Having been in quarantine for over a month by mid-July, I wanted to feel motivated and energized. So, I decided to play some Just Dance!
Category: Activity
June 2021 (3) – My Sister’s Dance Video
Unlike me, my little sister attends a local middle school near our house. Her teacher wanted to create an outside-of-class service project with the help of her students and their families, asking everyone to choreograph and film our own dances to a section of a song. The song is a Chinese song thanking frontline workers for their service during the pandemic.
Our family worked together to choreograph a 4 eight-count dance. This process actually took longer than anticipated; it took a lot of trial and error to come up with cohesive dance moves.
After establishing the choreography, we began to rehearse. The rehearsing included setting up the camera and our positions. The location of our video was the front of my parents’ clinic. There was not a lot of room for the camera to be set up on the floor, so it had to be standing on the couch. The couch was lopsided, which presented many problems throughout filming. This problem was addressed by placing a wooden stool upside-down so that there would be a sturdier surface for the tripod to stand on.
Lastly, having our video clip filmed, the last step is to make the video! I taught my sister how to cut out the excess beginning and end, rotate the video until it is not tilted, and add the background music. I was surprised how she was able to pick up these skills quickly. So, to enhance the video further, we drew a graphic that said, “Go Taiwan!” in Chinese.
Here was the final video with all of my sister’s classmates and family members! (We are at 1:56 and 4:58)
June 2021 (1) – End of Year 1 CAS Reflection
Throughout this year for CAS, I have done several different experiences such as for:
Creativity:
- Filming/editing videos
- Singing
- Cooking
- Dancing
- Drawing
- StuCo Campaign
- Raising Awareness for Clubs (KASPER, MUN)
Activity:
- Taekwondo
- Sports Day
- Dancing
Service:
- Tutoring Physics
- Volunteering at the school library
- Raising Awareness for Clubs (KASPER, MUN)
- Bake Sale
I realized that through all of these CAS experiences and projects, I have learned a lot about my passions and organizing time to carry out these tasks.
Singing is something that I love to do in my own free time by myself. However, I decided to be a risk-taker and audition for Cadenza Confidence in this skill and having the courage to perform in front of people was something I really struggled with before I was determined to put myself out there. During Cadenza performances, and even auditions, my voice would reflect my nervousness. This is something that I have been working on. I learned that this process is something that takes time and experience. Therefore, I try to work towards this goal of being comfortable both off and on stage. I was able to witness my own growth in this specific experience through CAS. This was one of the main ways I tackled the learning outcome of “[demonstrating] that challenges have been undertaken, [and] developing new skills in the process.”
As for organizing time and planning, my CAS project for STMUN is the biggest project I have been involved in for this year. This project has been teaching me how “to initiate and plan a CAS experience” and also “the benefits of working collaboratively.” From contacting IIS to communicating with KAS students I recognized how important it is for a team to collaborate. Simply coordinating dates for applications was difficult because everybody has different schedules. Moreover, being a teammate means expressing ideas or any concerns I have. It is obvious that being a communicator is extremely important in a team setting. This is my first year in the MUN executive team, so I focused on being open-minded. I always send in my first draft of infographics to the team for any critiques. By being responsible for my tasks, I am able to lift some weight off of my other team members, building trust among all of us.
Another service activity that helped me achieve a learning outcome is tutoring Physics to 8th grade students. This experience specifically taught me “commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences.” One of the obstacles I faced at the first meeting was not being able to fully convey my answer to their questions because I didn’t know my students were not as fluent in English. To improve myself as a tutor, I took home their textbook and tried to grasp the concept better. I found myself being able to translate my thoughts faster to Chinese and communicate in a clearer manner. Since they had upcoming multiple tests, I made a study guide for them. As I made these guides, I tried to break down the complex ideas into short, understandable English phrases. This way, they are still learning the English terms, but in a way that they are able to absorb more information. I actually filmed an explanation video the weekend before their Physics final. Through this experience, I really strived to be knowledgeable and caring to enhance the students’ education.
My CAS experience in activity helped me “identify [my] own strengths and develop areas for growth.” Throughout the school year, I have been going to Taekwondo classes and competitions. My goal for this 18-month experience was to be as reflective as possible to improve myself as an athlete. It is very easy to feel discouraged after going through a bad training session or a bad competition. However, I would try to perceive it as a learning experience. After these “bad” experiences, I would go back to practice what I had previously failed at. I would do my best to analyze the problem and then think of a realistic solution. This skill I have gained with my sport has also helped me in my everyday life.
Overall, my CAS experiences have definitely supported me as a learner as connected to the different learning outcomes. I am able to balance the duration of these experiences.
One thing I want to improve on for CAS in general is balance of the three strands.
One way I want to increase my service experiences is through a CAS project of creating educational posts for KASPER’s Instagram. I enjoyed my spontaneous CAS experience in transforming articles into posts, but I would like to directly focus on creating these posts. This can help me with the learning outcome of “[demonstrating] engagement with issues of global significance.” I would definitely sign up for direct service when we go back to school, because those can help me achieve the learning outcome of “[recognizing] and [considering] the ethics of choices and actions.”
For activities, I can play JustDance, follow workout routines, run, and practice mindfulness (yoga). I will still practice Taekwondo regularly with assignments from my coach.
I hope to develop myself as a balanced individual and to further meet the learning outcomes.
May 2021 (1) – Sports Day!
Haven’t been able to have a sports day since middle school, I was pretty excited to participate in one before I graduate. This experience stands out to me as I was chosen as one of the captains of Ignatius.
Promoting
Though I am not part of the House Committee, I tried my best to promote and encourage students to participate in the event. I did so by first talking to my friends and posting on Instagram about it. It was a relief to see that most of my team was able to be present. To increase house spirit, I brought some red face paint for participants. However, it didn’t work out particularly well considering how hot the weather was.
Participating
The extreme warm weather definitely took a toll on all of the teams. Events that required more intense physical activity were harder to carry out. I tried my best to be encouraging and uplifting, and throughout the day, I saw our team members bond. After break, we participated in the two-person-three-legged water bucket relay race. This was the event that required the most communication. Although we were behind the first few laps, we soon developed strategies on speed, who make efficient partners, and how we would transfer the water. Our team was able to catch up quickly and win that round. The following event was capture-the-flag. Again, we were behind as most of our team was in the “jail” zone. To save the “jailed” players, our team started having two people run out as distractions. When our team was able to get out, most of the other teams were in our jail. It became easy to steal their flags and win that round. The same pattern of communication and strategy continued on in the proceeding activities. I saw how we were more motivated to push through the heat and ultimately win enough points to help Ignatius tie Sirius as a house.
Post-Sports Day
I thought that this day really brought out the inner “dragons”/school spirit of students, at least in my team. One thing I did suggest to the House Committee was that Sports Day would be better if it was scheduled in the winter, maybe the day before winter break. This would address the issue of weather and perhaps, safety. Moreover, since a lot of students have final tests and SATs, people were not as motivated to come. Other than that, I hope I can participate in one more Sports Day before graduating.
Apr 2021 (1) – Online Taekwondo Competition
During the week of Spring break, I filmed video for the 2021 Mooto Taekwondo Competition. They are submitted before April 12th and are going to be assessed on April 20th, when the results for the preliminary round are going to be announced. In the beginning, I thought that an online competition would be relatively less stressful than an actual one because I am able to film several times before the video is submitted. However, because there were also several other students who needed to also film, I only got two tries at a time. Another factor that I had to consider was filming my videos before the due date. Since I was at Taipei at the start of my break and in Hsinchu for WSC in the end, I had to make sure that I was able to give myself sufficient time to film the videos for the preliminary round.
Jan 2021 (1) – First Competition of the Year!
On January 9th, I had an opportunity to represent KAS in a competition to qualify for nationals. Spoiler alert: although I placed 5th in my group in the finals, I was glad to be competing after three months.
Being in the Senior group was definitely more difficult than when I used to compete in Juniors. The standards that judges score you on is drastically raised higher. In local schools, students who excel at certain sports join their schools sports team where they practice daily for long periods of time. Naturally, they would better than people like me who can only go to practice twice a week. I was surprised that I was able to rank just below the three athletes from the best team in the city for the first round. The day of the competition was around 10°C and all I remember thinking about was why the wind was so strong. The cold weather is actually quite dangerous if athletes do not prepare themselves well for it, so I made sure to constantly be warm whether that was through wearing more jackets or warming up for a longer time. Still, I felt that some of kicks were restricted and my stretches were tighter. One of my friends in the Junior group could not continue to compete due to his knee injury, which worsened with the cold temperature. During the finals, I thought that I could have performed much better because I was not as steady as per usual; however, this showed me that the process to achieving a higher rank or improvement requires a lot of time.
Dec 2020 (1) – Trying To Dance
Since this summer, my taekwondo coach has been anticipating for my friends (in taekwondo) and I to start taking performance classes. These classes would incorporate taekwondo moves into dances. We have been looking forward to this experience as it would allow us to perform at events. For this particular class, we have two dance teachers that would guide us through the choreography. The experience is safe with the support of our coaches and dance teachers. The dance teacher told us about what she generally have in mind, but we were able to input any thought on more appropriate taekwondo kicks or movements, which allowed us to be more engaged in the process.
I have not danced since elementary school, so my dance experience is quite limited. Recently, I have only danced to some TikToks with my friends. Dance and taekwondo have their similarities and differences. While we have to memorize certain movements in taekwondo, dance choreography has to correspond to the rhythms of the music. Therefore, memorizing and keeping up with the choreography was definitely more difficult. However, I really tried to push myself to improve by focusing on one specific part of the song first, then combining them together. To better prepare myself by the next practice, I have been practicing the section of the choreography where I am not as familiar with.
Oct 2020 (1) – Core Strengthening
During this practice, our coach wanted us to focus on our core strength because they are essential to kicks and other movements. It was definitely a challenge for me as I consider my core strength to be the weakest. What I had to do was to do a plank on two sets of weight balls and then to support myself while my legs were on the yoga ball. The last exercise was the hardest and the most dangerous. Therefore, the coach taught us how to fall safely without injuring ourselves.
I was surprised that the first part of the exercise (supporting myself on the weight balls) was not as difficult as I imagined. The second part with the yoga ball strained my core muscles the most. I could feel the soreness for the following two days. To relieve this, I stretched out my stomach with the help of my roller.
Though it was tiring, the exercise made me feel like I had a stronger core. One thing I would change about this set of exercise may be the length of time I plank for. I believe that it would be more effective if I gradually build up the time and not force myself to plank for too long the first try. I should practice this at home and during future trainings to improve myself.
Sep 2020 (1) – Kicking Off the School Year
Ever since fourth grade when I began my taekwondo lessons, I have fallen in love with the sport. I attended my first competition when I was a yellow belt. I can’t believe that was more than six years ago. Sadly, most of my time has been spent doing homework and studying for tests during my sophomore year. I was able to regain my interest in the sport over the summer. A few weeks before school started, my lower back was hurting from training. Therefore, I focused a lot on stretching prior to practices throughout the past month.
Last Sunday (9/20), I had my first high school competition. If you’re wondering why I am only competing in the high school category so late in my high school career, it is because I am 15 years old and a little bit younger than others. I tried to go to as many practice sessions, mostly on Wednesdays and Saturdays. However, since most of these high school athletes train for 3-4 hours a day at special school programs, I lack a lot of skills relatively. Unsurprisingly, I did not perform as well.
I want to be able to improve the next time I compete. During this period of time, I hope to practice more of my basic techniques to increase my confidence on the mat.
Here are some pictures from training:
Here are some pictures and a video from my competition:
