Outward Bound /
04/12/2015 /
There are things in life that you just have to try to know what is their true value.
To take part during two months in two beautiful projects organized by great leaders and a even better persons, was truly an honour for me. At first I thought I was going just for fun, for getting to know different cultures and people from different parts of Europe. But that’s just one of the things you experience on this kind of projects.
…getting out of you comfort zone to eventually end up as a stronger and more prosperous person.
The importance of these projects lies in the ratio of investment and gain. You come and participate, that’s all that is expected of you there, and in return you get so much knowledge, so many acquaintances, and useful skills, and you even get … grow up a bit. Living with strangers these nine days is one the major challenges, but in it lies all its particularity. It is a key that leads to the end of that journey.
Getting out of you comfort zone to eventually end up as a stronger and more prosperous person. The biggest advantage of such events is precisely the knowledge that gather along the way. Each project has its own theme and all are equally unknown, and equally important in the lives of young people who will soon face them in their lives. In two months I took part in the projects YE (Youth Exchange) Colors of Europe and “Hear our voice, gender equality is the right choice” YE. And though they were two completely different realities, I managed to find myself in both.
It is very important to work on yourself and just on the first project I had the opportunity to develop these skills and feel freer and safer through the activities that we had. There was a lot of fun even during activities, because they were tailored just for us young people – more precisely, to that “young” character in us. On the other hand, there is the very important issue of gender equality which we all aspire to.
Also, we are surrounded by inequality that perhaps even deprived some of us or someone from our family, friends or ourselves. And if not, we as young people have the opportunity to change, to become aware of the injustice against people due to their gender, because time will soon come when we will have in our hands the future of our younger generation. What makes these meetings most special is the way they are implemented, you learn a bit and you grow up a bit.
Through fun and interconnection, from in the beginning a little less pleasant debates and topics, each of us got a chance to learn something. I. myself as a student, can tell you that in those nine days I have learned so many things even without that being aware of it. It is easiest to learn when you’re not forced to and when you familiar with the situation, you have the opportunity to explore and to express opinion, listen and learn from other people.
After all, I have realised how much one own’s cultural background, age and character can surprise, and to realize that it is all a constitutive part of every one of us…in the end makes us all equal.
Ana Barišić, 18, SOS Children’s Village Lekenik
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