Loreena Homan

September 21st 2015

Mr. Lobb

My Favorite Place

My favorite place in the world is Baie Fine.  It is a 6 hour boat ride and a 30 minute hike to view my favorite place.  It is in the La Cloche Mountains above Manitoulin Island, where the land’s coast resembles a calloused heel.  Baie Fine is one of the many valleys that run through the ranges.  I have come to know this valley very well, travelling to it every summer.  I know every lonely shoal, and every seagull poo covered rock.  When you enter the channel, the mountains are on both sides of you like vast walls looming over you.  They are coated with a deep pine forest and a fang-white cloak of rock covering the top.  You can hear wind whistle through sail masts that sway by the shore.  The water turns from dull grey to a warm blue and makes you feel at peace.  The waves lapping in a rhythmic sound entrances you in where you sit.  The sky is always full of seagulls cruising through the air.  The sky is a diamond blue, with wispy clouds painting the horizon.  

We always anchor in the same small nook, tucked away from any storm or busy cove.  You can swim in the covered water until the sun goes down.  The front of the boat is always covered in bright beach towels drying in the dimming sunlight.  The calmness of the area makes you feel entirely at peace.  The isolation is complete and here you are truly off the beaten path.

There is a secret route up Frazier Hill, one of the smaller mountains.  The trail is narrow and shadowed.  There are no markers, and there are large fern plants that have grown in over top of the path.  The air is dim and heavy, and only a few strands of light make it through the branches into the undergrowth.  There are endless beds of mouthwatering blueberries waiting to be picked.  The trees around you are coffee bean brown and seem as tall as the mountain themselves.  Chipmunks sit high in the branches watching you like ancient statues.  The air smells green and pure.  It gives you a heart thumping sensation of somewhere new.

As you stand at the top, your break is completely taken away.  You can see as far as the horizon in every direction.  Other surrounding islands become stepping stone sized spots on the unspoiled water.  The horizon is barely there, the sky meets the water in a reflected shade of blue.  The wind whips around you, and threatens to push you over an edge but you can’t be bothered.  The warm rock beneath you is bone white and rolls like a wave into the forest.  The view is a panoramic postcard, saved with you.  My favorite place is truly unforgettable.

Loreena Homan

September 17th 2015

Mr. Lobb

A Profile of my Father Scott

My father is protective and supportive, as a traditional father is.  My father and I are different from others because I see him through a glass wall.  I have very little memories of my father, but I cherish the ones I have.  He is strong and gentle, and tiptoes around things to make sure people are pleased.  He is very easy to get along with and has many many friends.  

He is haunted by his past and has changed his life entirely to run from it.  He had depression for 5 years and it lead him into a very dark time.  He worked very hard to get better and had support from people all over.  He has a strong focus now on physical and mental health, as he strives to make himself a new person.  The father I have in my memories is very different from the father still with me.  He was always at my side, helping me through every little milestone in life.  He supported everything I did and was always at the sidelines.

He lives in the city with his girlfriend and has a very good contracting job.  I see him rarely, but have the best time when I do.  He is tall and fit, and has a wondrous amount of talents.  He owns a gym to help as many people as he can become the best they can be.  

My mom sees him as that he is still lost.  She knows him for the man that he used to be, and as the one who was too sad to leave the house.  She supports what he does because she wishes that he is happy, but knows that he has changed a great deal.

My sister sees my dad as the center of her world.  He visits her a few times a week and is always there when she needs anything.  He takes much pride in how far she has come and who she has grown up to be.  

Friends view my dad as someone to look up to.  He has been through a great deal of events and has traveled all over, and done all sorts of jobs.  They know him as someone that they can have fun with, or have a serious talk with.  I know my father from many ways but I do not have the traditional father daughter relationship.

A Profile of my Mother

Loreena Homan

September 10th 2015

A Profile of my Mother Kathy

My mom has a very light smell. A smell that I have grown to know very well and it brings me a feeling of being safe.  It is just barely there, but is capable of taking away all your worried feelings and wraps you in a hug.  When I think of a mom, words like gentle, selfless, or loving come into my mind.  My mom is much greater than these words, or any words at all.  My life has been a great series of ups and downs and I am incredibly lucky to have a mother by my side to help me level my ground.  She is a north star, light in the dark to guide me home.  

She has a great sense in art and design.  When she looks at an art piece you can see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to pick apart the layers and meanings behind it.  This gives her a respect for peace and things that come with a natural beauty.  She helps me to develop this sense through taking me to experience places away from cities and technologies.  I look up to her for this because it is an interest that is becoming more rare to find in people.

People generally see my mom as someone that is strong and independant.  This assumption comes from being a single mom.  These words are true, but people do not see the full depth of how far she has come to be as strong as she is today.  She knows exactly the people who she can count on as friends and also how to be a great friend herself.  My mother is the wisest and the smartest person I know, and I learn new things everyday from her.

My father used to see my mother as someone you could hold onto and never lose.  He cherished her and everything she can do.  He could see through every layer of feelings and always knew the answer to everything.  His thoughts changed slowly and she became someone he does not know.  She slipped just out of his reach and she is seen now as only the mother of his children.  

My mother is a safe box for my life.  I mean this because I know she is always there for me, she will keep all my secrets and details for only us to share.  She is a mother I can always take pride in that she is mine.  She is beautiful.  You can see it in her big smile, dark eyes, and even the way she walks with her head up.  She sees the bright side of everything and will scold you for failing to see it yourself.  She wants the best for her kids and I love her for it.  I wouldn’t have her any other way.