My first taste of camping

I went for the leadership camp in the Indus school of leadership in Yellagiri hills. Leadership camp is a camp that every Indus student goes to once a year. This was my first year at Indus so I did not know much about the camp, except things I'd heard from my classmates like there was going to be trekking, we would live in tents and that it was extremely fun or extremely pointless depending on who I asked. Overall I was filled with anticipation because this was my first ever camping experience.

In the introductory session where we got to know our teammates, I learnt that the way people look at me is maybe different from what I think of myself. I also learnt that while I sub consciously take in details about people, conscious efforts have to be made to know and observe the people around. I observe very little of the things around me. In the centipede and group juggle activity I realized that previous meticulous planning might need to be compromised during the actual activity and it is important to be able to adapt. I also learnt what it meant to be focused. 

From the acid river I learnt that sometimes it might just be easier to start again if we are stuck. That way we learn from our own mistakes. I also learnt that there will be times when I am required to speak even when I do not want to ( like the time when I had given up on the team and did not want to say anything more, but then suddenly none of the team members were allowed to speak except me). I learnt that though some things might seem impossible, it is better to try them rather than just waste time debating, because most of the times the consequences aren't that grave. In the nitrous swing, I was grateful to my team members for helping me swing. I also realized that when people keep encouraging you, nothing seems impossible, while laughing at people just crushes their confidence (though no one really shows it)

Next day in the discovery (more popularly known as the challenge tower) I was proud of how I was capable of going on even when I was scared and tired. This was evident by how I pushed myself activity through activity (though I was terrified even during the first activity) hanging on ropes all the while, for hours at a stretch. I also realized that though I knew I was safe, I had great difficulty letting go when I had to jump off 25 feet (wearing a harness of course!). this is something that I observe several times in various other aspects of life also like how I am sacred of dogs even if I know they wont harm me. This suggests that knowing I am safe does nothing to reduce the fear. At one point I should just decide for myself to let go and that is when the fear will reduce. Though it is very difficult for me to decide completely (not just intellectually) to let go of the fear. Hence I was very proud when I managed to jump off!

In the tribal painting, I was very enthusiastic and planned and initiated the activity with another team mate. However later I began to wonder if my enthusiasm might be considered bossy. I asked other people. Though they said no,  I decided to take more care. The trek next day was a unique experience itself. I had previously never thought that I would be able to walk 10 Kms let alone trek up and down that distance. I encountered my ever-favorite dogs again and was terrified. People made fun of my fear for dogs and animals but it did not bother me much for some reason. Maybe I was genuinely too scared to care. Later when we were walking uphill, we were out of water and out of energy (I had eaten just 2 slices of bread in the morning). The only thing that kept me going was the mantra “one more step”. At one point when we reached a small pond, we were ecstatic. Never before was I so happy to see water. The candies that I ate as I soaked in that pond were one of the best things that I have ever eaten. I experienced true hunger and thirst that day. I am very happy that I managed to finish that trek.

One embarrassing situation was when I got hit in paint ball even before I managed to shoot one bullet. At that point I gave my bullets to my teammate but later felt quite guilty about cheating. So I relieved my guilt by telling quite a few people what I did. Thus even though I couldn't undo the mistake, I accepted it. Sometimes that is the best one can do I suppose.

Apart from all my learnings/ discoveries from the above activities, there is another thing I will take away from this camp- overcoming my fear of insects. Prior to this camp I was very squeamish around insects. But after a week of sharing my tent and bathroom with cockroaches and other insects, I can confidently say I have over some this squeamishness. I can now use a paper to pick up insects on  my table and throw them out of the window!

On the whole the entire leadership camp was an amazing experience. 

Learning outcomes achieved:

1. Increased awareness of my strengths and areas of growth
2. Considered the ethical implications of my actions (reflection of cheating in paintball)
3. Planned and initiated activities 
4. Worked collaboratively with others
5. Shown perseverance and commitment in the activities
6. Undertaken new challenges
7. Developed new skills