DP 1 Orientation Trip – Mind Over Matter

The DP Orientation trip is a trip where the new DP1 class travels to Kithulagala to take part in adventure activities in order to learn more about themselves and to build unity in the group which will be held throughout the DP Program. One of the reflection activities was to write a letter to someone about something significant that happened on one of the days during the trip. 

I wanted this blog post to be about something that I learnt from the trip and something that I would like to take forward past the duration of the trip. I feel that my letter to my parents address this thing well, so here is my letter.

Dear Family, 

Today was the first day of the DP! the trip started at 5:15 am for me. I took a shower and went to school. The bus ride was interesting. I took a nap and spoke to Thisath about some very interesting things. When we got to the river I was excited because being in the cramped bus seat started to take a toll on my knees which were constantly banging on the seat in front of me. As soon as we arrived we were given the option to get into the river. I took this opportunity and quickly dunked my head into the water which was one of the most refreshing parts of the trip and a common theme across the three days. However, initially, I was very hesitant to fully dunk myself into the river because the water was very cold but I realized that the longer I take the more resistance will get build up and I would eventually not go in at all. This made me realize something that I made sure to do in most parts of the trip was to go head first into something as long as it is safe and there is some supervision. Something that Thisath and I were talking about on the bus ride was about mindset and becoming unphased by things and when in the water he said “MIND OVER MATTER” which had a big impact on me at the moment and it all led to me going head first into the water. 

Goodbye, 

Vinuda.