“It is not a failure to readjust my sails to fit the waters I find myself in.” – Mackenzi Lee

DP 1 was an amazing experience as the class felt like we’ve grown and learnt a lot. We were able to grow as we have encountered many and different things as a grade. One of the main factors being the Coronavirus and its impact it had on us and the rest of the world. The distance learning program made its presence when the lockdown was initiated in Colombo. Surprisingly, the grade and I were able to adapt to this learning model and was still able to learn effectively during the pandemic.

Summer didn’t really turn out to be what we expected it to be. Many of us would have wanted to fly out of the country and go on their own adventures but the pandemic held us back. Instead, most of us explored the many parts of Sri Lanka and buried ourselves with more of the local cultures with our families. Summer came to an end quickly and it was only a matter of time till we stepped back into seniors.

Being seniors now, I still plan to keep myself active in school and at home and continue using  CAS to be proactive and make an effective goal during the ongoing pandemic.

 

Creativity

This year I plan to be more creative in my different ways as last year I feel like I was very limited in what I was being creative in such as art and music. This year I would like to express different fields and step out of my comfort zone and learn new things, like dancing, designing and even trying a new instrument of some sort. Learning and developing new skillsets on the creative side would really benefit me as I am determined to be an architect, a field which demands plenty of creativity and uniqueness.

Activity

Last year, I was highly involved in all the sports offered to us each season. However, this year looks really different in terms of what is being offered to students due to the impact the coronavirus has on the community.

Therefore I would have to focus on being active in my own time and in my own space for the time being. I would keep myself active by going to the gym and focusing on getting fitter than I was ever before. I would focus on athletic ability and develop on them such as explosiveness, speed and strength.

 

Service

This year I would like to continue my work in a student-led organization called “Housing and Habitat” which is affiliated with the Janoda Foundation in Hambantota and organize builds with them. In order to fundraise we have two main fundraisers as of now which is the making of Home RUN! as our primary fundraiser and then conducting bake sales over the course of the school year. My goal for this is to effectively help plan the events made by our service group and to be more productive and efficient when building the tools for the school by at least creating 25 tables and also raising enough money from Home Run (5k run). We work during the second service semester for each year to teach the primary pre-schoolers about the varying needs of affordable safe housing needs within Sri Lanka through the creation of teaching plans. However, due to the effect that COVID-19 has on the community, the service group would adapt to the situation and still hope to be a service to the community in these unprecedented times.