Bad Choices – Ray, Grade 7

Bad Choices – Ray, Grade 7

Bad Choices

It was Friday, October 5th, 2016. The leaves had just begun to fall, and the temperature was dropping. The sky was still dark when my mom woke me up, “Ray! Hurry up, or we might be late!” It was the day we were supposed to go to Algoma and Agawa to see lots of scenery. My intent was to do my homework; however, I decided to take my electronic devices with me onto the bus. We were about 200 people, so we split into three groups for three buses. We were waiting for the bus when my uncles and aunts arrived. Then I heard someone say, “Group one’s bus for Algoma has arrived!” We were group one, so we got onto the bus as quickly as we could and began the six-hour trip to Algoma.

After about an hour on the road, the rain stopped. I decided to play on my IPad the entire trip. My mom asked me, “Why don’t you stop playing on your IPad and look at some of the views?” My reply to that was, “What is the point of looking at the views? I can see everything everywhere around Toronto.” I began playing on my IPad and took very short naps until we stopped at Blue Mountain. The time went by like a car in Nascar. When we arrived, I really didn’t want to get off the bus, but I had to, anyway.

My family decided to climb the mountain. I ran ahead of everyone up the mountain and waited at the top. I had some time before my family could make it up the mountain. So, I decided to play on my iPad while I waited, and when my family did get up the mountain, they decided to go hiking on a short trail. My mom asked, “Can you show me the trail for the hike?” I showed her the trail on the map, and then they left. I played on my iPad as I was waiting. Many families looked at me as I was waiting and playing on my iPad. At 3 o’clock, finally, I saw my family walking back on the trail. We took a lift to go back down the mountain.

On the bus, the tour guide announced, “We are now continuing the drive to Algoma. We aren’t stopping until we get to our hotel in Algoma!” The drive was about three hours. I began working on my homework, but I stopped faster than a flash in the pan. I heard people saying, “Oh look at that!” They were busy watching the farms in the way. I took a look at some animals, and then I began to watch videos on my IPad. Everybody fell asleep, and I ended up as the only person awake. The sky was still bright, but the sun was beginning to set. When we arrived at the hotel, I was asleep. I must have fallen asleep while playing on my iPad, I guess. It was 7 o’clock at night, and in the morning, we had to board the train to Agawa.




I watched videos until midnight. I didn’t want to miss out on the Blue Jays Playoff game. Eventually, I fell asleep and woke up at five. I decided to sleep the entire time we were on the train, as I was very tired. The sky was still dark when the train arrived. We got on the train as quickly as possible, and I immediately fell asleep. Sometimes I would open my eyes half-asleep each time one of the three tour guides told the passengers about an attraction somewhere. For me, the level of boredom was as high as the CN Tower. It took four hours to finally arrive in Agawa. Since the train had internet, I decided to stay on the train while my family got off.

My mom came up to me and asked, “What fun activities are there to do?” I replied, “Just follow the tour guide. She also speaks Chinese.” I played and watched videos as I waited for the two hours to end. The only reason I got off the train was to use the washroom. I saw everyone coming back on the train and was very excited to go back. I realized that I would waste a total of eight hours because of this train. Everyone finally got onto the train and we began moving. I fell asleep almost immediately and I was awakened by my family’s conversations. They were talking about how wonderful the views were and talked about the amazing photos they had taken. I thought to myself, “It’s just trees? What’s so amazing about that?” I decided to continue watching videos until we got back to the hotel. We arrived back at the hotel, and I was out before eight.

In the morning we began our seven-hour trip back to Toronto. The homework I was planning to do was cleared out of my mind. I fell asleep and slept for a long time.  My mom woke me up finally. They were looking at the photos my uncle had taken.  “Come see some of the photos your uncle has taken,” my mom said. I went and saw some of the amazing photos. I saw the trees and the lake. The view was fantastic and the scenery close-up was even better. My uncle had amazing photos, and everybody looked so happy. Suddenly I realized I was in none of the photos. I had spent all this time watching videos and sleeping. It felt as if I was never there. I really wanted a picture of me next to my family, but it was too late. When I realized that I had missed a lot, we were only three hours to Toronto.

At home, I looked at the photos again and again. I felt regretful. I really wanted to go back and take lots of pictures. I tried to imagine myself in the photos. For sure, without my iPad, the trip would have been a completely different experience.