Hana Sato, Grade 12
UWC Costa Rica
When being eighteen years old, it feels weird to believe that everybody was a child at some point. I feel as such a grownup, my classmates are so mature, I can not imagine them throwing tantrums and screaming because their favorite toys were taken away. Therefore I like children, I like staring at those small creatures, carefree and just being honest with their feelings; unbelievable tenderness that we also were until a few years ago. Everytime I hear of an opportunity to interact with children I unconsciously sign up for it, as it was my starting point with the Lifting Hands CAS at UWC Costa Rica.
Lifting Hands is a CAS originally organized by our school extracurricular office. It is an extracurricular activity bonded with a Costa Rican ONG that provides diverse opportunities in education, as well as physical and mental health support to local children, mostly belonging to vulnerable contexts. For this CAS, the children come to our school and the CAS members plan various activities to bond with the children and have an enjoyable time together.
Of course, the children only know Spanish, adding to it, most of the CAS members are not Spanish speakers. One of the features that I enjoy the most from the CAS is working with my peers and looking at the effort they put into communicating with the children even without knowing Spanish fluently. Confusion is unavoidable, but to interact with children it is enough with inexhaustible energy and the rest will come along. It is the charm of children to be so energetic; the best part of the CAS is that, although getting extremely exhausted at every end of session, all the stress accumulated during the week seems so small after chasing and jumping with children full of intention of enjoying every single moment.
I definitely believe that there is so much that we can learn from children. Their innocence, joy and happiness, are some of the many virtues all people have when they are children, but that maybe, it gets gradually dwarfed as we "grow up". Growing up should not mean an exchange of these virtues for maturity or responsibility, but an accumulation of values and knowledge. Children are always looking forward to growth but they do not think that it is a get-and-loose process; it is wholly a gain, as it should be.
From the extracurricular office, I got chosen as the next CAS leader. Starting in my second year at UWC Costa Rica, I will have the opportunity of expanding more this CAS and connecting more with the children. My main aim is to be able to interact more with the children, more than during my first year, and simply continue learning from them as much as it is possible.
Lifting Hands is, for me, much more than a CAS, it is a stimulating learning experience and a bridge that leads me to the most cheerful fragment of Costa Rica.
Lifting Hands is a CAS originally organized by our school extracurricular office. It is an extracurricular activity bonded with a Costa Rican ONG that provides diverse opportunities in education, as well as physical and mental health support to local children, mostly belonging to vulnerable contexts. For this CAS, the children come to our school and the CAS members plan various activities to bond with the children and have an enjoyable time together.
Of course, the children only know Spanish, adding to it, most of the CAS members are not Spanish speakers. One of the features that I enjoy the most from the CAS is working with my peers and looking at the effort they put into communicating with the children even without knowing Spanish fluently. Confusion is unavoidable, but to interact with children it is enough with inexhaustible energy and the rest will come along. It is the charm of children to be so energetic; the best part of the CAS is that, although getting extremely exhausted at every end of session, all the stress accumulated during the week seems so small after chasing and jumping with children full of intention of enjoying every single moment.
I definitely believe that there is so much that we can learn from children. Their innocence, joy and happiness, are some of the many virtues all people have when they are children, but that maybe, it gets gradually dwarfed as we "grow up". Growing up should not mean an exchange of these virtues for maturity or responsibility, but an accumulation of values and knowledge. Children are always looking forward to growth but they do not think that it is a get-and-loose process; it is wholly a gain, as it should be.
From the extracurricular office, I got chosen as the next CAS leader. Starting in my second year at UWC Costa Rica, I will have the opportunity of expanding more this CAS and connecting more with the children. My main aim is to be able to interact more with the children, more than during my first year, and simply continue learning from them as much as it is possible.
Lifting Hands is, for me, much more than a CAS, it is a stimulating learning experience and a bridge that leads me to the most cheerful fragment of Costa Rica.
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