My Autobiography as a Writer

By Pamela den Ouden

Writing is part of my everyday life. Not a day goes by that I don’t pick up a pencil, pen, felt marker, crayon, or coloured pencil to write something. Daily, I use my computer to write various things: e-mails, blogs, status updates on Facebook, and chat online with friends. Not only has writing always been an important part of my life, it is also one of my favourite things to do.

I have always enjoyed keeping a diary. Before the days of computers, I wrote by hand in books made especially for journaling. I have many of these in a box in my closet. Most of them start well, often on New Year’s Day. The problem with keeping a diary is that it is supposed to be written in every day. January—a new start! By the end of the month, however, days are missing, and then I might leave some blank pages, thinking that I’d fill them in later. That “later” never happened, so the book was abandoned. Once friends and family knew that I was a diary writer, they always gave me very beautiful journals for my birthday or Christmas. Now, however, I try to discourage this because I use Word documents to write my journal. This is more convenient and faster for me, and I can write more by typing than by handwriting.

Another kind of writing that has been important to me is letter writing. Although e-mail is very quick to write and send, I think it is wonderful to receive a letter by Canada Post. I have a sister who lives on the other side of Canada and several friends who have moved away from Fort St. John who regularly write me handwritten letters and postcards. Nothing brightens my day like recognizing their handwriting on an envelope in my mailbox. I think they are also cheered when they see my handwriting on an envelope in their mailbox. I have many letters that I have kept over the years. My letters to my friends are, in a sense, a journal of my life.

Finally, believe it or not, I have also enjoyed doing school assignments and essays. This kind of writing takes time, thought, and patience, Each sentence has to be carefully written and proofread. I have written many essays on lots of different topics. The most difficult writing for me was my Master’s thesis, but the sense of accomplishment when it was finished was very good.

When we write, we let a little bit of ourselves out into the universe. We send a bit of our soul to another person. It is a great way to share our thoughts, feelings, and day-to-day life.

My Autobiography as a Writer

By Niko Fang

I learned how to write my name from my grandfather . He is my first writing teacher in my life. Although my Chinese name is complicated and hard to write, he was still very patient on with me. I remembered I had practiced over 20 pages of that notebook. Then I went to elementary school until I was 8 years old. I was so scared to stay in the school with teachers, because they looked very serious to me.  After 1 week, I found out my teachers were so gentle and warm. I loved learning words and writing sentences from them. Few years later, I learned how to write a paragraph. I still remembered that my first paragraph was talking about my childish story. Although  it wasn’t a very good story to talk about, my teacher still posted on our student union. I was so shy and glad, but it really encouraged me to became a writer.

How I Use Writing

By Pamela

Every day, I use writing at home and at work. First at home, I write many different kinds of things. Lists are important to help me remember things. I write grocery lists and to-do lists. I also write letters and e-mails to my friends and family, and I update my status on Facebook from time to time. At work, I write e-mails and lesson plans. I also create posters to announce special events. Finally, if I go to a meeting, I often take notes to help me remember what people said. Writing is an important skill for me.

How I Use Writing

By Pamela

Every day, I use writing at home and at work. First, at home, I write many different kinds of things. Lists are important to help me remember things. I write grocery lists and to-do lists. I also compose letters and e-mails to my friends and family, and I update my status on Facebook from time to time. At work, I write e-mails and lesson plans. I also create posters to announce special events. Finally, if I go to a meeting, I often take notes to help me remember what people said. Writing is an important skill for me. 

Welcome to the 2013 Fall Semester!

Welcome to Peacezine. This blog "belongs" to the students in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Northern Lights College. We've been blogging here since May 2009, and our blog has had more than 46,548 page views! On Aug. 30, the counter was reinstalled, so we've started back at zero! Please look at our blog and be counted! We post work from our Writing and Reading classes.

Northern Lights College is a great place to study. When newcomers talk about their first impressions of Fort St. John and the college, they often mention the beautiful natural surroundings of forests, rolling farmland, and forests, as well as the friendliness of the people.

We want to welcome all new and returning students, and we wish everyone a successful semester.

Read our posts! Follow our blog! Leave some comments!

My Autobiography as a Writer

By Pamela den Ouden

My grandmother, who was born in the late 1870s near Ottawa, Ontario, never learned to read or write. Her passport, issued in 1949, was signed by her with an X because, even at the age of 60 or so, she couldn’t even sign her name. It is hard for me to imagine my life without writing because it has played a large part in my life, academically, professionally, and personally.

As a student and life-long learner, I have used writing to fulfill many assignments. One of my fondest memories from high school is a series of writing assignments from my grade ten English teacher. The situation: we were stranded on a deserted island. The assignments: create a map of our island, write a letter to our family, detail instructions for making a shelter, and write a recipe for making some island dish, among others. These assignments were so interesting and engaging that even after all these years, I can still picture the outline map of my island, drawn in pencil in a lined, green Hilroy notebook.

All graduate students know the agony and the ecstacy of writing a thesis or dissertation. There’s the excitement of the research, of adding to the body of knowledge on a particular and usually narrow subject. Then there’s the agony of the writing, the rewriting, the revising, the scrapping of whole chapters, and the almost starting all over. Finally there it is—the finished product, with the stamp of approval from the powers-that-be.

Even now, I’m still writing as a student, having enrolled in a second Master’s program. Taking notes on the computer as I listen to an online lecture and writing essays and exams are once again part of my study routine. At the end of my course work, yes, there will be another thesis.

My professional writing life was a five-year apprenticeship by fire. I was a writer and then editor of a small weekly newspaper. The staff was small, the workload was large, and the days were long. There was pressure to produce interviews, photos, features, news, questions-on-the-street, and editorials. There was always something to write, revise, and polish.

The writing that’s brought me the greatest satisfaction, however, has been my personal writing, which includes writing to others, poetry, and stories. Over the years, I have written hundreds of letters to family and friends. When I travel, I send postcards and e-mail. When I’m home, I send letters and e-mail, birthday cards, and notes of encouragement. In addition, I express myself in poetry, usually building on a single image or incident or remark. The newest kind of writing that I’ve tackled is the short story. It’s a difficult form, but with practice, I’ll improve.

Writing is a precious ability that we should not take for granted. Our thoughts, actions, and decisions can be recorded for our descendants. If, after I’m gone, my grandchildren want to know about my life, all they will have to do is look through my letters, scrapbooks, diaries, and articles. The written record will reveal my life, my art, and my heart.

My Autobiography as a Writer - Yadwinder

By Yadwinder


I like to write but sometimes I feel bored bored towards writing. I love to write rap songs in my native language.

When I was a school boy, I love to write essays and stories from the books. Then after that I became older I feel writing is a boring activity. Sometimes, I love to write rap songs. These rap songs show all my feelings, my attitude towards people. My native language is Punjabi but I am not good in it. I speak Punjabi but unable to write. When I was in high school I wrote my first own essay about “Drug Addiction” by youngsters.

My Autobiography as a Writer - Shota

By Shota

When I was a high school student, I read The Diary of Anne Frank. It was a good opportunity for me to write something. After that, I wrote what happened in my diary. Something is almost a good incident. If a good incident happened, I wrote the incident in my diary.

I like to write, but I’m not good at writing. So I almost always use a PC to write my diary. Sometimes, I write with a pen.

To read the diary again is very interesting.

Welcome to the PeacEzine! - Issue 1 - July 2008

Charlie Lake Memorial

by Pali Vasvari (Hungary)

On May 21, 2008, we went to Charlie Lake for a ceremony. It was a very windy and cold day. Many volunteers were helping with the ceremony. They gave us little Canadian flags. Afterwards we looked for a place near the monument. A little group of international students was there.



The ceremony was connected to the construction of Alaska Highway. At first, it was named The Alcan Highway. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt dreamed a plan to build an inland route from Canada to Alaska. The construction began in March 1942. 11,000 American soldiers and thousands of Canadians worked on the building. Many soldiers were stationed in the Fort St. John area in the beginning. In the morning on May 14, 1942, a pontoon boat left the south end coast of Charlie Lake. There were seventeen men and supplies. There was rough water and stronger headwinds with waves soon reaching two to three feet. The boat was about two thirds of the way and in the middle of the lake. A plug had come out the gas line of one of the motors and gasoline was draining out. The men discovered the flooding. That was the point when Major Turvey ordered a turn to the west shore. After the boat started to turn, two waves hit it and flooded the right pontoon. Too much water went to the pontoon and tipped the raft at a precarious angle. In less than two minutes the boat settled and went under.

A homesteader and trapper, Gustaf Albin Hedin was the eyewitness of the tragedy. Without delay he started to rescue the survivors. He did not care about himself. He rescued five persons but he could not help the other twelve.










The ceremony started on time. First, two Canadian military cadets brought the Canadian flag and the United States of America flag. Behind them, Scottish bagpipers came. That was the first time I heard Scottish bagpipes in real life. RCMP, firefighters, and Canadian military were there. The mayor of Fort St. John opened the ceremony with moving words. After him, the U.S. Ambassador and the native leader spoke. Next the priest prayed for their loss. It was an emotional moment. After, the family members put flowers near the monument. I could feel sympathy in the air.

After the ceremony we went to the Charlie Lake Community Church. Then the ceremony continued with a lunch and some other kind words, but it was friendlier and closer. We did not have enough time, so we could not eat. They told us they would open a guest book and those present could write in it comments and their names. We signed our names and put some comments in it. It was an honour for me.

Below, left to right, Chiharu, Pali, and MinGu at the reception.