TEDxKidsBC

I currently am a committee member for TEDxKidsBC. This year we are hosting to specific TEDx events that are held in Vancouver. One event is going to be held on April 4th at the Telus World of Science called TEDxChange and another event, which is our main event, called TEDxKidsBC. Each event will host different speakers who have applied and have been selected based on the fact that they have something worth sharing to an audience. After the event is over, the speakers and attendees maintain connections with each other in order to encourage and spark more initiative as a community. Overall, this strong community to make change in the world got me attracted to being involved with this organization.

The learning outcomes I accomplished involve me planning and initiating activities, working collaboratively with others, shown perseverance and commitment in my activity and engaging with issues of global importance. I planned and initiated activities by participating in the planning process for the TEDxChange event, which includes the speaker selection, presentation slides for TED and the video implementation for the event. I also showed perseverance and commitment in my engagement with TEDxKidsBC because I attended almost every meeting that was scheduled on the calendar. I also engaged with issues of global importance because the event is about hosting speakers that are going to speak about change ranging locally to globally.

What I hoped to accomplish prior to engaging with TEDxKidsBC included my hope to meeting new people, be able to be involved in planning an event as well as gaining experience by working for a particular assigned duty. I achieved all the goals that I hoped to achieve by staying committed to the organization.

Some difficulties I had while I am at TEDxKidsBC was communication. Some of the team members including me had trouble communicating with one other which slowed down our progress. We overcame that obstacle by telling one another to check emails more often and communication among team members began to improve.

I interacted with others by speaking out in group discussions about the event. As well I had to go into different duty groups in order to receive powerpoint slides and information so that I am able to synchronize the slides in order to be successful at the day of the event.

What I learnt about myself with TEDxKidsBC is me, as a youth, can take action with motivation and inspiration. A great majority of the TEDx team consists of passionate youth who want to provide a platform where change can be initiated and that is where I was able to learn this about myself as one of them.

While at TEDxKidsBC so far, I have gained the skills of working independently on a task that contributes to the greater whole. I also gained the social skills to converse and collaborate with adults which was unusual for me because I usually work with people my age. I also gained inspiration in general for being a founder for a platform that encourages action and change to a young audience.

Others will benefit from what I do because I provided them a platform where inspiration is shared and it allows the attendees and speakers to have the space and environment to work together and initiate projects locally and globally.

I would never change what I would do in terms of being involved with TEDxKidsBC except for improving electronic communication amongst team members.

My social skills gained from TEDxKidsBC and my organization skills can be applied to other life situations especially when dealing with adults in the future. Organization is also a vital attribute to have especially in university.

Violin

Violin has been an ongoing part of my life since I was 6. Therefore, I have committed to the activity for over 10 years. Currently, I have just completed and passed my Grade 10 RCM violin exam. Now I am beginning my ARCT repertoire and plan to continue pursue it after I graduate.

The learning outcomes that I accomplished through this activity involves me increasing my awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth, undertaking new challenges, showing perseverance and commitment in their activities and developing new skills. I increased my awareness of my own strengths and areas of growth because I receive feedback from my violin teacher and listen to my own recordings. I am currently aware that my strengths are being able to be rhythmical and colourful in my music; however, my areas for growth involve my intonation. I undertook new challenges by attempting to play Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor, one of the hardest concertos ever composed. The concerto demands agile fingers as well as virtuosic technique in order to perform it well. I showed perseverance and commitment to my activity by continuing it for more than 10 years. I developed new skills by practicing at home and learning new pieces.

What I hoped to achieve before approaching the violin was to be able to have an instrument that I would be interested in as I grew older and it is apparent that I have achieved what I hoped for.

Some difficulties I had while playing violin was that fact that I almost had no time to practice when I started the IB Diploma Programme. I overcame this difficulty by participating in the Academy Symphony Orchestra in order to solidify my commitment to violin every week.

What I learned about myself when I play the violin is that I am able to be creative. I am able to extract the emotions out of a piece of music and interpret the feelings in my own way. This lets me be able to be original with the composed piece of music when I play it. I also learnt that I am able to commit to something because I enjoy doing it which taught me a lesson that will benefit me long-term.

The skills and abilities that I have gained from violin include my ability to be precise with my fingers. I am also ambidextrous because I developed skills on both the left and right hand. I also gained perfect pitch from engaging in violin for a long time as well as gained an appreciation for classical music as a genre. Playing the violin enabled me to have an appreciative attitude towards the geniuses who composed these phenomenal works.

I would not do anything differently in terms of playing the violin; however, I will definitely dedicate more time to play the instrument once I have more time after I complete the IB.

I am able to apply my skills from the violin to real life, for example: I am able to apply my dedication and commitment to violin and apply it to my academics and other activities. This natural dedicated attitude I gained from by playing violin enabled me to benefit in other activities.

Badminton

Badminton involves a lot of agility and reflex training when returning the bird. Every Wednesday and Friday I would go to the Arbutus Club to play recreational badminton. I usually play doubles because of the large amount of people. It is both exciting and an excellent way to exercise especially when you are limited by the academics that the Diploma Programme entails.
The learning outcomes that came out of this experience include my increased awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth, worked collaboratively with others, shown perseverance and commitment in my activities and developed new skills. I increased my awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth by being able to see my successes and mistakes when playing matches. After i see those point winning shots or mistakes, I am aware of what I am good at and what I still need to work on. For example, my drop shots are usually the kind of shots that I use to score points; however, my smashes tend to be easy to return because they are not hitting the bird fast enough. I also work collaboratively with others because of the nature of a doubles match in badminton where you work collaboratively with a partner. I also show perseverance and commitment in my activities because I attend badminton on a weekly basis and finally I develop new skills by being able to practice playing matches and create new game strategies.

What I hoped to accomplish prior to participating in badminton was to gain agility, speed and exercise. I am happy to say that my three aspects that I wanted to gain from this experience have been met.

There were no difficulties encountered with badminton other than minor injuries such as sprained ankles.

I interacted with others by playing games against or with them. Working collaboratively in a doubles match is important because there is always a person who would need to get the deep clear shots and another at the net to return the soft shots. There are numerous badminton formations that are required in order to cover the court effectively and therefore my team skills were enhanced from this experience.

What I learnt about myself is that I am able to be competitive in a positive environment where both sides benefit from going out and exercising. I also learned how to exemplify sportsmanship in this game which also carries through to how I deal with other situations outside badminton.

The skills I obtained from doing badminton include my drop shots being able to drop sharper and closer to the net, my smashes being more angular, my clears being more deep and my net shots sticking close to the net. As well I gained team skills which include my ability to anticipate where the bird will land and adjust our form based on that. As well as said previously, I developed an attitude of sportsmanship which fed to my humble and easygoing personality I possess today.

What I would do next time would apply to after I graduate. I would definitely play more badminton per week but since the IB makes a student extremely busy I wouldn't get as much free time to exercise.

I can apply my sportsmanship skills to other situations when interacting with people as well as playing other sports. As well, badminton has also enhanced my peripheral vision and reflexes which are helpful when trying to maintain my safety when driving for instance.