The 5 most interesting things Careshia has learnt
Careshia, or as we call her, Cray-C, is our illustrator and responsible for the gorgeous one above. Besides literally adding colour to our site, she adds brightness and joy to our rag tag team of sardonic cynics. The five most interesting things she’s learnt are a fabulous tour of the arts and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Acting - Beyond learning how to bring a character to life (which is a lesson in empathy all on its own), acting can improve your confidence, public speaking, poise and more. For Cray-C, it was a lesson in not worrying about what other people thought of her, and working well in a group.
Singing - When Cray-C sang in choirs, it was an eye opener, or rather an ear opener, because it taught her how to listen carefully and pay a lot of attention to the other people in the group. As life lessons go, this is one is hella important and too often overlooked. Singing has also been found to be an effective way to learn a language!
Dance - We all know Cray-C can break it down, but she found contemporary dance the most interesting style to learn. A descendant of ballet, contemporary dance is a graceful expression of emotion through bodily movement. It can be both physically and emotionally taxing. The focus on choreography, rhythm, musicality, and technique is a workout for the brain unlike anything else.
Art - In art class, when Cray-C had to copy the works of Irma Stern, it taught her discipline and how to learn from great artists. Being able to “steal like an artist” is one of the most valuable skills in the world today, and fortunately for the unartistic rest of us, there’s a TED talk on the topic.
Netball - Veering off from the art path, team sports can teach a multitude of social skills and teamwork. What netball (a physically exhausting ball sport) taught Cray-C, however, was perseverance, and the importance of working really hard for something you want.
There is value in learning from books, but as Cray-C the explorer shows us, there is also immense value in learning from life and launching yourself into new experiences.
