Please i need constructive criticisms. Any form of corrections will be appreciated.
Man O' War is a Citizenship and Leadership Training Program in my country Nigeria. I was enrolled to participate last summer.
The two weeks of routine 5am wake up, rigorous day tasks and inspirational talks were over and I was moving along on the road with my fellow students en route Orozo which was the final destination where the camping tutorials would be held.
Until then, I always laughed off talks about the long, weary walk to an unknown place for tutorials by my predecessors. Now I tried t desperately to conserve the water, rather than to think of the distance the journey held. I could almost feel the lactic acid coagulating in my muscle fibers. My face felt burnt in the hot afternoon sun and my mouth as dry as a desert. This was not, could not be, someone's life.
We moved along the pathways near the hillsides where the villagers resided. I looked to the left just as my friend, Kaka pointed out 6 people all trying to eat from a single plate which had mediocre food ration, and the mud houses behind them. Why this kind of life? How have they managed to survive?
The journey wore on. The instructors jeered at us at a particular point because of our low-level endurance. True, it seemed like and the weight of the camping materials which I carried made it a struggle to keep up pace with them. Maybe I should have taken the "Morning Tea" and other endurance tasks more seriously.
At Orozo, the instructors taught us different things such as, tent making and survival tactics in poorly developed areas. I listened carefully and struggled to accept the ways of life of those living in such areas especially those villagers I saw earlier on. Each tutorial brought another wave of pity: each added another layer to what I felt when I saw those 6 children. As I listened, realized the significance of what the instructors worked to achieve yearly.
I was to be completely independent for the first time in the succeeding task. I worked hard and struggled to make my tent, I was even last to finish. Surprisingly, my tent was the best and I received accolades for a job well done. For once I felt really good for doing something worthy of recognition alone.
I came to Loyola Jesuit College with memories and pictures. I have a picture of myself while I was working hard at my tent. I have memories of my friends bringing up innovative ideas in making their tents, of fatigue-crying lads, and of the poverty in that village. I wish I could re-enroll for the Man O' War but sadly it comes but once.
I also brought back a new level of confidence: a place within me which held a strong conviction that I can overcome obstacles which I have been creating throughout my life and that it has finally taken its foundation. I can now build on it, even "roof" it perhaps. Each day I work towards making the sky my view point instead of my limit.
Man O' War is a Citizenship and Leadership Training Program in my country Nigeria. I was enrolled to participate last summer.
The two weeks of routine 5am wake up, rigorous day tasks and inspirational talks were over and I was moving along on the road with my fellow students en route Orozo which was the final destination where the camping tutorials would be held.
Until then, I always laughed off talks about the long, weary walk to an unknown place for tutorials by my predecessors. Now I tried t desperately to conserve the water, rather than to think of the distance the journey held. I could almost feel the lactic acid coagulating in my muscle fibers. My face felt burnt in the hot afternoon sun and my mouth as dry as a desert. This was not, could not be, someone's life.
We moved along the pathways near the hillsides where the villagers resided. I looked to the left just as my friend, Kaka pointed out 6 people all trying to eat from a single plate which had mediocre food ration, and the mud houses behind them. Why this kind of life? How have they managed to survive?
The journey wore on. The instructors jeered at us at a particular point because of our low-level endurance. True, it seemed like and the weight of the camping materials which I carried made it a struggle to keep up pace with them. Maybe I should have taken the "Morning Tea" and other endurance tasks more seriously.
At Orozo, the instructors taught us different things such as, tent making and survival tactics in poorly developed areas. I listened carefully and struggled to accept the ways of life of those living in such areas especially those villagers I saw earlier on. Each tutorial brought another wave of pity: each added another layer to what I felt when I saw those 6 children. As I listened, realized the significance of what the instructors worked to achieve yearly.
I was to be completely independent for the first time in the succeeding task. I worked hard and struggled to make my tent, I was even last to finish. Surprisingly, my tent was the best and I received accolades for a job well done. For once I felt really good for doing something worthy of recognition alone.
I came to Loyola Jesuit College with memories and pictures. I have a picture of myself while I was working hard at my tent. I have memories of my friends bringing up innovative ideas in making their tents, of fatigue-crying lads, and of the poverty in that village. I wish I could re-enroll for the Man O' War but sadly it comes but once.
I also brought back a new level of confidence: a place within me which held a strong conviction that I can overcome obstacles which I have been creating throughout my life and that it has finally taken its foundation. I can now build on it, even "roof" it perhaps. Each day I work towards making the sky my view point instead of my limit.