On the second week of school holidays I attended a camp with the rising foundation. Our theme was all about Gratitude, There were 4 workshops each with a different meaning. In one workshop which was facilitated by Avi (Sir Ed Coordinator) we learnt about the 3 steps to gratitude which are feeling, expression, change and ways we could show gratitude. Jordan (Rewa Coordinator) had a workshop about regrets and “not knowing what you have till it’s gone” the workshop was really like a life lesson and personal for everyone thinking about the things we have taken for granted and I think that’s when it really opened up our eyes a quote that Jordan said was “regrets are like invisible weights” meaning you will always carry your regrets with you the workshop helped us understand what regrets really are an the consequences behind the mistakes we make.

In Eddie’s (Kura Coordinator) workshop we learnt more around what appreciation is and how we could show or tell the person that we’re grateful and appreciative for them, as part of the workshop we had to write an appreciation letter and tell that person why we appreciate them and what we’re grateful for. Jazz’s (Puke Coordinator) workshop was our last one for the week and we learnt about whakapapa, knowing where we come from, who we are as a person, our background and being Grateful for family. The workshops taught us a lot towards regrets, appreciation and really knowing who you are within yourself and others, and just tied into gratitude and the different point of views on gratitude and what gratitude truly is.

Over the week of camp we had learnt how to work together, becoming one in our activities including everyone and it personally helped me achieve my goal that i had for the week which was getting out of my comfort zone, building my confidence around new people and getting to know them, everyone was always happy and vibing and over time just felt like a big second family.

Arama Rakena