The school plans a trip every academic year, this year they took us to the hill station Mount Abu, I’ve been there a lot of times, enough to recognize all the places we passed. In the beginning, I was like what’s the point of going if I have already been there so many times, but I thought I’m going with friends so it will be something different. Indeed it was; not only because of friends, but everything I did there, the place we stayed at and the food we ate was unlike all the times I had been there. During the trip we did many activities like trekking, rappelling, rock climbing, valley crossing, and caving.

LO1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth. 

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LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

I believe if I commit to something I try my best to finish it, and that’s what I like about myself. I do get discouraged easily but I need time and I give myself a push. During these 5 days, I feel like I learnt a lot of things about myself. I have really low stamina and extreme fear of heights. A lot of times during the trek I was behind or I couldn’t catch my breath, I still completed each and every trek. The other activities like rappelling and rock climbing, I was afraid I won’t do it properly and make a fool out of myself in front of others, I know I shouldn’t feel that way. That’s one of my weakness, I care too much about what people think. I looked at everyone, they were carefree and smiling doing all the activities. One sir from Wilderness India had to continuously motivate me and force me to do those activities, honestly now that I think about it, I’m really glad he forced me and that I listened to him. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have found out what I was really capable of. After doing all the activities I was so hesitant in doing, sir even told me that I did great which felt amazing. As I mentioned my fear of heights, I would freak out during the treks but as everyone else was doing it and since I had come this far I had no option I continued. It took me time, I went slow but I faced my fear. It gave me so much satisfaction.

Another challenge over there was the accommodation and weather, we stayed in tents and shared a common washroom between another camping group and us. Staying in tents was still fine but the weather was extremely chilly which made it uncomfortable. We had to bath with ice-cold water in the freezing cold, and we did it. Despite this, I don’t have any regrets or complaints from the trip, it taught me to adjust to different surroundings and gave me a chance to be closer to nature.

All of this taught me several things. In life, I will have to face my fears in order to overcome them. I should go out of my comfort zone every once in a while. I should grab the opportunity that’s given to me. I shouldn’t doubt myself, or be afraid of failing. Lastly, I shouldn’t be bothered about what other people think of me.

LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.

As previously stated, I’m a person who (almost always) fulfills her commitments. During every trek I felt like giving up, I told my teachers I’ll sit here until you come back. I think something on the back of the mind wasn’t convinced, I had the fear of missing out. I had come this far, what was the point if I had to give up? This thought gave me motivation (and also peer pressure :P). Reflecting upon it I think I really went out of my comfort zone, I faced my fears, I dirtied my clothes (it’s not easy for me to do that), I cried but at the end, it gave me a feeling of accomplishment when I finished all the tasks successfully. You don’t always have a way out, you can’t give up every time so you need to commit to things and do your best. It’s a great feeling in the end, you look back to it and think ‘Why was I doubting myself?’ that’s what I felt at the end of the trip too.

LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

The trip really brought the grade closer together. It made us realize the benefits of working collaboratively. Since we were a large group of people and we went to a lot of treks, we had to listen and follow the people in front of us (also the instructor). It was very important or we could end up hurting ourselves, or others. During one of the trek, I started crying due to my fear of heights, but my friends and teachers supported me and motivated me. I don’t think without the motivation of the group I would have been able to complete a single trek or activity. We also played team-building games that taught us the importance of trusting your teammates, listening to them, communicating with them (without audio), etc. The same way everyone was there for me I also tried to be there for anyone that needed my help. We developed our communicating skills and also became more caring individuals.

This trip was a bonding opportunity and also an opportunity for personal growth. It taught me (and others) to be more caring, open-minded, and to be a thinker. This trip held a lot of significant moments for me. I think if I could go back and change one thing about this trip, I would do things willingly rather than forcefully and not let my mood be affected due to some people or let it affect my trip.