On the 30th of September 2009, every individual in Year 12 abandoned our usual life and headed off to the IDEALS centre in Koh Chang.
The four day trip was a chance for everyone to mingle and get closer to one another in a totally different environment. The stressful atmosphere in school can have an impact on an individual's personality therefore going to Koh Chang can alter that. It was a chance for us to see our friends in a new dimension. Since we are young adults, the supervisors had able us to choose the activities we wanted to do. We had to make democratic choices.
May, Rosaleen and Linnea
We left school on Wednesday and arrived in Koh Chang on the same day. The journey from school to our destination took us approximately 5 hours. We were given a Koh Chang crossword sheet to complete in our buses. This was a chance for us to work together in our bus teams. It was a competition between ten buses and everyone was determined to win. Once we were on the island, rather than having to walk all the way to the IDEALS through the subtle jungle, the winning teams were given a chance to go on the boat instead.
Trekking to a Swimming Beach
On the Thursday after our arrival, a group of several students proceeded through the jungle. Our aim was to trek to a swimming beach and back. However, there was a difficulty. Since it's the rainy season in Thailand, rain poured and paths were slippery therefore we had to be very careful while trekking. Rain was our worst enemy and trying to avoid it was impossible. Rivers and streams overflowed. Crossing them was a challenge because the water came right up to our waists and it would purposely try to push us over. Therefore to avoid falling we held hands creating a chain, this made it easier to cross the moving river. I haven't done a physical activity like this in a while, so it's quite difficult for me to handle it. At times I felt like giving up because I was physically and mentally exhausted. However, I questioned myself. What is the point of giving up now? It didn't made sense because if I gave up then, no one would have helped me because they were struggling as well. If I gave up, I would have just stopped there in the middle of the jungle, still bullied by the rain. It's better to move forward. Although we got our motivation from singing together and blocking negative thoughts by talking and cheering each other up. Each individual were still fatigue unconsciously. All we could do was to move on.
Seeing the contrast between the jungle, coconut trees and sand made me smile. After two hours of dedication and focus, I've made it! Although the rain was still pouring and the waves were furiously eating away the beach , I had a personal goal in mind and that was to jump into the lagoon near by. The weather had ruined a day at the beach, but you have to be positive and enjoy what you've accomplished, right? I was a risk-taker for choosing my path. Once a path is chosen, all you can do is to tackle it at your best ability.
This experience had taught me that even though friends, family, teachers etc. are there to guide and support you through life, you are the one who makes it happen. You are the action in your life. You are the change in your life. Success feels awesome! In any situation, you have to push yourself to your limits or even further to succeed. Success is outside of your comfort zone therefore you have to do whatever you can to reach it.
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