Although extracurricular activities may sound distracting from school, Effie Liam Christie disagrees. Christie enjoys practicing taekwondo. He attends the new Taekwondo belt promotions where he looks up to the judges and aspires to be one of them one day.

Originally, Christie started practicing taekwondo in elementary school, but wasn’t too serious about it. His teacher was busy and he felt like he didn’t get to learn as much as he could. He stopped doing taekwondo after elementary school until his mother received a recommendation about a new taekwondo school, and Christie decided to give it another go.

“I really like the activity because it keeps me persistent and determined,” Christie said.

Christie uses his role models for motivation in taekwondo, such as Jackie Chan. “Whenever I go to a new promotion, I look at the cool black belts the panelists are wearing, and it makes me want to be a black belt,” Christie said.

Christie’s most daring moment during his two years of taekwondo was when he worked hard to master the hammer fist, striking a board with the bottom of a clenched fist, and getting it his first try.

“I did a hammer fist and front kick and got them both [on] my first try. I just wish I didn’t get myself so worked up on practicing breaking the board,” Christie said. “So, the moral of the story is: it is good to push yourself, but don’t overdo it.”

Christie does not believe that participating in extracurricular activities negatively affects him on his academic performance. He rather believes that you should always be wise with your time.

“I still find time to just go up into my room to practice my new forms, do my school work, eat and play my instrument,” Christie said.