Posted on No Comments on Outdoor activities – Writers Fortnight 2019

Outdoor activities – Writers Fortnight 2019

I had the opportunity to attend a presentation about an adults personal experience with struggling academically in the past and how he managed to live. I excited and grateful I had this opportunity because I am in the time in my life where I may decide what I do for the rest of it.

I walked in, and immediately discovered by the person speaking was an outdoor ed teacher I knew from some of the UWCSEA school trips. As he went through his life story briefly, I felt more connected because before I knew him as a random teacher who probably had a typical life, but in the presentation, I learned many things from him and his regrets.

I always looked at academics as a must have, and then make time to learn how to do other things. But after this presentation, I realized if I truly enjoy something, then it is possible to pursue that for the rest of your life. Academics is obviously still important and can help you accomplish things, but I learned that it is more important to find something you enjoy doing and earn money from it.

Posted on No Comments on Fostering Children – When things go wrong

Fostering Children – When things go wrong

I got the chance to attend a presentation about a fostering mother telling us a story about one of the children she took care of. I thought the presentation would be about a fostering parent not being able to take care of many children at first, however soon after entering the classroom, I realized it was about a fostering mother not being able to take care of one child.

The child she described and gone through life much different then I had, which refurbished my view on society and reminded me of the valuable things I have. I used to think not everybody could change, but after hearing how this once violent aggressive child had now become a hard-working member of society, now I realize everyone is more similar then it feels, and everyone can be understood.

I took away two things from this session: To value overlooked possessions I have, and to understand everyone can change.

The part about the story which was most significant for me was when the boy was transferred to the fostering mother, and all of the possessions he had could fit in a small black bag at the age of six. This affected my gratefulness towards things being given to me and made me really feel empathetic to this boy.

Posted on No Comments on How do my actions affect others?

How do my actions affect others?

I believe that every action you make can have some effect on others, whether if you say you like something someone doesn’t like, or if you do something that makes someone hurt on the inside, every action you make can have a chain reaction and hurt people you didn’t intend to hurt or didn’t even know you could hurt.

If everybody suddenly starts unintentionally hurting somebody, that somebody would not like it and will have no choice but to isolate him/herself.

Posted on 1 Comment on Tips for studying.

Tips for studying.

People study in different ways, for example, they make flash cards, or some others may make a little song to memorise things.

But what is the purpose of studying? Does getting bad grades mean you don’t study? I believe that is not true. Some people may have a harder time understanding something. However, this does not mean that you are allowed to procrastinate and still get good grades. Most people expect that the more you study, the higher your grades, for example on this graph:

We can see it has a positive linear relationship, and this is true, however, if you do not balance your study and free time hours, and leave everything to the last night, then on the test you may do well however you will quickly forget that information you learned while as others who practised a little bit every night would have remembered this information much longer and it would be useful to them the following year.

Here are some of the best tips I can think of:

  • Organise your time. Plan out your day, make sure you have at least one hour every day dedicated to just studying. This will prevent you staying up many hours on nights because you would be getting assignments due weeks ahead done already.
  • Have a positive attitude. If you have no interest in the subject, then look forward to finishing the homework and then getting that feeling of having lots of free time.
  • Concentrate! If you give one hour a day dedicated to studying, use that hour down to it’s second! Do not keep extending when you are going to start studying. If you start then the hour will finish up much quicker then you think. It’s good to have a specified hour where you have to study throughout it, I recommend if you get home at 4:00 then study from 4:30 – 5:30, or even better 4:00 to 5:00. If you get it over quickly, then you will have the full day to spend doing whatever you want.
  • Have lots of sleep! You need to have the energy to put into work throughout the day. Most people say get 7-8 hours of sleep, but it’s okay if you need more. I get tired when I get home from school when I get 7 hours of sleep, which is why I try to get 8-9 hours.

In the end, it all comes down to how you approach what you are about to do, whether it be studying or something else. It doesn’t matter if you are good or bad, what matter is your attitude, how focused and determined you are, but if you are passionate on getting better and are ready to put the work into it, then these tips will really help you.

 

Posted on No Comments on Strenghts

Strenghts

My 10 Strengths:

  • Empathetic
  • Humble
  • Peaceful
  • Funny
  • Understanding
  • Hard Working
  • Goal Setter
  • Good time manager
  • Organisation
  • Staying focused

10 Strengths of my friend

  • Shawn is good at staying focused
  • Organising
  • Staying on task
  • Humble
  • Hardworking
  • Time management
  • Empathic
  • A good goal setter
  • Funny
  • Creative

What other people think my strengths are:

Posted on 3 Comments on Corner Kick in Football – Is it impossible?

Corner Kick in Football – Is it impossible?

The corner kick in football is almost impossible. This is because in order to perform it, you need to take into account the power, finesse, and the science. You can hit the ball straight which makes it go forward, you can hit it from the bottom so it goes up. But the tricky part is hitting it in the direction you want it, and then moving your foot from one panel on the football to another so it gets that spin, which makes the ball turn back, into the goal.

The science behind it is called the Magnus Effect, and that is basically the force from the air applied on the moving ball which causes the swerve motion.

Here’s a video explaining how corner kicks are done more in-depth.

One athletic talent I feel we don’t recognize enough is being able to understand all aspects of performing a trick, such as the science and physics behind it. For example, if you want to throw a basketball in a hoop, instead of just understanding the correct form on how to shoot, also you have to understand how the force you put and the angle you aim at are two big factors which affect the outcome, and also if any spin is applied that will change the outcome as well.