Just Do It

Well, i finally did, i went back to the JCC this weekend to exercise and play a little basketball. I had been doing that on a regular basis before school started in Sept. but i haven't gone since then i think. Talk about money down the drain for 3 months. I have been putting it off, telling myself i am too busy and have more important things that need to be taken care of first. then i finally realized that i need to put time aside for this so that i can excersise and get rid of some stress and built up school anxiety. I was really motivated to go, and although i didn't feel totally free as i drove there knowing that the work would be waiting for me when i got back, i did feel freedom to choose how i would leisure and that this signalled a break from my daily school/work routine. Yup, the work is still piling up as finals approach, but i needed to find time for my leisure, otherwise it would never come.

Shofar... So Good

Our final class was this Monday night on shofar blowing. It seems like it just started three weeks ago, which it did, but now its done until a few months time. I have tried so many times to blow shofar on my own but i have never been able to, and if there is one thing that's holding me back from learning, it's the fact that i haven't found anyone willing to teach me how. That's all changed, and i was really motivated to get started and although my skill set was non-existent, i still went into the classes internally motivated, hoping that i would come out of it knowing at least a little more about how to blow shofar than i did going in, simply because this is a big part of my heritage and religion that i owe it to myself to learn more about it. I also never realized how much is involved in learning. I thought it just meant putting the shofar to your lips and blowing air, but there is a right/wrong way to hold it to your lips and it can hurt sometimes, especially when you are trying to find the perfect spot that makes a good sound. It really was a great few classes where I learnt alot, and hopefully the skills and information i got are things that I can use during the High Holidays next year. I definitely realized that i was able to engage in this as leisure even if my skill set was low or almost non-existent, because the internal drive and motivation was there from the get go.

Actvity Adaptations Projects

Well, it's finally over...the group presentation for my Therapeutic Recreation class this morning. Now that I have done 2 Blog Summaries and consider myself to be leisure educated, I can tell you that the entire process leading up to today was NOT leisure. At least I know that doing a project about a leisure activity does not have to be leisurely itself. I was not really internally motivated and didn't have any enjoyment out of the whole research process. However, when we had a chance to walk around and see everyone else's adaptations of various recreation programs, it was a leisurely experience, in part because i was able to concentrate on the benefits of different activities, and was motivated to see how i could use the adapted sports for the populations i work with. I did enjoy seeing how many ways there are to adapt so many sports, changing things that i never even thought of before.