Bal Mela is an event organised by our school in which students from public or underprivileged schools come and participate in the fun activities planned for them. This year we had arts and crafts, dance, games and sports. I was a volunteer in the arts team and I got to make bracelets for the children.

LO1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth.
Arts and crafts is not one of my areas of strength. Even then, I chose this activity as a learning opportunity for myself. I realised that just because I had made a bracelet before didn’t mean i could not start now. Realising that interacting with children had become easier for me was a strength as i hadn’t felt like that before.

LO2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills. 
My challenges in this experience were solely with the interaction and making the bracelets. I can say that when we started making them, i was quite frustrated because i could not get the beads to stop falling from the bracelet or even if i made it, it would fit poorly on the children’s hands. Then i observed what my teammates were doing and i sought their help. They taught me where my mistakes were and helps me improve.

In conclusion, it was an enhancing experience as it not only taught me how to make bracelets and communicate with children, but it also taught me perseverance to not give up just because i failed once or twice. It taught me to get better at a task by seeking help.