A Penny Of My Thoughts .....

Greetings to all, i will be sharing my 5 days 4 nights camp experiences with Outward Bound Singapore today. Firstly, before even divulging any of my experiences in this camp, what do you think Outward Bound literally means ? Well, it means that a ship is heading out towards the open sea, leaving the shore. This means taking the first stride in our lives to achieve. Meaningful eh ?

On a scale of ten, i would rate this camp 10/10. It was very enriching and the activities that i was engaged in really attests my leadership skills. On Day 1, we checked in and did some ice-breaking camp which is usually typical during camps. So, i will skip that D: Oh, before that, you should also know that it is undeniably imperative to know each other in the group well so we will work well in group activities that attests team cohesiveness and leadership skills.

On Day 2, we had our belaying course and trust fall. In a nutshell, these activities would not be a success without TRUST. One have to be able to trust the team in order to perform well in the activity. What does this tells you now ? Do you trust your squad mate as much as endangering your life to them ? I would say, the entire camp is more of a commitment. You have to be committed to the team to achieve. Day 2 Night was all about packing our stuff into the camping bag that OBS provided as we will be camping out of campsite on Day 3 and Day 4. Given the opportunity to do this, which would you put in top priority ? Your self-belongings or the group items ( e.g tents, pot to cook rice, not those conventional rice cooker. canned food for the group - voluntary, trashes - voluntary ). For myself, i volunteered as much as i could. Therefore, my bag is really, really heavy ): A tent would definitely take up about 70% of my OBS bag, not forgetting the trashes, canned food, snacks, fruits and my personal belongings at last. Finally, it was all packed and we are ready for land expedition on Day 3.

To be frank, at the start of the camp, i claimed that my personal bagpack for this 5 days 4 night camp weighed a ton. After carrying the bagpack provided by OBS with the aforementioned items, i complained no more when i carry my personal bag home the last day. Land expedition was fun but at the same time, tiring. One could die of fatigue in this camp if you do not eat enough. For this activity, you are given a compass and a map and is expected to navigate to an area that is estimated to be 7.2km before night falls. Yeah right, you have the entire day to do so, with that heavy bag. With the heaviest bag i have ever carried in my life, i struggled but was more determined than ever. It was really a torment as you feel the excruciating strain on your shoulders pulling you down. Walking barely a mile, i started trudging D: The journey was long but the rain seemed to ' increase ' the journey, making it longer than it initially was. But, we kept our spirits high and we made it. We reached and had our dinner, pitched our tents and sleep. Now, one thing good about OBS is, no matter not packed the activities are, you are still able to enjoy your 8 hours of sleep.

On Day 4, we had our final expedition. We have to construct a raft that is stable to accommodate 16 members. So, not slacking in construction ! We rafted out in the open sea ( OUTWARD BOUND ) for about 3 hours to reach the destination. During which, we are allowed to change shifts to pedal as it is really tiring but i didn't change shift because it was really fun :P When the waves hit us, we have to PEDAL HARDER to propel the raft forward or we will regress. We have to also KEEP PEDALING or we will regress. Sounds familiar eh ? It is all about Consistency. Alright, i shan't beat around the bush. This entire activity is basically a test of our consistency. You have to be consistent to succeed in life. Success is a ladder, not an escalator. The waves in the open sea signifies our challenges. We have to step up to our challenges ( pedal harder ) to achieve more ( propels forward ) .

As Day 5 consists mostly on area cleaning and the returning of logistics, I shall skip that. Instead, allow me to share something that is definitely of a higher importance. There goes this saying, You can never discover new islands without leaving the shore. This implies that we have to step out of our comfort zone in order to achieve. Take for example the jetty jump we had. I acknowledge the entire activity as a commitment activity. Firstly, we were unsure of the depths of the seawaters and have no idea on what is going to happen to us after the jump. But we committed as a team to complete this obstacle that none of us is familiar with. How do we complete this activity as a team ? We took our first stride into the unknown, leaving the comfort zone we were in. And one by one we complete. Sounds fun eh ? Wanna have a taste of the seawaters there ? Participate in OBS whenever you are given the opportunity to !

After spending the precious time of your holidays reading this wordy post, what are your takeaways most importantly ? Please drop some comments about your takeaways beneath this post. However, the crux is : Success is a ladder, not an escalator and You will never discover new islands without leaving the shore. Think about it and give me your views on these quotes. With this, i end of reflections on OBS Course 15 Nov - 19 Nov 2010.

Catch a Glimpse of OBS !

By SSGT Lee Yong Teck ( 3E2 )