Ross' Reflections

Hello readers my name is Ross and I am a part of the Bridging Bonding & Linking Capitals Leadership course. I had no clue of what it was before I arrived, I was really nervous and anxious on what to expect and even had thoughts of turning round and going back home when I arrived at London Kings Cross. I had never travelled as far as I did, from home in Northumberland, by myself so it was a big challenge for me. The journey took about 8 hours and was very exhausting which made me even more nervous. Fortunately when I arrived I was greeted by a great bunch of people from different places in England, Northern Ireland and Kosovo. We all bonded really quickly and I instantly knew I was with a group of amazing people.

Throughout the week we did lots of activities and the group bonded really closely. All the activities were really good and inspiring but my highlights were, my inspiration/my hero, The George Williams tour and the final campfire.

I really enjoyed the my inspiration/hero session because not also did it give me a chance to tell the group about my hero and why am I here, but it gave me the opportunity to listen to the groups stories which I really respect them for sharing. It was really emotional and hard for me to share my story and the whole group thanked me after which was really nice. It was also good to hear other stories because it makes you realise that everybody has problems in their life, some worse than others, and it’s good to hear how they were helped to deal with them and how they are now inspired to inspire.

I also really enjoyed the George Williams tour as it really expanded my understanding of the YMCA roots. I had no clue that the YMCA had such an epic history. To find out that George Williams, a peace keeper, was buried next to two great warriors, Nelson and Wellington, and to stand were George Williams had his first gathering to find the YMCA was probably the most inspirational time of my life. To be the runt of litter and really have no hope, then to go on and start a massive organisation, made me think that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.   

Another one of my main highlights was the final campfire. The final campfire was really touching. We gathered round the fire with the people we had only known for 6 days, although it felt like I had known them for a life time, and gave a leaf to the 3 people we bonded with the most. It was quite challenging as I wanted to give a leaf to everyone as they’re all amazing people. After we done that we said our good byes and thanked people for being so understanding, honest and for giving the best of themselves. It was really hard as it felt like the end of an amazing journey, but deep down I knew it was only the beginning of what will be an outstanding adventure.