Hello everyone, I’m Sammie and I am a 15-year-old French emersion grade 11 student at Dr. Charles Best secondary school which is in Coquitlam BC. This is my third year in social responsibility which means I’ve been doing it since 19th grade. One of my favorite subjects in school is socials, learning about history and really all things sociology really interests me. I am taking two socials’ classes this year as my school offers many. One of them being social justice which is centered around social issues and the other one being comparative cultures (Étude comparative des religions du monde) but I’m taking the second one in French because of French immersion.
(Picture of Charles Best)
- What is your passion?
My passion is Music. Not necessarily playing music but listening to it. I know that can sound a bit trivial, but it is a big part of my life. I am constantly listening to music and finding more music to listen to. I really enjoy music documentaries and discussing music with my friends and family. I love collecting physical forms of music because sometimes streaming services feel impermanent, I just enjoy the feeling of owning the music that I’m listening to and supporting the artists I like by buying the physical forms of their music. CDs are the main form of physical media that I collect but I also have a small vinyl and cassette collection. Some of my favorite artists include Elliott smith, Ween, Grimes, Fiona apple, Modest mouse, Pink Floyd, Soundgarden, Bjork, neutral milk hotel, TOOL , Weezer , and sonic youth, though I know there are so many more that I am forgetting. I love listening to a wide array of genres because I love how music can sound so different, some of my favorite genres are alternative, rock, hardcore, skramz, indie, punk, hip hop, shoegaze, and various forms of experimental music. Another thing I love about music is going to live shows, it is one of my favorite things to do as I love singing along and dancing with everyone who loves the music just as much as I do. Some of my favorite shows I’ve been to include Greer, Mitski, Elton john, The cure, Modest mouse, The pixies, and your arms are my cocoon. While playing music is not my favorite part about it, I do play the Cello and really enjoy it, I guess I just do not find it as fulfilling as listening to music.
- If you could solve any local or global problem, what would it be? And why?
If I could solve any local or global problem it would probably be the opioid overdose and homelessness crisis that is extremely prevalent here in BC, more specifically Vancouver. This issue has been happening for years and years and yet politicians fail to give more resources to homeless communities and instead choose to displace them. Same thing with the opioid overdose crisis, politicians recognize what the real issue here is, it’s the contaminated drug supply which is causing people to overdose. The solution is clear, we need to further decriminalize all drugs and eventually legalize them, people will continue to die if they are not given drugs that are known to be safe and contaminant free. Of course, this is not as simple as I’m making it out to be, but these are things that need to eventually happen, as homelessness and the overdose crisis disproportionality affect marginalized groups, specifically indigenous peoples. It is important to recognize how interconnected these issues are and the importance of solving them
- Which one of the three prongs of butterfly effect are you most interested in?
I am most interested in the inquiry prong of butterfly effect. During my time in the social responsibility class, I’ve done 4 inquiry projects. I love researching topics that interest me so that I can gain a deeper understanding of these things. The projects that I’ve done in the past include “are humans inherently selfish?”, “How does the prison industrial complex affect marginalized groups?”, “Should we decriminalize all drugs?”, and “What are the key principles of Marxism as a social, economic, and political theory/how it has influenced various societies and movements throughout history?” . I am exited to work on another inquiry project this semester.I am thinking about centring it around modern philosophy and its place in our world, but i am not 100% sure yet.