Reflection 6 (Joining gym)

Doing gym exercises are always tiring and time-consuming. It was a long 6-months tiring sessions I had, where I needed to wake up early morning, come to school and lift these heavyweights. It was initiated by me and some of my friends, where we planned the duration of our each gym session, the exercises we are going to do and also how many times are we going to attend the session in a week. A lot of focus on our planning helped us to have a clear direction of where we are heading to. I always thought performing this activity would quite be fascinating but it all ended up being tiring sessions.

Performing this activity was not my cup of tea as I would not prefer to wake up early morning for getting tired. However, the obstinacy I had towards my goals was to its extreme. I showed a lot of devotion to the activity, and I tried to curtail missing the gym sessions so as to reach goals quickly and effectively.

I identified vigor of mine in respect to gym exercises. I was constantly increasing the weight to lift so as to build muscles more efficaciously. However, I could not attempt frequent repetitions of the same weight, which really obstructed me to achieve my goals. It was a great drawback I faced while venturing this activity.

The primary thing which motivated me to do this activity for long 6 months was my friends’ company. My 6 friends were with me doing the same activities. It really made the activity less monotonous and more joyful.

Doing gyming was very a constructive way of using time because it would really help me in sports like Football. So doing using time on this activity was worth it. My goals were very simple, to build up muscles so that I can stay fit and healthy. This activity did really help me to build my muscles, and day by day I was feeling much better in terms of health.

I finally completed 6 months of gym training and there was a reasonable growth in my muscles. I could see a great change in my Football skills due to the gym exercises. Being tiring, this activity provided me fruitful results.

Evidences:

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Naggar

I hadn’t been on many treks before, so it was challenging to work my way up such an inclination, in the cold weather with the thin air. It wasn’t as tiring as I thought it would be though, so it broke my paradigms, but it was definitely physical exertion and challenging. I tried to take part in all the walks decided, even though we had been given the opportunity to sit back and relax because I thought it would be great to make the most out of the trip. I also made many new friends, and we had a great time together playing games. I think this was a new frontier for me given the kind of introvert I’ve always been. The trip helped me open up, and therefore it was an emotional achievement as well. We helped each other in our work during the trek, back in our rooms, and even while travelling. It was a great collaborative effort and we formed a friend circle that we would cherish for the rest of our lives! Apart from that, we also learned a lot – about how excessive apple farming had increased the temperature and therefore reduced the quality of apples grown, and about art and culture unique to the village by visiting the Roerich Art Gallery. It was awesome. We also learned to take special care of the nature as we were shocked by the amount of dirt and garbage littered around the sites. We learned that we should leave as small a footprint as possible to preserve such natural beauties for the future generations. This was an ethical concern that we had to take into consideration and also an issue of global significance. I enjoyed a lot and although I didn’t want to go at first and only agreed at repeated persuasions from teachers and friends, I think I would’ve regretted it if I hadn’t gone there. It was a great experience.

 

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INTERSCHOOL CHESS TOURNAMENT ~ 10/7/2015 @ JB DIAMOND SCHOOL

I used to play chess before, but at a very basic personal level without seriousness. However, this time I realized the seriousness of chess as a sport and applied for the selections of the school team. It was a great experience, especially because I had to start giving attention to small details and rules of the sport. It was also very challenging for me as I had taken no coaching for the sport at any point of time in the past. With the support of one of my friends who was amazing at chess, I learned all the rules in a few days and also got selected for the team. This was kind of unexpected and hence I recognized my potential in a new sport. The competition itself was very tough, and I think I will need to prepare more for the next time, therefore evoking the need of undertaking challenges. But the exposure, as such, of learning a new sport altogether and representing the school for it was great and I’ll be glad to play more Chess in the coming years. I learned that trying new sports expands my horizon and gives exercise to different parts of the mind – which is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I used to play only football for most of highschool, but playing chess gave me an insight into an entirely new game.

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UNDER 17 SUBROTO CUP (FOOTBALL) ~ 15/7/2015 @ ESSAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

This competition was particularly challenging because we had to work really hard to recover the endurance, fitness and flexibility after the vacations in a short period of time. I had difficulties tackling the increasing study load with the football camps and it was quite exhausting for me at least, which made our first win rewarding. Our team worked well together, making us an effective side. We pushed ourselves beyond our limitations and I worked especially on my headers and slides. I also had to pay special attention to being tough physically in the game, a skill especially required for the defenders in the game. I also got wounded multiple times in the process. I considered and evaluated my strengths and weaknesses which helped me develop my skills in the defense. Challenges were also undertaken by the team as a whole. The key strength of our defense was the cooperation between the center backs and the full backs. We identified this during the practices and utilized it well. However, one of our key defenders got injured on the last day of the camps and our team stammered for a bit. Yet, we worked out alternative plans and got ourselves a good replacement too! We lost though in our second match but we got plenty of lessons out of the match. One of the key things I learned was how we shouldn’t start rushing for a goal when we’re trailing from the beginning of the match – an important cause for our failure… Football, as a game, has also greatly instilled in me the qualities of collaboration and team-work. Each side has 11 players, and if all the players don’t connect with each other, individual strengths are useless. A good team is judged by the team chemistry more than individual skills. Last, but not the least, football is a game of spirit. Our team put special emphasis on fair play as our school strongly believes that our ethics and moral values define us. Unlike other teams, we didn’t fight with the referee or allege the referee of wrong decisions and we played with integrity. At the end of the game, we forget the competition and shake each other’s hands, appreciating the game.

 

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Reflection 5 (Naggar trip)

I perceived this trip as very adventurous and also one of the most enjoyable trips because I travelled this beautiful Naggar with my friends and teachers. The place where we stayed did also possess numerous stories of ancient times. The beauty of snow in Manali added up the enthusiasm and fun we had. However, the thing which might have terrified me before going here was the cold weather. Although after going there, chillness didn’t bother me as I wore layers of clothes, and thus I could do activities with a lot of ease. Furthermore, exploring different ancient temples and paintings made us know about the existence of creativity in those times.
While this trip I could identify a strength of mine that I could easily trek for 2-3 hours without any hesitation which really helped me on this trip. However, my laziness at morning while waking, restricted me to be on time for distinct activities. It is a great frailty on which I need to work upon in order to use time effectively. Waking late restricted me to be on time for distinct activities. It is a great frailty on which I need to work upon in order to use time effectively.

Skiing was one of the greatest challenges for all of us. Skiing was something we don’t do it customarily which made us uncomfortable. However, the expertise provided by them made me and my friends do a very good job in skiing which made this trip more interesting and adventurous.

As we were 30 people travelling together, we needed to make sure that we needed to work with a lot of coordination and without any conflicts among us. Keeping this in mind, we coordinated and adjusted with each other while travelling by bus and train, while choosing rooms for staying etc. This really helped all of us to stay peacefully. Moreover, there were some places where the Jain food available was very limited. So the four students who were Jain including me needed to share the limited food available there.
Furthermore, the main focus of this trip was to enjoy the nature and treks. So it was compulsory to stay away from gadgets and, therefore, our school didn’t allow us to bring any type of gadgets especially, mobiles. So in order to accord with credos of school, I didn’t bring mobile and enjoyed the beauty of nature. Additionally, I also did not throw any type of plastic garbage on the road in Himachal Pradesh as it is strictly prohibited. It helped me to save the nature.
Overall, this trip was a great success because due to this activity I could identify my numerous strengths and some weaknesses to work upon. I could also get an opportunity to know local people of Naggar and their lifestyles.

Evidences:

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1. Enjoying with friends in Naggar

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FSMUN ~ LONG TERM ACTIVITY @ FOUNTAINHEAD SCHOOL

My role in the FSMUN organization committee was that of the head of the IT department and I was responsible for designing and maintaining of the FSMUN website. I always had a like for web design. When given the opportunity, I thought I could use my strengths for the service of the MUN – something which I thought dealt with an issue of global significance, enhancing the debating skills of high school students. Education is very important, and MUN was a great source of a new spectrum of enhancing practical and rational intelligence. I also explored new design features – expanding my circle of knowledge in the field. I experimented with some cool designs which found great appreciation too. Thus, I identified and utilized my creativity by providing service for building the website. I faced many challenges in the process, indubitably. The website was to change very often, often more than two times a day. It was a constantly demanding task. I found it increasingly hard to balance between my other tasks and prioritize. However, with perseverance in my duties and by collaborating with the head of the department of design and other member(s) under the FSMUN as well as school IT department itself, I split some work and found effective ways to capitalize on time. I learned the very important skill of time management through FSMUN, to which I’m pretty thankful.

 

Website URL: http://fountainheadschools.org/fsmun

 

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Naggar – The Capital of Kullu

After struggling for a long while to decide a place that we could enjoy in the winter season – Naggar was finalized as our Grade 11 CAS trip.

Exploring Naggar on foot

A lot of new information about Naggar was told us while we trekked in the morning and afternoon, on the first day. The one information that stuck with me throughout the day was the changing scenario of the village – which was told to us by the local guide. Villagers’  way of living has drastically changed over time and also about the recent human impact on the ecology.

In the evening, we also did yoga. Even though I am not fond of doing Yoga, I tried it and learned about its benefits and reasons behind it.

Yoga

Yoga

We were explained about the consequences of littering and harm that we might cause to this beautiful place. Nobody was going to watch us all time, and it is all about how true our morals are for us to not dirty this place. How ethical is it for us to visit a place and leave it worse off than before?

A walk to Rumsu Village

We were informed about the customs and tradition of that village. We also got to know about the way devtas (Hindu gods) that come there every season and possess few seniors of the village, and then they answer any questions that are asked to them. This information fascinated me, the way people get possessed and can answer any question you ask them, villagers have the faith that the answers will be true.

We had a walk planned for the afternoon which wasn’t compulsory for all. The morning trek to Rumsu had been tiring and the reason for having this walk was to prevent the muscles from getting rigid, and hence, out of all the people, I was one of the few who chose to go for the walk. This walk was the most beautiful and the best walk of the entire trip. The serenity and the sunlight pouring through the long pine trees was scenic. I learned that the mountains are all covered with tall pine trees although the pines are of no use to humans nor animals, except the birds that nest on them. I realised that adventure comes with responsibility. What we do and leave behind will affect the people living there and the ecosystem.

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Gulaba

For the first time, I skied in Gulaba. I wasn’t able to stand wearing skies without someone constantly helping me. It was a great, exciting experience. We had a fun story session in the night where we heard about insane and epic incidents of members from previous tours. We were also told about Gujjars, a semi-nomadic tribe in the Himalayas.

Siking

Siking

Gulaba

Gulaba

Solang, Vashishth and Manali

That day, we walked around the Solang valley and understood the gradual change (living status) it has gone through in time and about the regulations banning adventures activities (paragliding) for safety norms. I did two adventure activities – A ride in ATV(All-Terrain Vehicle) for each student and Tubing (slide down a snow slope in a big tube). Then we visited another place Vashishth, which is famous for the occurrence of natural hot springs. While experiencing the hot water of the springs, we were told about the history of the hot springs, the adjoining temples and the new construction of cement-based houses.

Exploring Thava

We went for a walk to Thava, an ancient city above Naggar, completely destroyed by an earthquake. Only surviving structure is the famous Krishna temple. Reached there after a short and tiring uphill trek. Explained to us about the temple, its significance and the prominent tilt that was caused by the Earthquake. A story session was conducted in the temple courtyard. Met the resident Pujari of the temple, as well. On special request, the castle’s cooks made local delicacies, called dham, for lunch.

Thava

Thava

Return Journey

Rejuvenated by the beauty and serenity of the Himalayas, we headed back to the our city, Surat, excited to talk about our experiences to the ones that missed this fantastic trip. ____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Khel Mahakumbh

I participated in a Basketball tournament known as “Khel Mahakumbh” in men’s open category on the 2nd of February, 2016.

Inspite of I playing Basketball for a fairly long time now, this tournament stood out from the rest of the tournaments for a couple of reasons. One, for the first time, I was playing alongside my coach. This turned out to be an enlightening experience as our coach was superb on-court, actually putting into play the tactics he told us as a coach. The second reason was that we played in open category and therefore, had to face highly experienced players as our opponents.

I identified my strength as a good ball collector as well as having fair level of passing and co-ordination skills. I developed new areas for growth as we faced adult, well built, highly experienced and fierce players as opponents. Not loosing our self esteem just by their appearance and career was one good thing I did and hence, I developed how to not judge anyone/anything superficially.

Challenges were undertaken as we were firm on booking a spot for ourselves to Vadodra(host city of the state competition). We also tried zone defense as a defense tactic, which worked out amazingly well as we left the opponents in a state of helplessness and forced them to shoot from a distance.

There arises no question of our commitment and perseverance because of the following incident. After winning 18-6 to the defending city champions, we are left agonizing as they protested against our eligibility. Finally, they pointed out a mistake in the lots of the competition and the whole competition re-started. This tested our perseverance, and as a result, we again beat them 19-7 in the semi finals. This was a moment of pure rejoice.

Further, we benefited hugely as all the team members joined one another to help and achieve a common goal : Win, and play fair and square. This, to me, is an epitome of collaboration as we stood up to accomplish what we believed in.

We found ourselves pondering for a solution to the social issue of global significance : Manipulation by powerful individuals for their self-interests. The defending champions(Kosamba Team) had some highly experienced as well as influential players who tried to prove us ineligible but failed to do so, because of the transparency we maintained. Though they weren’t able to throw us out, they deliberately pointed out errors in the lots after they were knocked out of the competition as they lost to us.

As our motto was to “Win, and play fair and square”, we had already talked amongst ourselves how we had to exhibit our abilities staying under the boundaries of ethics. We cheered the opponents when they played well, and showed sportsman spirit by appreciating them post-match. On a personal level, I took out time to cut my nails and remove my watch before matches in order to be considerate about the opponents.

Overall, this was an enlightening experience for me as it took me to the next level of competitions.

Our squad- donning our new jerseys.

The squad- donning our new jerseys.

 

FS 3/3 Basketball Tournament – Organising Committee

The organising committee

I really enjoyed the activity as I did what I am good at which is sitting at the registration desk, and register every team and make the announcement. By the end, I was a little exhausted as it were just 2 of us taking care of the entire thing.

It wasn’t the first time that I was helping with the organisation of a registration desk but this was a different event – basketball. Also, I had to update the score sheets of the matches which I was doing for the first time and I had practically no idea of how basketball is scored or any basic rules so that was one challenge which I overcame throughout the event. During the event I felt like giving up cause I was really tired but I didn’t because I had committed towards the activity irrespective of how tiring it was. 

I was definitely not in my comfort zone, because waking up at 5 in the morning coming to the court and sitting there in extreme summer was really difficult, also managing the registration fees of each team and helping out other sectors of the organising committee at the same time was a challenge. During this event and too much work I also forgot that I had to eat.

What I learnt was that I could multitask and I shouldn’t think less of me, also while working I realised that not everyone works the way I do and I should collaborate to get the most out of task and successfully complete them, it was not a challenge to work with others but definitely to compromise with my work style was a little difficult but I didn’t get agitated by that but just adjusted and learnt their ways. 

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Dancing to the beat of a different drum

Dancing is one of my hobbies and I have always been passionate about this activity as it is a stress buster for me. I have always wanted to join dance classes and learn new dance forms except contemporary. Attending dance classes have always made me fresh and has given me immense pleasure. It is the only thing I want to do when I return from school extremely tired and I love doing it. I managed attending dance classes 5 days a week from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm with my regular school for about 3 months.These classes have helped me develop new skills, identify my own strengths and improve my previous dancing skills.

Learning new and different dance forms like rock and roll, hip-hop, bachata etc have improved my body posture in dancing and also have helped me get control over my body. I have mainly improvised on getting to know the song better so that I don’t miss any beat while dancing. By joining the classes I have started enjoying dance more than ever and now I can feel the intensity of a particular dance form. I have also improved my stamina in learning all these dance forms as dancing continuously requires a lot of stamina especially dances like hip-hop and rock and roll. I had also performed a carnival which requires true commitment and dedication and it was a stage performance of what I had learnt during those 3 months. Sometimes during the practice we were supposed to stay there for more than an hour and we did that. This is where I was committed towards the activity that I was performing. We were a group of 20 students where we had to collaborate with each other to have a synchronized dance performance. And this helped in interacting with new people in a new environment without having issues with adjustment.

Dancing has helped me in a lot of ways like it is one of the mediums through which I can express myself when words aren’t sufficient, it has brought grace in my moves and clarity in my steps. I have become more expressive due to dancing. Dancing gives me extreme happiness and every time I dance I get to know a new side of me and this is what makes me keep going.

 

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