Accomplishments
- What are some accomplishments I am proud of?
The Sporting Life 10k is an annual event that takes place every May in Toronto, and the money raised goes towards funding Camp Ooch, a charity that supports children affected by childhood cancers. I participated in the run in 2017 with my high school friends and we dedicated the run to our friend’s younger brother who recovered a few years back. Taking part in the event was a rewarding experience because I was not only able to achieve personal goals but also helping raise awareness for an important cause. I felt collectively all the runners were running for the same purpose.
Magis Musing #2: Reflect on a time when you observed flourishing in the face of adversity
On my first day at The Community Association for Riders with Disabilities (CARD), all my instructor said to me was “His name is Leef. He’s a beginner rider and he’s paraplegic. You’ll be responsible for making sure he has a safe and fun ride.”
I reassured myself that five years of horseback riding had provided me with enough knowledge to move from being a learner to a leader. My goal was to help Leef become a better rider, only I hadn’t quite figured out how to do it. All I knew was that I was the teacher and he was the rider, so naturally, I would teach him, lead him, and impact his life. However, working at CARD, I quickly realized my prior knowledge would be of little use to me; I was back to being a beginner. Coming into the program, I never thought that the concept of riding could be used as a therapy to improve the lives of people with disabilities, I did not even think that people with disabilities could horseback ride. My only reasoning behind this assumption was that I was so used to seeing the same way of riding: my way of riding. When I met Leef, I doubted his abilities to ride because the horseback riding that I knew required movement from the legs. He could not do that. Not only did Leef break my assumptions but he helped me discover that even as a volunteer, my life was being improved. My experiences working with Leef motivated me to live my life in a more creative manner. Every lesson with Leef, I discovered a new skill that I could apply to my own riding and my own life.
CARD challenged my perceptions on a seemingly familiar sport and the place quickly became an environment where I could mature and grow through my experiences with the riders. During my first few lessons, I would unconsciously step into the role of rider because I doubted my riding abilities as I was so used to one way of doing things. It was not until Leef tugged the reins from my hands and successfully controlled the horse on his own that I realized what I had failed to acknowledge: my fellow riders had just as much a right to be confident in their own experiences to help them ride as I had in mine. Each rider who came to CARD was different. One rider could have arthritis, another could have bipolar disorder; the differences were diverse, but my setback was not my lack of knowledge of each rider’s disability, it was my lack of willingness to work together with the rider. Once my rider and I were able to work together as a team we could share the feeling of empowerment, the accomplishment of overcoming challenges, and the ultimate joy of riding a horse with riders from all walks of life. I found meaning in volunteering at CARD because I was able to share my passion whilst serving a cause bigger than myself. Once we were able to communicate effectively, I could experience a state of flow, and as I learned to become more open-minded to a different way of riding, I became more engaged in the activity. Ultimately, though I experienced some struggles during my time at CARD, I learned to flourish in a new environment through adapting to a new way of riding, building positive relationships, and achieving a sense of accomplishment.
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