Reflection Paper

By Hazel Janine F. Cataquiz

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a fan of sports. Though the thought of
investing my time and effort in growing alongside a certain sport had crossed my mind one too
many times, I never actually dwelled on it long enough to take it seriously. So when I heard we
were learning how badminton works for our PATH-FIT course— least to say I was elated.

But as far as expectations go, things didn’t really go as smoothly as one would assume
it’d be. At the first activity where we were tasked to document ourselves performing the
badminton footwork and shuttle control, I was struggling to keep up as I have gone so out of
shape since the pandemic began. It took me a lot of takes, of practice, of sweat and tears to
finally put up a decent performance, what with the limited space I had to work with and the
struggle against my camera running dangerously low on storage space. And soon after I had
encountered yet another problem that had nearly driven me crazy— I had accidentally deleted
the videos I was able to film. In a flurry after a sad attempt at retrieving the clips, I yet again
went outside to film, at the dark hour of 10 o’clock in the evening.

The struggle doesn’t end there, oh no we’re not, the aforementioned event was only just
the beginning. At the second activity, I was a breathless mess. Doing extreme exercises after
years without training and people to watch my posture was probably a bad idea. Every workout I
finished I was always left heaving, with my limbs feeling like they were about to fall off at any
given moment. This was also the part where my video editing software decided it would be the
perfect time to mess with me and crash at every click I do— and wow, was I a mess, both
physically and emotionally— as I struggle to work with an online editing software I was
completely unfamiliar with the given deadline looming real close.

To say that this course was one funky roller coaster ride is an understatement. Many
times I had considered just throwing everything out the window, making a run for it, and
accepting the fiery red grade I received. But surprisingly so, I managed to push through.
Looking back, even though I struggled, it did come with a lot of good outcomes right after. Other
than the fact that I’ve come to the realization that I had gone way out of shape, it had also made
me feel light on my feet right after a workout as well as taught me theoretical knowledge on a
certain sport that I have now come to grow a spark of interest in. It sure was a tough path to
fitness, and I’m glad I was able to come out of it in one piece— Truly, I would keep in mind these
newfound learnings I’ve gathered and put it to use for the rest of my life.