After learning drums for four years, I have decided to put a pause to taking lessons, as I wanted to focus more on other priorities. Of course, I will continue to focus on playing drums, as it is always a good way to release stress when things aren’t going my way, which will certainly help when undertaking activities for my “other priorities.” Throughout these years, from things simple as gripping a stick to learning difficult rifts, I have gone through many challenges while drumming. The most notable one is quite recent, when I learnt one of my favourite songs of all time: “Creep,” by Radiohead. The repeated rift includes a part where I have to smash the bass drum consecutively very quickly. Typically, I used the bass drum in long intervals, so this was new and difficult. Axel helped me out a lot, telling that the rift was something similar to “shaking your legs” rather than smashing them quickly. That eventually helped me get the hang of it, and to play one of my favourite songs was an experience to savour.

The end of the football season came. While there were no official matches, I still found the whole process enjoyable – training and improving skillsets in which I lacked. I feel like I have vastly improved in passing especially, thanks to the help of my coaches and teammates. The moment when I made a long pass in a practice game felt great. I also found out that there were other aspects in my game that I didn’t notice that were detrimental. When coach complimented for my energy and desire to always run, that really made me happy. I feel proud of the process I have made during this seasons, and I intend to build up further upon it, perhaps in grade 12.

I continued my efforts in football in grade 12. Throughout the football training sessions I have gotten better at passing, my previous weakness, to a point where I feel confident. The next skill that needed improvement was shooting. While my primary position was a centre back or right back, I felt like having at least a basic level of shooting would help in unexpected situations, which happen quite often in football. Aside from the regular training and practice matches, I frequently watched videos on YouTube to listen to other’s tips in improving shooting. Thankfully, as a boarder, the field was easily accessible, which allowed me to practice quite frequently. While in matches I don’t receive many opportunities to shoot, it still feels good knowing that when I do have the opportunity, I can shoot without hesitation.

For the winter break, I had decided to leave the country early so I could get back with my family. Before I could do so, I had to finish up a lot of tasks, including those related to Tiger Watch. I wanted to finish up the new website design for our portfolio, so I’m at least creating cornerstone for the other groupmates to work with. By completing the base of our design, I think I allowed the groupmates to smoothly transition to creating a platform for global engagement. While I could have left the task to my predecessor, I decided to try my best before leaving off  to Korea. I also taught other groupmates the basics of Divi builder so they could easily take up my task.

Throughout my time in the Service Executives, I learnt various things. These ranged from more practical skillsets such as website-buidling, to more spiritual, mental skillsets like teamwork and collaboration. I realized how my own actions and commitment could impact others in my communications team. This urged me to be more aware and thoughtful before engaging in any signifcant actions or making choices – especially during the logistical organizations of key events. I’ve really enjoyed my commitment to the Service Executives so far, not only because of the things I learn but also because of how friendly my teammates were. This made me less stressed out for organizing, managing events like the website-building workshops as well as the Service Expo panels that we organized early on. As a result, there was much freedom granted in our activities as well, which created a more relaxing atmosphere for work. I’m glad to have stayed committed throughout this initiative, and I’m proud of the progress I have made so far. Being part of the Service Executives, I truly feel like I’ve immersed myself into the essence of the service programme of United World College, and I intend to expand on this further on in my life.

How I got to know the Service Executives was through my graphic design teacher back in grade 10, Mr McGrath. The division that particularly caught my eye was the communications team. I took interest immediately, as I never took part in any sort of leadership group before and I could express one of my passions, graphic design, in the service. So I sent an email to Mr Hannah, expressing my interest. Soon, I got an interview scheduled and got in contact with the current members of the Service Executives. Eventually, I got an email indicating that I was accepted to the committee. Despite getting accepted, there was also some element of uncertaity as I had never been in an leadership committee before. Still, I eventually realized that getting out of this comfort zone was necessary to develop myself as a student and person.