Stephanie. Outward Bound Alumni
My name is Stephanie, I am a former Outward Bound participant and completed the 19 day Skills for Life Award in 2017 when I was 18. As I look back now, I learned more about myself in those 19 days than I had in my entire life. The course had such an impact that it still influences and inspires me, especially right now.
Lockdown hasn’t been easy, I am a young carer living in Glasgow with my mum who is at risk. We are self-isolating to protect her which means we don’t leave my house. The first few weeks were extremely difficult for me, but I've managed to adapt. I think a lot of it is about mindset, and I've had a lot of time to reflect on where I am now.
Mindset was a big game changer for me when I was at Outward Bound, learning to adapt from a fixed mindset to an open mindset took me some time and I've been struggling to maintain a growth mindset during the lockdown sometimes. The lack of social interaction and outside space is difficult. To keep myself distracted I've been working on setting goals and dreams of what I want to do and achieve afterwards. I find that doing this tends to give me a little bit of hope!
I've had my good and bad days, but it seems that lately my anxiety has been growing more and more. I gained a lot of different skill sets during my course, and a big breakthrough for me was realising how resilient I actually am, and that sometimes things don’t always go to plan and that's okay. All that matters is how I bounce back from that and adapt and I'm so grateful for that as it helps me cope immensely. It might not seem like this lockdown will come to an end, but it will, so I just have to keep fighting that little bit longer.
Since completing the Skills for Life Award I changed my college course and I have been working hard to become an Outdoor Instructor. This summer I was due to start my first job with an outdoor education centre and complete my Summer Mountain Leader Training. Due to the lockdown my contract has currently been put on hold. At the moment all of my plans are down the drain. It's a little frustrating as I feel I've worked really hard, but as long as myself and my loved ones are happy and healthy that's all that matters! I'm looking forward to getting back out into the mountains after this both for my physical and mental health and to realise my dream of becoming an outdoor Instructor.
I look back now, and I can definitely say that the Skills for Life Award was something I never thought I would do. I can also say with greater confidence than ever, that it was the most positively life changing thing I have done. Over the last three years I have held onto the words of my Course Director James, “Like a compass needle, you will always wobble before finding your true north.”
Stephanie's Story
We had the opportunity to interview Stephanie a year after course in 2018. It's amazing to see the difference her experience at Outward Bound continues to have for her.