Personal Narrative: Outward Bound

Improved Essays
My life hasn’t been saturated with failures, although there have been a few failures where I knew I had to change things for the better. One specific failure actually made me think throughout the trip I was in during the time of the failure. When I went to Outward Bound in Maine in the summer of 2016, I thought I made one of the most risky decisions of my life.
One of the biggest worries I had on applying for Outward Bound is that, I’ve never gone hiking and canoeing for more than a week, and I personally thought it was going to be a big challenge to do all those strenuous activities for twenty one straight days. When I finally arrived in Maine after a long eight hour drive, I was very worried if I was going to make it to the trip. When I went
…show more content…
The morning after we finished the first portion of hiking, the instructor informed us that we were going to rock climb. At first I did feel excited because it was one of the activities I really wanted to do during the trip. On the long ride to the location of where we were going to rock climb, I kept thinking how fast I was going to climb and how many times I was going to, I honestly thought I was starting to become overconfident about this activity, but I didn’t even realize that after my failure. When we got there, it didn’t seem like we were near a rock climbing wall, the drive just dropped us off in a field. I was rather confused at first because I didn’t see any hills, it was just a field with a treeline to the woods. The instructors told us all to walk to this wood logging trail, which seemed completely excavated, I thought to myself, “We aren’t going to climb that right?” We just walked through the trail and it was all a long strenuous uphill walk that never seemed to end, for the first time I was actually really tired in the trip. This was getting me slightly worried because this uphill walk was nothing compared to the hike we did around one of the tallest mountains in Maine. This hill was testing me, I kept wanting breaks and I was behind from everyone else. Maybe this hill was foreshadowing me that I was going to have a very disappointing day. Once the trail ended, I felt completely …show more content…
I ran down to a secluded place and thought about my failure for twenty minutes. People asked me if I was okay, but I didn’t answer them. I was disappointed because my fears ruined my experience of rock climbing, I was even about to cry because I felt like I didn’t push myself to overcome a fear I’ve had for most of my life. I realized that I had to change a couple of things, I needed to get rid of my fears because they were affecting my experience of the trip. I also realized that I needed to push myself further because not only did I fail on my goal , the instructors were even concerned if I was okay physically. I was but I had fatigue and I started to feel it that day. After the climbing was over, we all walked back to camp and I was upset, I was homesick, but during the bonfire, many people thought I was really brave for climbing even though I had a fear of heights which made me feel better. It made me realize that failures can reach to new successes.
After that awful day, I actually pushed myself and it led me to become one of the most inspiring people in my group according to my instructors. Now, I’m officially not scared of heights but the important thing is that I don’t want my fears to cause to me fail because failure is something that hurts. I still do think about that day because it would’ve felt great to have reached the top, and that experience won’t probably ever happen which is very disappointing, at least it changed

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    "One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do,"this quote by Henry Ford reconnects when it comes to facing something you're afraid of; our fears. When we get over fears, we realize only then that we had the courage before to do that something we were afraid of doing. One time I was afraid was when I started ice skating. I was at a party for my younger sister's friend at an ice ring.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    On the way to the appointment, I was familiar with the Azusa area and it all seemed rather easy. Once I exited the freeway I traveled north and was unsure of where I was going because all of a sudden it turned into a one lane road into the San Gabriel Mountains. The road was winding and I could tell that I was climbing in elevation.…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Most of it consisted of me trying to pop my ears. When we got there, I prepared myself physically and mentally. As I was stretching, I thought of how hard it would be. I had never really climbed a mountain so I knew I was in for a hard time. As we were starting, I realized that the climb up would be a lot harder than the climb down because gravity would be pulling you down.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Killer Hill Poem

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Killer Hill One wrong step could lead me to my doom. I clutched onto a flimsy vine, thinking to myself no wonder it is called Killer Hill. I felt an overwhelming fear. The crusty green leaves on the trees engulfed me in their arms.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    It was a sunny 56 degree day here in Beaver Creek, Colorado and I was ready to make my snowboarding debut. I woke up with a spark of energy and I was ready to go up to the lift, but first I had to go and get my purple and black snowboard. After I had my snowboard in hand I walked outside. While I was making my way up to the lift, my stomach was flipping 100mph and I saw all of the kids struggling to get on the lift. I was praying to God that I would not fail while trying to get on the lift.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    There was a lake right next to the rock face and it was very windy so my voice was not heard. I decided I may as well keep trying to go higher. After a few minutes I had a breakthrough and was able to continue my ascent. However, I eventually came to a standstill yet again. Although this time I decided I would not give up so easily.…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is a time that I experienced failure and how did I learn from it? Everyone in there life will have experienced failure at one time or another. Failure isn’t bad all the time and it doesn’t define who you are, you are defined by how you bounce back from that failure. A time I have experienced failure is during football when I fumbled the ball.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moving “How would you two feel about moving?” my parents asked. At that moment, so many thoughts were going through my head like, why? “WHAT!?” my sister and I said in unison.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I have never felt more abashed about a conflict that almost shattered my dreams. Throughout life, I never truly understood the failure of success. There are numerous accounts of failure I have strived from. However, now that I have experienced true failure, there is only one account that affected me the most that I’ll never forget. Failure is difficult to grasp and accept, especially when it nearly jeopardized my livelihood.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The feeling of accomplishment I had, makes me excited to climb more mountains or tackle anything new, like making friends and going to a new school. I now know that I can do…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nt1310 Unit 3 Assignment

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I have conquered Mount Breckenridge in Colorado and Jiu Zhai Gou in China; hence, I thought this task will give me no trouble. But I began to get tired and felt sleepy as I haven’t slept yet. I was halfway there when suddenly I lost my focus, misplaced my left foot on the ground and fell down. Pain and desperation were the only things I felt. I wasn’t able to move my body shortly afterwards so I just lay down on the rocky soil, waiting for my friends to come simultaneously.…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn? Failure is not unusual but having the courage to get back up and fight for what I believe in is indeed unusual. Much earlier in my studies, I have surmounted tremendous hardship which caused me to drop out of college. I have migrated to America in the early 2000s with my family seeking a better life because my country did not have much to offer.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I've made a lot of mistakes, just like any other person, but one shining example that comes to mind when I think about growth from personal failure is my freshman year of high school. I failed English, Algebra, and Health. I had to spend three days in summer school recovering credits. My freshman year of high school was a tough year. I had a very hard time staying motivated and focused, forget being anywhere near organized.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Everyone has experiences that shape them as a person. Some have negative impacts, some have positive impacts. Regardless, they have made people into who they are. When faced with obstacles it is easier to give up, but the only way to achieve success is to overcome them. One of the experiences that had a profound impact on who I am is when I almost lost my spot on my cheer team.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ever since I was young, I loved the adventure of traveling. I couldn’t wait to explore and come across something different. I was drawn to the appeal of a new world – new people, new streets, new food, new culture, new everything. I believe traveling makes me feel more mindful than ever because I experience something out of the ordinary every time, away from my everyday routine and worries like a weekly online assignment. It broadens my perspective and exposes me to different ways of life, some beyond my comfort zone.…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics