New semester, new ideas

Coming in to my final semester this year, and my final semester of high school one would think I’d be buzzing about the future ahead of me. But more often than not, I find myself reflecting on the past behind me and considering my present self. What have I achieved throughout all of my primary, high school and college years, and who the hell am I??

My school years have pretty much dominated my entire memory of my life so far, which makes me nervous. It scares me really. I’ve been thinking lately about what my life has been and who I am as a person. Once I strip back my school days and take away my ‘student’ title, what’s left of me?

To be quite frank, there’s not a whooole lot.

There are little scraps here and there of events I’ve participated in and things I have done. But they aren’t sustained. I have played a lot of basketball and because of it gained a lot of leadership and collaboration skills and I regularly exert my creative self in my photography… but what is there I terms of community service?

This semester I have decided to really step up and do something do benefit the community. I was talking to my younger sister about this- about the duty I feel as a young person to use the enthusiasm and energy I have to help out people and places in need. I really want to throw myself into a specific cause of some sort, and I believe having this narrow focus is also a smart strategy coming into the more stressful and chaotic part of the IB diploma program.

SO here is my big solution//idea….

It turns out, the younger sister I was chatting to is really passionate about breast cancer. One of her good friend’s mothers has just been diagnosed and she is so passionate about taking action, she actually wants to shave her hair off!

Back home in Australia we have an annual event each March called “The World’s Greatest Shave”. Essentially people offer to shave their hair off on the condition they can get people to sponsor them and donate money to their campaign. After the deed has been done, all funds raised get donated to the Australian Cancer Foundation.

Jazlin (my sister) has asked me to help her plan out her campaign at school which is exactly what I have been searching for.

I’m going to sort of be her “project manager”, doing research into how she should raise funds and where/now the money raised will be donated. Ill also do a heap of research into cancer and take charge of organising ‘publicity’ I guess for Jazlin around school to try and gather sponsors.

What makes this even more perfectly fit, is that this semester in the ‘pursuit of happiness project group’, I will be taking out trips to photograph the ‘hope for kids’ service group at our local cancer hospital. I’m really looking forward to learning more about the cause and then having the opportunity to really take charge and make a difference.

I’m really really looking forward to this opportunity.