I started the Gold award when I was 17 and I had not done the Bronze or the Silver award. It was a life changing experience when I started the expedition section and going for a hiking trip in the Brecon Beacons with my school friends. I couldn't walk properly after that first expedition, but it was amazing to see the beautiful mountains in the Beacons. I was unable to complete the expedition section with my friends when I was 18 so I decided to complete other sections of the award. I worked as a youth worker for volunteering to the community and it helped me to become more assertive and able to deal with difficult teenagers. I took up driving as a new skill to learn and this was a rewarding experience as it taught me about persistence. Initially I struggled to learn to drive and I failed my 1st test. My persistence paid off and I passed 2nd time. My residential project was a sailing trip across the English Channel from Ipswich to Portsmouth and I was initially sick on the boat. However, I managed to overcome sickness and complete the 5 day voyage in very cold weather so it taught me about endurance. My physical recreation involved learning kickboxing and this helped to build my physical fitness and discipline for the expedition section. It took me until I was 23 to complete the expedition section where I went for practice expeditions in Snowdonia and the Lake District in a group. The final test was in Poland and it was physically more demanding than all the practice expeditions I had done, but our group successfully completed it. All these things have helped to shape certain attributes that I have and have given me life long experiences to cherish and allowed me to meet some amazing people. It was a wonderful journey ?.