Grade 9 Targets

by | Nov 8, 2018 | Grade 9, IGCSE Archive, Me

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Grade 9 Targets
8th November 2018

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This year, I’ve definitely been working on setting goals. (In some places, I actually question such an excess, since it doesn’t seem like a lot of goals will really help me as much as just focusing on one goal, but I’ll try it out.) For now, I’ll reveal my three goals for Grade 9 and High School, and what I’m planning to do to achieve them.

Goal 1: To reduce and find better ways to deal with stress through music.
This goal is one of my goals for NYAA. I feel very strongly about this goal, and I’ve fully explained it in this post right here.

Have I worked towards this goal in any way?
Further progress will be documented in the ‘Youth Achievements‘ category of my portfolio, and some updates are already posted. I will be posting monthly.

Goal 2: To strengthen organisational skills through service.
I want to become more responsible and develop my self-management and group-management skills. In Ladakh GC this year, we’re looking to hold some sort of event, or be a part of an event, and I think that I can really improve my organisational skills. I can not only learn more about self-management, but also collaboration, as events take a lot of time to work out, and it takes teamwork to deliver a successful experience to the rest of the student body.

A success indicator would definitely be actually having participated or created an event this year, and a promise of future involvement. I also want to review on how successful the event actually was, and what impact it created. At the end of the year, I also want to feel like I have used skills that apply in an academic context in a service context.

Have I worked towards this goal in any way?
Ladakh GC has already been thinking about being a part of one of the school events this year rather than creating our own. Personally, I think that it would be better to invest our efforts in a Ladakhi cultural event, because of our goal. I’ve talked about Ladakh GC and my first impressions here, and I think that it would be worthwhile looking into Ladakhi culture and organising an event that coordinates with a cultural festival of some sort. This not only would spread awareness of our cause, but also teach people of Ladakhi culture.

However, it seems as if we’re going to try and participate in one of the already existing school events, like ‘Run for Rights’. I have no objection towards this, and hopefully there will be a chance for teamwork and some chance to improve my logistics skills.

Goal 3 (Long-term): Finding a passion or cause in which I feel very strongly about.
For me, I’ve always wanted to find a passion or some sort of cause that I can dedicate my life to. There are so many issues in the world right now, whether environmental, social or political, and I think that more people need to work towards these goals. However, I’ve been finding a lot of trouble finding one thing that I am passionate about, so I’ve been trying lots of different things. However, nothing’s seemed to stick, and I don’t think I’ve found the right people yet. So, I want to focus my high school career into finding something that I am truly passionate about.

It’s a career aim for me to get a degree in science, and use it for good. In an ideal future, I’ll use my knowledge of the natural world to explore it even further while working for a social enterprise of some kind. However, that means I need to find a cause, and passions aren’t always that easy to find. This is a built-in success indicator.

Have I worked towards this goal in any way?
Well, I’ve watched this TED Talk, and I’ve tried a LOT of different cause groups at school.

Firstly, I’ve joined Ladakh GC since I’ve worked with humanitarian groups a lot in the past (Children’s Shelter Foundation and Moving Mountains), and I think that this could definitely be something that I could work towards. However, work there is difficult, and it is also important to keep my options open.

Last year, I participated in an event called COP21, learning more about sustainability in an event that brought students from lots of different schools together to learn about the SDGs and what we can do to improve our lifestyle to become more sustainable. I feel strongly for the environment, and I know that there are lots of options in science to work towards this, so I think that this is probably my most feasible option.

However, I’ve also joined a focus group: Voices for Refugees. Someday, I’d like to volunteer in a refugee camp, because this issue is pressing the globe right now, and in alignment with the Human Rights, I feel that this issue needs to be solved as soon as possible. So, I’ve joined this focus group, and hopefully I will continue with it to build a passion.

I think that from a starting point, I’ve picked things that I am interested in, but I want to have consistency throughout my high school experience, and I think that consistency and dedication is what’s going to build my passions.

Thanks for reading!

NYAA Healthy Living: October Update

NYAA Healthy Living: October Update

by | Nov 1, 2018 | NYAA Healthy Living, Youth Achievements

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NYAA: Healthy Living
October Progress Report

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My Healthy Living Goal: To reduce and find better ways to deal with my stress through Music.

Why have I chosen this goal?
I personally am very invested in Music and it is the one creative art I take solace in. Playing the piano and listening to a lot of music are things that I do regularly, and I want to bring this into the award as it is something that I am very passionate about.

How am I achieving this goal:
Despite having a two-week break in the middle of the month, I’ve made a lot of progress towards my goal.

Firstly, I had my Grade 5 Theory Exam on October 6th. I’ve learned that Music isn’t just about playing, it’s also about listening and comprehending, even on 2 dimensional surfaces. My G5 Theory exam not only helps me to learn more about music, but also the fact that it’s an exam helps me. My goal is to find better ways to deal with my stress, and having a big exam helps me understand the way I perceive stress and what I can do to help myself deal with stress better. I found out that repetition is one of the main things that helps me, and I have devised strategies for me to study that can definitely be applied elsewhere. I used Quizlet to study important vocabulary, and did lots of practice tests to prepare for my exam. I tried to make visual, real flashcards and maps, but I found out that those things don’t really help me, so that helped me find what ways I could learn best, through quizlets and practice questions and tests rather than the more unsustainable yet visual flashcards.

Here’s my confirmation slip – I haven’t received the results yet, but when I do, I will make sure to update this post with the results.

Secondly, on the 31st of October (just recently), I performed at Esplanade with my peers in the Piano Masterclass. I haven’t performed in a really long time, so this experience was the first proper performance I’ve had in two years. I tend to be really nervous when it comes to performing, and so this is part of my goal to become more confident (this requires a lot of good stress management). I learned a lot more about what my nerves are like now, and I tried out a lot of strategies to try and calm myself down for the performance, some of which include talking to friends and family, taking deep breaths, and trying not to think too much. I’ve found out that telling myself “it’s okay to make mistakes” really calms me down, even though I doubt it afterwards.

I’ve also watched a TED Talk linked here about how your body language can actually change your mind, and I tried some of these strategies to calm myself down. My aunt has also given me advice to play from your core, rather than your heart or your brain. This not only makes sure my brain doesn’t focus on every little mistake I make, but it also quells the feelings of nervousness in my chest. I think that I still want to practice playing from my core, because I feel like one experience isn’t completely enough to tell whether it works for me or not.

Reflecting on the actual performance itself, I think that for someone who hasn’t played on stage like that for two years, it was good. Even though I made mistakes, my piano teacher who was there said that I played well, and I also felt somewhat good about the performance after it was over. It was definitely a meaningful experience, it taught me a lot about my nerves and what I can do to manage them better. And the more I perform, the more confident I get.

Here’s a video link to the performance, and a photo of the program is below.

What am I looking forward to?
I have a lot more performances coming up, a piano recital, the Grade 9 Going Solo performance and also the International Women’s Day performance with the Piano Masterclass in March. Not to mention, I’m emceeing a guitar showcase, and might even be playing something there too (to be confirmed). I’ll also be very busy in the upcoming future with more Piano masterclasses, and my G6 Piano exam is coming up in February.

So that’s all for October! Thanks for reading and I’ll be back next month!

Link to my tracking log