Leisure Is a Right

Leisure is a right not a privilege. From the first page, of the first unit, this course changed how I perceive and go about doing the things I do in my spare time. These words from a UN declaration have helped motivate me into being a more productive person, and ultimately to live a healthier life. After a day at school, finishing an assignment, finishing an exam, or after a shift at work, I have a different way of thinking about how I am going to spend the next hour, or few hours, of my day. By viewing leisure as a right, instead of spending more time watching TV, or surfing the web aimlessly, I now am motivated to do something more productive with my time knowing that it is my time and no one can tell me what to do with it. I have been motivated to look for more teams to play hockey on, to play more guitar and more drums, and to actually pick up a book for enjoyment purposes, something I have not done in many years it seems. Why do I want to do these things? Because I have the right to!

In the first assignment we examined how we spend our leisure time, and although I felt like I was a fairly productive person, It became clear that I was spending much more time engaged in social and physical activities, and was lacking involvement in cultural and mental activities. Over the course of the semester I have been trying to perform my short term goals, and ultimately my long term goals, to improve and increase my involvement in these areas, and live a more balanced life.

In assignments 2 and 3 we researched on a specific population and examined certain benefits and constraints that this group of people face when dealing with recreation. The target population I selected was children, and while performing my research I reflected on my time involved in recreational activities as a child, and the things that I got out of the experience, and the things that got in the way of my involvement. After doing research it became clear that as a child I was very lucky to have supportive parents with enough income to be able to provide me with the opportunities to participate in various recreational activities. These opportunities are not available to every child, and in assignment 3 I had a chance to plan a potential program that would help children live a more complete life.

So what did I take away the most from this course? The thing I enjoyed most and found the most useful is the ability to analyse the various types of recreational activities that I am involved in, or want to be involved in, or need to be involved in to live a well balanced, and ultimately healthy life. This is a skill that not only helped me through this class, but I can take this with me where ever I go in life and it will help me to be a better person and live a better life.