CAS 2017

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.

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.

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.

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