The bal mela experience was very delightful and fun. I interacted with students and danced with them. It was a fun celebration for the children. This experience was an opportunity that allowed me to connect with children and make them enjoy their day by dancing with them. This activity was a service that allowed me to be more caring, open minded and reflective. Below I discuss the several CAS LOs I catered to through this experience.

LO 1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
The experience allowed me to grow in a very unique way. Connecting with children by their love of dance and expression allowed me to help them enjoy their day. I identified several of my strengths and identified areas where I could grow as a person. Knowing that the students were enjoying and having fun and could be made happy by such simple action helped me to give my best and enjoy the process.

LO 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
This CAS experience taking place on a saturday and for a longer period of time was a bit tiring considering dancing for hours. Although, the happiness on the children’s faces made me demonstrate my commitment and perseverance for the journey and engaging myself in the process to enjoy with the students.

LO 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
Collaboration was evident throughout due to several of my peers being there with me to dance with the students. Using the stage effectively and adhering to each and every child allowed to show the benefits of working together to make the experience more effective for the children.

LO 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
The experience could be connected with poverty and lack of education. Providing a day to celebrate to the children addressed these issues in a minor way. This day of happiness for them allowed to engage with them and have them feel a day without worrying about what to do next.

LO 7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Paying respect to each of these children and treating them as an equal and not differently allowed to show the ethical choices and actions that were a part of this CAS experience.

Overall, the CAS experience was fun and engaging. It allowed me to gain new insights. I am very grateful for this opportunity and happy to be a part of this service to the students.