The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 28, 2000 - B| TERRACE STANDARD | INSIDE SECTION B COMMUNITY EVENTS B2 JUST UGHT. EV BISHOP it’s been 10 years bout four years ago, I drove past Caledonia during one of their breaks and didn’t recognize a sin- gle face. No friends of my younger si- blings lingered about; they were all gra- duated. There weren't even any faces of kids I used to baby-sit. | remember think- ing, “Wow; it’s been a long time since I was in that school.” This spring I re- ceived a notice in the mail calling all grads of 1990 to a reunion. [t seems un- real; I’ve been out of school for 10 years! I really, with the exception of a few high school years when | was dissatisfied with life in general, liked school. The academic part anyway. Even now when September rolls around: and her -crisp, cold-is-coming scent tingles my. nose and the ground gets crunchy with leaves and Terrace Mountain gets gold stripes run- ning through its green, [can’t help but feel a ball of excitement in my stomach, Each.new school year felt like starting a new life. A chance to be a different me. Lucky enough to have experienced a few teachers wonderful enough to make learning inspiring, ] looked forward with hope to each new fall. Would this year’s teacher be great or, please no, a dud? To all the teachers ’yve had who were great, thank you! Sadly, there were some that I would. like to beg, “Please go and do something else with your life if you’re so unhappy in the classroom.” Teaching is not just a job; it’s a calling. If you don't feel an enthusiasm to infuse kids with knowledge, if you aren’t really in- ~ terested in séeing them learn and’ grow in their talents, pet out of the profession. The effect school had on my life still surprises me, Some of my best childhood memories come from school times and so da some of my worst. The most poignant lessans learned in classes were social ones, Watching how people trea- ted each other fascinated and horrified me, As young as eight [.can remember wondering what makes pecple act the way they do. Class clowns. School bul- lies. The kids who awed me by taking an unpopular stand. I learned something from them all. Ii seemed that everyone was afraid that they’d be an outcast. Some, so sure | it would be them, adopted the role in ad- vance, thus making their loner status a point of pride. The “popular” feared that people would discover that they weren’t so cool after all and claborate acts were put on to maintain their role. Other people had the opposite problem; no one noticed how cool they were. There were people who wanted to appear as if they just didn’t care what people thought of them. Some of them became the idiots you had to suffer through, the ones who decided that il-was their duty to harass and humiliate: you. Worse, most of us had weak moments where we realized that we could make someone laugh, or -hatice us, by hurting sameane else and we did. : You don’t escape that in adulthood. -There are still people who have no qualms about hurting others: to further themselves or even just: for: enjoyment The difference is that now, I don't get stuck beside them in a desk. You still get faced with moral dilemmas: do 1 do what will be the easiest for me or what's right? Often they’re not the same things. Ten years of out-of-school experience has helped me understand the bitterness and empty lives that create gossip mon- gers and cruel jerks. Having a partial un- derstanding is not a consolation when | see some of the things people will justify doing to another person but now | have some compassion, it must be hard to be them. Te I didn’t mourn the end of an era when I finished school. When graduation rolled around, my thoughts were, “Finally”. | didn't realize then (hat you never fully leave your school, it comes with you as a part of who you are. You can deny it and never learn anything from. it or you can embrace the life lessons, as hard as some of them were, and be glad for the education. © “ The old adage, “these are the best years of your life,” when applied: to- school, wasn’t Irue for mes I love the per- spective, the peace with myself, that years bring, Life only gets better with, age. oo ae a: LOCAL RESI OMMUNIT sy DENT, Herbert Wright spends a quiet moment relaxing and list ing to traditional music at the National Aboriginal Day celebration, June 21. Scars softened by community By SARAH GLEN TOUSLED BLOND hair frames a tanned face. The girl fiddles with the short bangs and slares straight ahead with a look of de- fiance. Robyn Morris may ap- pear to be a typical 12- year-old sitting slouched against the wall with a shimmer of silver sparkles clinting off her forehead and cheeks, but looks can be deceiving. . ..... When she was years old, Morris fell into a burning pile of leaves, suffering severe burns to _ both of her hands and the left side of stomach. The physical and emo- tioanl trauma caused by the initial accident and the continual skin grafts Robyn undergoes makes this pre-teen wiser than her 12 years. “Burns are a lifelime ordeal,” said Melanie Morris, Robyn’s mom. She explained that when Robyn was rushed to the B.C. Children’s Hospi- tal in Vancouver, the doc- tor who performed the surgery wasn’t even sure he'd be able to save the girl’s hands. “They plucked [the skin off] her hands like a chick- en — there was literaily nolhing there,” Melanie said. The doctor did save the child’s hands and last year, she played trumpet in the school band - a mir- aculous feat for someone whose burns were so deep they were pronounced third-degree. Not only did Robyn and her family have to deal with the trauma of the ac- cident, as she grew, so did the cost of her care. “You wouldn't believe the financial stress,” her mom said. “After every surgery Robyn has to wear these special gloves that “Burns are a lifetime ordeal.” cost $500 each, you have to have one for each hand and another back-up set as well.” And that doesn’t even take in to account the tra- vel expenses from Terrace to Vancouver. They needed help, so Melanie contacted the Terrace fire department. Together they came up with a plan: that would help pay for the girl’s ex- two en- 638-7283 National day a big hit here IT’S A GOOD thing it was the longest day of the year, otherwise there’s no “way Terrace’s first-ever National Aboriginal Day celebrations would have been completed before the sun went downs. ” Hundreds of locals and. out-of-lowners attended the June 21. celebrations in George - Little Memorial festivities . Park,. where began in the early -after- noon .and. continued on long into the evening. - While it’s: not -a-statu- tory holiday. just- yet, of- fices in Kitsumkalum and Kitselas closed for. the day, proclaimed ‘several years ago by the federal government as a national day of celebration to hon- our Canada’s First Nations, “This is the first time we've ever done this,” said Kitsumkalum Chief Councillor Diane Collins, who organized the event along with Terrace coun- cillor Ron Vanderlee and Theresa Drake. “It’s going to be an an- nual event from now on.” Collins expressed grati- tude to the. raft of corpora- -lions who sponsored the event, hosted by Kitsum- kalum and the city of Ter- Tace. * “Aboriginal peoples have’ made tremendous contributions to aur com- munities, in spite of the lremendous obstacles ‘placed in front of them,” Skeena MLA Helmut Giesbrecht said. The event featured a multicultural dancing can- test, a~First Nations art contest, and award cere- Monies recognizing achie- vements of individuals, students, and groups. No- minees learned they had won during the ceremony. action FIREFIGHTERS Ron Flaming and Fred Burrows are ready to serve-up some pancakes, July 1. The annual Ganada Day pancake breakfast helps raise awareness and money for the B.C. firefighters burn fund. There will be lots of entertainment and fire truck rides for kids young and old alike. The breaklast runs from 8 am to 11 am at the Terrace Fire Hall. penses, Terrace’s July 1 pan- cuke breakfast was born. “The first year they ran aut of pancake balter, the demand was so greal,” Melanie said. Now thie breakfast is an annual event and- money raised goes to the provin- ce-wide Fire Fighter Burn Fund that helps burn vie- tints, According to local fire- fighter and breakfast orga- nizer' Fred Burrows, the breakfast is grewing every year and the fire depart- ment is looking to expand the annual affair. “People don't seem to mind the odd eppshell in their pancake — they keep coming back,” said Bur- tows, The fundraiser may have been started with her in mind but the Robyn shuns the community al- tention, preferring lo hang out with her friends, go to sleepovers and read fanta- sy novels.” But hiding from the spotlight isn’t sa easy. The doctor who saved her hands is using her ac- cident as a learning tool for future surgeons, in hopes they will be able to save olher childrens’ hands. “The more awarencss oul there, the better,” Me- lanie said. “The breakfast doesn’t just help Robyn, il benefils other children as well.” Still the girl would pre- fer to keep quiet about her accident. If plied for information she would rather talk about the summer burn camp in Squamish she atlends every summer, “It’s so much fun, Last year we went river rafting,” Robyn said. She hopes to become a camp counselor in the fu- ture. ; The burn camp is also part of the B.C. Fire Fight- ers Burn Fund, | The fund pays for all Robyn Morris the campers travel ex- penses and for five days out of every summer, burn survivors can have fun to- gether. “It’s great: for: Robyn. she's surrounded by child- _ten who she can -relate to,"said her mom. ~ Because. of her courage to talk about her accident, Robyn has brought burn awarcnss to the forefront of community awareness. The breakfast is helping other children and raising community attention about buras. Her doctor is teach- ing others how lo save burn survivors limbs and Robyn herself is planning to become a pediatrician. “It's something | wan- (ud to do since 1 was six. | want to work with children and help them,” she said. Robyn is due for an- other skin graft in Septem- ber of 2001, but she is try- ing to hold it off ~ the surgery keeps her in pain and away from her friends and school for three weeks. For right now, she'd ther concentrate on th® coming summer and the big leap next September fram Grade 7 lo junior high. This year’s Canada Day pancake . breakfast takes place at the Terrace Fire Hall from 8 tu i adm.