Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Enjoy the Journey




For the course of my stay here I have had the privilege of working with some of the greatest instructors out there. Our SIT outdoor recreation instructors have an amazing teaching style that I have never before experienced. They give us a surfboard, show us what to do and then send us on our way to do it. They don’t allow time for, I don’t think I can or I’m scared. They have complete confidence in us and our ability to figure things out. It’s not so much about getting from A to B with them, it’s about enjoying the journey. They say things like cool bananas, and that’s cool aye, and we’re just trees so you have to figure it out on your own.

We had an awesome chance this week to figure things out as a team on our own without the help of our instructors. They gave us a map, compass and a destination point and just let us decide where to go. It forced our groups to communicate and reach a consensus instead of just going off on our own way. I wasn’t allowed to be in front and take the lead which I am prone to do so it was really cool for me to step back and be a team member not a leader. I learned so much about team work and I have never been so proud of my group.

Day one was a beautiful tramp through the bush. When we arrived at our destination we made our own bivvy and we all crammed under it. It rained that first night and all the next day so we ended up soaked and freezing. Day 2 was a cold, wet and windy hike but we pushed on through the Spaniards and the Bush Lawyers. Night 2 was cold but not wet. The morning of Day 3 we awoke to a layer of frost on everything. My socks and hiking boots were so frozen it took about 5 minutes to get them on. My contact solution was frozen too. As soon as we started hiking though, the sun came up and our journey ended with beautiful weather.

Life is not about getting from point A to point B as fast as you can. Life is about learning how to enjoy the journey—given the elements and obstacles that hinder our way. When the rain comes you learn how to enjoy the journey wet. When you must move quickly but don’t want to, learn how to enjoy the journey at a faster pace. I believe that learning to enjoy the journey of life, to embrace trials and tribulations and poke them in the face (like the Spaniard bushes) is the best way to learn and grow and have a good life. It may not always be a happy life but learning to push on through the hard parts will make you stronger next time around.

Now that I have bush wacked, surfed, kayaked, and rock climbed I feel like I can do anything. Thanks to John Kappa and all the Adventure Southland boys for teaching me to enjoy the journey and allowing me figure out for myself that it actually works.

7 comments:

Marcindra LaPriel said...

Wow. Abby. I got chills. That was very well put. I especially like the part that says, "Life is about learning how to enjoy the journey—given the elements and obstacles that hinder our way. When the rain comes you learn how to enjoy the journey wet. When you must move quickly but don’t want to, learn how to enjoy the journey at a faster pace. I believe that learning to enjoy the journey of life, to embrace trials and tribulations and poke them in the face (like the Spaniard bushes) is the best way to learn and grow and have a good life. It may not always be a happy life but learning to push on through the hard parts will make you stronger next time around."

Seriously, that made me really happy.

Ben Porter said...

Abby, I love the part where you said "Our SIT outdoor recreation instructors have an amazing teaching style that I have never before experienced. They give us a surfboard, show us what to do and then send us on our way to do it. They don’t allow time for, I don’t think I can or I’m scared. They have complete confidence in us and our ability to figure things out. It’s not so much about getting from A to B with them, it’s about enjoying the journey. They say things like cool bananas, and that’s cool aye, and we’re just trees so you have to figure it out on your own.

We had an awesome chance this week to figure things out as a team on our own without the help of our instructors. They gave us a map, compass and a destination point and just let us decide where to go. It forced our groups to communicate and reach a consensus instead of just going off on our own way. I wasn’t allowed to be in front and take the lead which I am prone to do so it was really cool for me to step back and be a team member not a leader. I learned so much about team work and I have never been so proud of my group.

Day one was a beautiful tramp through the bush. When we arrived at our destination we made our own bivvy and we all crammed under it. It rained that first night and all the next day so we ended up soaked and freezing. Day 2 was a cold, wet and windy hike but we pushed on through the Spaniards and the Bush Lawyers. Night 2 was cold but not wet. The morning of Day 3 we awoke to a layer of frost on everything. My socks and hiking boots were so frozen it took about 5 minutes to get them on. My contact solution was frozen too. As soon as we started hiking though, the sun came up and our journey ended with beautiful weather.

Life is not about getting from point A to point B as fast as you can. Life is about learning how to enjoy the journey—given the elements and obstacles that hinder our way. When the rain comes you learn how to enjoy the journey wet. When you must move quickly but don’t want to, learn how to enjoy the journey at a faster pace. I believe that learning to enjoy the journey of life, to embrace trials and tribulations and poke them in the face (like the Spaniard bushes) is the best way to learn and grow and have a good life. It may not always be a happy life but learning to push on through the hard parts will make you stronger next time around.

Now that I have bush wacked, surfed, kayaked, and rock climbed I feel like I can do anything. Thanks to John Kappa and all the Adventure Southland boys for teaching me to enjoy the journey and allowing me figure out for myself that it actually works."

Awesome!

Valerie said...

Abby I like Ben's comment when he said:
"Abby, I love the part where you said "Our SIT outdoor recreation instructors have an amazing teaching style that I have never before experienced. They give us a surfboard, show us what to do and then send us on our way to do it. They don’t allow time for, I don’t think I can or I’m scared. They have complete confidence in us and our ability to figure things out. It’s not so much about getting from A to B with them, it’s about enjoying the journey. They say things like cool bananas, and that’s cool aye, and we’re just trees so you have to figure it out on your own.

We had an awesome chance this week to figure things out as a team on our own without the help of our instructors. They gave us a map, compass and a destination point and just let us decide where to go. It forced our groups to communicate and reach a consensus instead of just going off on our own way. I wasn’t allowed to be in front and take the lead which I am prone to do so it was really cool for me to step back and be a team member not a leader. I learned so much about team work and I have never been so proud of my group.

Day one was a beautiful tramp through the bush. When we arrived at our destination we made our own bivvy and we all crammed under it. It rained that first night and all the next day so we ended up soaked and freezing. Day 2 was a cold, wet and windy hike but we pushed on through the Spaniards and the Bush Lawyers. Night 2 was cold but not wet. The morning of Day 3 we awoke to a layer of frost on everything. My socks and hiking boots were so frozen it took about 5 minutes to get them on. My contact solution was frozen too. As soon as we started hiking though, the sun came up and our journey ended with beautiful weather.

Life is not about getting from point A to point B as fast as you can. Life is about learning how to enjoy the journey—given the elements and obstacles that hinder our way. When the rain comes you learn how to enjoy the journey wet. When you must move quickly but don’t want to, learn how to enjoy the journey at a faster pace. I believe that learning to enjoy the journey of life, to embrace trials and tribulations and poke them in the face (like the Spaniard bushes) is the best way to learn and grow and have a good life. It may not always be a happy life but learning to push on through the hard parts will make you stronger next time around.

Now that I have bush wacked, surfed, kayaked, and rock climbed I feel like I can do anything. Thanks to John Kappa and all the Adventure Southland boys for teaching me to enjoy the journey and allowing me figure out for myself that it actually works."

Awesome!"

Valerie said...

Ben and I want to tell Marcindra Lapriel we only tease because we love you. . .whoever you are. But if you are Abby's friend, you must be awesome!

Hannah said...

Yeah, and I liked the part when you said.... J/K! Funny, funny people! This seems really cool though! I'm so jealous of all these cool things that you've been able to do there! What a once in a lifetime experience! I can't wait to see you when you get home...soon! (I just realized every sentence in here ended in '!'...I must be feeling enthusiastic! :) )

Sarah said...

My family is so funny. By "funny" I mean really weird.

Russell said...

Has anybody heard from Hannah recently? Betsy has been trying to get ahold of her for hours and she's not responding to email or phone calls or posts on her blog. Are the Andersens still alive?

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Those of you who read my blog could probably make a list of all the reasons that you think I am a bit peculiar. No worries, I would be the first to shout an amen to everything you could think of. I know I’m peculiar; but let me tell you the number one thing on my list that I think makes me a peculiar person.

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