An experience on year 9 OLP that taught me empathy and leadership skills was our hike out of the gorge, out of four ways. Carrying our homes, food, clothes, and water in 10kg packs, was no easy task and we all had to adapt and become leaders to overcome this challenge.

Physically, the task was difficult enough. 50 metres didn’t seem like much, except that it was practically a vertical climb. Mentally however, it was also challenging. Keeping a positive attitude was crucial to our success. Part of being a leader meant that it was my job to keep people in a positive mindset. Everyone in our group had different levels physically, this meant we all had to be leaders, and check in on the people who were struggling to see if they were doing ok. We made the climb in a snake formation, meaning the people at the head constantly had to check that their tail wasn’t too far behind them. This also required us to use empathy and accept that everyone was struggling, and we had to adjust what we were doing so that no one felt left behind.

Sticking together as a team challenged my leadership skills. A lesson we had to learn early on was that one of us succeeding the hike made no difference, everyone had to cross the imaginary finish line. “A team is only as strong as its weakest link”. There were no “winners” in this hike, so there was no point powering ahead and leaving everyone else behind. It was a team achievement, not an individual achievement.

When we exited the gorge, we were rewarded with being able to look over the beautiful place we were fortunate enough to camp in for a night. We were overwhelmed by a sense of pride in our achievements. Sticking together as a team meant that we could all enjoy this success as a team, rather than individuals who had won a race.