CAS Essay
Ryan Thom
IB Candidate: 0277-086
My experience with the Creative, Action, and Service component of the International Baccalaureate Programme can be accurately described by any number of disparate (and perhaps even contradictory) adjectives - enriching, annoying, educational, infuriating, time-consuming, amusing, and entirely inspiring are just a few that immediately spring to mind. I have always considered myself a fairly active citizen in my community, and so at first the idea of CAS seemed to me a minor irritation, a requirement of hours that I would log with a little displeasure and relative ease. I had not, however, considered two significant factors: the sheer volume of CAS to be fulfilled (300 hours!); and the enormous variety of activities to which the pursuit of CAS would lead me, a veritable plethora of cultural and emotional experiences which have opened my eyes to the community beyond the scope of my local realm, and inspired me to reach new heights in activism.
That my activities would include both leadership and teamwork roles seemed only natural to me. Before entering the IB programme, I was principal clarinettist of a local youth orchestra, as well as a member of several school clubs. However, the completion of CAS more than doubled my participation in extracurricular activities - by the beginning of Year Two, I was the leader of the Gay-Straight Alliance, Head Delegate of Model UN, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the IB Yearbook. These positions taught me that the definition of ‘leadership’ is far more complex than it seemed to me at first. A leader, I came to realize, is not simply the loudest voice in a group, nor is a leader always the person who tells his or her teammates what to do. A leader also leads by example, by awareness of the strengths of others, and by subtle communication of a group’s needs. This lesson, I have no doubt, will prove extremely valuable in my future endeavours.
Another concept that CAS has made me extremely aware of is effective time management. Volunteering for the City of Vancouver, presenting workshops at local highs schools on homophobia and discrimination, writing articles for student newspapers, and sitting on various advisory councils in my community, not to mention keeping up with schoolwork, proved an incredibly difficult strain on my time management skills (which, I concede, were never a forte of mine to begin with). In order to balance all of my commitments, I was forced to re-evaluate not only my methods of personal organization, but also my own sense of responsibility as I struggled to make time for everything I had agreed to do.
Above all, I treasure the breadth of personalities that CAS has brought me into contact with. Thanks in part to CAS, I have met some incredible youth leaders and activists from multifarious backgrounds, most notably the 29 youth who were my peers at Peace it Together camp in the summer of 2008. These young Palestinians, Israelis, and Canadians showed me what it really means to be dedicated to the world peace process. The courage and initiative displayed by some of these people are traits to which I can only aspire - and I write this with all the sincerity it is possible to write with. This experience has been tempered somewhat by the tragedy of reality - the Gaza War of 2009 in particular, but the lessons I have learned still stand:
You are not alone in the world. Open your eyes. Believe.
Originally Posted by Mr Buckshot
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