A LITTLE SCIENTIST

Hey there!

So, I’ve gotta confess—science isn’t usually my jam. I mean, sure, I passed with decent grades, but let’s just say my true talents lie in more living, breathing subjects like Biology. But then, out of nowhere, sixth grade threw me a curveball: a problem-solving workshop that turned out to be an entire academy! Surprise!  

As we dove deeper into this mysterious world of “problem-solving,” we started hatching ideas like eggs in a very confused chicken coop. One day, amid this academic chaos, a girl with pigtails and glasses (let’s call her “Mimi the Magnificent”) raised her hand and went, “Happiness.” I don't know why, but before I knew it, my hand shot up too. Next thing I know, I’m part of the “Happiness Project” — an All-Girl Research Team on a quest to find the secrets of true happiness!

At the start, I was like a deer caught in headlights. Mimi was running the show, practically juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle. But then BAM! We got invited to present our research live on YouTube! Talk about pressure! 

We put our brains together, which is a fancy way of saying we probably brain-farted a lot (sorry science!), and finally pulled together a presentation. We even emerged from the symposium unscathed! Honestly, it felt like we had just survived a disaster movie. 

Months later, our unit got picked to showcase our work as a poster at some fancy conference. We watched tutorial videos and were like, “What could possibly go wrong?” Then, as our twin tech experts, Lily and Lola, took the reins, they handed me a notebook and said, “Note the important points.” So this is what I scribbled down: 

1. Make it lamer than your math homework.

2. Ditch the pics—unless they’re boring diagrams or graphs. Yawn.

3. Did I mention to make it lamer? Seriously.

4. No jokes allowed. This is serious business, folks!

5. Choose colour schemes so dull that even a snail would fall asleep!

6. Just for good measure, let’s make it as forgettable as last year’s fashion trends.

All in all, we aimed for a poster so boring that it would haunt people’s dreams. In a nutshell, our mission was clear: making academic ennui the highlight of the event! Who knew research could be so much fun? 🌟

I looked at my notes and yawned dramatically. "Done," I announced as if I had just solved world peace. 

Lola, ever the critic, glanced through my notes and shot back, "This is as useful as the chewed-up gum I was unfortunate enough to find under my desk. You know, the flavour that died a slow, painful death?”

Ouch, touché! But we shrugged off the shade and conducted a new survey with a bigger sample size. Our last attempt was about as successful as a cat in a dog show—only 60 responses. It took us forever to hunt those down! 

Then Evie The Evolutionary, our resident genius, suggested we drop it in our class WhatsApp group. After getting the questionnaire more polished than my grandma’s silverware, we finally hit send in all the class groups. 

The next morning, we woke up to a flood of responses. I thought my eyeballs were going to pop out of my sockets and do a little dance on the floor! I swear, if our survey were a movie, it’d be a blockbuster hit—who knew people loved answering questions more than scrolling through social media? As we were crunching numbers like a pack of caffeinated squirrels, we hit 106 responses—BOOM! The next morning, we woke up to find it had skyrocketed to 112! Evie had to slam the lid on the form and trust me, we weren't just analyzing questions; we were basically running a data-driven circus over there. My main job? Keeping the gang from turning into a sloth parade. I mean, deadlines wait for no one, people!

On that glorious day in the resource room, we were huddled together like penguins on an iceberg. I could practically feel Ally’s breathing down my neck like a nervous chihuahua, while Lily hovered over the 'submit' button as if it were a red button marked “Do Not Press.” Honestly, if that button had a personality, it would have said, “I’m not ready for this level of commitment!” But, like brave warriors, we pressed it anyway. Who knew maths could be this intense? We danced out of the room that day, dancing and jumping around like monkeys, who cared if the first graders thought us weird, we're going to a conference BABY!

The conference was on Friday (No School!), Saturday(Oh Shucks) and Sunday(Come on!). We pinned our poster up on Saturday, sweating like a bunch of penguins in Death Valley, and answered the questions thrown at us by interested passersby. Except for questions like why we are sweating like we were stuck in a 39-degree sauna for twenty-four hours.

I didn't end up winning anything, but honestly, I had a blast! It's like a carnival without the cotton candy (though I'm still having regrets about that). So if you're curious, let me introduce you to the fabulous members of the Happiness Project:

- **Mimi The Magnificent** (the fearless leader who sometimes thinks she's a wizard—seriously, she keeps waving her hands around as if casting spells).

- **Lily And Lola** (the technicians, aka the "dynamic duo" of duct tape and questionable WiFi connections—whenever something goes wrong, they look at each other like they just realized they’re in a horror movie). 

- **Evie The Evolutionary** (the Ideast, who has more ideas than a cat has lives, but half the time they involve turnips and interpretive dance—I'm still trying to figure that one out).

- **Ally The Awesome** (our base and data provider, who basically lives in spreadsheets like a wizard in a tower of scrolls, except her potions involve lots of caffeine and panic). 

- **Guppy The Newbie** (who is still figuring out what she actually does—she spends her time asking questions, which we all know is just a cover for sneaking snacks from the break room).

- **N.M. Sirius** (that’s me, your loyal secretary/vice leader, here to keep it all together while questioning if I left the stove on).

So there you have it! We may not have won anything, but we definitely earned a PhD in laughter and a minor in chaos! Welp, that's it. See you next week folks, with an even better tale. 'Til the next story.

BYE

N.M SIRIUS... A SCIENTIST!