Welcome to IB 2, the "apocalypse"

 Well it was a long time since I've posted anything concerning my CAS.

I may have some explanation...

Well, shortly after my last entry I had a very sad and touching death in my family, which unfortunately led to long hours of inaction and mourning. 

Help came to me in the form of my beloved dog, who has become not only the part of my family since early April, but a big part of my activities.

After that i have no explanation rather than me being lazy and forgetting to actually write down the stuff I've been doing. Well, maybe except my oral exam, but it mostly concerns June.

After that many months of not publishing anything here, the memory is kind of blury, and I can't remember whether I've done something in February, March or April. If I were to give any advice to people, who are starting doing CAS - PLEASE WRITE DOWN YOUR STUFF ON REGULAR BASIS!!!!! Not only because it is easier and less time-consuming (especially when you have to show your CAS coordinator your reflections like tomorrow), but also you don't have to face the look of disappointment on your teacher's face, when you are telling them that you are long long behind with CAS in your schedue.

Long story short, that is my explanation and reflection on the events that unfortunately happend.

But now moving on to the more pleasant part.

Starting with my beloved creativity...

I did some baking/cooking. Lots and lots of it, actually. Not only stuff like cakes or caserolles. I started being really fancy here, experimenting with recipies on my own, especially since I've decided to change my diet and start eating more healthy. I think people really should start being spontaneous in kitchen (says the least spontaneous lady in the whole wide world). It not only helped me visualize the processes that happen in my body after I eat junk food, but also leads to the super cool way of discovering different cowbos of food like cloove and peaches and adding hot pepper to the tea (super hot and super spicy? I'm in!!!). To be honest I always thought cooking was too complicated for me and both stress factor and reliefer, but ever since I've started preparing my breakfast the night before the school day I COULDN'T BE MORE RELAXED!

Well, of course, I did other things beside baking. And yeah, you, fellow reader guessed correctly - good ol' writing. I continued my novel (well, in between school and sleep there is not that much time, but i still manage to create like 4 sentences per day). And I started writing another one. Fanfiction, actually. But this time in English. But the matter with this is that it is actually harder, than I've expected. I like to think of myself as a person with the ease of writing, but I have never thoungt, that despite writing a lot of essays and learning in English it is really difficult. I think this is caused basically by the kind of English we are using at school. And it was hard for me to express the character's emotions with adjectives more poethical than 'sad' or 'bewildered'. People really should start writing something in their second language, which not concerns the vocabulary they use, for example, in their history HL essays. 

But moving on from writing. The school newspaper's apperance have improved. And that is because I've learned how to design stuff using computer. And that lead to the series of funny stuff I did. Starting with the personalized Valentine's Day cards I've designed for my friends and finishing on memes I did whenever something funny happend during polish HL lessons (our group plan to print them later and give them to our beloved teacher). It was cool. But I found designing things on computer not giving me enough improvement in being creative, and of course, not enough satisfaction. I know that some people may be particulary found of this, but that's a hard pass for me (if we are concerning the matter whether I do or don't feel creative).

For me, there is one more thing that should be included in my CAS diary. And you may laugh, but this actually is bulding in The Sims 4. Yes, that may be ridiculous, but hear me out. With the amount of modifications I have in my game, I basically am free to do anything with any object. I can turn a bed into really designer table. Or bookcase. Or swiming pool. Maybe not swimming pool, but thr point was made. By building in the Sims, I not only kill my time (like my parents would say), but I am trying to create something new, connecting different styles, trying to make, let's say, futurystic countryside on the top of the mountain. And I feel like I am expressing my creativity, trying to create something unique, having less boundaries than in real life. I would even dare to say that this is the first step in doing some architectual work. I mean have you seen the stuff that , for example,  Kate Emerald create? Maybe I'm not as good as building in the Sims, but I'm fulfilled, trying to find the perfect match for the ridiculously pink couch and green coffe table.

But that is pretty much it, as far as creativity is concerned.

Moving on to the activity stuff.

I have to say, ever since my parents boungh the dog, I am walking more than ever. And I guess it's kind of walking with something like weight block, because my dog pulls the leash a LOT! So it kind of rises my heartbeat since I have to use my strenght a lot in order to him walking nicely. And obviously now my walks have to be way longer than ever. Really relaxing thing.

As we all know well, it was finally bicycle season. And after I've started riding a bike a lot I felt free. Finally (and that happened especially after history HL lessons, i had to calm my nerves). I just think that people should ride a bike. A lot. It helps freeing mind and especially focus on something other than everyday stuff. 

And, most importantly, let's not forget about all the sporty things I did during holidays. I went with my parents and my sister sailing on the polish lakes. Loved it. The views there, not the sport. Because, to be honest, I almost constantely feared that I'll drown in a minute. But on the other hand it was fun to operate with all of those strings and cloth. I guess it was both stressing and relaxing (and it is the best description of that). And, despite my fear of depth, It was really refreshing, swimming in the lake. I guess overcoming my fears was something that happened a lot. And at the end of the day, I felt fulfilled. People should at least try to overcome their fears. It even improves one's self esteem. It improved mine.

Yeah, and as for one more thing. According to www.axisbank.com "Climbing stairs is one of the best exercises when it comes to pure FAT BURN, strengthening the lower body, toning the butt, thighs, calves, losing inches from those love handles and belly and building great abs. Along with these benefits is the immense good it does for your lungs and cardio vascular system" and I, as a fellow biology SL student, understood what I had to do. So my friend Zuzia and I were not only climbing the stairs for like 20 minutes every day, but we were also power walking. It's like running but while walking.

And speaking of running. I hate it. There is really not a thing I hate more than running. That was until I started running with my dog on our walks. That was a really good solution since he pulls the leash a lot and my arm start hurting. Well, and I always wanted to be like those girls who just go for a run whenever they are mad or something. So I tried it. ENDORPHINES ARE AMAZING! I really was surprised that running actually bring me something positive. I think that's the matter of the PE lessons. We, students tend to hate running because it is all about running as fast as you can and that really is not the point of it, the point of any sport in this world. We shouldn't be forced to be the best (well at least not if you don't train for something). So the moral of the story is that I will try to give running a second chance.

And service. 

I guess it is not as impresive as the other elements of my CAS adventure, but I already have a meeting scheduled with our school librarian. And I will be doing some sort of stuff.

I can't say that I did nothing, because I did. Besides sending my notes and flashcards to like half of the school. 

In May, for example, my friends and I went as the volonteers at the opening of the "Free Women Zone". Yeah, and being a barista is not an easy piece of cake. Especially for the first time. But it actually gave me an insight into the amount of work they have to do. And understand that it is not barista's time when you are in hurry and want to have your coffe in a blink of an eye, because you are already late. People should really try to put themselves into the position of people who are preparing something for them or, like, give them products in shops. Then the world would be a better place.

But do you know what would make the world even better place than people being nice? Ecology. Cleaner Earth. 

During the long weekend in May, I was walking my dog, when we were in the park in Sopot. Since the park is near the very good Italian place, someone decided to eat something outdoor. But that someone forgot that they need to clean it after the meal. 

I passed this place twice. The first time I was walking far far away, so my dog would not eat any boxes or plastic forks. And I felt guilty. So when I was walking back I decided to clean that. It really was not that big of an effort since the bin was literally next to the bench, and the trash was in front of it. So at the end I was angry at myself (for not cleaning it earlier) and for those people (for leaving that mess), but mostly I was satisfied that I got to do something good, so someone could enjoy. God, cleaning Earth is so satisfing. And relaxing. And fullfiling. I definetly should try it again.

Oh, and I did take care of the younger kids when I was at my summer camp. I have to say, I love children. And the fact, that they want to spend their time with me is absolutely adorable.

But now I feel ashamed that I haven't done that many things in service. I guess I helped my friends and family a lot, but that does not count as CAS, so I'll let it slide.

And last but not least, my friends and I started our CAS project, but I will write about this experience in another post.

Have a nice one!

PS. The experience of baking the meringue? Absolutely terrible, will never do that again.

PS 2. And oh, does cleaning the garden from weeds count as activity? Because I can't recall the last time when I was sweating that much!