As part of CAS Week in my school last year, I decided to try something adventurous and something that would push me out of my physical comfort zone. The Hong Kong Rock and Sea Challenge seemed like the right choice as not only would it let me have fun and get the adrenaline going but it would also push me and make me do things I'd otherwise fear doing.
Through this week, we explored kayaking, gorging and hiking, camping, and we ended the week in Aberdeen Country Park, applying the skills we had learnt during the week.
We started out with kayaking, and although I did not enjoy that too much because of my inability to grasp the method quickly and the amount we had to kayak to get to this small island nearby, I came to accept it and like it later on, with hindsight. We learnt survival skills this day, and the lessons I learnt there will stay with me throughout. I came to appreciate this experience later because of the lessons it taught me. Because I couldn't grasp the method to kayak quickly, one of the most important lessons I learnt that day was to take learning at my own pace. I didn't have to rush it or be as good as the others as quickly as they became. It taught me to work at a pace that I feel is right for me.
Gorging was a completely different experience for me. This was also something I had never done before, and I was really looking forward to gorging because it sounded like a lot of fun. When we did start hiking, climbing, and made sure we didn't bang our heads on rocks, I found myself panicking a lot. This wasn't anything new to me. I panicked at every situation gone wrong or not delightful, but, I think panicking 200 times in a span of one hour because of one slipped foot on loose rock or a huge jump I thought I couldn't do, but ended up landing just fine, and looking back and seeing that the gap wasn't that big anyway, the amount I was panicking started decreasing slowly. Gradually, I started moving away from thinking "OH MY GOD, I AM GOING TO DIE" when slipping on rock to "oh, just some loose rock under my feet." In more serious situations than that, I started looking for ways out of it than clouding my brain with irrational fear. This significantly transferred into my daily life because it allowed my brain to look at solutions rather than overthinking about the problem and not getting anywhere, as a result. I have grown as a person because of this and know that the change in my thinking process happened because of this experience.
When camping and trying my hand at different adventure sports, it made me value my life even more, and made me realize the importance of moving away from looking at money as the sole purpose in life. One experience that really stood out for me was rock climbing. I wasn't really good at it, and did not end up making to the top of the mountain and ended up falling into the sea, I tried multiple times to get up there. This, again, helped me understand the importance of not giving up on something that I really want to achieve. This CAS Week really helped me redefine my life.
Through this week, we explored kayaking, gorging and hiking, camping, and we ended the week in Aberdeen Country Park, applying the skills we had learnt during the week.
We started out with kayaking, and although I did not enjoy that too much because of my inability to grasp the method quickly and the amount we had to kayak to get to this small island nearby, I came to accept it and like it later on, with hindsight. We learnt survival skills this day, and the lessons I learnt there will stay with me throughout. I came to appreciate this experience later because of the lessons it taught me. Because I couldn't grasp the method to kayak quickly, one of the most important lessons I learnt that day was to take learning at my own pace. I didn't have to rush it or be as good as the others as quickly as they became. It taught me to work at a pace that I feel is right for me.
Gorging was a completely different experience for me. This was also something I had never done before, and I was really looking forward to gorging because it sounded like a lot of fun. When we did start hiking, climbing, and made sure we didn't bang our heads on rocks, I found myself panicking a lot. This wasn't anything new to me. I panicked at every situation gone wrong or not delightful, but, I think panicking 200 times in a span of one hour because of one slipped foot on loose rock or a huge jump I thought I couldn't do, but ended up landing just fine, and looking back and seeing that the gap wasn't that big anyway, the amount I was panicking started decreasing slowly. Gradually, I started moving away from thinking "OH MY GOD, I AM GOING TO DIE" when slipping on rock to "oh, just some loose rock under my feet." In more serious situations than that, I started looking for ways out of it than clouding my brain with irrational fear. This significantly transferred into my daily life because it allowed my brain to look at solutions rather than overthinking about the problem and not getting anywhere, as a result. I have grown as a person because of this and know that the change in my thinking process happened because of this experience.
When camping and trying my hand at different adventure sports, it made me value my life even more, and made me realize the importance of moving away from looking at money as the sole purpose in life. One experience that really stood out for me was rock climbing. I wasn't really good at it, and did not end up making to the top of the mountain and ended up falling into the sea, I tried multiple times to get up there. This, again, helped me understand the importance of not giving up on something that I really want to achieve. This CAS Week really helped me redefine my life.
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