Arriving in Greece, I had this preconceived notion of what I would experience; I was ignorant in thinking that a novel environment would not change me and upon arriving home 6 weeks later that I was going to be exactly the same person, with exactly the same expectations and exactly the same plans for the rest of my life. Ok, for some people this may be the case but I don’t think I fully appreciated how much I was settling for in my life before I embarked on this rollercoaster ride that was Archelon.
I could write in excess of 5000 words to summarise my personal experience in Lakonikos Bay, last summer, but instead, I will touch on just a few things.
Determination
My first week I spent being shy and kept myself to myself, I didn’t really want to share a lot nor be influenced by others which I was convinced was going to be a negative thing. Within 3 weeks of being on the project I was all of a sudden a morning person; waking up at ridiculous o’ clock before sunrise, tourists and in some cases even morning turtles. This was something I had never been able to do in my life as I’m often near comatose when I sleep. I averaged 12,000-15,000 steps a day as oppose to 2000-5000 in everyday life, not to mention the amount of sand we shifted when searching for turtle eggs. I never particularly thought I was capable of such grit and determination to carry on even when I felt like I was going to drop; pushing myself further and harder and in ways I’d never known before made me realise that I was psychically and mentally stronger than I originally thought and had the potential to do so much for myself.
Self Worth
As a team, we built camp up from the bare necessities to make it a home and with every volunteer that passed through it became more like our home. We painted, we built, we fixed and mended, pitched tents, solved practical problems around camp, operated as a team, shared the load, supported each other through struggle and hardship and appreciated each other for all our virtues and flaws. We learnt the value in having other people around us and became more than friends, we became a family. Developing these relationships, with such a large and positive network of people, cultivated a feeling of self-worth that I’d never felt before- it gave me confidence, self-love and an appreciation of others that I didn’t have before.
My Smarticles - ‘When someone or something is so smart that there is no word to describe it.’
Yes, I left feeling so smart that there are no words to describe it, but not conventionally smart instead I felt life smart. Within 2 weeks I had learnt so much about sea turtle conservation. From knowing nothing to being able to lead groups of volunteers and do it effectively, it made me proud and I realised that anything can be done if you really put your mind to it. Every problem I or my group were faced with wouldn’t be looked at conventionally, if it couldn’t be solved as it usually would be we would use our resources, our environment and our, yes you guessed it, smarticles to solve the problem and probably have a better outcome than we could have expected.
I left being more practical, wiser, much more relaxed in my outlook on life (which to you may not seem ‘smart’ but when I'm relaxed it facilitates my ability to succeed) and better equipped to deal with issues, that I was going to face than I previously had been.
In summary… If you have read my previous post about Egypt, you will know that my struggle with mental health has not been easy, and again my experience in Archelon gave me a similar epiphany. I left in the midst of living an anxious life, nervously anticipating the next moment and meticulously planning for it; all the whilst forgetting to appreciate the moment. I felt I needed to control everything, so nothing could go wrong if I could make everything ‘perfect’ then so I could be too, right? Nope, Wrong.
Archelon taught me that in order to achieve things in life you have to be determined, you have to be strong-willed, not give up and regardless of the outcome your efforts are always worth it. It taught me that I was worth so much more than I had ever thought I was, and that other people had made me feel I was worth something. It gave me the confidence to aim higher, reach further and broaden my horizons. I realised I could be who I am no matter how goofy, quirky, embarrassing or tumultuous I can be and the people around me should appreciate me for it, not deplore me for it. Finally, something I have to thank Archelon for, the most, is how much I attribute my final year successes of university to the experience. Since September I have had so much more belief in my smarticles and potential to excel academically, as well as in everyday life.
I arrived with a preconceived notion of who I was and what my life was; I left Lakonikos realising that I could be and have so much more. So thank you Archelon Lakonikos Bay and all the people who accompanied me on this exceptionally extraordinary journey.
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