Volunteering.

Last week I went on a volunteering trip where I went on a camp with 11 other people who I had never met before. It was pretty scary at first because I had never done anything like that before but I thought it would be a good way to push myself out of my comfort zone. The ages between us all ranged from 18-70. It was great meeting new people and hearing their stories and why they decided to do the camp. Everyone got on really well and I'm so happy that I pushed myself to go on the trip because it was a really great experience.

We spent 5 of the days working on a Castle's estate where we worked to maintain the beautiful gardens and footpaths around the estate. I suppose it might sound boring to some people but when you're with other people and having to work as a team to get tasks done, it turns out to be a lot of fun and is always rewarding at the end of a hard day's work.

We stayed in lodge in the middle of the countryside where there was no internet, television or phone service. This made it easier to get to know the other people because there really wasn't much else to do except talk, play board games or Frisbee. We also had to cook our own meals every evening which was fun because a small handful of us each night would volunteer to be the cooks. The night's I volunteered were the nights we made a delicious vegetable curry and I also got the chance to make meatballs which tasted awesome if I do say so myself haha! One of the men made homemade sticky toffee pudding which is my all time favourite desert and it was wonderful.

Overall, the whole week was great and I'm so glad I decided to do it. It has also made me think about other volunteering opportunities for next summer which are more further afield, such as going abroad. I'd even consider going on mini gap year where I could go travelling but I'll see where the next few months take me before I decide on anything.

looby-loo x