The Proudest Moment of My Life (So Far!)
Hi there! My name is Michael and I'm 10 years old. I just finished 4th grade and my teacher Mrs. Martin asked us to write about the proudest moment in our lives so far. I thought about it for a long time because there have been a bunch of times when I felt really proud, but one moment really stands out in my mind. It happened back in 3rd grade. Every year, my elementary school has a big Science Fair where all the students get to do a science project and present it. The projects get judged and the best ones win prizes and ribbons. Lots of kids get stressed out about it, but I was really excited! I've always loved science and doing experiments. My parents are both scientists too which is probably why.
For my project that year, I decided to study how different liquids affected plant growth. I had read that some things like saltwater or soda can stop plants from growing well. But I wondered if other liquids could actually help plants grow faster and bigger than just using plain water. So that became my question to investigate.
First, I had to plan out my experiment. With my mom's help, I got 20 little pots and planted the same type of seeds in each one - we used romaine lettuce. Then I divided the pots into 5 groups of 4. Each group would get watered with a different liquid: Group 1: Plain water Group 2: Milk
Group 3: Orange juice Group 4: Lemonade Group 5: Vinegar
That way I could compare how the plants grew with just water versus the other liquids. I made sure to water each group the same amount every day and put all the pots together so they got the same amount of sunlight.
It took a couple of weeks, but slowly the seeds started sprouting into little baby lettuce plants. At first, the ones getting plain water grew the fastest. But after a while, the ones getting milk seemed to shoot up way taller than the rest! The ones getting orange juice did pretty well too. But the vinegar group stayed tiny and shriveled up, while the lemonade group did okay but not great.
By the time of the Science Fair, the milk group was a clear winner! Their lettuce plants were over a foot tall, while the plain water group only got to around 6 inches. The orange juice group did the second best.
For my project display, I printed out pictures showing the growth over time. I also brought in the actual lettuce plants from each group to show as examples. And I wrote up my conclusions about how milk seems to have nutrients that can really boost plant growth, probably because of all the calcium, vitamins, and protein.
When it was my turn to present to the judges, I was a little nervous at first. But then I just imagined I was explaining my experiment to a friend, and it all came out smoothly. The judges asked really good questions too, like what Were the downfalls of using liquids besides water, or if I got the same results with other types of plants. I didn't have all the answers, but I explained what else I would want to test next time.
After all the projects were judged, it was time for the awards ceremony. They gave out ribbons for things like \"Most Creative\" and \"Best Presentation.\" But the top two prizes were a big trophy for 1st place and another trophy for 2nd place Overall Winner.
When they announced that I had won 1st Place Overall for my milk and plant experiment, I was totally shocked! They called my name to come up and get the giant 1st place trophy. As I walked up to the front, everyone was cheering and clapping. I could see my parents giving me a huge thumbs up with the biggest smiles on their faces. I felt like a million bucks!
Getting that 1st place trophy has been my proudest moment so far. All the hard work of planning and conducting my experiment, putting together a good display, and practicing my presentation really paid off. Winning that big prize made me feel so accomplished, like a real scientist! It motivates me to keep exploring my passion for science and ignore any doubters. More than just the trophy though, I'm proud of myself for taking a risk and trying something new with my experiment instead of just doing the basic plant and water test. By thinking outside the box and testing different liquids, I actually discovered something pretty cool and useful about milk being great for plant growth. Who knows, maybe beverage companies will start making a new \"Plant Power Milk\" for gardens based on my findings!
I'm sure there will be many more moments of pride and achievement ahead as I keep working hard, staying curious, and
believing in myself. But winning that Science Fair will always stick out as a time when I felt prouder than I ever had before at just 9 years old. I proved that even young kids are capable of making legitimate discoveries if we apply ourselves. Moments like those give me confidence that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.
Well, that's my story of peak pride so far! I better get going though - my next big adventure starts soon as I'll be heading off to 5th grade in just a couple months. Maybe I'll discover the cure for a disease or come up with a way to make cars run on milk next. A kid scientist can dream, right? Thanks for reading, and Farewell!
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