:

I have adored reading since I first learned how. I have also had multiple favorite books over the years. Harry Potter, The Vampire Diaries, The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, and Pretty Little Liars fill my shelves. My friend recommended Pretty Little Liars to me during summer camp and I quickly became absorbed in the plot. By the end of the session I had read the first three books and upon returning home, I bought and read the fourth. The fourth book was unbelievable I loved it from the beginning to the dramatic conclusion. I was overjoyed when the very end of the book made it clear that there would be more novels. The next four books were gradually released with tantalizing waiting periods in between. Every now and then I would get to read one of the books a day early due to my consistent pestering of the staff at the book store. The end of the 8th book was perfect and deep down I knew that it was the end of the series. Imagine my joy when I later discover that my now finished series is to become a T.V show!

I was severely disappointed. The T.V show started with promise but quickly unraveled in a series of some small and some not so small changes. Huge plot twists meant for the third book were revealed at the end of the first few episodes. The way the writers were burning through plot I knew the series wouldn't possess integrity long. A few new characters and dragged out plots later I make a new discovery. There will be 4 more books in the series. The purpose was as clear as day; these books were meant to milk the cash cow. To hook T.V fans on the book series. And of course to prolong the plot of the T.V series by four books.  At this rate I fear that Pretty Little Liars will become more known for the T.V antics than the epic series. Much like how Vampire Diaries has warped itself into creating brand new characters going by Elena, Bonnie, Stefan, and Damon. This is what I'm talking about. The T.V show is still called Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, etc... but it has become a different thing completely.

I suppose this is where the saying don't judge a book by it's movie derives from.

If this concept is still a little fuzzy let me elaborate:

Let's say that you and your friends have an adventure. You go to the beach and uncover a buried chest filled with sand. While you are annoyed that the chest was empty, the joy of finding the chest was enough. You walk home and spend all night playing chess. The next day you discover your adventure will be made into a movie! You get all excited and a year later you sit down in the theater to see what you've been waiting for. Wait a minute, that's not right. My friend loved math, not soccer. And hey! There wasn't a treasure map in that chest on the beach! And we were never captured by pirates! Whoa, I didn't kiss that guy in real life. And why are we all telling stories by the campfire? We played chess, not truth or dare! What is this?! Right before your eyes you see that in an effort to make your story more interesting it has been completely altered. And yet it will always be known as your story despite the major differences.


This happens everywhere. This happens every time a movie or T.V show is based on a novel or a true story. What you once cared so much about has been turned into a horrible mess of action, new characters and romance. And the worst part of all is that sometimes you are tempted to enjoy it.

A poem for you about me

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I've been absorbed with other projects and aspects of my life such as my novel, dance class, school work, and the balancing act that is my social life. Hang on to your seats! I am currently at work on a few other posts which will be quite long and detailed. (I promise!) So in the mean time to keep you interested I am going to attempt to enlighten the internet by posting a sonnet I wrote for L.A. I intended for it to be in iambic pentameter (a heartbeat- u / ) but I may have messed up a little bit. (or a lot- I can be extremely self-critical!) So just read it, enjoy it (or not), and tell me what you think.

 Indescribable

A Sonnet

By: Rachel Levy

A written word stands upon a page

Just as a story will wind and twist

Gathering knowledge will form a sage

And staying silent will draw the mist

These beliefs are completely true as day

They are what I am and aspire to be

I am me in every possible way

There’s much more to myself, just wait and see

When it comes to art the love never ends

When I dance, intense joy fills me inside

When I glance written word I’m among friends

I chase my dreams, I have nothing to hide

No single phase can describe who I am

Any other notion is surely a sham

Please do not use any lines from this poem without either citing me or asking my permission. Do not plagiarize me or I will have vengeance. (Seriously, don't copy my work-e-mail me or comment on a post if you want to use something that I've posted.) Thank you!

Misadventures of a Model Student

All my life I have been considered a model student. I've made good grades and I've reached for the stars. Another thing I'm known for is being in a revolutionary class. My school is very small; the junior high has a population of 75. This being so we are used to being grouped together.

Another thing you should know about my school is that it has created a tight community. Almost all the Grade 9 students have been learning here since Nursery. Since we have been so close so long, our grade has a little bit of a history. So here it is: The Chronicles of Calgary, Misadventures of a Model Student, Part I.

 In the beginning the cliques were simple, there were the jocks, the dancers, the brains, the class clowns, and everyone else. Best friends stuck together like glue and no one cared what others thought. These were the golden years. And surprisingly, these years were far from uneventful.

Substitute Teachers, Bullying, Murder, and a Knife
Grade 2 was one of those years where our tight knit group was split in two; 2A and 2B. 2A had a really pleasant teacher, she was perfectly sane and not scary at all. 2B was the opposite. I'm pretty sure that teacher had mental health issues. One day a group of 2Bers was looking for the stapler in this teacher's desk. They pulled out a massive knife. Suddenly, the teacher was there to snatch  the knife away and explain he had confiscated it some 50 years ago. It was hard to look at him the same way.

One day the 2A teacher got sick so the two classes were combined into one. Every now and then the teachers would show us videos and hold discussions with the intent of stopping bullying. Unluckily the day the 2A teacher got sick was the day such a discussion was scheduled to take place. Instead of the usual video and discussion we were told the following story:

Once upon a time there was a boy who was bullied. Everyday as he walked home from school the other boys in his class would taunt him and make fun of him. Sometimes they would beat him up. One day those bullies beat him up especially hard. The boy begged them to stop but they mercilessly continued to beat him to a pulp. He died. The bullies panicked; they didn't want to go to jail. In a flurry they decapitated the boy and threw his body in the river to get rid of the evidence. They were eventually arrested. Their lives were ruined forever.

I know for a fact that the majority of the seven year olds there were scarred by that story for years. Personally, I developed a strong fear of decapitation. A friend of mine had nightmares about the story itself. Even the 2Bers were scarred. The story was more disturbing than the average tale of woe.

The teacher stayed at the school another four years before he left the school. To this day know one knows if it was against his will or not.


Stay Tuned next time for The Chronicles of Calgary, Misadventures of a Model Student Part II! 

Dreams are Random

Dreams are weird things. Now many people may argue; insisting dreams give insight to the world on a whole new level and that they have magical connections. You may argue that dreams give you unique insight into your subconscious. This may be true but this doesn't go against the fact that dreams are strange. I've had dreams where I think I must have been half insane.I've had dreams that defy logic. Disagree? Let's take last nights dream as an example.

Imagine sitting on the couch watching T.V and surfing the web. All of a sudden my mother bursts through the door waving a brown paper bag haphazardly and frantically shouting, YOU NEED BRACES! Then imagine her pull something that looks like a miniature bear trap from the paper bag and place it in your hand.

The bear trap/ brace was rusty. The brackets were pink on the top row and blue on the bottom. There was also a butterfly engraved on the back of it as if to mock me. It looked rugged and terrifying. Without hesitating I shoved it in my mouth. Hooks dug into my mouth causing blood loss but the pain ended quickly. I looked in the mirror and to my surprise the braces/bear trap looked perfect. I kinda enjoyed them being there.

That joy ended when I realized that I would one day need to remove the braces.

All of a sudden fear and dread filled me since I knew it would kill to take them out. The world of my dream was no longer a friendly place. In fact, it was enough to make anyone freak out. The walls morphed and I was no longer standing on the floor. The world spun and I felt like ripping the braces from my mouth.

The dream ended abruptly there. I awoke hoping that I would never need braces. Ever.

So in conclusion, dreams are random. And while this dream may have had some profound meaning you can't deny the multiple oddities. I shoved a rusty, sharp implement in my mouth. Dreams are bizarre. At least my dreams are.

I Have No Idea What I'm doing

This problem started with me surfing my school's website. Once passing through piles of confusing links and tedious text I realized that what I was looking for was in fact on my teacher's website. So after tracking down the website and finding the page I had searched for I was rather annoyed. 

The page had no information whatsoever and was merely a page vaguely hinting at the projects I would be assigned this year. A word popped out at me. Blog. Sure enough to pass I, someone who is fairly useless with computers must create a blog. 

I should have seen it coming, any teacher that communicates mostly using computers is bound to assign a blogging project. So this is why I started this. As a way to learn a little about the lost art of blogging so I can nail the project when it comes around! So read this, or don't it's your choice. I promise that future posts will be much more entertaining than this! To keep you entertained here's a picture I drew. Try to find the hidden word! It starts with  L.