I have done many things for service these past 2 years and i think the one that has had the most impact on me is teaching english at a convent near my house. I have undertaken this new challenge as i have had to figure out ways of teaching a language which is a big task and i have become aware of my strengths which are being firm but fair when teaching and not picking favourites-i like anyone that works hard. I have also become aware of my weaknesses which are being impatient with the children and losing my temper. This is where i consider the global impact of what i am doing. I am helping poor children to learn english which will help them to gain employment when they are older as english is very important not in Sri Lanka. I am happy to be helping them and i am even happier that the teaching has moved to a larger scale where more children can be helped.
Alzheimers and Habitat for Humanity are the two service groups i have been involved in in school. I feel i have contributed to the betterment of the lives of people that these cas groups are helping so i am aware of the global impact these activities have had. However, i have also understood the ethical implications of these are that some people do service so that they have something to write about for CAS and not becuase they really care about who/what they are helping. This bothers me as i am not one of these people but know many of them. I have become aware of the skills i have developed doing these things such as leadership skills, organisational skills and public speaking skills. Also the skills i know i must develop are getting along with all kinds of people as there were a few in my CAS i did not like and there was friction within the group. I also need to learn to be more patient and tolerant. Overall, i think i gained alot from these 2 groups and i have gained alot from participating in both of them.
Desi girl concert-this was for a charity concert and the time i spent preparing for it wiht my friends was considerable so i think i put in alot of perseverence and commitment to it. I am also happy as i made some steps up in a genre i have never done before and they looked good so i am happy with my contribution. In this respect it was also a new challenge that i undertook.
Mannar trip-i went to Mannar and i think i gained alot of insight into the lives of the less fortunate. I do not think i did a good job of folllowing it up with the bicycle project as i have been very busy but maybe during my gap year i hope to continue with more planned and initiated activities such as this one. I also had a chance to consider the global impact f what i was doing-i was helping patients in a health camp.
Week Without Walls: This really experience contributed to the development of my skills with children and entertaining them. It also showed me how patient i could be when doing something worthwhile like painting the school (which we had to do the whole day). I was forced to consider some ethical implications of this trip we may not really have done anything to help the community except make the walls of the preschool look nicer. We could have used all that money and time on something that would have had a more profound effect on the community. Also, the fact that we did all the work and did not involve the children and parents of the children was not a good idea in my mind because it is when a community contributes to something for themselves that they truly appreciate it, not when it is dumped in their lap. However considering that we are only high school kids and have a limited time, there was not much else we could do.
CHA: The experinece at the CHA i did not feel contributed to any one directly as we were helping to compile a database but i know that indirectly it will help someone.
This experience was a new challenge that i undertook because i am an impatient person and this job required sitting in one place and typing on a computer as well as using the telephone alot. I became aware of my strengths- being patient when i have to and being polite constantly even though i became exasperated with the work. I thought i would hate the office environment but it was not as chlaustrophobic as i expected. The areas for development of my skills that i became aware of were that i need to be more proactive if i am to be fully involved in something, as i found that i was so distracted because i didnt think i was doing anything to really help anyone. This is something i need to work on if i am to pursue a career in humanitarian aid. I will not always be helping people directly but what i do can still make a difference. I found that after a few days it was easy and i didnt have to bite my tongue everytime i got an irritating person on the line. Overall i am happy with this experience and what i learnt from it as i think i can use it in my future and it showed me how i can hava an impact.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Final Reflection-Action
Action:
I have done exercise at home and zumba! I have developed the skill of being disciplined and becoming more strict with what i do. I am also aware that the area of growth for me is that i become lazy towards the end of the day and do not feel like doing exercise then.
Swimming went well for me as it was also a new challenge that i undertook but i went every wednesday for a period of time last year. Although i retain the advice and critisism my instructor gave me, the area for growth is my lack of tenacity because as soon as i felt i had too much work to cope with i stopped going. This is an example of how i have failed to fulfill the criterion of persevering and being commited to something.
However, i was very happy with myself for participating in the school swimming meet. This really was an entirely NEW CHALLENGE for me as i had never even thought about participating in a meet. I did though and i did much better than i thoguht i would so i am happy with my effort!
Dancing is another activity that i did not continue as i found the classes boring and a waste of my time. I do not consider this a lack of commitment on my part asi attended the class every week but we did not learn alot at all and it was boring for me. However, i was complacent regarding finding a new class as i could have but i decided to focus on my academics as the other class was far frim my house and on saturdays which is when i go to the convent to teach english.
Alzheimers 5k walk: i am happy with my commitment to the program and i am also happy that i completed the walk. It was hot and humid but i showed perseverence and completed it.
Latin Dancing:
One of the after school activitites (ASA's) that i took part in was latin dancing. As i love dancing this was exciting for me but i had never done it before so it was a new challenge. I do not feel as i showed perseverence and commitment in this activity as i had my exams and i do not think went enough times. I am disappointed in my lack of commitment.
Natanda dancing: As above this was only on for a few weeks i thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a new challenge for me as i t was VERY difficult to grasp the technique as the movements were so painful to do.
For the two above i recognized that the area i need to develop is my commitment to things that are not compulsory but that i sign up for. I tend not to miss charity events etc but if it is an activity like dancing and my not being there doesnt affect anyone then i sometimes miss the activities which i think i a horrible thing to do.
Desi girl dance: the practcing and the performance of this dance took an immense amoutn of effort. This was a collaborative effort and all the dancers had to be commited and persevere to finish it. It was also a new challenge for me as i had never danced bollywood before and i want sure that i would grasp the steps properly. This was also the planned and initiated activity that i did with my friends the fellow dancers. It taught me that i needed to develop the skill of being patient and accepting others opinions but also that i could grasp the steps others choreographed fast and i kept to the beat of the song.
track and field: i did track and field but as i twisted my ankle i found i could not run so i never made the team as i stopped going for practices. As this was a result of an injury and not a lack of interes on my part i cannot comment on it.
wall climbing elective: i chose the wall climbing elective on wednesdays as i wanted to do exercise as much as possible, and i did it every wednesday until it was removed as an option for an elective. Thus i was commited and developed this skill becasue i found i could climb higher than some people and faster than i could before.
I have done exercise at home and zumba! I have developed the skill of being disciplined and becoming more strict with what i do. I am also aware that the area of growth for me is that i become lazy towards the end of the day and do not feel like doing exercise then.
Swimming went well for me as it was also a new challenge that i undertook but i went every wednesday for a period of time last year. Although i retain the advice and critisism my instructor gave me, the area for growth is my lack of tenacity because as soon as i felt i had too much work to cope with i stopped going. This is an example of how i have failed to fulfill the criterion of persevering and being commited to something.
However, i was very happy with myself for participating in the school swimming meet. This really was an entirely NEW CHALLENGE for me as i had never even thought about participating in a meet. I did though and i did much better than i thoguht i would so i am happy with my effort!
Dancing is another activity that i did not continue as i found the classes boring and a waste of my time. I do not consider this a lack of commitment on my part asi attended the class every week but we did not learn alot at all and it was boring for me. However, i was complacent regarding finding a new class as i could have but i decided to focus on my academics as the other class was far frim my house and on saturdays which is when i go to the convent to teach english.
Alzheimers 5k walk: i am happy with my commitment to the program and i am also happy that i completed the walk. It was hot and humid but i showed perseverence and completed it.
Latin Dancing:
One of the after school activitites (ASA's) that i took part in was latin dancing. As i love dancing this was exciting for me but i had never done it before so it was a new challenge. I do not feel as i showed perseverence and commitment in this activity as i had my exams and i do not think went enough times. I am disappointed in my lack of commitment.
Natanda dancing: As above this was only on for a few weeks i thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a new challenge for me as i t was VERY difficult to grasp the technique as the movements were so painful to do.
For the two above i recognized that the area i need to develop is my commitment to things that are not compulsory but that i sign up for. I tend not to miss charity events etc but if it is an activity like dancing and my not being there doesnt affect anyone then i sometimes miss the activities which i think i a horrible thing to do.
Desi girl dance: the practcing and the performance of this dance took an immense amoutn of effort. This was a collaborative effort and all the dancers had to be commited and persevere to finish it. It was also a new challenge for me as i had never danced bollywood before and i want sure that i would grasp the steps properly. This was also the planned and initiated activity that i did with my friends the fellow dancers. It taught me that i needed to develop the skill of being patient and accepting others opinions but also that i could grasp the steps others choreographed fast and i kept to the beat of the song.
track and field: i did track and field but as i twisted my ankle i found i could not run so i never made the team as i stopped going for practices. As this was a result of an injury and not a lack of interes on my part i cannot comment on it.
wall climbing elective: i chose the wall climbing elective on wednesdays as i wanted to do exercise as much as possible, and i did it every wednesday until it was removed as an option for an elective. Thus i was commited and developed this skill becasue i found i could climb higher than some people and faster than i could before.
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