Before my first trip to Finland with Mat, I had never been on a plane, let alone to such a harsh climate! It really built my confidence as a person and motivated me to do more, but doing it the second time was completely different and an incredible opportunity that has helped me as a person.
Throughout the week there were difficulties – but not like last time… This this it was about making myself a leader. The training on how to be a good leader, that we had done with Mat, was really eye opening. For students who were more reluctant to do activities, at first it was difficult to motivate them through talking without painting myself as a villain who’s just there to tell them off.
Learning to ask questions rather than give answers directly felt great to do (when I managed to remember it)!
Overall, my development with the students and myself as a leader was good and I feel like I’ve really learnt something useful for life.
Spending time with people so experienced in the outdoor field was incredible, Mat and Ian’s stories were always hard to even believe let alone know it happened to them, but learning through their own stories really helped me to understand what to do and how to move forward, I’ve never experienced something that was so positive in helping me better myself and something that helped me begin to learn how to help others.
Benny Robertson
