Final CAS Reflection

~ "What feels like the end is often the beginning." ~

Creativity

For this final year I tried to limit my after school activities in order to focus more on my academics and this reflected especially on those to do with Creativity. As opposed to last year, where I was a part of the SGA and the Drawing Club, this year I was only able to attend Piano Lessons on a regular basis and Art Club on a semi-regular basis. While Art Club was used as an excuse to relax and unwind while doing something I enjoy, like drawing, learning to play piano was more structured and allowed me to Develop new skills as well as to Show perseverance and commitment in my activities due to having attended the lessons for 2 years or so.

(Photo credit: OSC)

Action

In keeping with my goal of trying to focus more on my studies this year, I was not as involved with all of the sports I enjoy playing, although I did try out for an entirely new sport and so Undertook a new challenge. My main focus in Action this year was to try to get a leadership position for one of my teams and I achieved this for Volleyball. Another overall goal for action was to Increase awareness of my own strengths and areas of growth as well as to Work more collaboratively with others. Aside from Volleyball, the only other SAISA sport that I was on the team for was Badminton, which was a new experience for me. I had never played before trying out, except briefly in PE a few years back, but enjoyed the game and playing with my teammates, as well as playing individually which took some getting used to as I usually play in team sports. After Badminton in the second quarter I opted not to go to SAISA for Football but still attended practice to keep in shape and because I do love playing the game.

(Photo credit: Ms Lockwood)

Service

For Service this year I wanted to join an entirely different group from Alzheimer’s Awareness which I was a part of last year, and so I picked a new group called the Checkmates. As this was a new group however, we all had some say in Planning and initiating activities, although not as much as the service leaders. The main goal of the group was to teach less fortunate kids from other schools how to play chess, which is highly beneficial for building academic skills and recreational purposes, both of which lend to Engagement with issues of global importance, as it is a universally acknowledged game and to the Consideration of the ethical implications of our actions, specifically relating to the people we meet and affect.

(Photo credit: Checkmates service group)

SAISA Badminton 2016

This year for the 3rd ASA Quarter I had a hard time choosing what SAISA sport I would do that season. Traditionally I have tried out for the U19 girls’ basketball team and for the past two years the sport has been very enjoyable for me. However this year I decided to try out for a less stressful sport as this is my last year and my academics are more important than a sport that leaves me too exhausted to work properly at the end of the day. Therefore this year I chose to try out for the badminton team.

(Photo credit: Ms Lockwood)

Even though it’s not as popular an activity as the gendered sports at this school, I found that playing badminton was very enjoyable as it reminded me of tennis (which I have not played in years) and because it is a game that not only requires athletic ability and skill but it is also necessary to create strategies on the spot and play accordingly. In many of the sports I have played previously, such as with volleyball, basketball and football, it was not necessary for me to think on my feet or change a play or strategy at will because of my usually defensive positions (for example, defender in football and post in basketball). Another difference is that those are team sports that rely almost entirely on teamwork, but for badminton the only time teamwork is necessary is when you play with a partner.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

In SAISA there are the team placements and the individual placements. In these placements are three categories of games an individual player can enter in and those are singles, doubles and mixed doubles. And in those categories are sub-categories for player levels; seed 1 to 4. Even though this was my first year playing SAISA badminton (and badminton in general) I was placed in seed 1 as a learning experience and to lessen the pressure that comes from being a first time player and focus only on gaining skills.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

Needless to say I lost all my singles matches for the team placement matches but I am happy to say that I improved a lot during each match as the point differences between myself and my opponents decreased with every match. This improvement was also evident during the individual placements as I won a few of my matches before losing during the quarter finals. Although I am not happy with my performance during the beginning of the match as the score was 2 to 11, I was able to win back 6 points during a streak in the second half and this was largely due to using my brain to change and think up strategies on the spot, like changing the placement of the shuttlecock at the last second.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

In the end, our school came 3^rd in the team placements and the only individual placement we won was for 3^rd place for the girls’ doubles matches for my partner Rishika and me. The whole tournament was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I am also very happy about finding out that this sport can be played by people of all ages, so I’ll be able to play badminton for a long time after school.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

Quarter 2 Extracurricular Activities

This quarter I planned to continue with my creativity and service activities of piano lessons and the Checkmates service group (Showing perseverance and commitment), while changing tracks for activity from volleyball to basketball as the previous season ended, like I did last year and the year before. However, my plans were thrown for a loop when I discovered that the SAISA tournament and the mock exams are only a few days apart, as well as the fact that the badminton season would occur at the same time but on different days of the week.

Originally I wanted to not take part in any SAISA to focus on my academics, but ultimately decided that since the tournament takes place only after the mock exams instead of before, then it was okay to take part in a SAISA sport one last time. This year I decided on trying out for the badminton team for multiple reasons, but mostly to try something new (Undertaking new challenges). This new activity would also allow me to develop new skills, gain increased awareness of strengths and areas for growth, and work collaboratively with others.