Bill Brookman at Outward Bound

These last school holidays I went on an eight day Mind, Body and Soul course at Outward Bound in Anakiwa. The instructors aimed for us to realise our leadership potential and by the end of the course they wanted us to think about what we could do to help other people in our community by taking on a leadership role.

On day one the first thing that we did was run to the beach and roll around in the mud. They wanted us to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable”. The whole experience was about pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones and trying new things.

Because most of the activities we did were things I was familiar with (tramping and kayaking) I tried to be confident and reassuring to those who were nervous and to help whenever I could. Whilst being skipper on the Endeavour III I made sure that my callouts were clear and  people knew what to do and when to do it so that we would prevent the boat from capsizing. When we were told we were going to do the high ropes course at night they put us in a line from most confident to least and I got paired with the least confident person because I was the most confident. I made sure that my partner went in front of me so that I would be behind her the whole time and always be a reassuring presence.

All in all I absolutely loved my experience at Outward Bound. I would absolutely go again if I got the opportunity. I feel like it motivated me to become more of an active leader in school and I think I got so much out of my course.

Bill Brookman, Year 12