Update

Hello again,

a part of this year has already passed. I have started and even finished some events along the way, and will use this post to update on my activities and define my goals for future activities.

Creativity:

I have finally managed to improve my singing techniques. I have managed to reach the high-pitched tone range of shouting vocals, which means that I will now be able to try out more vocal covers of a broader range of songs. My goal for this will be to do covers of at least 3 more songs before I finish this school year.

Bass: I've been lucky enough to get my GuitarPro working again just yesterday. It is a program that enables me to view songs' tablature as well as the notes that go with it, meaning I have both musical and non-musical notation of the songs, which will help me figure our rhythms of songs. This program is very helpful in learning songs, so I am looking to learn at least 2 more songs. I have already fulfilled my goal of learning one more song, because I figured out a song by ear (Sonnet of the Wretched by Chelsea Grin), which is an accomplishment that I am very proud of, since it was the first time I've ever tried to play something by ear.

Writing: thanks to my Extended Essay, I have been able to improve my writing. My goals have been met: structure and breadth of topics have both increased. I have also succeeded in supplying my friends' band with further lyrics for their songs, which is amazing!

Guitar: now that I have GuitarPro running, I will use it to learn a few more songs. i will probably stick to chord-based ones, because anything else would be too evolved for me. Nevertheless, I want to try and challenge myself with a finger-picking song (e.g. Falling Slowly from the Once soundtrack). I have met my goal of learning how to play Children of Divorce and can now move on.

The poster design that I referred to in my last post has helped me with my visual art class. I have now moved towards producing more poster art, and my previous design has given me a strong foundation from which I can work.

Action:

Sadly, the boxing elective has not come around yet. It will be interesting to see whether it will after the December break. Since this seems unlikely to happen, I have approached a teacher at school and asked him whether he would be willing to lead an American Football elective, because he used to play it actively. He happily agreed. I've never played American Football before, so this should be a challenge. If it does happen and I get to join it, I will set a goal then, rather than set a goal now that can not be met.

I have been coaching the girls' soccer team, we are almost through the season. The final team is about to be selected, and I have had fun coaching the girls. Not only have I coached the girls, but I was also given the opportunity to repeatedly be a referee for their matches. I also did this at a few matches last year, but I feel that I really improved in comparison, because I have been paying more attention to fairness and technicalities, such as foul throws. I have succeeded in motivating the girls to be a confident team player and help them improve their understanding of the game. My goals have been met, so I will use the next few weeks to extend this effect as much as possible.

I have been working out every week and am already noticing the differences. I have grown stronger, but also more endurable. I've played two football matches this year, during the first I was exhausted after just the first twenty minutes, whereas I played almost the entire match the second time around. My fitness is improving, and it has helped me improve my health. I have not really been sick this year, definitely less than five times. In comparison to last year, that's a huge improvement. My health has improved, so my goal has been met. I will keep up with all my work for Action to keep it that way.

Service:

DAWG has been going very well this year. We organized a movie night, where we put on a movie and sold food and drinks. This event was not a challenge to plan, the challenge was and still is in learning how to motivate the younger kids. There is one boy in our group that says he is willing to work, but doesn't really do anything. He shows up late to the events, seems uninterested in what we do and really doesn't put a whole lot of effort into anything. My goal from now on will be to change his mind and get him motivated and involved. This should help me improve my leadership skills.

Thanks to the movie night and the food we sold during the primary play, we now have sufficient funds to start our sterilization campaign. If we succeed with this, then we will not have to run DAWG next semester, which will give me more time for academic work. I think this is a very good thing, because it has been years since any group of DAWG members has managed to put on a sterilization campaign in the first semester, which makes me proud of our accomplishments. However, the organization will not be easy. Therefore, my goal for DAWG is to make the sterilization campaign happen this semester rather than next.

Additionally, I went on a trip to the Mama Papa Home, an orphanage for mentally and physically challenged children. We went there during our IB Orientation trip in eleventh grade, many plans were made, but none of them came through. So a group of us got together and organized a trip to the orphanage to play with the children and spend some time with them. We took the CAS coordinator of our school, so she could witness the conditions of the orphanage first-hand. Shocked by this, she agreed to make something happen.

After lengthy discussions with other leaders and people involved, we will probably try to organize either regular visits to the orphanage including every-day cleaning supplies, or a one-off visit with a few doctors, so the children can receive medical care for the first time in years.

My goal for the Mama Papa Home is to make sure that something will happen. I don't mind what it is, as long as I know that there will be people here next year who will carry this on and ensure that the orphans are not forgotten.

That's how far I've gotten this year, with a few months to go.

Paul