Summer Reflective Blog and C.A.S hour Chart

This summer I had upper jaw surgery. While I do not consider that to be"fun" it was definitely worth it. Not only do I have my C.A.S project from it, I can chew meat again, which was a problem I had prior to the surgery. When I was not recovering from surgery: I volunteered at Cone Elementary as a teachers assistant, volunteered at my church music camp for children, began my last club soccer season, practiced my drawing skills, and worked on my summer reading and extended essay assignments. Ultimately, I learned patience this summer. Not just from recovering from jaw surgery but with the children at the elementary school and at the music camp. All the children were in 2nd grade or younger, thus they always had an infinite amount of energy and definitely tested my patience. Ultimately, I feel like doing consistent C.A.S time this summer has added up quickly and was definitely a good use of my time where I had opportunities to practice I.B. Characteristics.

Experience	Creativity (hours)	Activity (hours)	Service (hours)
Total Hours Overall: 169.5 hours	Total Creativity:15 hour	Total Activity: 102 hours	Total Service: 52.5 hours

August 21, 2016

This past weekend my days have been filled with lots of activity. My team played in the PTFC Furniture City Classic Tournament. It was so hot in the afternoon games, but with team work we learned that if we pass the ball more we do not have to run as much. We played four games before we claimed our victory. Winning this tournament has been my teams goal for many years and we finally accomplished it on our last try. I learned to never give up because you never know what will happen each time you try. While this is cliche, it is so true.

August 5, 2016

This week I have been volunteering at my church's music camp. I did it last year and had a blast. I am an assistant leader for the rising 1st and 2nd graders. They are so adorable, but very crazy. This week my patience has been tested to its limits. We have recorder class and chimes class where the children do not understand what it means to listen to the teacher and not constantly play the instruments. Ultimately, it was worth it because we had a final performance where the parents and office staff from the church came to watch. I could tell everyone in the audience loved the show.

Also, I have been cleared to eat anything and do any activities by my doctor. I feel great and am excited about my last club soccer season. I can feel all my face and feel comfortable chewing food. My smile is still different than before which I will have to get used to. I am so glad this experience has included minimal pain. I will return with updates on how my blog is going.

July 29, 2016

I am at the beach right now. Because I had jaw surgery I can not get into the water until I am cleared. This is because if water gets up my nose it will spread throughout my face causing me lots of pain. So, instead of swimming, I have started running every morning here. My doctor says it is okay as long as I do not fall on my face. Fortunately, it is very flat here, thus easy to run safely. Additionally, I can feel my face much more! Only the upper lip area is still a little numb, but my cheeks are back. I am eating soft foods but more solid-like soft foods like dumplings. Unfortunately, I still have to wait to eat sushi because my mom is concerned about its rawness. Still I am much happier than before because I am at least eating decently now.  I am not forced to eat jello, yogurt, and applesauce anymore. I go to the doctor soon and hopefully I will be cleared. I feel great and am ready to be cleared to eat and do anything.

July 6, 2016

Today was my mother's birthday. It is a special day because she turned 50! We went painting at the mad platter to celebrate. They had stencils we could use to create beautiful paintings. It took a really long time, but was definitely worth it. Additionally, I am continuing working on my Jaw Surgery blog. At this point I feel much better than I did two weeks ago, but my whole face is still numb and swollen, but I can definitely tell it is improving. When I am in the shower and the water is on my face it feels so weird because I know the water is hitting gym face but I can barely feel it. Also, I can still only eat really soft foods like soup, jello, yogurt. I am craving crunchy chips, but I know I have to be patient. I have some pictures of the way I looked today, my smile is still really stiff and a little embarrassing.

June 20, 2016

This is the first post about my CAS Project. I will be writing a "blog" about some Jaw Surgery I am having tomorrow (June 21). My doctor has agreed to share it on his website. I want to do this so that anyone else that has to get Jaw Surgery similar to mine will be able to feel more comfortable and prepared for it. Most importantly, I want them to know they are not alone. At this point I am very anxious and have been drinking a lot of water because I can't drink any water after 12:00 a.m. The most important part of this surgery to me is that I am asleep. I know I will be but I fear I will wake up in the middle of it and feel lots of pain. I have started my blog and it is written in a very "chatty" form because I get chatty when I am anxious. I really hope this "blog" I am making will be of great service to others going through the same situation.

June 13, 2016

Today I volunteered as a teaching assistant to my friends mother who teaches at Cone elementary. It was an experience I will always remember. My friends mother teaches first graders. Many of the students had ADD which makes if difficult for them to stay focused. I was amazed at how easily children get distracted. Additionally, I saw a full on fight between two 6 year old boys and it broke my heart. They were kicking each other and had to be pulled apart. It was awards day too. Of course every child got an award, but not every child's parents showed up. I sat next to a girl who was bawling because her parents were not coming. I felt bad for her, but there was nothing I could do. It made me thankful for the support I have from my parents in everything I do. During the "stations" time I helped children learn how to tell time. Some children really understood it and others were very confused. I remember learning how to tell time and how frustrated I got, so I was able to be very patient with the children who did not understand. I think I used the IB learner trait of being a leader. The children really looked up to me and I tried to be a good influence on them.