Who Am I?

Hi everybody! (whoever might be reading this)

To begin with, welcome to my blog. This blog was created for my Language and Literature class at school where we are currently exploring the topic of language and culture. This will be an informal and creative writing space to share projects and will additionally provide my readers with some information about myself. My name is Mélina Lévesque and I am a 16 year old currently living in Abu Dhabi, UAE with my family. This is my second year as a student at Raha International School and so far, I enjoy being here. Previously, I lived in Singapore; a city situated in Southeast Asia, where I lived for 15 years of my life with my younger brother Alex, both of my parents, and our dog.

When we first moved here due to my dad's job, I was exposed to a whole different environment...CULTURE SHOCK! The flashback in my mind of arriving in Abu Dhabi is still so vivid in my mind that it feels like it was just yesterday we were stepping off a plane into the dessert. I grew up surrounded by grass and trees in the tropical rainforest, and in the moment felt like I was reliving one of Tintin's stories. My family and I knew it was going to be hard adjustment, but we were going to make it work for sure! By the end of the last year, things really take a positive turn for us all. We had engaged in our community, got really involved with school, and made great friendships.

Favorite quote? 

"No music. No life" - Me 

If anyone were to remember one thing about me, it would have to be that I have a strong passion for music. Not only that, but I'm dead crazy in love with the Irish band The Script. I love singing, playing guitar, and making people happy through music. I strongly believe that without music, the world would never EVER be the same. Music is a way of life and culture and can never ever be ignored. It is the answer to our questions and can trigger things inside us to the deepest darkest extent.

 I currently have a successful YouTube channel where I post videos of myself singing.
http://www.youtube.com/user/chasingthedreamxox/videos
Go ahead and check it out? :)

My main aim is to not only share my given talent and passion, but also bring joy to people's hearts with music. Other hobbies of mine include swimming, which I feel has the same effect that music has on me, it takes you're mind off things. Coming into IB, i am more than certain that music will definitely take a huge part in my life and keeping me grounded when times get rough and stressful throughout the year, but I'm gonna do my best to stay sane with it all and keep my life in tact. 

Now let's get to the part where we talk about IB. I'm being serious. I really don't understand why teachers and students tried to scare us last year about this whole thing. "Omg IB! No shoot me", "No social life, the only thing you'll be dating is you're math textbook.", and the list goes on. Knowing myself, I am a very dedicated person when I want to be. In terms of IB, I am going to make sure that I stay on top of things and not let the system catch up to me. When it comes to thinking about university...WOW I'm really jumping a step further there. In this moment right now, I really don't know what I want to do with my life. Some people know EXACTLY what they want to do, and I mean EXACTLY. Some people want to be a doctor in sports medicine, and many want to go into law enforcement and all that. HECK, some people already have a wedding planner on speed dial. I guess what I can say is that I'm really taking my life slow, but not too slow. 

Let's get to the serious deep stuff now shall we? 

Language and culture. What is Language and Culture? 

"We approach the study of Language and Culture with the fact that we are immersed in both. Language surrounds us every day and we know how to recognize it. Culture is the way we structure and live our lives."

Meaning, that no matter what, both language and culture surround us everyday and that we are basically born into it. Language can be defined as an endless list of meanings, but to me, Language is the way we communicate and share our ideas. Now that I'm thinking about it, without Language, the world wouldn't exactly have a meaning. How would we solve problems? How would we address issues? How would we share the joys of life? Language can play many different  roles in people's lives; it's just one of the many things that make us unique. 

Also, Language automatically connects to Culture, as both have an effect on each other. One would not be the same without the other to balance each other out. Culture has a different meaning to different people in terms of which one the individual identifies themselves with. Being an international student, I have had the opportunity to open up my mind and heart to several cultures and learn about their beliefs, values, and how they communicate. In my opinion, learning how to respect cultures around the world is one of the most important things in the world nowadays. Understanding each other and respecting our ways of life is essential in order to get along with not only one person, but maybe even a whole country. Culture is defined by the way we see the world and what environment we are born in. 

For example, when people ask me where I'm from I say Canada. Then they ask me where in Canada, and I don't know what to say because I have never actually lived there and don't necessarily identify myself with that culture. Knowing that I have lived in Singapore pretty much for the whole first half of my life, I can say that I associate myself with being a member of that culture. Both my parents were born in Canada, my mum in Ontario and my dad in Montréal. Whenever we do go back to Canada, I feel like an outsider. I mean, it's not like I can't speak both french and english, I speak them fluently, but with the culture itself...my connection just isn't there. 

Living here in Abu Dhabi, I guess you have to automatically settle into the culture and accepts it's rules and customs such as respecting the clothing worn (no shorts, no spaghetti straps, etc), not showing public displays of affection, and basically just learning how to understand the culture itself. Yes, it has been a huge adjustment for not only me but many others as well, we just have to learnt to live with it, and honestly, I'm kind of loving my life right now. 

To finish this off, here's a photo that I feel really summarizes who I am.

Hope you enjoyed reading this! (whoever you might be) 

Will keep you updated! :) 

Goodnight.