At the beginning of my blog, I
have named CAS, as the essence of the IB DP course. Honestly, I thought CAS was
just a part of DP that gave us a chance to discover ourselves in spite of the
challenging coursework of IB. However, I now understand that it has inflected
chiefly on my life as a whole. Unlike the other subjects I took in IB, I am
sure CAS will walk by my side forever.
The various CAS experiences
accomplished in the course of 2 years have taught me new skills and have also
helped me strengthen other skills. Participating in the Eco club and taking
care of a plant made me a better inquirer
as I developed the urge to learn how to keep my plant healthy. This skill
helped me prevent the leaves of my Boston fern becoming brown and dry
frequently. Moreover, building a commitment towards this CAS experience
inculcated a sense of responsibility in me.
Joining the secretariat of SIMUN
manifested the platform in which I could showcase what I had learned from my
previous MUN experiences. It also gave me the confidence and courage to
undertake any challenge and take smart decisions spontaneously, making me a risk-taker. Although I may not be well-versed at solving
issued at hand, this experience has constructed self confidence and the ability
to think quickly. When one of the countries in the UNHRC was accidentally given
to two delegates, I was able to take a decision immediately and give one of the
delegates extra time to prepare for another position in the same committee. I
was ready for the consequences including the response to this sudden change
from the delegate’s guide. This made me principled.
Yoga, being one of my long term
activities undoubtedly showed me a way to stay balanced. With the strenuous coursework, I learned that it was
important to stay calm in order to focus and complete assignments before their
deadlines. That’s when I chose to start learning yoga. Well beyond what I
expected to gain from this activity, Yoga helped me achieve a personal
well-being. I was able to stay calm during critical situations, including those
that occurred during SIMUN.
One of the most essential life skills
that I have acquired through CAS is open
mindedness. Being broad minded in order to accept cultural similarities and
differences is obligatory to appreciate one’s identity. Not everybody in
today’s world shows acceptance towards differences within the society. However,
being able to admire and respect them, in turn, improves universal
communication. A Skype call with Swedish students was the first time I found an
opportunity to interact with students of my age from a country I have never
visited before. The way they celebrate during certain occasions and their
perception of life seemed to be similar to ours yet different in some manners. Appreciating
those cultural values did not seem a challenge to me chiefly because of the
different cultures we’ve discussed during our English classes.
Although these are the most
significant milestones through out the journey of IB CAS for me, every single
one of the other activities have shown me the different colours of the world.
All of them have taught me how to look at anything and everything from all
possible lenses. Just like the way the subjects enhanced my knowledge, CAS
exceptionally enhanced an important stage of life, and will definitely inflect
all along the rest of my journey!
