Staying Sane in this Insane World.

♥ Saturday, January 1, 2011

Went for the Boys' Home Block D Camp from 28th-30th December held at the Boys' Brigade HQ @ Sembawang. Meaningful way to end off 2010!! Honestly, i was a little apprehensive at first, not knowing what kinda behavior to expect when i reach there. After all, it was a whole bunch of boys im gonna be dealing with, and being a group leader the responsibility falls on me to lead the group. They were tough to handle, even tougher to handle than kids at camp!! There were 6 boys (aren't really boys though; Dave's 18 already)-- Ismail, Zahari, Khazir, Dave, Roger and Don in my group and they are very diverse characters. They really like to wander and disappear ALOT, so im like a mother hen trying to find my little chicks all the time LOL. It was a little awkward at first, slowly learning how to communicate with them through observation and interaction. It's much easier to get them to open up when speaking one-to-one and i felt happy that some of them shared their stories with me. Even happier when through the conversations you see their repentence and willingness to work hard to change their ways. Honestly, the boys are really adorable; they like to act tough and pretend they don't give a damn, but deep down i see their sincerity. So touched when Don brought us a plate of chicken wings n cuttlefish balls during performance prac when he knew im stil hungry! Felt so proud of them when we performed The Reason and You Belong With Me together. When things have to be done they do cooperate to get it done, and im so glad i had a group who loved to win so much LOL. For every single game they told me we gonna win it. love the fighting spirit!! We came in 2nd overall! =D

It was a hectic and tiring camp; the games were meant to tire them out, but we got exhausted instead! They guys really damn fit! NTU guys lost by a landslide during tug-o-war with them! Disgrace! LOL. We played alot of sports games and i had to join in cos there wasn't enough players. Got myself aching and bruised! Gotta admit it was damn fun though! Havent played so much n exercised in a long time! Soccer, captain's ball, volleyball, frisbee plus the circuit games and dirty games and wet games. never-ending action all day long!! Test of my stamina man. Thk god i survived the camp!

The camp changed my views about the boys at the home; previously there wasn't much interaction cos' it was just playing games at the home, but through the camp i got to know their personalities and tempers better. The guys are indeed very rowdy, but u can tell they lack self confidence, being really shy to show their talents. It isn't that they are bad or rebellious, realised that mostly it was due to bad influence from friends or conflict with family. Some of them committed crimes out of impulse, some have tempers that need greater control. What the home does is to provide a place for them to reflect on their misdeeds and hopefully find a purpose in life. Im heartened to see a lot of them wanting to study to at least achieve their N Levels, and that many of them want to pursue their education. I wish the society could see that these boys aren't hopeless, they just need guidance and time to grow up. I once stereotyped them too, and im thankful for the chance to change my perceptions. Some of the boys are leaving the home soon, and i share their joy in that. Really hope that they'll stay on the right path and have a bright future ahead!

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beautiful summer memories at1:21 AM