Andy's+Reflection+Page

Day 1,2/ Entry 1 - 2/8/2011, 7:10pm: The first couple of days of community links has been a bit nerve racking as it was a new environment to be in. It is difficult at first to get used to the many different, yet similar rules to the school. It is also rather difficult when the younger kids look up to you as role models to what they become in the future, because with every mistake you make can be a fatal blow to the child's moral's and values. And being so young they are easier to be influenced by the teachings of their role models and their actions. There are times that make the experience well worth the hard work, to be able to see the kids smiling faces. The experience at Werribee Primary School is also better when you have a friend beside you like Mitch Harris, someone you can talk to while you are away from your peers.
 * COMMUNITY LINKS**

- Andy Lai 2/8/2011

Day 4 Entry 2 - 6/8/2011, 2:29 pm: As the days go by, time seems to be getting shorter and shorter. It is up to the point when the end of the week was near, it didn't seem like I had made many achievements since first starting Community Links. Though now having experience from the past few days it has made work a bit easier, and you can give tips to your partner about the type of work you have to do. It seems as though the kids are now getting more fond of me as the time goes by as well, most of the ones I've been with always say hi to me. The teachers are also starting to get very fond of me being around, as my name is getting more and more known to complete strangers. There has been a lot of mixed feelings over this experience so far, I miss my other friends, but it's always good to help others in need. My time with my partner is also getting a bit better as the days go by, as I'm getting to know him better.

- Andy Lai Finished - 12/8/2011

Day 10 Entry 3 - 12/8/2011, 5:06 pm: Today could have been the best or the worst day about Community, due to how it has both its positives and its negatives. The good thing about ending Community Links is that I will be able to see my friends again(if they even consider me that), it has been a long time and will be good to see them for more than an hour or two. The negatives is all the people I got to meet all the connections I have made, may go in vain as I may never will see them again. At the start of the day I came with a positive attitude that all will go well on the last day, everything was good and I even got a perfect score in my evaluation. Having gotten back my evaluation with such a good score made me feel good inside, as all the hard work I did paid off in the end. In turn I know that in my unconscious mind I have made accomplishments, they just aren't visible to the conscious mind. After the experience my self-esteem has seem to dropped a bit, I'm a bit more open to my friends, and I feel so much more happier with myself.

- Andy Lai - 12/8/2011

Posted- 15/9/11 During the period time in Melbourne I have both learnt and enjoyed my experience. Though our time was short and the tours limited to school period, I have learnt many things from the the capital city, and having visited the city many times before I was shocked to how little I knew to what was in front of me. Firstly all the tours was an enjoyable experience, escpecially when with friends like Vanessa and Mitch. From the tours I got to experience the sights and senses of what Melbourne had to offer,from the various food I tried along the way like Japanese pancake or tea from T2, or the amazing architecture of the land. From the many walks I got to see many interesting shops, with interesting items they had to offer. And out of the many tours my favorite would have been "Queen Victoria Market" as it was the most interesting of all the tours, there were many interesting areas of interest, colorful items of purchase and food that was absolutely delicious. And if I could I would re-do Melbourne Experience once more with my friends, and rate the whole experience 4.9 out of 5 stars.
 * Melbourne Experience Reflection:**


 * //__Year 9 Outdoor Education & St Mary's Campus Experience 2011__//**

‍1. How were you feeling prior to this experience ?
Before deaparting to camp I felt very excited to go, and worried what was to come in the next few days.

2. What were some of the things you were nervous about ? What were some of the things you were excited about ?
There were not many things I was nervous about before going to camp, except for the fact that we had to go canoeing. The things I was excited about was the giant swing and the high ropes. ===‍3. What do you think St Mary's is trying to achieve by taking you on this experience ?=== In taking us to camp St Mary's is probably trying to give us a fun experience, try to give us some independance and make us face our fears. ===‍4. Do you think this experience achieved these things ? Why / why not=== I believe that St Mary's did achieve its goal in giving us a fun and enjoyable experience at camp. To teach us independence in the home and outside and make us face our fears like the giant swing and high ropes.

‍5. What was your favourite activity ? Why ?
My favorite activity in camp would have had to be canoeing with my two friends Vanessa and Casey. As in canoeing it was an activity of trust with your friends, which would be very good since the next camp contains only of mostly canoeing. Though our canoe did go overboard, I still learnt to trust my friends and to have fun while doing it.

‍6. What was your least favourite activity ? Why ?
Though I didn't have many dislikes in camp, there was one activity in particular I didn't enjoy very much and that was the initiatives, as the activities included in initiatives was not that very interesting nor challenging at times. **‍7. Do you think this experience will help your time at St Mary's ? Why / why not ?** Though the experience at camp would not greatly affect my experience at St Mary's it still helped me a little in getting to know my friends a bit more. ===‍8. Discuss one thing you learnt about yourself whilst on this experience.=== Whilst on camp I did not find much about myself, apart from the fact that I like to really dance. ===‍9. Discuss one thing you learnt about someone else whilst on this experience.=== Whilst on the experience I learnt much about others, much I could not really describe. Though I did learn much about my friends whilst on the experience.

‍10. How do you think you behaved on this experience ?
On the experience I believe I behaved well, though I am not really sure after the events of the Disco. D: ===‍11. What do you think could be improved for next years Lady Northcote experience ?=== Having went through the experience of Lady Northcote, I believe much more time should have been given to the camp so there would have been more time to enjoy the various activities.

__**Reflections**__ Each student will build their own page for the puposes of Reflection. This is because when two students are using the same page at the same time the page will not save properly.

Each week for 10 weeks you will need to make a relection about your experiences. Each reflection is expected to at least 200 words in length.

The topic or questions you are asked to reflect on at listed below. Copy these questions to your individual reflection page.

__Week 1__
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Throughout my lifetime I have received many pieces of advice from various kinds of people, each piece having helped me greatly in what I should do in life, in past, present or future. Though one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received was in order to find true happiness all I needed to do was be who I wanted to be, though obstacles shall be faced in the process. I believe this to be the best piece of advice I have ever received, as when I was little life seemed very challenging to me, I could never be myself around others and I was constantly changing my views just so that I could impress people. Thus giving me a sort of persona, a persona I disliked very it was everything everyone wanted me to be, but something I never want to be again. Having gotten tired from the lies, I gave up on impressing people and just find happiness within myself and people who would accept me as who I am.

__Week 2__
What would happen if you threw a piece of trash on the ground? What if everyone did?

If I was to throw a piece at least even one piece of trash onto the ground, it could affect the state of environments and even the fates of wild animals. The ways of my contribution of throwing away trash can harm the environment around us is taking up space for animals to live in or possibly finding food, affect the beauty of the great outdoors, since trash can be so easily spotted in a green paddock, trash like glass bottles could also cause fires from the sun's rays and in turn if there's a lot of rubbish around it could feed the wild fire. Throwing away trash affects the lives of animals as well, trash can always look like a tasty treat for most animals which in turn causes death from all the choking from materials like plastic.

Just imagine how many people in the world has probably littered, think of all the people that could be doing it right now, and most of those people don't even know how much it is affecting the Earth they stand on. There could be just piles of rubbish that is on the ground, and how much it is neglected by they people that have disposed of it. If everyone was to throw away their rubbish into the streets, we may as well live in the Middle Ages. And the real question is who is brave enough to pick up up the pieces of rubbish that lay before them, whose morals and values tell them that it is wrong to throw away rubbish so easily. - Andy Lai 2/8/2011

__Week 3__
What would you do if you saw a friend cheating - report it, confront the friend or nothing - and why?What do you think courage means?What do you think makes a good friend?

-When I was very young and naive to the people around me, there were loads of people who would cheat and copy off me. It was even worse when it was so obvious that they had copied off my work, it made me almost furious that they were taking my work and using it for their own glory. Yet I still see it happening today, there are still people who wish to diminish their own good work and copy mine. Though I never complain, rather I go to the person who copied off me, friend or foe and tell them that copying off me will get them almost nowhere. Though they deny these accusations, I feel in my heart that I should forgive them for their actions and move on, because in my heart I know that there is no way that this will affect me in the future, rather life will hit them back.

-Courage is a word that we hear quite our lot in our life, but courage has a different meaning to all sorts of people. To some it may mean confronting old fears, or to do something that is out of this world. My view on courage is also to confront old fears, but courage to me also means to be yourself in front of people, because even the most courageous could not be themselves in front of their friends and families. In my life time I have many people, each with their own unique reputation, which can sometimes make your view on others quite harsh. Yet when you get to know the real person inside of them they are nothing like the reputation that has been placed upon their head. Yet they could never show their real self as they are afraid. So as I said before it takes real courage for someone to be themselves, even in front of the harshest of people

- There are many things that make a friend truly a friend. I believe a friend is someone you will get along with in the future, never seek friends that you know will hurt you in the future. A friend is someone you can converse to with your problems and you can listen to theirs. A friend is someone who I can defiantly be myself in front of, never afraid of their judgement. A friend is someone that you can share your hopes and dreams with in the future, someone who will be there for you no matter what, and someone who cares about you as much as you do to them. That is what I believe a friend really is. - Andy Lai 2/8/2011

__Week 4__
What is your most indispensable possession and why?

-I chose my morals and values, as after my baby cousin was born all my indispensable items were given to him, before knowing they would greatly backlash at my early childhood memories.-Written 22/9/11

What I believe is to be my most indispensable possession is my morals and values, and some other items I posses as well such as my books, a handful of toys and other possessions that is very important to me. Though I would never ever say my friends or family as I do not own them, or alter their fate in any way. That is why I believe my indispensable value is my morals and values, since I own them and they will be with me till my untimely death. I also hold great attachment to my morals and values, as I look into them whenever I am lost or confused with which path I should take. My Morals and values also determine whether I am nice to someone, or cruel at the very best. Morals and values that has been imprinted into your brain since you born into the living world. This is why my Morals and Values are my most indispensable possession.

- Andy Lai 2/8/2011

__**Week 5**__
What do you think about people polluting the environment?

Pollution is a problem that grows with time, and much of that time was used to either ignore the problem due to a lack of education or was used to solve the everlasting problem of pollution. As the days go by more and more people are just adding to the problem often ignoring what their efforts could do in the long run, often resulting in a negative result, thus sometimes making me a bit angry when I think about it. Though even now I see this happening in the very school I go to, there are people just throwing away their trash like they don't even care about it anymore, consequently only boosting our generations reputation as being lazy. Though I say all these things I am a little downhearted to the fact that I only throw away my own rubbish, and the rubbish of others thus showing my lazy side, and being hypocritical is not what I wish to be. Though much help should be given in order to keep the balance we have now, so that ours futures may just be as green.

Week **6**
How do you feel when you do something wrong?How do you feel when you do something that is very good?

-When I have done something that is particularly wrong, I would always have a sense of slight depression, a great feel of regret at my actions and I would generally be silent to what I had done. Though in the end I will always apologize for my wrong doings. If I was to do something wrong against to someone else I would always be nervous at what damage I may have caused between the relationship and I would always regret my actions to that person. -When I believe I have achieved something, that is when I only ever feel good about myself.Whenever I achieve something I feel good in myself that I have honoured my family, proud at what I have accomplished whether it was good or bad. Though throughout my lifetime I haven't achieved much in my life apart from high scores and school projects.

Week 7
I wish there was a law that said... This would be a good law because...

I wish there was a law that said that violence is never the answer to conflicts. This would be a good law as violence is only the spark of a greater violence. If it was possible to reside violence from all people the world would be a much better and peaceful place for all. Violence is all around us, its in every chapter of our lives. Whether is domestic violence at home, or being bullied at school, the outcome is always negative. Not only does it affect the person who commited the act of violence, it also affects the people around you. From violence grows hatred, from hatred comes more conflict from conflict comes violence, if we were to just stop one of these cycles no lives shall be affected, no pain shall be gained.

Week 8
When you are angry, how do you look? When are you happiest? When have you felt lonely? When do you feel proud?

When I am angry I feel a sudden burst of agitation in my body, a sense of anger and a sense of hate, and often I just want to scream at the person who altered me to that form of hatred. Though at most times I just regret at what I have done to that person, to let my temper to quickly eat away at me, to not think about the words I just blurt out to my intended target. Often making me reflect on what I had just did, how I might have affected my relationship with that person and would try to mend the broken bonds of time and friendship. Thus making me look at who I am as a person, and who I want to be in the future.

When I am the most happiest is with my friends, and it is only with my friends that I can find myself to be the most happiest. When I am with my friends, I always feel a sense of joy, a sense that I belong, a sense that these of knowing the definition of true friendship. It is only with my friends that I find myself to always be smiling and never with others. That is why I believe I am at my happiest when I am with friends who care about me and I care about greatly.

There have been many time I have felt a sense of loneliness. Though not surprising I have never been the most popular of the students at my schools, often when I was little I had no friends to ever go to and no-one I could ever call a true friend. From this experience it made me a bit cold-hearten to strangers, strangers I knew in the end would hurt in some sort of form, thus making it very difficult for me to be able to make new friends that would accept me as their friends as well. Even after I did manage to earn my friends, I found that they often ignored me, excluding me at most times, making me feel the sense of loneliness I have felt many times before Posted 22/9/11

Week 9
Which quality do you dislike most about yourself - laziness, selfishness, childishness - and why?

There are many qualities that I find in myself that I am not very fond of and dislike. A very good example is my selfishness, as long as I can recall to my past memories I have never been the kindest in giving to others, and I still ain't that giving. Yet I was never this way, I used to love giving help to others who deserved it. Though I never received the same gratitude, so that's probably why I am cautious in giving to others now a days. Yet I have also started to give to others, but mostly to my friends. =)

Another quality I dislike is my shyness to others (if shyness is even a word). As a child I was never fond of getting outside of my comfort zone, due to having lost a big brother at a very young age. From my low-self esteem I was never able to be myself in front of others, and could never make many friends. If I was to make friends I was to change what I was and become someone they would like, and something I would sometimes despise. Now with my new friends I have learnt that it is okay to be myself, but I should just restrain some parts for the more appropriate times. - Andy Lai 3/8/2011

Week 10
Why do you think prejudice exists in the world?

Prejudice exists in the world, due to what we have faced and experienced in our lifetime. We see things differently to the next person to us, never to have the exact same opinions on life. Sometimes the experiences we face can change our ways for the better, but that is not always the way it goes. We will always see things for our side, sometimes it's due to the fact we don't like to tamper our views, views that has been for so long lodged in our brains. Or its because we have a reputation to uphold, or people just can't look at things into another persons shoes. Or sometimes we just don't have enough intellect and we just follow the greater wave of judgement, and from that moment not only did our views change to unknown reasons, we believe in something we know nothing about.