Hi everyone! Recently my grandma and grandpa went on vacation to Vancouver, leaving their cat, Pawz, with my family. The only problem: my family also has a cat, Joe. For anyone who has a pet, you know that a pet is like a part of your family. They’re irreplaceable; no animal is better than them. Well, that’s how I feel about Joe. Joe is such a sweet cat, who somewhat reminds me of a dog at times. You know, sitting at the table while we’re eating at dinner and meowing until we give him some food. That kind of thing. But Pawz has a completely different personality. She pretty much only likes my grandparents, and she only likes to be pet for a little while before she freaks out. Plus, she doesn’t come out that much. She usually stays downstairs. I still love her; you have too, really. She has her moments of kindness, she’s really cute, and she’s really fun to play with. 

My grandparents have been away for three weeks now, and they should be coming back really soon. You’d think Pawz and Joe would’ve been friends by now. But they’re not even close. See, I thought that things might be lighting up when Pawz finally came out from being under the bed for two days and went upstairs. All until Joe hissed and chased her downstairs. Pawz can’t even come upstairs without being directed back down by my cat. But it’s understandable; cats are very territorial, and Joe doesn’t want Pawz to, shall we say, “Steal us away from him.” Ever since she got here they’ve been having little cat fights; you know, swatting, hissing, and running at each other. If that ever happens to you, do not get involved in fights. YOU WILL get hurt. Joe and Pawz’s fights are sometimes considered alarm clocks, actually. Some mornings I’m jolted awake by their angry meows and hisses at each other. And if they’re not fighting, they’re either minding their own business or staring at each other until one makes a move.

I’m hoping in these next few days, they’ll make up and be able to at least stand each other. But somehow I know that might never happen. Male cats want to be the leader of the house; Joe is determined to be the dominant male. But of course, that doesn’t work for Pawz. So, for any of you that have a cat or dog and have another cat or dog coming to visit, try and pay attention to both of them. That way, neither of them will ever be lonely, and some balance will be made in your house. Thanks for reading!

I have known my two best friends for most of my life. Ever since first grade, we were almost inseparable. We liked the same food, music, people, so we always had something to talk about. In school, we would often get scolded by the teacher for giggling and we were the ones who everyone knew would always do projects together. And in the past 10 years, everything went on fine. All our arguments were small and we were on the same side on disagreements among the rest of our friends. However, last week, two of my best friends got into the biggest fight. They both got really angry over stuff each other had said and vowed not to talk to the other again. It was sad for me because I could see our friendship breaking apart and I was stuck in the middle. Both of them would vent their anger to me and I couldn't comfort them because I didn't want to take sides. It was hard to hang out with either of them as they didn't want to be together while really wanting to talk about the other. Anyways, I really want to mend all of our friendships and say "forgive and forget", but they both believe the issue is too big for that. Sometimes I think it would be easier if they could both just trade punches with each other and be done with it, but obviously it's not going to happen. It would be great if we could all be friends again, but the situation looks pretty bad. Do you guys have any ideas?

Hi everyone! Recently I went on a trip to Florida with my family for two weeks, and although a lot of stuff happened on my trip, the most exciting part was the cruise I got to go on. So, for this week’s post, I’ve decided to write about that.

When I first got on the ship, I was surprised at how huge it was. It was like a hotel inside, with flashing lights, beautiful décor, elevators and a non-alcoholic bar at the bottom floor. At first, it was hard to get used to how many places you could go to, but by the end of the three-day cruise, I knew my way around pretty well. Our rooms were REALLY small, but hey, how much time do you spend in the rooms anyways? I decided then to go outside onto the Lido deck, which features a buffet, chairs and table, and two salt water swimming pools. Although the buffet wasn’t open 24-7, there was a 24-hour ice cream and pizza bar located inside the ship, which also included a buffet. For me, 24-hour ice cream and pizza is all I need to be in my happy place. The pools were really nice, and even if they were a bit crowded, I still really liked to just chill and drink my strawberry smoothie. And if swimming wasn’t really for you, you could go outside and look at the endless amount of waves that were washing up to the huge ship. Sometimes you could see turtles swimming next to the boat! Apart from the pool, there were also two huge water slides, which I didn’t go on very often. I did go on them a few times, but mostly because my brother wanted me to come with him so badly. The slides were fun, but in my personal opinion, the food was the best.

Every meal I had on that ship was elegant and cooked to perfection. You had the choice at every meal to get something fancy, or something “normal” if you know what I mean. Being on a cruise for the first time, I was desperate to try every different thing on the menu. Lunch and breakfast were basically the same (except for pizza at breakfast, which has always been a dream for me!) but at dinner, they offered lots of choices. I had all different types of things, including sushi, duck, lasagne with guacamole, Asian pasta…the possibilities of what to eat were endless. Personally, I think the food was the best part!

Apart from all these things on the cruise, we also made a quick stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We went snorkelling in the ocean, where the tropical fish were right up to your reach, the coral was all different colours and the water was a turquoise blue. After that, we went shopping, which was a very different experience then some of the shopping in Canada. Vendors, (people that have a stand of things to buy on the street) are wherever you go, which means if you’re looking for something unique, you can always find it. There were other shops too, but the vendors tended to sell the most interesting things. One thing’s for sure, the Bahamas has quite a variety of things to buy.

Well, that pretty much sums up my cruise. Thanks for reading!

Dear Bully edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones

About Dear Bully:

You are not alone.

Discover how R.L. Stine used humour as a defense to bullies in his class. How Lauren Kate transformed the feeling of being bullied into her first novel and how Lauren Oliver celebrated ambiguity in her classmates and in herself. Today’s top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and even as the bully. This book will take you on their emotional roller-coaster ride with you sitting right next to them.

This book is suitable for young adults, ages 12 and older, and may contain mild uses of violence and/or profanity, sexual content and/or mature themes within the context of the story.

What do you think?

1. What do you think the purpose of these authors was in sharing their bully related stories? What did you gain from it?
2. The authors shared perspectives from all sides of bullying, from the victim, the bully and even the bystander and friend. What role(s) have you played? If you were to write a letter for the book what would you be saying?
3. Kiersten White makes this comment about bystanders to bullying: “… being a bully is easy, and being a victim is all too common.  But standing on your safe middle ground and deciding to reach out where you can make a difference?  That is a rare and difficult choice”.  Do you agree with her?  Have you ever been a bystander to bullying?  What action did you take, or do you wish you could have taken to stop the bullying?
4. Even though the reported occurrence of bullying is astonishingly high it doesn’t mean you don’t have the power to change it. Participating in Girl Guides of Canada programming such as Girl Empower and Girls United can help equip you and your friends with the knowledge and skills need to build healthier happier relationships. If your Unit hasn’t already participated in either of these two programs, talk to your Unit and Guider about participating in the program and start being the change you want to be.

 Looking for more GGC Book Club book choices for July? We select four great new books offered by Harper Collins Canada each month for each of the age categories below. If it’s on our book club list, then it has already received GGC’s approval based on specific criteria. Each book is also age-rated:

Sparks and Brownies (5-8 year olds)

Brownies and Guides (9-12 year olds), and

books for adults

For the last month I’ve been reading the entire Harry Potter series again. You probably know how well these books have done since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in 1997. J.K. Rowling is a name known across the world as the famous author who wrote one of the most successful children’s book series of our generation. But good old J.K. wasn’t always so lucky. As part of my grade 12 English exam, I read Rowling’s commencement address to Harvard University’s class of 2008. In her speech Rowling discusses the failure she experienced after graduating from university. She had a very short marriage, and was living in poverty with her young daughter. Failure, Rowling’s biggest fear, had been realized.

Evidently Rowling was able to get back on her broomstick and soar to great heights, but it was failure that allowed her to do this. She learned from her failure – learned that she was disciplined and had a strong will, and she poured these qualities into her work. As she had already failed terribly, Rowling was no longer afraid of failing. She worked hard, and even though she was at first met with rejection, the story of Harry Potter finally found its way into the hands of children. You don’t need a Time Turner to see how things turned out. Now one of the richest women in the world, success and J.K. Rowling are pretty much synonymous. It is not Rowling’s monetary success that makes her a September WotM, but her ability to overcome  and learn from failure.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

-J.K. Rowling