CAS Project: sanctuary

For me, people matter more than anything, especially the ones with whom I spent some quality time. The duration of time does not matter, however, the relationship and the memories that I was able to create in a small period with different individuals is something that I always cherish in my life. I learned life lessons that are not in our books from my friends as well as from my teachers.

I do think that when a person goes through a challenging phase in their life, they are more considerate to listen to their inner voice. This realization occurred to me since I started practicing meditation, yoga, and listening to podcasts on mental health. Listening about hardships faced by famous self-made celebrities and the strategies that they used made me see a common pattern which is to “work on yourself for yourself”. This realization helped me tremendously in my academic life. Since I started working on myself, I started observing that I am slowly becoming more confident. Unlike in MYP 4 where I used to struggle and become anxious while making a presentation, now I can speak confidently in class during presentations as well as during class discussions. Working closely with yourself allows you to identify your strengths as well as the areas that you can improve on. The results of my mindful activities are also evident in my reports and my performance. Since I started working towards my weaknesses more intentionally, I can see growth happening in that area. For example, in MYP 4 and 5 I used to struggle in math. However, now I am doing very well in my math class and am also able to help other students with challenging concepts. I can see the self-growth happening in me since I started working on myself for myself. One thing that I would like to highlight is that since I started being more intentional with my work, I am enjoying it more and trying to give my absolute best in it.

In my experience, I do believe that many people made me start this journey of self-growth. My yoga teacher who taught me yoga for only a year, made me learn how to be more patient, how to never give up, the importance of regular practice, discipline, and the significance of trusting yourself to become the best version of yourself. One of my friends, who was in my school only for a year, but she made me realize the power of believing in yourself and not thinking too much about other people’s opinions. Even though my friend was not fluent in English, yet she always made sure that her opinions and thoughts were heard by everyone. She taught me how to accept my weaknesses and how to use my strength to my fullest potential. Many people helped me grow as a person. I am grateful for meeting so many amazing, kind, loving and helpful people who helped me grow to become a more confident person. This is the reason I value people the most over anything which is also the reason I wanted to help other people in the same way in which I was helped.

For me finding a way to self-growth was not easy, however, after knowing the path I tried sharing it with others by leading “Sanctuary” a group that focuses on sharing advice on being mindful. As a leader, I made sure that I am providing as much help as possible to society and the young generation so that they do not have to wait too long to know about their best self. I do believe that a change can occur in a person, only when they allow it to happen to themselves.

Devika DP 2