Physical Activity

Physical Activity
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.
----------- Pierre de Coubertin
Sport is a part of our life. During the year 2008, I joined many interesting and exciting physical activities, such as playing football, soccer, basketball, table tennis, badminton, etc. From the so many physical activities, l learned a lot. I am not afraid of basketball until now because I am trying to do it. Sometimes, you think you can't do it but if you try, you can do it well in fact. Plying basketball tells me try to do it, you can do it well. Before I play soccer, I thought soccer is a boys’ sport. It was not suitable for me. So I didn't play. When I played soccer, I felt that I had latent ability. So playing soccer tells me to tap the potential energy need ourselves. I said to myself:” be brave, you are good at it.”
Sport benefits to me. I gain insight into eye contact. When I play badminton, I need to use your eye to follow the ball. The skill of playing badminton: if you control your eyes, you will control the ball. The ball connects with the eyes. Playing soccer is also a good example. When you kick the goal, you need to use eye to deceive the goalie. You look at this way, but you kick the ball on that way. So sport is good at developing intellectual. The more physical activities you do, the smarter you are. The major goal of physical activity is to exercise our body and keep healthy. Why America has many fat people. The main reason is they eat too much but don't exercise. If you want to have long life, you need to remember “doing exercise everyday”.
As a competitor, I grow and learn a lot. I know win and failure are not important. The most important thing is you take part and show your ability. While you false the game, you also get the skill. Don’t be afraid of failure. We need to have gentle attitude in the match. Don’t think you will win or fail. Be brave and use your peacetime level to challenge your ability. Every winner has his or her own goal. We must believe ourselves and try to catch the goal.
My personal fitness goal is keep health, figure and indomitable spirit. Running helps me increase my stamina. Playing football and basketball help me become brave. Playing badminton makes me dexterous. Swimming makes me more beautiful.
During the physical activities, I meet many troubles. Some lifestyles and physical limitations affect the results of my exercises, such as ligament is harder than other classmates; the force of back is weak; etc. I overcome my physical limitations and develop my body’s resilience.
Exercise makes one strong.

Rachel Zhao, 10-E
February 2, 2009

Volunteer and Work Experience

Volunteer and Work Experience
It was a good experience for me to work in Nanjing Library. My duties were put the books in order, scan books’ CD discs and help people to find the books. My partner was a girl older than me. We worked together. As collaborative workers, we must act in a concerted effort to get the work quick done. Firstly, we used the books to find the corresponding CD discs and then scanned the books. It looks easy. But when you do it, it will be difficult. There were at least ten thousand of CD. How could we find CD quickly and correctly? So cooperation spirit requires work effectively. We helped each other and forgave each other. Some times, a small mistake made a bad result. Maybe it was not my false but I must to encourage my partner and reminded myself to work more carefully. Use my eyes flexibly and walk faster can make sure my work smoothly. When my partner had another thing to do, I needed to work by myself. As individual, brave can make sure you work effectively. I was afraid at the beginning. But when I thought of my partner words: I believe you, you can do it. I picked up my courage again. I said to myself:” don’t be nervous, you can do it well.” I tried my best to work and received satisfied smiles from the readers.
I gained an insight into manners. As an attendant in the library, manners gave me the deepest impression. When you talked, you needed to be kind and patient. Your words gave readers a whiff of warm currents. My job was to help people find the CD discs. It was such an easy and light work. So I must do it better. A warm smile made people happy. I also gained an insight into take care of library books. I knew how to classification and arrange books. I attempted at arrange and classification some books. It was a tough work. At beginning, you needed to work smoothly and carefully. After a long time, you would be well versed in arrange and classification books. This work needed us to be patient.
Nanjing Library is a good place for people to gather work experiences. I learned a lot from Nanjing Library. As one of stall, you needed to work hard to make educational institution better. I felt dedication is very important. They had high devotion of work. Stalls were willing to help you solve any questions you have. If our students have the great enthusiasm, we will get high marks.
My employability skils improve a lot from the volunteer experience. It makes me become brave to say my ideas. It also teaches me how to introduce myself can get a good job and have good relationships between other people. Volunteer work benefits to the community. Community does not need to pay money can get efforts. It can also increase the development of society.
Volunteer and work experience makes me adapt the development of society.

Rachel Zhao, 10-E
February 2, 2009

Club Experience

Club Experience
I am joining Volunteer Club during the time of Grade 10. Our main job is to help people in need in the club. I went the Shanxilu Citizen Square to join activities there. Our job was to ask citizens to donate money to the people in calamity-stricken areas. Next time, I went to Nanjing Animal Shelter to make food for animals and feed them. It’s a tough work.
From this club, I learn a lot. Volunteer Club gives me a lot of chances to observe and learn from real life. I learn about unity is strength, such as make food for dogs. There are 25 boxes of Sausage. Our club members spend only three hours cleaning all of them. If we don’t have many people and they don’t solidly united. We can't do many things together. I learn the first to bear hardships and the last to enjoy comforts. When we do volunteer work, we need to work hard and lost many times. But the results are great. I also learn how to organize a club well. Our club leader is Kate. From her work, I know many secrets of success.
During and after this process, I have keen insight into character. When I ask people to donate their money, firstly I often look around carefully and choose targets. The targets are people who look like willing to donate money for the people in calamity-stricken areas. I will go there and talk to them about our activities. Generally, they are willing to donate money. Sometimes, people do not believe us or don’t understand, so we need to show them our volunteers’ credentials or explain our goal more polite and kind. I also have keen insight into people’s and animals’ emotions. When I go to Nanjing Animal Shelter, I feed some dogs outside the cages and the dogs in the cages are not happy. I often tell them not to be worried and l will feed you soon. The dogs look at me and their eyes are full of aspiration. Then I open the cages and the take dogs outside the cages. I stroke them and make them feel better. The dogs just like children. You give them love and they will replay the love to you.
If you are polite, kind and modest, you will work effectively and safely with other students at GCA. When you meet strangers, you can make friends with them actively and make the strangers feel that you are a nice person. Then you work with strangers and I think you will feel happy and relaxed. I think we need to be kind and modest. When two people have different ideas, we need to think about other person’s ideas not only ours. Don’t be so strict and make the relationship become easier.
The club strengths are helping people in a right way. The right way is very important, for example some wrong ways to help people: you give homework to some one and he or she copy the homework from you. It’s a wrong way to help others. Volunteer Club helps GCA to tell students to how to help people in a right way. The weakness of the club is the club activities’ time and locations. I think the locations are far away from school and club members’ homes. So it’s hard to join the club activities. We need to change the club activities’ time, too.

Rachel Zhao, 10-E
January 28, 2009