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Final Reflection on the CAS Experience

What I enjoyed the most throughout the whole 18 month of the CAS experience is that it encouraged and pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was positively forced into spending more time on my passions, things that interest me. Perhaps, if not for CAS, I would have never actually sat down in order to knit, saw or play the guitar. I would have also missed out on the opportunity of more movement in my life - running and fitness overall. The experience of CAS also opened my eyes a little more to the world through Amnesty International and a little earlier in the CAS experience - Habitat for Humanity. The “doing” part is probably the most challenging with many ups and downs on the way, but the feeling after is definitely fulfilling, which is what I would describe as the biggest advantage of CAS. That’s why running and overall the Activity part was the hardest for me, but with time I have built a habit of it and it started to be significantly more enjoyable, satisfactory, and with that the improvement came almost effortlessly. As IB students we sometimes have a hard time maintaining a healthy school balance and CAS has helped me avoid that. The easiest part of CAS was definitely some of the Creativity tasks I have done, these were the ones I was especially passionate about such as knitting, makeup, art and making jewelry.

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Summerizing post

1. Evidence for completion of CAS project.

Amnesty International Letter Marathon: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/641952552546615296/cas-project-letter-writing-marathon

2. Evidence of identification of strengths and areas for personal growth (LO1).

Running: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/653454573603897344/activity-14042021-this-is-the-longest-run-i

Knitting: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/650466394481328128/creativity-01022021-my-friend-told-me-that

3. Evidence of undertaking new challenges and developing new skills in the process (LO2).

Jewellery making: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/653454544054910976/creativity-15042021-recently-i-saw-a-video-on

Running: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/653454573603897344/activity-14042021-this-is-the-longest-run-i

4. Evidence of initiating and planning a CAS experience (LO3).

Playing the guitar: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/633780543652282368/25102020-creativity-after-my-guitar-was

Creativity: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/678093398109978624/creativity-231221

5. Evidence of commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences (LO4).

Running: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/678093747004768256/activity-220222

Knitting: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/678093733103878144/creativity-170222

6. Evidence of demonstrating the skills and recognizing the benefits of working collaboratively (LO5).

Running: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/671761451630968832/activity-12102021-today-my-brother-wanted-to

Creativity: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/671761423154774016/creativity-14102021-my-friend-had-her-birthday

CAS project: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/641952552546615296/cas-project-letter-writing-marathon

7. Evidence of engagement with issues of global significance (LO6).

Amnesty International: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/663214050467053568/service-10062021-today-we-talked-about-the

Jewellery making: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/678093611764727808/creativity-200122

8. Evidence of recognizing and considering the ethics of choices and actions (LO7).

Amnesty International: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/671761468956508160/service-03112021-today-we-talked-bout-the

Amnesty International: https://zabekzuziacas.tumblr.com/post/641951917745012736/service-10122020-today-we-were-finishing-our

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Table with Learning Outcomes

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SERVICE - 23.02.2022

This was the very last meeting that we will ever have of Amnesty International as our CAS ends. I have to admit I was surprised as to how upsetting this was, I really enjoyed listening to what the host had to say and take part in the discussions. This meeting was us saying our goodbyes and giving the group away to the next year.

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ACTIVITY - 22.02.22

I had a chance to run on a treadmill, so I decided to take it. The gym was very nicely equipped and because running during the cold is not the most enjoyable and not the smartest thing to do, choosing the treadmill was nice. I really enjoy using this machine as I can customize the speed, mode and the incline as I wish.

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CREATIVITY - 17.02.22

A lot of time has passed since I last knitted something, because I was so busy with school and collage applications. I saw on an app called Tiktok those recently trending balaclava’s that imitate the look of a bunny. I needed to use a different knitting device to complete this project, so I once again needed to look at some tutorials and ultimately ended up learning, once again, from my mom. I have only started, but am very excited about the project. Knitting is perhaps my favourite creativity activity, as it is greatly relaxing and can be done ultimately anywhere and whatever I imagine. 

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SERVICE - 09.02.2022

Unfortunately, the topic of todays meeting was the start of the war and the overall aggression of Russia on Ukraine. This is an enormous issue and it needs to be raised as much as possible. The sanctions implemented on Russia should be enormous and should be one of the reasons for the conflict to end. This is very depressing news and we were mainly discussing the SWIFT issue and why do certain countries still support the russian government.

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ACTIVITY - 08.02.22

In the hotel that I stayed there was a gym that was largely being unused. I wanted to get some exercise, so I opted for the treadmill. Honestly, sometimes I enjoy the treadmill more than running outside. This was a very nice half an hour long workout that made me definitely break a sweat.

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CREATIVITY - 03.02.22

My friend has a machine for acrylic nails, so when I visited I wanted to take this opportunity and do some nail art. This was much harder than I anticipated, but I liked the result. I used 3 layers of polish each was different in order to achieve a metallic and glittery result, but in the photo it looks much more underwhelming than in direct sunlight.

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SERVICE - 26.01.22

Today the topic was the Pegasus situation and the connected to it breaches on privacy and human rights, as well as simply the decency of the program. It was supposedly meant to keep track of personal conversations and online activity of criminals and rather people that are under investigation but ended up listening on politicians. This has recently come out and we believe this to be outrageous that's why it needs to be more openly discussed and condemned, even prohibited by the law of course. 

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ACTIVITY - 25.01.22

As I mentioned in the previous activity post, I did a challenge which meant working out everyday for around half an hour. This one was much harder than the previous one and I think the statistics back this claim up. I was surprised as to how I actually enjoyed the challenge and may do it all again, as I find it much more encouraging than just forcing myself to go for a run again!

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CREATIVITY - 20.01.22

This time the jewelry I made is upcycled. I found some plastic beaded chains in a vintage store. There weren’t very sturdy and the string would often break and fall apart, so making earrings out of it was a great choice in my opinion. I believe that upcycling and using sustainable materials is the future. We need to be more sustainable in our choices of clothing, but jewelers too.

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SERVICE - 12.01.22

Today talked about LEX TVN - an instance where our Polish government wants to ban one of the most prominent news broadcasters in the country. They do not agree with the current governments political views. We believe this to be a breach of the human right of free speech, which is why this topic was raised.  

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ACTIVITY - 11.01.22

This week I challenged myself with a fitness challenge from youtube, which included working out at home for 30 to 40 minutes daily for 5 days. I only recorded 2 of those with my fitness watch, but in fact I did it everyday! The struggle with motivation was enormous, but somehow I overcame it. Starting the challenge is the most difficult part of it, as later you don’t want to waste your streak. 

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CREATIVITY - 06.01.2022

I was attending a party that had a crazy dress code, and as I am a lover of makeup and am passionate about it, I decided to do something interesting with my eye makeup. This took me much longer than I initially expected, but it turned out well (especially from a little far away). This was problematic because I made the mistake of using the wrong products and as it was raining a little it started getting blurry and not as beautiful as it was at first. I’ll try to consider that in the future. 

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SERVICE - 29.12.21

Todays meeting was purely organisational as it was during the Christmas break, in order to quickly talk about what the next meeting will be about and getting back into the habit of our Wednesdays meetings again.  

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ACTIVITY - 28.12.21

This was actually a run outside not on a treadmill, but my location was disconnected so the app thought I was inside the whole time and unmoving. Truthfully, I just wanted a quick 10 minute exercise, because I needed it, but had an awfuly busy day. I believe that short but really fast, maybe even sprinting, runs are super satisfying, efficient, and healthy.