AYP journey of Catilyn Wee
I’d like to start off by saying just how much I believe I have changed since the very beginning, and just how grateful I am to have started the programme from the Bronze award 2 years ago. At first, I was quite hesitant about putting myself in a situation where I would be camping away from home, in an unfamiliar situation with an environment I didn’t know too well. I also wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew that I would have my friends with me, which was what made it seem bearable at the time.
I remember the night before our first practice journey, I had no idea what to bring in terms of what were my essentials and what wasn’t, and a core memory was when my mom took out an eyelash curler and mascara from my rucksack while she was sending me off the next day. Everyone laughed.
During my first Bronze practice journey, I remember just how much fun I had with my friends as we played a bunch of games while we hiked, talked, gossiped, and laughed. Yes, it was challenging at times. There would be times during the hike where the weight of my backpack would feel very heavy on my shoulders, I didn’t bring enough water, I felt dehydrated and very tired, and I felt disgusted from not showering in 2 days.
But after each practice journey, I would learn from my mistakes and take note of what not to do for the next one, and continuously improve to make my overall experience better. After my bronze assessment journey, I enjoyed it so much that I knew that I definitely wanted to continue on with the AYP journey of completing Silver and then Gold.
For silver, I had 2 other friends attend with me, and there was also 1 guy in our group. I think completing the Silver award was a significant and memorable part of my AYP journey because it involved completing Lantau Peak, one of Hong Kong’s hardest hikes. It was during our assessment journey, when the instructor gave us a choice; to take a shorter route and climb Lantau Peak to reach the campsite, or to take a longer route but with less elevation instead.
My first thought was to of course, take the longer route with less elevation, because who wouldn’t choose that? It’s easier, less tiring, and we can just pass time by playing more games or talking. A much more comfortable option.
But someone told me that life is all about taking risks. If we all lived and stayed in our comfort zones, we would never truly know our own capability to achieve great things. So we, as a team, decided to take the risk and climb Lantau Peak.
It was hard. It truly was. With an elevation of 938 meters, I’ve never felt like I wanted to die more in my life than at that very moment where I have begun the climb. I remember feeling like it was just never-ending stairs; no matter how much I climbed, no matter how many stairs I conquered, there would always be more when I looked up and thought I was at the peak. I wanted to give up so bad, but I knew I couldn’t. I’ve already made it this far, why give up now? So I just kept telling myself: “I’m almost there. Just a few more steps”.
by Venturer Catilyn Wee
