Throughout Year 1, I found myself immersed in CAS experiences more naturally and happily. After my second interview with my CAS coordinator, I realized how CAS involvement shouldn’t be forced. Even though it is a compulsory component of the IB, I believe that voluntary involvement is always the key to fulfilling and enjoying CAS experiences. I found out how most of my CAS experiences are rather spontaneous–but that does not mean that it is any less time-consuming or less significant than deliberately-planned ones. With all the praises I have for CAS, I also need to state how I sometimes do feel drained by it–as the coursework becomes heavier as IB progresses, students essentially need to “squeeze out” time to do CAS, which, I believe, reverts the purpose of the Core that is supposed to train students in becoming balanced individuals who thrive in different aspects of life.

For me, the easiest CAS strand to fulfill will be the “creativity” portion. Every bit of life can be filled with creativity–daily journals, reorganization of a room, or even dinings on a weeknight. Creativity is, to be honest, an indispensable part of my life; I cannot imagine myself living without creativity.

Activities, on the other hand, is easy to do but hard to record. I personally find activities the most challenging since I’ve never considered myself an athlete. However, I love to embrace these challenges since I found myself humbled throughout the process. Staying active is arguably challenging amid a packed schedule where academic work prevails other priorities. However, even with just 10 minutes per day, I believe exercising can make one’s life more balanced and lead to a healthier mindset. I can recall a time before spring break when the coronavirus has not yet disrupted our lives on a larger scale. Right after school, I would join Jason to a nearby soccer field, where he would patiently train me and practice soccer with me. One of the first things that he practiced with me was juggling. Caught by surprise at first, I asked him the reason behind practicing this drill if it is not often used in an actual game. He then explained that juggling increases your body coordination (which I apparently lack), which vastly improves your performance in an actual game. From getting engaged in these activities, I found out how every drill serves its own purpose and thus exists for a reason. However mundane it gets, training drills made me realized how complex a sport could be. Similar to art, the intricacy might not be directly observed in the outcome (an actual game), but the details built over time dictate the final performance.

Last but not least, service. I think committing to service is built on the premise of having clear core values that dictate my ethical choices. Thus far, I never asked my parents if I may attend oversea volunteering because I do not wish to use their money to commit to helping others. Instead, what I have been doing right now, on a smaller scale, is advocating for my community–from KAS as a school to my community as a female. I am currently still exploring the essence of serving others, which, I believe, should be a lifelong process that requires constant reflection.

My initial feelings for CAS was that making these actions compulsory is, to be honest, not the best idea. The reason being it defeats the purpose of inspiring students to engage in these acts of CAS. However, I later found out that CAS is a rather challenging yet rewarding opportunity for students to essentially take a short break from the heavily academic coursework and enjoy themselves–without any guilt–in the said process.