COOKING
For the creativity portion of my CAS project, my friends and I took on the task of cooking a full meal for a dinner party. Brooke, Madi, Zoe and I began this task by looking for recipes online. Brooke and I are both vegan so the goal of our meal was to make a mostly vegan dinner. Once we found a recipe for a black bean burger, the rest of the meal just came to us. We decided we would make both homemade guacamole and chips for an appetizer, black bean burgers with tater tots for a main dish, and lemon bars, which were not vegan, for dessert.
We began the project at about 11 am when we drove to the grocery store. At the store, we chose all of the ingredients we would need while trying to be cost conscious and healthy. We began cooking at around 12:30. Neither my Mom nor my Dad cook and so I never really understand how much effort and time goes into cooking every single meal. It took me about 15 minutes to mash the beans to the right consistency and then when I finished I realized I had forgotten to drain the liquid from the beans and had to begin again. The entire experience was full of these mishaps, however, my friends and I worked together to check each other’s work to make sure that the house would not light on fire. Each of us was in charge of a different task and after a couple of hours I felt like we were working in a restaurant kitchen. Zoe was pulling chips out of the oven while Brooke was mashing guacamole and I was frying burgers and tater tots.
We finished cooking at around 5:30 and then set the table. We lit candles, displayed the food in family style and invited a couple more of our friends over to enjoy the meal that we cooked. Even though the burgers fell apart when we picked them up and the chips were a little bit burnt, upon reflection, my friends and I realized that our project was a success. Not only because we ate a great dinner but also because it made us appreciate how much work goes into cooking. I never really understood what my Mom meant when she said she just could not cook tonight because she was too tired. I kind of just assumed it was an easy task that Moms just do. But now, after cooking a meal myself I realize that it takes time, effort, and even a bit of skill.
Cooking this meal was a great experience for me. It made me more appreciative of the meals that people make for me, taught me a but about how to cook, but most of all took me outside of my comfort zone and exposed me to a skill that I may want to continue in the future.
THE GAME OF LIFE
To complete the second half of my creativity in CAS I volunteered at the Aspen Country Day School annual all school play. As an alumni, some of my most fond memories at Aspen Country Day School are the weeks leading up to play week, play week itself, and then the production. The play is such a unique aspect of country day school. The 8th graders write the entire script, choreograph the dances, spend a week at the wheeler rehearsing, and then put on a 2 night sold out production. I honesty could not just leave the experience behind.
This year I went to country day school about once a week and helped the 8th graders write the script. While the 8th graders led the writing I advised them on word choice and making sure that the plot was coming through. During play week, I made frequent stops at the wheeler and helped mange stage left. This involved setting up and making props for the stage, assembling kids costumes, and getting kids to the right places on stage at the right time. I did the same tasks on the actual nights of the play.
This experience challenged my creativity skills. I have never really considered myself to be a creative person, however, being an assistant director to this play challenged me to script a play, which I had never done before, choose and assemble costumes, as well as make and set up homemade props. This experience was the most rewarding piece of my CAS project because there was such an incredible final product. By the end of my work I had helped put together a completely student led play that the audience thoroughly enjoyed. As I walked through the lobby after the play I could hear parents whispering that “this was the best play yet” and while I was slightly offended that my eighth grade play had been out shone, I was proud of the kids that I had helped and the work that I had done.