The trip I took with my friends was an unforgettable experience. We participated in various team bonding activities, which allowed me to deepen my connection with my peers. My favourite activity was canyoning, as it challenged me to take risks and step out of my comfort zone by doing the big jump at the end and successfully executing a front flip off a smaller jump. Additionally, while we waited for others to complete each section, we had the opportunity to socialize and have fun conversations with our classmates and new friends. Since the order for each section was different, it created new waiting groups each time, which allowed me to talk to classmates I hadn’t previously spoken to and make new friends with the kids who joined us on the trip.
The most memorable moment for me was on the second night of our trip. Amy, Mali, and I sat outside under the stars, talking for two hours straight. We’ve known each other since we were five years old and have been through so much together. Over the years, we’ve drifted in and out of different friend groups, with some people joining and others leaving. But it had been so long since the three of us had just chatted. We talked about everything and anything, updating each other on what was going on in our lives. It was such a wholesome full circle moment for us, realizing that we had all grown up and had become the “big kids” that we used to look up to when we were younger. Gone from little 5 year olds playing in the playground and deciding what we were going to play at break to big 16 year olds deciding what subjects we are going to spend the next 2 years studying.
There were many physical challenges through this trip. Such as getting up very early each morning and jumping in the cold water. As well as overcoming the fear of jumping the big jump. How I learned to get over all of these challenges was to just take that one step and go for it. The first step is always the hardest but once you overcome the fear of the first step everything falls into place and becomes easy after that.