Attached is my audio reflection for the end of running hour.
This is a picture of our service members on a call during lockdown. Here, we were assigning roles to everyone to work towards completing our portfolio. I am the one wearing the stripped shirt.
This is a picture of our group before our weekly Thursday running sessions.
#LO1 #LO3 #LO5 #LO6 #LO7
Throughout my experience in Running Hour, I have learnt a lot. As mentioned in my previous reflections, I did not know much about the disabled community in Singapore, all I knew was from other people who interacted with them in such actives like running hour. Running hour as allowed me to open my eyes to this community and people with disabilities in a very unique way that has allowed me to learn and engage with these people on a deeper level I couldn’t have even gotten close to if it wasn’t for running hour. Running hour is more than just physical exercise with buddies, I get the chance to talk to them and learn about their life. I have realised that against typical stereotypes of their lives, they lead very similar lives to us. I have noticed there are many preconceived misconceptions about this community however the more time I spent with them, the more I realised they are very similar to us. There seems to be a common idea that because of their disability, they are very different to us however many of the things I talked to them about was exactly what I would talk to my friends about. Like my friends and I, they have many hobbies that they pursue, regardless of the setback they might face due to their disabilities. In December, I participated in the Standard Charted run and actually saw some people from running hour in the race. At the start of every session, my buddies usually set a goal and push themselves to make sure they are able to reach their goal. I have running hour after school so usually I am quite tired, so its really motivational to see everyone push themselves.
During service signups I didn’t sign up for running hour and was allocated into a service called SUNDAC which also involved working with people with disabilities. After the first session of that service, some problems came up regarding timings and the service was cancelled. I then had to join one of the other services my school offered. I decided to sign up to Running Hour as it sounded like a good way to help people with disabilities get fit and would teach me a lot about their life.
When I got briefed, I realised I had completely underestimated the abilities of people with disabilities. I was told that some of the people run 10km in an hour and participate in races. Because I had no prior interaction with disabled people, I had no idea of this and was eager to find out more.
I was paired up with a blind lady called Carol and whilst talking to her, I found out that she worked in a marketing company. I had no idea that that was even possible due to her eyesight being too big of a barrier towards working in corporate. We had very normal conversations about things I would talk to my friends about and her eyesight didn’t seem to result in any barrier between us, unlike what I had thought. I thought that she might be hesitant to talk to a new person but she was very friendly and optimistic. Although we didn’t run during the whole hour and a half, we jogged and walked 4.2km. After finishing each lap, we did some squats or mountain climbers together so we didn’t really have long breaks. Nonetheless, she was able to persevere and continue. I thought it was really inspiring because she did not let her disability stop and she trusted me while I was guiding her. It’s really inspiring because she was so positive despite having to live with a disability which makes her life harder.
I am really excited to build a bond with Carol and learn more from her about overcoming challenges. I hope that she also looks forward to talking to me and she enjoys our time together. Furthermore, another big goal of mine is to encourage her to reach her full potential and push herself to reach new goals.
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