Sunrise Badge

So I have a few boring stories of just having to wake up extremely early for school or flights and seeing sunrises, but those aren't particularly interesting, so I'll about the one memorable sunrise I've seen. My family and I were in Morocco, we went to an oasis in the middle of the Sahara, which was pretty awesome. We got there on camelback, which was just so much fun. Anyway, we got there in the afternoon, spoke to the people that were there, had some tea, some food, and all that jazz. Eventually, we all go to sleep. My mum wakes us all up at like 5:00 and tells us to get ready 'cause we're climbing to the top of one of the sand dunes to be able to catch the sunrise. I was kind of grumpy 'cause I was extremely tired and it took me a while to go up the dune, but when I got there, we just all sat down and watched the sunrise. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Catching sunrises in foreign places is something I'd recommend to anyone and everyone; it's amazing.
That's it for my Sunrise Badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Mona Lisa Badge

Once again, I obtained this Badge whilst living in Paris. I'd go to the Louvre nearly every Wednesday, seeing as I didn't have school on that day (oh, the joys of the French system). Usually, I'd do activities organized by the Museum, but some days I'd just visit the place and on one of those days, I decided I'd go see the Mona Lisa. If you ask me, it's totally overrated. I mean, yes, it's an absolutely beautiful painting, but it's such an awful experience, being in the middle of a crowd of people trying to get as close to the painting as they can, with guards everywhere keeping you in line and being pushed around by rude tourists. Basically, you see it for less than a minute, from a few meters away, and since it's quite a small painting, it's not really worth it to me. But then again, that's just my opinion. Other people might appreciate it much more than I did, but if you're in the Louvre, I'd tell you to visit other paintings and/or sculptures that will be more worth it. There are other Da Vinci's that you can see in a much more peaceful way if that's what you really went to the Museum to see. The Museum is huge and over the time I spent living in Paris, even though I went to the Louvre nearly every week, I didn't visit the entire thing and see all of the paintings. So, I'd recommend looking around and seeing other paintings you may be interested in, because you'll probably enjoy that much more than going to see La Joconde. But if that's the one thing you really want to see, you're obviously perfectly entitled to it.
So that's it for my Mona Lisa Badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Guitar Badge

I've been playing guitar for the past year. I play classical guitar, and really enjoy it. I also like to accompany my singing with a few strummed chords. It's quite nice to be able to play an instrument. There's not much more to this story, so,
That's it for my Guitar Badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Swimming Badge

Well, I don't if there're any specifics to this badge, but I'm just going to use it saying that I know how to swim and I've swum in many different locations. The most breathtaking ones were probably in Croatia, Greece and Mexico. Croatia and Greece have a very different charm to the Mexican one, and they've got some of the most breathtaking beaches I've ever seen. I also really appreciate Sardinian and Sicilian beaches, which are along the same lines, with beautiful water and incredible views. One of the most amazing swims I've ever taken was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which is a very old city with a mural and all that, a gorgeous city, basically, that happens to be by the Adriatic Sea. When you swim out, you get to see the city from the sea, which is an incredible experience. Would recommend going there to anyone who can.
That's it for the Swimming Badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Niagara Falls Badge

I went to Niagara Falls for a school trip two or three years back. The falls were absolutely gorgeous. The view was breathtaking and if you can spare a little time and money to go there, I would definitely recommend it. I've never seen anything like it. Also, if you have some time to visit the town afterwards, the main street is basically a bunch of haunted houses and a few gift shops. Avoid the gift shops, but the haunted houses can be quite fun. There's also a Daredevil Museum or something like that, that shows you stories of people who fell down the Falls. It's quite impressive, if you're interested in checking it out.
So, that's it for the Niagara Falls Badge.
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Picnic Badge

I've gone on many picnics throughout my life, in many different locations around the world. The most memorable ones have been the ones my family and I used to take to the Bois de Boulogne, in Paris. We'd spend entire afternoons there and it was absolutely beautiful. We would bring our baguette and pâté and it was really nice. I also remember having some pretty nice picnics in Italy, where we'd go up a small mountain and eat at the top. The food was also wonderful, so it made some good memories and fun experiences. I've also gone on picnics closer to where I live now, because there's a National Park close enough to my city, which can make for a nice day out.
That's the story of my Picnic Badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Eiffel Tower Badge

As I've mentioned before, I lived in Paris for a while, and therefore, obviously got to see the Eiffel Tower quite a bit. I only went up once, when I was really little, back before I'd ever lived in the city. In my room in Paris, though, I remember being able to see the Tower, when I was laying in bed. It used to help me fall asleep, because if you've ever seen it at night, you'll know that it has this light that goes around and lights it up once the sun goes down. Watching that light turn always helped me fall asleep. It was comforting, for whatever reason. I find the Eiffel Tower to be an absolutely beautiful building, though I don't think it's necessary to go to the top of it, I don't think the four hour queue is worth it. I was quite contempt with watching it from below. I'm really glad that they didn't tear it down after the Exposition Universelle, because I can't imagine Paris without that Tower.
That was my Eiffel Tower Badge story,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Fishing Badge

I haven't been fishing in the longest time, seeing as I absolutely hated it, but, when I was little, I went fishing a few times with my friend and her dad, who had a really nice lake house. We would go out and fish for a few hours and then eat whatever we had brought back. I remember being really proud whenever I caught a fish.
So, that's the story behind my Fishing Badge.
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Haunted House Badge

About three years ago, my friends and I went to this amazing haunted house that a Youth Centre had put up. It was extremely well done and very, very scary. I really enjoyed it, and thought it was a fun thing to do after trick-or-treating. I've also been to a haunted house in Niagara Falls and one in London. They were both quite fun, though I believe the first one was the best one.
So, that's how I got my Haunted House Badge.
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Big Ben Badge

So, I've mentioned before that my family do a lot of traveling. Last spring, my mum and I had a few days of common vacation and decided we'd go to London for a few days. I'd been dying to go there for the longest time, seeing as I'm quite the anglophile. I loved visiting the city, and since we only had a very short amount of time, I planned everything out to the minute so that we could see everything I wanted to see. Obviously, I allocated some time to visiting Westminster Abbey, and walked by Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Big Ben is absolutely beautiful and just looks great in the city. We also went on the London Eye (I know, a bunch of super touristy things, but that's not all we did during the trip), and got to see Big Ben from a very different view, and it was breath-taking. I recommend taking half an hour of your time if you're in London to go on the London Eye and see the city from above. It's a wonderful experience, and even though it is a very touristy thing, it's totally worth it.
So, that's how I got my Big Ben Badge.
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Zoo Badge

So, the Zoo Badge. Another fairly common one, I believe. I've been to a few zoos. We used to have one in the city I live in, but it closed down a few years back for lack of money. I was really bummed out by this, but still got to go there a few times before it closed down. There used to be this bird section where they'd give you a little paper cup with bird seeds in it and all the birds would just fly towards you and eat out of your hand, which was really cool. I remember really liking that. I've also gone to the Bronx Zoo, the Calgary Zoo and the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, all of which I've quite enjoyed. Zoos are really fun places to visit.
So, that was my Zoo Badge story.
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Horse-Riding Badge

Most people have probably ridden a horse at least once in their lives, so this probably isn't the most interesting or special story you'll hear. I've ridden horses quite a few times, though each time, it scares the shit out of me, because I always feel like my horse is going to pull some crazy stunt and throw me off of its back. Also, I'm terrified of heights, so I'm guessing that doesn't help much, even though I know horses aren't that tall, I always feel like I'm 500 metres above ground and about to fall off and die. I know, that's probably not very normal. Anyway. The last time I rode a horse was two summers ago, in Sardinia. We were staying in an agriturismo, which is a merge between a bed and breakfast and a farm. You'll find them everywhere in Italy, they're often the best places to stay in if you're not in the big cities. We decided we'd go horseback riding, and dedicated an afternoon to it. It was quite fun, despite my issues with the height and all that.
That's it for this badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Snake-Holding Badge

So, here's the story of my Snake-Holding Badge. Now, this story will be much less interesting than it should. I actually held a snake in first grade, on "Bring Your Pet to School Day". I don't if that's a thing that happens in every school, but I was really excited about this. Some girl in my class brought her two pet snakes to school. They were quite small, but fairly cute, and I got to hold one of them for a few minutes, which I was really excited about.
That's it for this badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Pet Owning Badge

Hello, this will be the story of my third badge: the Pet Owning Badge. When I was younger, we used to travel a lot, and so my parents never wanted to buy a pet, which made my brother and I very sad. We desperately wanted pets, so, for my brother's eighth birthday, we ended up getting three goldfish. Now, I know, not the most interesting pet, but they were a big deal for us for quite a while. Until, eventually, one of the goldfish turned cannibal and ate his friends, and ended up dying only several years later. I still remember being thoroughly freaked out by the fact that we had a cannibal goldfish and was quite happy when he finally died (He scared me. I'm sorry, I know it's a horrible thing to be happy by a creature's death).
It's was only a few years ago that we actually got a real pet. We still travel a lot and so it does get hard to get people to take care of her when we're gone, but we somehow manage. So, our current pet is a cat. She's a black and white cat and she is the cutest thing ever. Her name is Ursula (I know, weird name, I didn't name her so it's not my fault). She's the sweetest cat I've ever encountered and I wouldn't trade her for the world.
So, that was the story behind my Pet Owning Badge.
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Chess Badge

Onto my next badge: The Chess Badge. This story won't be too interesting seeing as I never was a great chess player or anything like that, but, when I was little, I used to play chess with my older brother quite a lot. He was fairly good and I was fairly bad, but I enjoyed it none the less and it made for fun memories. Also, when I lived in Paris, I used to love to go to the Luxembourg Gardens and watch the old men play chess. They played religiously and some of them were actually really good. It was fun to watch people who didn't necessarily know each other personally but who joined and met through a shared passion.
So, that's the story of my Chess Badge,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

French Language Badge

So, here's the story of my first badge: the French Language Badge. This one is kind of a cheat for me, seeing as I live in Quebec, which is the francophone part of Canada. Although English is my first language, I had to learn French at a very young age, because the law here doesn't allow me to go to English school and I have therefore done my entire education in French.
I quite like speaking French, and I enjoy hearing different accents. I personally have a mix of a Parisian (I've lived there and have many Parisian friends) and a Quebecer accent. My favourite accent, though, has to be the Southern French one. The Provence accent is absolutely beautiful, it has a melody to it that most French accents don't have.
If you speak French, what is your favourite accent and why?
Anyway, hope you appreciated this short post,
Toodlepip,
x Clara

Introduction

Hello,
My name is Clara. I'm a fourteen year-old Canadian. I watch a lot of YouTube videos, and two YouTubers I particularly enjoy watching are Charlie from charlieissocoollike and Alex from nerimon. Alex recently created this idea called Lifescouts, in which you can receive badges for things you've achieved and accomplished. I thought this was a really good idea, seeing as it can make people try out new things that they wouldn't necessarily try otherwise. After watching Alex's video on the subject and going through the Lifescouts web page (www.lifescouts.com), I had the idea (I know I'm probably not the only one to do this) of starting a blog in which I'd post the badges I've gotten and the new ones as I get them, and tell you the stories of how I got these badges.
I hope you'll enjoy this blog, and would encourage you to try and obtain some Lifescouts badges.
Toodlepip,
x Clara