The trip to China was my favorite school trip we’ve gone on so far. I had two favorite experiences from the trip. The first was the Great Wall of China, because we’ve all been looking forward to it for so long. It was amazing to see and learn about the history built in, from how long it took to build it, to the lighting of the flames to signal an enemy attack. My other favorite thing was the Temple of Heaven. I loved seeing and participating in the Tai Chi because it’s such a big part of the Chinese culture, and the movements and their names were so interesting. I also really liked the Chinese yo yos, because they’re a typical pastime, and not at all something you would do in America. The Temple of Heaven is definitely a really important place to visit because you get to experience so much of the culture and daily life. I was also really proud of myself because I tried a lot of spicy foods on this trip!

We’re getting a lot closer to our social justice teach-in! Our group is doing a lot of extra work to make sure our slideshow is getting ready. We presented to a few teachers who gave us a lot of good feedback that we incorporated into our slideshow.

Recently, our social justice group, the menstrual equity group, has been going on a lot of fieldwork. Yesterday, Jennifer Weiss-Wolf came to speak to our class about her book, Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity, and then we did an interview with her afterwards. I was able to learn many new interesting things about my topic which I’m very interested in.

On MLK Day at our school, we do a pajama drive and I went to it yesterday. We packaged pajamas, toiletries, books and cards for homeless children and made signs for the Women’s March next week.

When my social justice group went to Period Con, there was a seminar about possible jobs at period.org. One of the jobs was a summer internship, and I decided I wanted to apply for that job. I filled out an application and created a resume. If I get chosen for the internship, I will be working over the summer doing different things for this organization.

I’m in the middle school play, which is Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare. I’m playing Viola, the girl who dresses up as a male, but she falls in love with her boss, who is in love with someone else. This is a valuable experience for me because since I am one of the oldest people in the play, I can be a leader in many ways. Also, if I decide I want to pursue acting as a job, this will prepare me for the future.

To me, learning is meaningful when it provides opportunities to learn about topics that matter to me personally, develop skills that will help me be a responsible adult and show leadership.