NZSAS Trust offers personal development opportunities for eligible 18-26 yr old beneficiaries through the Outward Bound Programme. Katelyn recently completed the Classic Course and was happy to share her experience:
“Outward Bound will be a journey I will never forget. It’s a journey that was full of highs and lows but in the end attending Outward Bound was the greatest personal achievement I’ve had so far.
I didn’t know what to expect going into Outward Bound. All I knew was that it would be physically challenging, and it was. Every minute of the day we were on our feet doing an activity. We went sailing, which for someone that doesn’t like the sea, I found out that I really enjoyed it. We also did rock climbing and we tramped up Mount Baldy, Mount Culleen and Mount Royal, did kayaking, high ropes, and even community service which was a definite highlight for me. It was physically challenging, no doubt about it, but I enjoyed every minute of it, and I learnt a lot more about my personal limits, which had never been pushed as much as they were on Outward Bound.
The course also focused on the mental and emotional side of every individual. I’m not someone that would open up about my problems/feelings but at Outward Bound they put you in an environment where it felt comfortable to say what bothers you. Not only so they can help you but so you can help yourself and try to understand why this is a problem, and what can I do to fix it. Going through that for me was a lot tougher than the physical side, but it helped me a lot to understand not only myself but also my values in life. I came into Outward Bound with one goal ‘to improve my fitness and health’ but as the days went by and we talked about what success means to us, and what our values are, I came up with a new goal and that was ‘to be happy and to look at life as a blessing and not as a curse’ and I feel I definitely achieved my goal.
The highlight for me in this journey was my Watch Kupe. We were all from different backgrounds and countries like the Philippines and Switzerland but that’s what I think made us a strong team, we all brought different strengths into our journey together. There were times when it got tough and we each wanted to give up, and some of us did, but as a team we helped one another pull through and in the end we made it. My favourite time of day would be dinner time, not only to eat but to be together as one and just talk and have a good laugh, just like one big happy family. It’s crazy to think that a group of people that I only knew for 21 days I’d now call my whanau through our shared experience.
This journey is one I will forever be grateful for. Thank you New Zealand Special Air Service Trust for giving me an amazing experience I will never forget.”
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson
Katelyn
