“You are magic.”

– One of the greatest compliments I had ever received.

The journey is coming to an end and we must assume I succeeded.

The past two years have been an indescribable experience, a story amongst many others where troubles and turmoil have come and gone, leaving behind only lessons on growth for me as an individual. I have experienced unsettling events, from personal circumstances to national ones that I had to come to terms with, to move past and to sometimes even be the better person. But this blog has never been about any of that; no, this blog is a database. A database filled with anecdotes depicting my successes and failures alike. It is a database depicting goals and dreams, drawbacks and limitations. But most importantly, this database has been about me.

Sentimental thoughts aside, let’s get the logistics out of the way. When I started CAS for senior year, I was told to set some goals. My goals included activities such as percussion for OSC’s high school musical, Oliver!, guitar ensemble and the CAS project with Disara for Creativity. I have accomplished much more than I initially hoped for in terms of creativity by being involved in UN day and choreographing the senior dance. I did resign from guitar ensemble but I do feel I made up for the lost time during quarantine and personally speaking, I do think that was the smart choice of action for me. In terms of activity, I took part in SAISA volleyball and did body conditioning following the finishing of the season so I met all my goals. I even did events such as Homerun where I cycled 12 kilometers. I went on two expeditions to Sinharaja throughout this school year and both were physically strenuous but completely worth it. For service, we conducted the annual bake sale but couldn’t move forward with many events due to school being shut which is a truly unfortunate turn of events.

I would just like to take a moment to appreciate all the wonderful activities I have taken part in, not just in my senior year but over the course of the entire IB program. From theater workshops in Hong Kong to SAISA badminton in Chennai to Week Without Walls in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, I have gained a plethora of unique and memorable experiences and changed immensely as an individual and I owe a significant portion of that to all these events that I have had the opportunity to be a part of. And I genuinely cannot fully express my gratitude to my school for giving me all these opportunities.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, OSC.

 

Addressing the Learning Outcomes

1. Strength & Growth

Any of my sporting or week without walls activities should qualify as a prime example of my exceptional growth in achieving this learning outcome. My favorite one though, has to be SAISA football given the rough journey I went through to come to a point in my life where I have empowered myself, motivated and driven myself to be my own cheerleader, in order to push both my physical and mental boundaries and restrictions. Being in the starting eleven and playing left wing for a diamond mid-field formation was exhausting but I kept pushing through, each game, each day, each free kick, each throw in. I didn’t give myself the satisfaction of stopping or quitting or backing down. Here, I believed in myself, in my resilience and skills. Here, I thrived.

2. Challenge & Skills

There’s so many activities that applies to development in such a learning outcome but possibly my most relevant example would be SAISA Badminton where I had to captain my team towards victory. The challenge was to be a leader, prioritizing your teams mental and physical well-being over yours, to put your fears aside and be an example for them to follow, to motivate them even when I myself wanted to give up. The challenge was to handle the pressure of the team, both its wins and losses, and to hold the team together through it all, to be a pillar even when you feel the most-feeble. Of course, my efforts paid off and my skills in badminton and skills in leadership drastically improved over the season. Amongst the medals I received, the best successes I found in myself was the two sportsmanship pins I received which went to show my attitude towards my team and others was respected by rival schools as well.

SAISA Badminton 2019, Chennai

3. Initiative & Planning

Let me take an example from this year: the senior Gecko Factor dance. Yes, I wouldn’t have possibly choreographed it by myself but I initiated the whole idea and went ahead with the choreographing from beginning to end. I planned days and weeks considering aspects of space utility, level of difficulty for each dance move, organizing dates for rehearsals, choosing the songs and even clothing. A great deal of collaboration went into making the event a success but it took a significant amount of commitment and planning on my end to get everyone together. And trust me, I don’t regret it.

4. Commitment & Perseverance

Care for Paws Annual Sterilization and Vaccination Camp is potentially the best example of my commitment and perseverance invested into organizing an event. Countless days were spent by Disara and I on organizing the event, getting the proper documentation sorted and raising the funds necessary to host the event. We had to persevere and commit to the task and that is exactly what we did. Again, it was completely worth it because in total, I end my high school journey having treated over 100 animals around my school neighborhood.

5. Collaborative Skills

Throwback to every single guitar performance I have taken part in, whether it’s with the guitar ensemble or with a vocalist for a school assembly or even being a percussionist for the Oliver! music requires a degree of collaboration that cannot come vocally but instinctually. And there is no better way to describe my enhanced collaborative skills other than to mention how successful I have been in all of my musical performances.

6. Global Engagement

Care for Paws Animal Rights Awareness Campaign that advocated against animal exploitation, especially in the tourism industry of Sri Lanka is a clean example of this because it links to a global issue and movement which calls for protectionism and conservatism. Even my internship at IWMI is a good example of my engagement in addressing the global issue of water insecurity.

7. Ethics of Choices & Actions

The sterilization camp is an example of an activity that I contemplated about countless times, debating over my conservative traditional and even religious beliefs but came to the conclusion that it is in fact a necessary evil for the greater good, not of people, but of community cats and dogs.

And Now the Story is Done

Being sentimental really doesn’t go well for me but a few acknowledgements must be made.

Firstly, to my school. With everything I have I thank you. For every opportunity, for every new experience, for every chance to grow and shine, thank you. Some of the lessons I have learnt, some the friends I have made and each of the people I have met, they were eye-openers that are invaluable for me. There is just so much gratitude that I can muster before it borderlines cringe so if there is one thing I hope for, it is that I have given back to you – my community, my home – at least a quarter of what you have provided for me. I am proud to call you my haven, my sanctuary, my small world and from the bottom of my heart, I hope others will come to value you as much as I do.

Secondly, to Mr. Lockwood. The golden trophy was what kept me going to do the blog but it was doing CAS that I always enjoyed more so than the reflection aspect of it. Nonetheless, this blog is my precious database so thank you for pushing me to keep it up. There’s many more things I have to be grateful for but I will leave that for another time. I’d rather not do my goodbyes to you just yet (let me and the gang annoy you for a little while longer please).

To my family, I was never easy. I would like to think I was never a problem child either but many of these experiences were gained outside of Sri Lanka and of course, a lot of money was spent on their part over these past 18 years, but a lot more over the past two than the former 16. During their time, they didn’t travel abroad for tournaments or theatre workshops. They didn’t leave their house for five days to travel with a bunch of grade mates around Sri Lanka. Neither did they do so many activities in their final years of school where they mainly focused on academics. Needless to say, they didn’t grow up with phones or a high demand for luxury food and other lavish delicacies. But they let me grow up that way, let me do the things I want to, make friends with who I want to and most importantly, they have given me nothing but the right advice, placed on me the right expectations and taught me the right values and lessons that I needed to grow as a respectable individual amongst all others. To me, thankyou doesn’t cut it, it never has and never will. And expressing my respect and gratitude can only truly be shown in my actions rather than words but let’s just say, for simplicity sake, that my love for you is infinite.

To my friends. This doesn’t simply include my grade: my girls and boys from SAISA, both in my team and the friends I’ve made in others, my travel buddies from Week Without Walls, my vocalist and guitarist partners, people I met during workshops and other events, each and every one of you. Thankyou for being a part of my incredible journey. It was all the more memorable, all the more heartbreaking and emotional because I had you all to share the experiences with. A significant part of finding happiness is having good friends and I believe I was constantly surrounded by so many of them. With everything I have, I wish each and every one of you the very best life has to offer. And in times of turbulence and turmoil, I hope you are surrounded by people who support you, love you and cherish you but I hope you all remember to be your own cheerleaders first and foremost. May it be the happiest life filled with the brightest of lights. And if it is meant to be, I hope to meet you all again someday.

Last but not least, to myself. I write this in the hopes that someday, in the near or far future, I stumble across this old blog of mine and happen to read it, reminiscing the memories, feeling nostalgic, perhaps melancholic. When at such a time I do end up reading it, I want you to scroll to the top and read quote. A cousin of mine said it to me and it was possibly one of the nicest statements anyone has given to me. I want you to remember that, in fact, it is true. Your high school life was magic. Your growth, resilience and perseverance was magic. The people that surrounded you, the places you’ve been, all these experiences were magic. And you, you are magic.

I hope that adulthood is as magical and enchanting, wild and exuberant as your childhood was.

With all my love,

Rashmi Thavindya Bopitiya.