EE Day Reflection

One thing I’ve learned….

I have learnt how to properly structure my world studies extended essay and properly connect both my subjects in a way that is not too dominated by one, as well as this I have learnt the psychological theories I need to incorporate within my essay to help enhance what I am talking about. Not only that but, I have also figured out how to write a world studies essay using the criteria we are given.

What I’m proud of…..

I am proud of how much research I have conducted today and the amount I have learnt, as well as this I am proud of the fact that I have a clear direction in which I am heading in terms of my Extended Essay.

What I’ll be doing next…..

The thing I need to start focusing on now is collating articles and analysing them to fit with the research I have conducted on written media, I must also start physically writing my Extended Essay.

EE Reflective Conversation

So far the Extended Essay process has been one that required me to step out of my comfort zone. I am doing an English and Psychology Extended Essay. I knew I wanted to  explore anxiety and depression and their causes in this day and age, as these two mental disorders are ones that affect people in lasting ways. To undertake my research I sifted through articles that relate to school shootings and I researched into the impacts that reading such traumatic news has on humans. So far the problems I have faced are that there are not many articles relating the two ideas I am exploring, this being the psychological impacts of reading negative news. There are research pieces on anxiety and depression and the triggers these have, and there are articles about the impacts of negative news but, I am unable to find research pieces on the psychological impact of reading negative news (such as school shootings).

My Empathy Map

 

What would the delegate be thinking & feeling before arriving to the conference?

I feel that Wai Hin would be very interested to meet new people and see people who come from different ethnic groups and learn from them. Wai Hin seems very interested in global issues meaning that he would find it enlightening to find out more from those who come from different backgrounds to him. He also seems very interested in the idea of diversity meaning he would be very excited to be exposed to a more diverse group of people.

What would the delegate be most interested in discussing at the conference?

Wai Hin seems to be very interested in discussing Global Issues and working towards a goal. An overarching theme I get from his application is the idea of peace through love, I feel as though Wai Hin will be able to bond well with the different ethnic groups that come to the conference, bond through their stories and experiences as well as his own.  He would also like to learn about conflict resolution and the causes of certain large scale conflicts such as genocide or religious attacks.

What might the delegate want from you during ‘downtime’ (lunches, etc)

I feel as though Wai Hin would love to converse with not only the delegates but also us and learn more about what we think peace is, and how opinions may differ between people. He wants to consolidate his understanding of peace and would like to understand where others come from on this particular front.  I think he would also like to understand what it is we do during our IFP sessions and what we have learned ourselves.

What might the delegate be most worried about leading up to the conference?

I feel as though Wai Hin may be worried that is voice may not be heard based on his past experience but, he seems very adept with working with people in groups and he seems very interested in what we will be doing and will find it easy to contribute well and be heard.

What learnings will the delegate put into action after the conference wraps?

After attending the IFP conference Wai Hin aims to work with his community and run peace and conflict activities, his community being (Naung Taung Philanthropic Monastery Hopone). He aims to share the knowledge he gains from the IFP conference to improve his community for future generations, and integrate ideas from the conference into the daily lives of the students in his school. He hopes to not only one day educate his school community but also his nation.

 

 

Kolkata GC

For the past 2 years I have been a member of Kokata GC, our GC works looks at working  with the NGO, Voice Of World in Kolkata, India. Voice of World aims to support individuals who are visually impaired or disabled. Every year we hold an event called Kahaani in efforts to raise funds for the Pratyasha home in Kolkata, Kahaani is a show that portrays a story through a variety of different Indian dances. They use the funds we provide them with to empower girls in the Pratyasha Home through various activities and programs.

This year I have gained the experience of being the chair of the GC alongside two other co-chairs. Last year I was in the media team for the GC and I did have much to do but, I noticed that Kolkata GC is a really inclusive job and everybody always feels as though they have done something and contributed in some way. I really liked the feel of the GC which is the main reason i applied to be chair. Not only would I gain the experience of being a chair of a global concern but I would learn skills that would not be able to learn elsewhere. As chair of the GC I have to be able to allocate jobs for everybody else in the group and see if everything is on track , not only that but, I much oversee the behind the scenes work that must get done for the show to be a success.

Planning the show, Kahaani takes a lot of effort and hard work, and there is a lot of small things that must get done. To make sure we finished all the small things and didn’t fall behind, my co-chair and I would meet up during our free and for those 80 minutes we would finish everything we needed to do before the next week.  Throughout the first term, there was a lot of preliminary planning that went into doing the show such as : booking the venue, planning the plot of the show, choosing songs, choosing dance leaders, sending out logistics forms to the service office and many many more.

While we have done so much in the first term there is still a lot to come. I am excited to finish the process of planning and executing Kahaani,

IFP: Consolidation of Learning Post

 

Main Video: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1H0SGGwXv_s3s8Y44k3E6Xb_XrDPYyBXX

Where is your learning going? How will you apply skills, qualities you’ve developed outside of IFP?

I believe the things learnt in IFP are very relevant to what is going on in the world right now. We have learnt not only about the different types of conflict and what they mean and the ways we must address them, we also found out more about ourselves and our importance in a team and the ways in which we can be useful. This relates to the sessions we had about positive peace and negative peace, most conflict resolutions should aim to be positive peace as positive peace attacks the deep and underlying problem and can potentially end the conflict and prevent it from occurring again.  We recently had a session about the ways to have a proper conversation and the ways to know that the conversation is either one sided or non directional. We learnt the many characteristics of a good conversation, how we should make someone feel as though they are being heard. The way I see the skills and knowledge I have gained from IFP going is, in the case that I see a conflict going on I know how to address the issue without making the person I am talking to feel as though their issue is any less than what it is.

What have you learned about collaboration? Have you learned to be more effective when working with others? What’s your biggest obstacle when asked to contribute to a team?

I have learnt that when collaborating with someone you should never listen to answer, you should listen with the intent to listen and only to listen so that the person who is talking to you does not feel as though they aren’t being heard. This relates to collaboration because when you are working with someone you should talk to them as well as listen to them with the intent to hear their ideas and potentially implement them. I feel that the most effective way to work with others is to actually listen to the ideas they are talking about and show interest but, also to give critical feedback so that you show that you understand what they are saying but feel like it could use more work because IFP is also about learning from each other.

In what ways have you been a mentor to others this year? Where and when have you shown initiative?

I feel as though during the Joint Training Session I was able to conduct most of the session  or if the session was not productive I was the one who would try to get people to work again and get the session going again. I feel as though I showed initiative during the Joint Training Session  as I eel as though I gave a lot of ideas to the group and I tried my best to keep our group on track and I tried my best to keep al of the ideas we had on the issue related to IFP and though provoking. I feel as though after the Joint Training Session I got a much better understanding about what I will be doing during the actual conferences we facilitate.

Which session has done the most to address your areas for improvement as a peace builder? How did that session encourage growth?

My biggest takeaway from IFP

What have you learned about leadership & what qualities and skills have you developed in IFP to help  do this?

My IFP Public Speaking experience

What has your engagement in IFP looked like your peers? What makes you say so?

I feel as though my engagement in IFP is shown through my multiple posts as well as the amount I contribute during sessions. I also think that others can notice that I am passionate about IFP and the sessions that happen during IFP. I always have engaging conversations with everybody who is in my group. Every time I exit an IFP session it is very apparent that I have come out with something new I have learnt, something that interests me enough to go home and tell my family, enough for me to speak to my classmates, my teachers, and my friends about. I always feel rewarded after an IFP session and I know what Ive learnt in IFP will go with my to college as well as life in general.

Goodbye NAFA

After going to Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts for almost 5 years I finally successfully finished the Junior and Secondary arts programme. Completing this programme has shown me the different skills I have in relation to art. I have always deemed myself quite good at art. However, upon doing this programme I have come to realise that there are certain mediums and certain concepts that I am able to draw well. When it comes to drawing humans and faces I am really not that skilled, but, when it comes to drawing flowers and landscapes I believe I am quite skilled and I am able to draw such things quite well.

In terms of mediums that I am good at working with, I believe I am good at  working with watercolour as well as acrylic and oil. What I have realised is nobody is good at doing art with every medium, everybody is more skilled at one medium than another.  This has made me more likely to do watercolours and acrylic painting rather than making sculptures or doing print work. From time to time I enjoy doing paper-mache but, if I am bored and feel like doing art I would preferably do watercolour painting or acrylic and oil painting.

This does not mean that I will not work with any other medium than the ones I am relatively better at working with, at any chance I get I will try to further develop my skills in sculpting and print making. I only wish to explore more mediums and different artistic concepts to allow myself to further my knowledge of art as an expression.

My Progress in Boxing….

Boxing/Muay Thai happens every Friday from 3- 4:30pm, we usually start off with a warm up, either running, or a warm up in place that the instructors give us. After that we go into technique, we figure out how to properly do certain moves without injuring ourselves. Once our instructor feels as though we have got the technique down and our muscles are all warmed up we go down to the stairs. During our stairs routine we have to run up the stairs do a circuit of moves and then run back down. If we are not doing the stairs routine we will go down to the large area in the basement and do circuits with our partners, often these circuits are given to us by our instructor however, these past 2 weeks the instructors have handed it over to us and asked us to create the circuits ourselves.

I have now completed almost half a year of boxing and I could not be prouder of myself. I can feel myself getting stronger and better at the boxing technique. The best part about boxing is once you are done you feel satisfied, you feel as though you’ve worked every muscle in your body. As a first timer to boxing there were many instances where it got too hard and I felt like quitting the activity, there are times when you just cant do anymore and you’re weak. However, these instances are what show you that you are getting stronger, these are the indications that you are working and that you are not lazing around.

Whenever I feel like quitting I tend to think of the feeling I will have once the session is over, it motivates me to continue and not give up.  I would like to continue boxing as it not only makes me feel fit, and makes me fit in itself but, it is also fun and engaging to learn the new moves and learn the techniques. Boxing is a useful tool when it comes to self defence, and it is always useful to know a few moves to defend yourselves in a time of need.

The end of Culturama

Unfortunately Culturama has come to a close, after hours and hours of practicing and perfecting each move we as a group finally performed in front of the much anticipated 300 people. Going through the experience of Culturama made a more sociable person overall, I not only made new and closer friendships with those who are in my grade but, I also managed to close knit friendships with those in the grades above and below me.

Originally, I was afraid my stage fright would get the better of me and performing in front of a large number of people would cause me to forget the steps. However, what I found was that I am actually quite good at dealing with performing infront of a large group of people, I managed to remember all the steps from both my dances and I successfully did both dances.

During dress rehearsals I figured out another obstacle I had to overcome, this was changing in between dances. I was in the USA dance as well as the India dance, this meant I had to change in between, however, the most difficult thing was that there was only one 3 minute dance in the middle of both the dances I was in. Which in essence meant I had little over 3 minutes to change out of my India costume and into my USA costume. In one of the runs I was not able to change in time and get across to the other end of the stage to enter and this resulted in me not performing during that run. Due to that debacle the entire show day was an extremely stressful time.

After finishing this years Culturama, it has made me even more excited to take part in next years. Luckily I gained a skill during this time, I was able to smartly deduce what to wear first and where to put my costumes to ensure I get changed before the dance begins. This years Culturama introduced new difficulties and weaknesses on my part but, after completing Culturama I feel as though I have acquired new skills and if in the future I am to do something of this sort again I will be prepared and the overall stress I will face will be less

Dear Mentor Group…….

Dear mentor group:

Here’s what we should do next Tuesday, let us discuss Rumi’s poem “The Guest House”. Through this poem we should answer the questions: “What does Rumi say about human nature through this poem?” , “What does this mean in terms of solving conflict?” and “What significance does the last line play in terms of getting his message across”

Poem;

“The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

— Jellaludin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks”

We should first read the poem as a class to get a feel of the mood of this poem, secondly we should analyse the words he uses when talking about humans and the different adjectives used when describing the different guests (emotions). Lastly we should talk about how this plays a role in peace building and how significant Rumi’s message is.

I believe through analysing and looking through this lovely poem we will be able to better understand humans and also better understand how we should go about everyday life. This poem really opened my eyes and spoke to me about how significant each and every feeling we feel plays an important role in our lives.

 

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