hello!
i decided to sit down and blog about OBS today even though i got home yesterday, reason being I didn't want this to become another long and draggy post. Took some time to think about the 5 days and 4 nights before sleeping yesterday, and i've got soooo much to say but don't worry! I'll try to keep it short :)
OBS was really a chance to step out of my comfort zone and experience something i doubt i'll ever get to do again. It was an opportunity to get to know more people, to see things i never thought i'd see, to push my boundaries and to gain knowledge on many things.
- rock climbing (day 1)
- pitching of tents (everyday)
- waking up at 5am (everyday)
- unpitching of tents (everyday)
- kayaking lesson (day 2)
- land expedition (day 3)
- reaching the external campsite w/o toilet facilities (day 3)
- cooking w solid fuels/ bricks/ toothpaste/ mass tins (everyday)
- sea expedition (day 4)
- mad packing of the obs backpacks (night 1)
and so many other activities provided the platform for me to see how far i could go.
the most memorable part of OBS for me was the part where Shaik (our instructor) placed a couple of inspirational cards onto the ground and told us to pick the one that we felt "spoke" to us. I picked the first one I saw, and although i don't quite remember it word for word, i remember some parts of it. It said "not all men are lucky enough to be successful, so when you fall, get up and start moving again." On the 4th and last night, he did the same thing and this time, I picked up another one, of which i only remember 2 lines - "forget the weight of yesterday" and "always remember that you are blessed". So many times we forget to pick ourselves up after meeting with failures and because of that, we forget how blessed we are.
also, I remember waking up at 5am to move the kayaks out to sea and having the opportunity to see the sunrise. The sea was a rosy shade of pink and the sky was gorgeous. It was my first time seeing a sunrise because i never ever ever ever ever wake up early enough, and at that moment, i swear it was perfect. The sea was beautiful and I never felt so relaxed and carefree, especially when we went through the canal where there was nothing but trees on both sides of the land.
the land expedition was crazy and exhausting and we trekked for 7 hours??? Crazy but we did it :') and when we reached the external campsite where we didn't have toilet facilities, i did something i never ever ever thought i would do HAHA (achievement unlocked!!!!!!!!!!) even xuanzhu said she was proud of hehehe
& on the last day, we were supposed to say a "thank you" or a "sorry" to one person in Marshall, and that person was to take the ball of twine and wrap the string around his/her finger. After everyone said what they wanted to say, Shaik used a scissors to cut the strings and told us that although the course ended there, our real outward bound journey starts when we leave the camp and go back to our respective lives. 16 different directions, but all with one common goal.
the above are just the main bits of OBS, but of course, there were so many other parts of it which changed my perception on plenty of things. Shaik's constant nagging taught me the sense of urgency, and the pitching/unpitching of tents, cooking together, encouraging one another, packing together, helping one another etc made me realize the importance of teamwork. It isn't enough to just believe in yourself because when others around you believe in you and constantly push and encourage you, it makes a whole load of difference :)
I wnna thank my camp mates for being so wonderful and for making OBS such an amazing experience. These 5 days and 4 nights would not have been so enjoyable if i didn't have y'guys :)
wanted to thank everyone individually here but i realized that i've got loads to say to each person if i was gnna do it so i'll do it soon :)
AND I JUST FOUND OUT I HAVE HOMEWORK HAHHAHAHAHA C R A P
(btw i just came back from dinner so i'm NOT bipolar)
THERE'S SCHOOL TMR TOO JEEZ
all in all, to wrap things up:
"A ship is safe in its harbour, but that is not what it is built for"
"There's more in us than we know if we could be made to see it; perhaps, for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less" - Kurt Hahn
"There's more in us than we know if we could be made to see it; perhaps, for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less" - Kurt Hahn
OBS definitely opened my eyes to so many new things and stepping out of your comfort zone really allows you to do things you never thought you could do. Thank you Marshall for going through these 5 days and 4 nights with me, and thank you OBS for the opportunities we had. I guess it's true when they say, "There's something about OBS that stays with you for life".
