Iceskating

I have decided to develop my skills in iceskating this year. Up till now I have been iceskating three times. This was enough time for me to overcome my fear of falling down, but not enough to learn how to skate properly.

During my first time on ice rink this winter I had to recall what possition I should skate in, how to properly place my skates to move smoothly. Although I am not afraid of skating far from the barrier, I have noticed I am skating more on my right leg - I have figured out that I cannot maintain balance while skating on my left leg. It means I am still a bit afraid of falling down.

During next sessions I tried to teach myself to skate on both legs - but it is more difficult than it seems. I don't know why I could not force myself to do more than 2 long slides on my left leg, and then again I was skating only on the right one. I was also observing techniques of other people, hoping that I would learn something useful. I have noticed that they often skate with the fixed pace, one leg after another, sliding more to the sides then forward. I have been practicing it and I think that at the end of the last session I have made some progress. During the next session I am going to check if I improved much and to try to get better and better.

Learning outcomes fulfilled:
- Increased awareness of strengths and areas for growth
- Developing new skills

Raising money for Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity

On 11th of January I have participated in the annual final of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. On this day I have been volunteering and raising money on the streets. This year's goal was to raise money for equipment for diagnostics of diseases and for treatment of children and elderly people.

As I was wandering through the city and collecting money I was thinking about how much good can be done if great deal of people show a little bit of commitment to one matter. The majority of people passing me that day had put some money into my box - for them it was a tiny sacrifice, but for sick people it is a chance for new life. It is incredible how greatly we can influence the world around us if we gather to achieve the same aim. People tend to think that their actions do not have any meaning or effect on the surroundings  - sometimes I think this way too - but actually we have a great power in our hands and we just don't know how to use it. Events such as Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity show that each of us is a part of something bigger. People just have to be more aware of the simple truth - the more voices are spreading the same message, the same action, the more important, noticable and meaningfull it becomes. But there is other side of the coin - we have to be able to evaluate this message - if the idea is presented by the majority of people it does not mean that it is a right and valid one. The majority can be wrong, and we have to decide if we are for or against, using our own conscience.

Learning outcomes fulfilled:
- Considered ethical implications
- Engaged with issued of global importance

Guardian Angels' Charity

I have spent 3 more hours at Guardian Angels' Charity helping children with homework. During that time I have noticed how people who work there try to implement patterns of good behaviour, of rules of coexistence in the bigger society. It is important for young children to have people they look up to, to have chance to observe adults and to learn from their experience. 

Tutors show them the importance of being principled and organised. Every kid has its duties - cleaning up, sweeping the floor, helping in the kitchen - which have to be done in a time given in timetables. Everyone have got their work to do. It shows children that every member of the society is important, everyone fulfill their duties - and if they don't do it, the balance in the society is destabilized. It teaches them that no effort made for the common good is meaningless.

Also tutors show children how to solve conflicts and to take under concideration feelings of others. Usually it is difficult for people to walk in somebody else's shoes. It is natural for us to rely on our survival instinct and to believe only in our opinion. Especially when we are children. When we are young we need guidance to discover that point of view of others actually has a great meaning. It is a source of diversity of the world, it makes it more interesting but also challenging, because it creates conflicts. We need to learn how to accept different opinions, how to be open-minded and empathetic - and that is not easy at any stage of our life.

Kids at Guardian Angels' Charity are shown values which should be known by every young person in the world. These values do not make anything easier - they only allow to notice the honest way to live our life and to become better people. On the other hand, children sometimes show greater understanding of what is good and what is bad than many adults. Their purity and often their gullibility allow them to see world beyond artificial boundaries created by people - that shows that sometimes grown-ups should learn from children, not the other way.

Learning outcomes fulfilled:
- Considered ethical implications