My time in IB has come to
an end, and so has my CAS experience. Those two years influenced my
life, my personality and skills in ways I did not expect. Now I am
going to sum up this experience and describe how CAS helped me to
develop myself as the IB learner.
During the course I have
undertaken numerous activities. For Creativity I was drawing and
organizing art classes (as my CAS group project) concerning three
techniques: origami, quilling and decoupage. Also I have decided to
continue preparing ornaments with quilling technique on my own. I
fulfilled the Activity part mainly by attending tennis trainings,
iceskating during the winter and by rollerskating. For Service I
wrote letters with Amnesty International, I collected money for Great
Orchestra of Christmas Charity and for the main part of my Service
hours I was a volunteer in Guardian Angels' Charity. Initially, I
helped children at the Charity with their homework, but later my
cooperation with them expanded and resulted in art classes for kids
(group project), summer trip and help with gingerbread cookies sale.
CAS was a great
opportunity for me to increase awareness of my strengths and areas
for growth. I managed to do that during the most of the activities I
undertook. My tennis trainings helped me to notice my strengths and
weaknesses, to appreciate them and work on them. I can say the same
for iceskating and rollerskating, drawing, quilling or helping with
homework at Guardian Angels' Charity. Thanks to those activities I
got to know my character better, I understood what I am capable of,
what my abilities are and in what ways can I improve them. In a way,
it was the chance for me to improve myself as an inquirer – apart
from inquiring about the world around me I learned more about my
personality.
It also gave me the
chance to undertake new challenges. The activities that I was doing
for the first time were the most challenging, including tennis,
rollerskating, working with children at Guardian Angels' Charity and
most of all the organisation of art classes for my CAS group project.
The challenges that I experienced connected with Activity only
required overcoming the fear of falling down or overcoming the
limitations of my body, but the CAS group project demanded from me
the whole set of skills I did not have before, since I have never
organised anything until now. But as with most challenges, it turned
out not to be so scary and difficult as I thought it would be. This
learning outcome required of me as of an IB student to show that I am
risk-taking.
I have planned and
initiated an activity which was one of the most important parts of
CAS for me, and had the most influence on me: art classes for CAS
group project. The idea came from me and my two class mates, and the
series of lessons where fully planned, organised and performed by the
three of us with the guidance and support of the workers from
Guardian Angels' Charity. I am extremelly thankfull to them for their
valuable clues, for the help we received and the atmosphere they
created, which made the whole action an absolute pleasure.
For the part of my CAS
activities I had to work collaborativelly with others. I have
managed to do that successfully during my tennis classes when I had
to cooperate with my team, during the volunteering in Guardian
Angels' Charity – on the field trip or during doing homework, and
mainly during CAS group project. Those events have shown me how
important the good team work is. Everything seems to be so much
easier when there is a great cooperation between people. It helped me
to become a communicator and to be open-minded. Without those traits
the cooperation would not be possible.
Once again CAS project
has given me the opportunity to show perseverance and commitment, as
without them the whole action would not have taken place. Also my
entire collaboration with Guardian Angels' Charity has allowed me to
develop those traits, since I managed to volunteer there regularly
almost every week and later on, to engage myself more in their work
i.e. by helping them during the summer field trip with kids. The time
I spent working with children has made me more principled then I was
before, since I felt that I need to set the example and to be the
person they can trust.
One of the greatest
things about CAS is that it allows to engage with issues of global
importance; the issues that we would not normally be interested in.
Activities like writing letters with Amnesty International or raising
money for Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity have given me the
chance to be a part of the fight for human rights and for decent
healthcare for the children and the elderly. It was my opportunity to
show that I am a caring IB student, involved and interested in the
world around me.
CAS has also helped me to
consider ethical implications of my actions, mainly during my
volunteer work at Guardian Angels' Charity, raising money for Great
Orchestra of Christmas Charity and writing letters with Amnesty
International. It has mainly involved considering different points of
view of people, e.g. Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity is
perceived in two very different ways, and I had to consider if I am
helping the people in need of health care or the people who organises
this event to gain more money for themselves. Events like this have
required of me to be a thinker and to acknowledge both sides of
various issues.
CAS is also a great
occasion to develop new skills. Most of the actions I took part in
have allowed me to develop skills, either physical or social. The
most enjoyable skill I have gained is the iceskating, while the most
important is the skill I obtained during the organisation of art
classes. All the skills and knowledge I posses now thanks to CAS is
valuable and I am extremelly happy I had the opportunity to obtain
it. The range of disciplines that I was striving to be good at and
that I learned things about has made me more knowledgeable than
before.
Managing all those
activities along with learning and writing essays was really
difficult for me but I think that it has made me at least a little
more balanced – I am capable of managing my time and coping with
difficulties to a greater extent than I used to. In addition, writing
CAS reflections has made me think about my experiences from different
perspectives – it made me a much more reflective person.
For me, CAS had the
strongest influence on the way I perceive the world, the situations I
encounter and people I meet. Before the IB Diploma I have not
observed the world with such an open mind as I do now. The
participation in numerous events have broadened my way of thinking
and taught me to consider a lot more sides of the story than I used
to. It will certainly bring me many benefits in my future life and it
will help me avoid unpleasant misunderstandings and conflicts.
The thing I am proud of
is my involvement in the Guardian Angels' Charity. I feel like I have
done a great job helping them. Also they have taught me so much and I
have met so many incredible people that I think both me and them
benefti to the same extent. I really enjoyed my time there and I know
I will keep coming back to them even after I finish IB Diploma.
The one thing I regret is
that I did not continue my tennis trainings. I could transfer to a
place closer to my home and maybe find someone who would make it more
challenging, but I just gave it up. I chose the easier way and I am
not proud of it. I hope that this can teach me to pursue my
interests, because otherwise I could be dissapointed with myself.
Generally, I feel like
CAS has brought me only benefits, developed my personality and my
understanding of the world. CAS was a huge part of the most
challanging two years of my life so far and I hope that the
experience I have gained through this will help me in the future.
