Writing Exercises

When I was 14 years old, I had no interest in science, Kit Pennell came back to Pi to teach middle school science to grades 6-12 in Chimacum. In the classroom large science posters hung, and quality models made by quality students lined the shelves, all made by those big scary high school students. I feared Kit, she seemed tall and strong.. little did  I know, it was just passion and a love for science.
 
Once we settled into our chairs on the first day of class, I realized that everyone was in the same boat as me. We were all quite scared, after all, science is quite a scary subject at times. Seeing all my best friends around me made me realize that I was going to be fine. Once Kit began talking, my attention was caught. The passion behind her voice and her enthusiastic hand movements made me think "Wow, this stuff must be really important". The way she walked around the room and noticed who was paying attention and who wasn't, made me realize that I better be on her good side. She didn't seem like one who was used to teaching small children. Maybe I thought this because she talked to us like we were adults or talked to us about the world. People don't do that to 14 year olds. They talked to us like we are still very naive, and no one wants to scare us with things like drones, GMOs, and global warming. But Kit did. She wanted to talk about all the bad things. But don't think this made her a negative person. Her purpose was to make us aware, to show us that the world isn't rainbows and butterflies like we had previously thought. She wanted us to change the future and to become the generation who made a difference. She believed in us right from the start. She cared about our futures not only educationally but our futures in this dying world. Kit took us places over the next few years. We went hiking, salmon watching, river rafting, tree planting. She took us in the world and away from the fluorescent lights and uncomfortable chairs. She showed us the good in the community.