Tennis - final reflection

I have decided to quit tennis trainings and I would like to summarize my whole experience connected with this activity.

I have started playing tennis in the previous school year under influence of my class mate and continued it in this school year. At the beginning I have been doing this only to fulfill my CAS hours. I had zero contact with this discipline before and it was a new experience to me. Until IB course I rarely had chance to put myself in a situation when I had to learn something from the basis. This activity gave me an opportunity to challange myself and to force myself to put more effort than usual in what I was doing; thanks to this I had fulfilled the Learning Outcome - Undertaking new challanges.

At the beginning I have been experiencing more failures than I expected, which was discouraging. I have felt each mistake quite personally. But as I kept practicing I have come to a conclusion that complaining is not a solution to anything. If I wanted to get rid of mistakes and imperfections I had to work on it instead of talking about it. It is true not only in this case but also in everyday life. People often have tendency to brag about their failures. They come to a conclusion that if they cannot do something they should stop doing it. We should approach this issue from the other perspective. Failures should point out areas for possible improvement. If we realize this we will broaden our perspectives and possibilities. We can achieve more in more fields. As the time passed I learned to work on my weaknesses and to appreciate my strengths. Thanks to this I have fulfilled the Learning Outcome - Increased awareness of strengths and areas to growth.

Attending tennis classes also broadened my interest in the field of this discipline and sports in general. I have started to watch tennis matches and tournaments, to follow WTA and ATP rankings. As my knowledge about this activity was growing I started to appreciate its complexity. For me it greatly ressembles some kind of art. Players are like artists; with moves of the racket, ressembling the brush of the painter, they create beautiful pictures. They master their technique and play with impressive precision similarly to performing dancers. Matches and tournaments often can entertain us, provoke emotions and surprise us with turning points as spectacles in theathre do. For some people it can be nothing new, but for me it certainly is; I have never associated the word 'sports' with the word 'art'. It is interesting how different areas of culture intertwine and fit together like pieces of the same puzzle. Thanks to tennis trainings I gained much more than just physical benefits. It changed my perception of sports and gave me an opportunity to develop new areas of interests. Even when I quit trainings the knowledge I have gained and the interest I have developed will not disappear.

Also I have fulfilled the Learning Outcome - Developing new skills. As the time passed I was shown many types of shots. I practiced them on each training. I managed to perform them properly, but not without some problems. Most of the time I was just not focused enough; when I have pulled myself together and remembered about proper position, used enough strength, synchronized the move of the racket with approaching ball, my shots got better. It certainly has allowed me to improve myself.

It is true that tennis trainings have taught me plenty of things and brought me many benefits, but after some time I have noticed that I have stopped to learn anything new. To be honest I have become a little bit bored. Also the trainings have stopped to be challanging; we haven't got any warm up and generally I was more tired after PE lessons at school, than after tennis classes. Also to get to tennis court I had to travel for 1.5 hour, and for another 1.5 hour to get back home. Overall I have been gaining some skills and values during 1 hour of training but also wasting 3 hours on the ride. So I have decided to change this activity for something that is nearer.

To sum up I am glad I have been attending tennis trainings. It was a short but valuable experience and I do not regret taking part in it.

Reflections during iceskating

On January 24th, February 5th, 14th and 22th 2015 I have been iceskating.

With more hours spent on the ice rink I am more confident while skating. Also after skating constantly for an hour I am less tired then I was before. It is rare in my case - usually during winter I don't excersise and my stamina is very low at that period. It is the case for a lot of people actually - they stop doing activities during the colder months. It negatively affects their health - they start to gain weight and it is more difficult to lose it afterwards. It we have developed habit of excersising during winter we would prevent some minor diseases like flu because our immune system would be more effective. We would improve our general health and what is more important  - improve our mental well-being. Personally during winter I am more tired and have worse mood than usual. This year I have noticed that after an hour of iceskating I had more energy and I was in much better mood than on regular winter days.

Last time I wrote about my problems with skating on my left leg. Since then I have observed great improvement. At the last session I have maintained proper balance and I was able to skate on both legs without any hesitation. Now I don't even know why it was so difficult for me. I guess the greatest obstacle was in my head - the fear of falling down. When I think about it now it seems so silly of me because it was nothing difficult and even if I had fallen it wouldn't have been a big deal. I wonder how often people are afraid of things which are not really chalenging. They often don't even care to try because failure seems to be so likely. People should take their chances and do their best to achieve the goal. Afterwards probably it would turn out that it was one of the easiest things to do and they would laugh at themselves just as I did.

During one of the sessions on the ice rink there was a women who was practicing figure skating. As I have observed her I was really impressed by her skills. It was obvious that she was doing it with a great passion, that she was doing something she loved. It made me realize how important in life is to keep doing things that give us joy. If we do so we can be more efficient, we can achieve goals while entertaining ourselves. It brightens up one's life - no matter what we do, it can be gardening, playing instruments, painting, running, writing. As long as we are able to do what we love we have purpose in our lives. I wish that someday I will find an activity that will give me such satisfaction and joy, that will make me feel like it is significant and like it matters. Even if it only matters to me. All in all, doing things that we love is about our own wellbeing.

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