Reflection 1 : Performance Anxiety dissolving away...

Performance is a whirlpool of all shades of arts, and hence, a single phase of art of itself. Having to perform anything right from tracing a single letter, to debating on the dais is all art. Moreover, anything performed by you, is nothing but a reflection of yourself; not because, it exhibits your talents, but simply because it lets you discover who you are. With that note, I would like to introduce to you the most intriguing ingredient of CAS, CAS Reflections. The trinity bond between creativity, action and service is performance and what defines this performance are the reflections...

      In this reflection, I will be telling you what I perceived from this Sports drill and how much this activity meant to me. In order to start expressing my views, I must say that I am not a person who would go in front a lot of people to perform, fearlessly. Hence, one of the major skills I acquired from this drill was to perform assertively in front a huge audience. The only way to get rid of a fear is to 'do it for the first time'. Just do it! All it takes to make that fear, fear you is to take that first step. That agitation shattered right away, magically!

     Ever since the first practice session, I have been surprised of my potential. Honestly, the person I would have least expected to ever go and perform a sports drill in front of the entire school is myself!

     I also learned how to coordinate continuously with everybody while performing. All the hand exercises and the yoga asanas were things that i learned for the very first time. Having said that, I feel the fact that i was learning something new, was way beyond the skills i learned from this activity.

    This activity has had a deep impact on the way i think and apprehend things. It has made me understand that stage fear is something that has to be broken down at the earliest because the only way to prove yourself to the world is by communicating confidently. Though I didn't communicate to the audience verbally, I believe this activity has led to that kind of thought because i have finally withdrawn from being afraid of audience. Honestly, I can feel the dauntlessness in me.

    I would like to conclude by saying that this activity has undoubtedly inculcated different ways of perceiving things in my mind, and has let me redefine my existence.

Total Duration : 9.5 hours  

Journal 1.4 : Republic Day!!

To see the whole school gathered in one gallery waiting to see our performances was breathtaking. I felt the fear run through me. The adrenaline rush was just too powerful today. After a few other performances, they called out ' DP year 1!'. We jogged into the field in a line and began performing the hand exercises, yoga and also the pyramid. Ours was the last performance in the agenda, so we tried to make it the best. In the beginning, i switched one step in the hand exercise and put my hands up instead of spreading them apart. Except for that one flaw, I managed to do everything correctly in coordination with the others. The whole school applauded for us from the beginning till the very end. I was exhilarated even though I committed a small mistake at the start. However, what mattered at the end of the day was not the applause, but the experience we had in the previous sessions, the skills we acquired and the challenge we were ready to uptake!

Duration : 1/2 hour 

Journal 1.3 : Driving in the skills of flexibility

Yoga!

This session of CAS was undoubtedly the best as off now. Our coach, Mr. Soundhar gave us our own positions for the hand exercise. We then performed all the four exercises continuously for about five times. After a short break, our instructor came up to us and told all the people who want to participate in yoga to come front on the field. The next second, i ran away to the gallery since yoga was something new to me and i was scared of getting my ankles twisted. However, I ended up walking into the field after feeling a rush of courage inside me. I wanted to try something new and in fact wanted to seek for something hidden in me...

We first did padhmasana. This is a form of yoga in which you cris cross apple sauce, but with each of your feet placed on each thigh. It wasn't too difficult. I was honestly amazed of how flexible i was, to stay still in such positions. We then had to bend backwards and touch the floor with our hands to do chakrasana. All of us did it perfectly at the very first time, and our coach was satisfied. Then he let us form a pyramid, and that was what made this session the best of all. It was pretty hard to bare the weight of the person above me. However, it was a wonderful experience!

Duration : 4 hours 

Journal 1.2 : A tremendous continuation

Our session today was incredible! We practiced all the hand exercises we learned on the first day with more perfection and coordination. It wasn't as tiring as the first day, because of which we repeated it several times to remove even the minute mistakes! Our instructors were trying their best to bring us into perfect sync with each drum beat. It was quite challenging, but we still gave our best.
The best part of this whole team work was the little secret signals that kept pulsing among us. We gestured each other to move with the beat each time. Those tiny giggles were like sprinkles on a dessert; they weren't all over the place, but just here and there for the sweetness. Let me now tell you what we actually did in each exercise. In the first exercise, we stretched our hands on both sides, above our head and in front of us and then turned towards our right until we finish a complete rotation. In the second exercise, we spread out our hands on both sides and spread our legs simultaneously, then bend down on our right knee. After that, we get up and turn to our right and repeat the same thing until we complete a full rotation. In the third exercise, we stretch our hands in front of us and place our right leg in the front. We then half bend. We repeat this alternatively for the right and left leg, for eight counts. Finally in the last exercise, we spread out our hands on both sides and flap them twice and then clap above our head, again for eight counts.

Duration : 4 hours 

Journal 1.1 : A KICK START TO CAS!

 Today was our first ever CAS session! Before I talk about what we actually did, let me tell you what I initially thought CAS was. A year ago, when my seniors told me about this intriguing part of the IB DP course, it seemed like an equation which had only the word 'fun' on the right side of it. Having said that, that was the sort of anticipation i stepped into the class with. Well, I have a confession to make. As our CAS instructor, Mr. Rolf, walked us through an introduction, my thoughts reshaped into different ones after which, I understood that this element of IB DP is infinite miles away from just having fun.
It moulds us to add an essence of discipline in anything we do and it also fuels the journey towards acquiring the characters of the IB learner profile. Basically, it broadens the motive of existence! Today, our activity was a 'Sports Drill'. One of our trainers, Mr. Soundhar taught us four hand exercises that we would eventually be performing in front of the entire campus on Republic Day. We aligned ourselves in four rows on the field and repeated every movement of our trainer, one after the other. Finally, we did all of the drills continuously, mostly flawlessly, with drum beats as our signals. Our trainer was very proud and as a token of achievement, called us the best batch in IB DP at school, with regard to CAS. Though it was a little exhausting towards the end, it was extremely interesting and in fact, exhilarating to work in coordination with the entire team!

Duration : 1 hour