Here is the link to my video reflection

Here is the link to watch our final performance

Here are some photos documenting the performance and journey!

Here is the link to the video reflection

Here is the link to my video reflection 

Here is the link to the video

Here is another link to a video of training 

Here is the link to my 1st Kahaani reflection

 

 

Here is the link to my video reflection for tennis season 2

Over the past few months, I have learned a lot about myself and about people with intellectual and physical disabilities. I realised that Running hour is more than just about running to keep healthy, it is about creating connections with new people. This service also helped me improve my fitness levels and in many ways, I have learned so much from the running buddies. Some key skills I have discovered this term is the importance of active listening and open-mindedness. I have also learned the importance of being a leader to the buddy and finding a pace which suits us both. I have definitely had some ups and downs trying to get used to the pace of running and also finding the right balance between leading my buddy and letting them go their own pace, but through this I have learned valuable lessons. Through the various conversations I had with my buddies over the weeks I learned more about them and also about how to ask the right questions to keep the conversation going.

There was one experience I had that really stuck with me. It was when I had to run with a little 10 year old boy who had just joined the organisation. Running with him helped me improve my communication with him and also his mom. I think something valuable I learned from this was the importance of making sure the parent is comfortable and also making sure that I am asking the right questions. At some points he didn’t want to run anymore and he started throwing tantrums. Here I learned the importance of being patient and also taking a step back to give him some space when he needed it. It was very gratifying towards the middle of the run when he started getting excited and happy. This was definitely one of my highlights because it showed that he was comfortable enough to run with us.

My hope for next term is to further improve my communication skills and continue to learn from amazing people in our local community with whom we don’t always get the chance to interact with. So far this has been a very memorable experience and I am looking forward to the rest of the year and the many more opportunities it will bring.

Here is a voice recording interview

Runninghour has been a very gratifying and new experience so far. Over the past few weeks, I have become more confident with how I choose to run with my buddies. This means, understanding the kinds of questions I can ask the buddies and also taking the lead when on the runs.

I recently ran with my buddy and faced a couple of hiccups. I was buddied up with a fast runner, seeing that I hadn’t run in a long time my pace and fitness level did not match his. For half the run I was doing pretty well as I was able to keep up with my buddy. Once I hit a certain point my left ankle froze and it hurt as I was running. Despite the pain, I decided to keep running because I didn’t want to let my buddy down. On the way back to the meeting point I broke down as I realised I couldn’t run anymore and was disappointed in myself. Mr Jacobson helped me calm down and helped me understand that if I am not well enough to run it doesn’t benefit my buddy. I learned that taking care of myself was just as important so that I could take care of my buddy.

After learning this important lesson the runs got better week by week. Of course the week after this experience I felt nervous to run with the buddies again. Calming myself down and understanding that understanding myself would help me understand my buddies better. Now I am enjoying the runs every week, I have great conversations with my buddies, and I am taking care of myself by staying at a pace I am comfortable at. Pacing with the buddies is also really important and I think over the next year I will get better at that.

Overall, the learning outcomes my experiences so far line up with is the ability to persevere in tough situations and also understand what the key things are needed for effective collaboration with the buddies.

Here is the link to my CAS interview with Avni –

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Aq3fTUFUQzkoI_31rWgKdak4trWhY8uh/view?usp=sharing

In this reflection we both talked about the biggest challenge we faced in CAS so far and also what learning came out of it. For me the biggest challenge came about during service.