Hannah Smith, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
After ballet classes, my mom and I would wait outside the school auditorium, which transformed into a dojo every Saturday morning, for my little brother to finish his karate classes. In total amazement, I would gaze through the slightly cracked window at the sea of white Gis like large clouds moving in unison. On my tiptoes in my tiny ballet flats, I echoed every “Kiai!” followed by a “forceful” kick, which looked more like a developpe than anything else. My brother indulged my slight interest in his hobby, and on many occasions, we were seen in the backyard doing katas. I was in his hand-me-down white belt, trying my hardest not to wobble.
Almost a decade later, I found myself in a similar position on Friday afternoons alone punching the air on my yoga mat, trying to hear the instructions for the next self-defence move through my computer screen. For the past three months, while stuck at home feeling intense FOMO (fear of missing out), I have been attending the Self Defense CAS regularly. It was quite hard to do anything other than schoolwork when you feel sad all the time, but forcing myself to go and workout did help me to remain positive briefly. In the beginning, 2-3 persons would tune into the google meet at 4:30 p.m. - I was an hour ahead in Jamaica, my home country - to learn how to do all those cool moves we see in movies like “The Karate Kid”. Since we all weren’t on campus, it was entertaining to see people’s living rooms turn into makeshift gyms and pausing for rest when our trainer Mario wasn’t looking.
Nevertheless, as time went by, four tiles became one as everyone got to campus while I remained online. The isolation that I felt as classes continued made it hard to find the motivation to attend the activity virtually. Despite this, I eventually learnt to adapt to my invariant circumstances.
Whether online or on-campus, Self Defence CAS has always made me feel welcome. After every session, everyone, tired and sweaty, would smile for a picture holding me in a tiny tile on the computer screen. Though saying cheese for a camera through a screen was quite strange, I felt included and valued, which is worth more than any CAS hours I could ever receive. The fauna that I can see growing around the open-air gym is calming and helps create a relaxing environment, especially for self-defence, where a good breathing technique is crucial.
January 14th, 2021 was the first time I walked by the gym on campus after seeing it virtually for many months. Feeling the cool brisk air rush past me through the gym and seeing the punching bags and skipping ropes swaying back and forth was a surreal experience on its own, but I have yet to have my first session of self-defence CAS. My only hope is that the same sense of community transcends the digital divide, and I feel at home.
Almost a decade later, I found myself in a similar position on Friday afternoons alone punching the air on my yoga mat, trying to hear the instructions for the next self-defence move through my computer screen. For the past three months, while stuck at home feeling intense FOMO (fear of missing out), I have been attending the Self Defense CAS regularly. It was quite hard to do anything other than schoolwork when you feel sad all the time, but forcing myself to go and workout did help me to remain positive briefly. In the beginning, 2-3 persons would tune into the google meet at 4:30 p.m. - I was an hour ahead in Jamaica, my home country - to learn how to do all those cool moves we see in movies like “The Karate Kid”. Since we all weren’t on campus, it was entertaining to see people’s living rooms turn into makeshift gyms and pausing for rest when our trainer Mario wasn’t looking.
Nevertheless, as time went by, four tiles became one as everyone got to campus while I remained online. The isolation that I felt as classes continued made it hard to find the motivation to attend the activity virtually. Despite this, I eventually learnt to adapt to my invariant circumstances.
Whether online or on-campus, Self Defence CAS has always made me feel welcome. After every session, everyone, tired and sweaty, would smile for a picture holding me in a tiny tile on the computer screen. Though saying cheese for a camera through a screen was quite strange, I felt included and valued, which is worth more than any CAS hours I could ever receive. The fauna that I can see growing around the open-air gym is calming and helps create a relaxing environment, especially for self-defence, where a good breathing technique is crucial.
January 14th, 2021 was the first time I walked by the gym on campus after seeing it virtually for many months. Feeling the cool brisk air rush past me through the gym and seeing the punching bags and skipping ropes swaying back and forth was a surreal experience on its own, but I have yet to have my first session of self-defence CAS. My only hope is that the same sense of community transcends the digital divide, and I feel at home.
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