A L L T H A T G O O D S T U F F
just one simple blog post dedicated to two amazing years of CAS
just one simple blog post dedicated to two amazing years of CAS
They say that all good things come to an end, but I like to believe that CAS is one of those activities that you just don't leave behind. When you spend so much time, two years in fact, invested in creativity, action and service courses, it's hard to let go of what you've learned and simply moved on and as such, CAS becomes a vital part of life. The lessons learnt and the memories made are ones that are kept for life. I myself have had the privilege to take part in CAS not only in OSC, Sri Lanka but also in ABA, Oman where I spent most of Grade 11. Because of this I've experienced a large variety of unique CAS opportunities and all of them have added to my personal development and growth as an individual and has taught me several life lessons that I fully intent to carry onto my future.
Of the CAS activities I took part in Oman during 11th grade, my main projects were SAP (Students Against Prejudice), Amnesty International and Varsity Football. SAP was my biggest Service activity, along with Amnesty, thought to some extent Amnesty was more oriented towards my Creative side. Football was naturally my Activity. Out of these activities, the one that had the greatest impact on my understanding of global issues and focused on the considerations of ethical implications was SAP, along with Amnesty to some extent as seen by the previous post here (click to follow the link).
SAP was, quite honestly, the one activity I put all of my mind, body and soul into. I joined it in 9th grade and remained one of three people who stayed on for the full extent of the activity, returning every year, only cut short by my move to Sri Lanka. I was committed to SAP in a way I've never been committed to a group before and that was because as a member of SAP, I got to tackle real life issues that impacted the world. Amnesty too gave students the chance to write letter and take action against humanitarian injustices in the world, ones that impacted people who were unable to stand up for themselves. One of the combined memories I have of SAP and Amnesty (in a project they carried out together) is the first time we had a 'Live Below the Line' week where we had to survive on just 1 USD a day, in other words, we had to live below the poverty line for a week. This meant that we had to buy all our food and drink for the week with just 7 USD and try to survive without any help from our family or friends. This practical experience allowed me to understand the struggle that over 80% of the world's population faces on a daily basis. In fact, the Live Below the Line initiative took place in the same week that Track and Field began and as a thrower, I had to take part in the same activities under this new pressure of lack of food. Within two days I could feel the strain that so many people feel on a daily basis.
The one activity that touched me the most however, was the day we had 'The Day of Silence', hosted by SAP alone. As SAP was a group against prejudices of all kinds, we extended the message that was usually reserved for LGBT issues to prejudiced of all kinds. The LGBT movement was a huge event for me as I identify myself as bisexual (try explaining that to Asian parents!) and it was only in this enforced silence that I understood how much I was impacted by the consequences of not being 'straight'. Normally being quite vocal against homophobia, my friends and I had kicked the habit of using the word 'gay' as an insult and through our actions, had convinced others to do the same. On the Day of Silence however, we weren't allowed to speak at all, let alone express distaste against racial, homophobic or ableism slurs. The feeling of total powerlessness and intense isolation that came with it, and the ridicule that the SAP students faced for not being able to speak truly impacted on the way we viewed the world and the prejudices that it held.
Similarly, to understand the discrimination that people feel in their societies even if you aren't economically hindered, we had a couple of weeks that we spent with the Wheelchair Basketball Association of Oman and learnt to play ball with them. The stories of the men that we talked to were touching, but it was the human capacity for resilience and the ability to bounce back out of bad situations that amazed us. That and the fact that all the members of the association could school our best players standing up xD This activity taught us how to approach people with disabilities without shunning them, speak to them as normal and not to underestimate others based on a physical trait.
We live in a world that is inherently bound to prejudices and a lot of us, having grown up in a distinctly privileged environment rarely have to face the prejudices that other people face every single day. SAP exposed me to every single one of those prejudices and taught me that before I begin to change the world, I must change the prejudices within myself. It's easy to criticize the people on the outside but first you need to criticize yourself and understand your own shortcomings and fix those. The way SAP allowed me to reflect on my own role in how my actions impact the greater world, and the ethical implications that every word has, led me to understand the depth of issues of global importance.
On a more positive note, an activity within OSC that helped me develop leadership roles whilst tackling the issue of caring for elders was the Alzheimer's Association which Anjleen and myself led this year, planning and initiating activities and collaboratively with others. The main post for Alzheimer's was written here (click to follow the link). In the nearly two years I spent in the activity I've had quite a few touching moments with the patients, some sad, others happy. What was the saddest to see was how a lot of the elderly patients had been put into homes when their kids couldn't take care of them and I was told by several patients that their kids were too busy to come and visit them. The saddest part however was when they spoke of their kids with such pride "my son is a big doctor now in America" and yet the kids couldn't bother to return and visit the parents that raised them up... it was disappointing but understandable I suppose. Human nature is just such a complicated and intriguing thing. This activity was particularly useful in learning how to deal with emotions of people, how to be patient and understand what other need without necessarily being told. By the second or third visit, I was able to identify when patients needed someone to talk to, others who wanted to sit on companionable silence or maybe paint quietly. It taught lessons in adapting oneself to suit the needs of others, to treat them the best you can, and I suppose on some level it taught me not to pity people in this situation, just to help them stay happy. No one wants people to feel sorry for them, they just want people to try and understand where they're coming from and Alzheimer's service allowed me to do exactly that.
Crreativity came to me through my service activities the most as in each of my service projects, I was recognized as the go-to person when artistic work needed to be done. This included a short animation for Amnesty about water for our UN Day which was also based on the theme of water. I can't the video right now but I'll put it up here as soon as possible~! :)
For my action part of CAS, I actively took part in Footy and Badminton as my main sports. Although I played baseball and threw for Track on the side, theses were the two sports I was most dedicated to, showing perseverance and commitment by doing both sports from grade 9 through to 12. Where my service and creative projects focused on emotional and more human functions, the sports focused mainly on developing new skills and undertaking new challenges. There was also a lot of room to increase awareness of strengths and weaknesses in both footy and badminton and because I had a chance to play for U-14, Junior Varsity and then Varsity, there was a lot of room, for growth and improvement. I also learnt a lot about collaborating with others because each time the senior left, they'd have to be replaced with new members whom I had to learn to adapt to. Not just as friends but on the field as well, we had to learn to work with each other to become a single unit. By the second year of JV footy I ended up being center D so I was responsible for keeping an eye on the rest of my defence players which taught me responsibility, amongst other skills. In badminton too, specially this year in OSC, I was supposed to help all the younger/less experienced players with their game which was a lot to take on.
I like to think that all my CAS activities have taught me lessons that I can carry on even when I'm out of school. The road I've been on so far stops here but that doesn't mean that my journey ends and for that reason. I'm going to be mindful of CAS for many years to come. It's not just something you do to graduate high school, it's become something that's an integral part of me. I'm not going to stop being a Student Against Prejudice, not going to stop believing in human rights or stop kicking ass in sports. It's who I am now and for that, CAS, I am grateful. My Mum often says that an important part of growing up is being a good citizen and I truly believe that CAS has given me the opportunity to be one.
Of the CAS activities I took part in Oman during 11th grade, my main projects were SAP (Students Against Prejudice), Amnesty International and Varsity Football. SAP was my biggest Service activity, along with Amnesty, thought to some extent Amnesty was more oriented towards my Creative side. Football was naturally my Activity. Out of these activities, the one that had the greatest impact on my understanding of global issues and focused on the considerations of ethical implications was SAP, along with Amnesty to some extent as seen by the previous post here (click to follow the link).
SAP was, quite honestly, the one activity I put all of my mind, body and soul into. I joined it in 9th grade and remained one of three people who stayed on for the full extent of the activity, returning every year, only cut short by my move to Sri Lanka. I was committed to SAP in a way I've never been committed to a group before and that was because as a member of SAP, I got to tackle real life issues that impacted the world. Amnesty too gave students the chance to write letter and take action against humanitarian injustices in the world, ones that impacted people who were unable to stand up for themselves. One of the combined memories I have of SAP and Amnesty (in a project they carried out together) is the first time we had a 'Live Below the Line' week where we had to survive on just 1 USD a day, in other words, we had to live below the poverty line for a week. This meant that we had to buy all our food and drink for the week with just 7 USD and try to survive without any help from our family or friends. This practical experience allowed me to understand the struggle that over 80% of the world's population faces on a daily basis. In fact, the Live Below the Line initiative took place in the same week that Track and Field began and as a thrower, I had to take part in the same activities under this new pressure of lack of food. Within two days I could feel the strain that so many people feel on a daily basis.
The one activity that touched me the most however, was the day we had 'The Day of Silence', hosted by SAP alone. As SAP was a group against prejudices of all kinds, we extended the message that was usually reserved for LGBT issues to prejudiced of all kinds. The LGBT movement was a huge event for me as I identify myself as bisexual (try explaining that to Asian parents!) and it was only in this enforced silence that I understood how much I was impacted by the consequences of not being 'straight'. Normally being quite vocal against homophobia, my friends and I had kicked the habit of using the word 'gay' as an insult and through our actions, had convinced others to do the same. On the Day of Silence however, we weren't allowed to speak at all, let alone express distaste against racial, homophobic or ableism slurs. The feeling of total powerlessness and intense isolation that came with it, and the ridicule that the SAP students faced for not being able to speak truly impacted on the way we viewed the world and the prejudices that it held.
(www.dayofsilence.org)
If anyone is interested, The International Day of Silence falls on the 17th of April. You too can take a stand for the prejudices we all face.
Similarly, to understand the discrimination that people feel in their societies even if you aren't economically hindered, we had a couple of weeks that we spent with the Wheelchair Basketball Association of Oman and learnt to play ball with them. The stories of the men that we talked to were touching, but it was the human capacity for resilience and the ability to bounce back out of bad situations that amazed us. That and the fact that all the members of the association could school our best players standing up xD This activity taught us how to approach people with disabilities without shunning them, speak to them as normal and not to underestimate others based on a physical trait.
We live in a world that is inherently bound to prejudices and a lot of us, having grown up in a distinctly privileged environment rarely have to face the prejudices that other people face every single day. SAP exposed me to every single one of those prejudices and taught me that before I begin to change the world, I must change the prejudices within myself. It's easy to criticize the people on the outside but first you need to criticize yourself and understand your own shortcomings and fix those. The way SAP allowed me to reflect on my own role in how my actions impact the greater world, and the ethical implications that every word has, led me to understand the depth of issues of global importance.
On a more positive note, an activity within OSC that helped me develop leadership roles whilst tackling the issue of caring for elders was the Alzheimer's Association which Anjleen and myself led this year, planning and initiating activities and collaboratively with others. The main post for Alzheimer's was written here (click to follow the link). In the nearly two years I spent in the activity I've had quite a few touching moments with the patients, some sad, others happy. What was the saddest to see was how a lot of the elderly patients had been put into homes when their kids couldn't take care of them and I was told by several patients that their kids were too busy to come and visit them. The saddest part however was when they spoke of their kids with such pride "my son is a big doctor now in America" and yet the kids couldn't bother to return and visit the parents that raised them up... it was disappointing but understandable I suppose. Human nature is just such a complicated and intriguing thing. This activity was particularly useful in learning how to deal with emotions of people, how to be patient and understand what other need without necessarily being told. By the second or third visit, I was able to identify when patients needed someone to talk to, others who wanted to sit on companionable silence or maybe paint quietly. It taught lessons in adapting oneself to suit the needs of others, to treat them the best you can, and I suppose on some level it taught me not to pity people in this situation, just to help them stay happy. No one wants people to feel sorry for them, they just want people to try and understand where they're coming from and Alzheimer's service allowed me to do exactly that.
Crreativity came to me through my service activities the most as in each of my service projects, I was recognized as the go-to person when artistic work needed to be done. This included a short animation for Amnesty about water for our UN Day which was also based on the theme of water. I can't the video right now but I'll put it up here as soon as possible~! :)
For my action part of CAS, I actively took part in Footy and Badminton as my main sports. Although I played baseball and threw for Track on the side, theses were the two sports I was most dedicated to, showing perseverance and commitment by doing both sports from grade 9 through to 12. Where my service and creative projects focused on emotional and more human functions, the sports focused mainly on developing new skills and undertaking new challenges. There was also a lot of room to increase awareness of strengths and weaknesses in both footy and badminton and because I had a chance to play for U-14, Junior Varsity and then Varsity, there was a lot of room, for growth and improvement. I also learnt a lot about collaborating with others because each time the senior left, they'd have to be replaced with new members whom I had to learn to adapt to. Not just as friends but on the field as well, we had to learn to work with each other to become a single unit. By the second year of JV footy I ended up being center D so I was responsible for keeping an eye on the rest of my defence players which taught me responsibility, amongst other skills. In badminton too, specially this year in OSC, I was supposed to help all the younger/less experienced players with their game which was a lot to take on.
I like to think that all my CAS activities have taught me lessons that I can carry on even when I'm out of school. The road I've been on so far stops here but that doesn't mean that my journey ends and for that reason. I'm going to be mindful of CAS for many years to come. It's not just something you do to graduate high school, it's become something that's an integral part of me. I'm not going to stop being a Student Against Prejudice, not going to stop believing in human rights or stop kicking ass in sports. It's who I am now and for that, CAS, I am grateful. My Mum often says that an important part of growing up is being a good citizen and I truly believe that CAS has given me the opportunity to be one.
