I've been thinking a lot about things that enrich our lives, alongside what gives us purpose or motivation, and whilst freeing up memory on my cloud storage I came across something I write last summer when my youngest daughter was taking part in her first ever Tall Ships Race. She is just back from Italy and together with a friend from the same school mentioned below, she drove around in a hired Fiat Panda exploring the culture and seeing Pisa, and soaking up the vibes of Florence before returning to crew in her second Tall Ships experience. Both my daughters have lived far more adventurous lives than I have, although my enrichment came from different experiences to theirs.
There has been a steep rise in youth crime where I live in the South of England, it can be intimidating to witness anti-social behaviour but as our economic state and our out-of-touch government grapples with papering over the cracks and ignores the deepening rifts caused by leaving the European Union, as bills get harder to pay, food costs soar and pressures grow on ordinary people, the disruption caused by all this sees young people left without support or direction and can lead to acts of small aggression, destruction or frustration. This leads me back to enrichment, the extra icing on the cake, the opportunity taken that leads to new horizons, the moment that changes a person's perspective, how they feel or their next decision...
July 2022
I was thinking how great it was to see that we have a local girls' football team and giving some thought to some of the amazing things our young people do that rarely receive attention. Whilst it only takes one young person to drop some litter or, (through boredom mostly) commit small acts of anti-socialism to attract instant condemnation. From charity fund-raising to caring for a parent or sibling, to volunteering in the community, being part of a successful sports team, and even shopping for an elderly neighbour there are so many examples that demonstrate how wonderful young people are.
During the cursed 'lock-down' we heard of many such acts by young people. I am missing these positive stories. I am sure young people are still doing these things.
My youngest was incredibly lucky to experience an enrichment programme during her time at her secondary school, Wyvern St Edmunds' the culmination of which was a challenge to climb Mt Toubkal (4167 metres above sea level in the High Atlas Mountains). Encouraged and joined by her then, form teacher Miss Kirkham, a coachful departed from St. Edmunds. What! No toilets !!? the girls exclaimed in horror at the induction tal, "Yep' came the reply, "what goes up the mountain comes down the mountain". It was a life-changing challenge for many of the group who undertook it and I still remember how exhausted they all were when they arrived back at school - exhausted and exhilarated.
That challenge gave my youngest the courage to successfully apply to become Head Girl, a role she thrived in, and this summer she is undertaking the Tall Ships Challenge 2022 aboard the Jolie Brise, currently somewhere out in the North Sea between Antwerp in Belgium and Aalberg in Denmark (amongst some of the largest cargo and container ships that I wish I'd never looked at on the Marine Traffic Tracker!).
So thank you St. Edmunds (Wyvern St Edmund's) that inspiring enrichment programme has enabled my youngest to get over the sudden cessation of her known school life (no exams, no prom, suddenly no friends to be with every day) and to start at a sixth form where she knew no-one, where lock-downs yo-yo'd in and out and it has enabled her to see those challenges as possibilities, to look beyond the immediate horizon.
She is not alone, her friends have similar stories of growth and achievement. All different, all positive. My maternal pride has led me to digress a little, and I know that in life we don't all get the same opportunities and we don't all make good choices when opportunities present themselves. I also know, that in the parish that I work in; schools, parish councillors, the scouting and guiding association, churches, housing associations, Wiltshire Council - a whole host of agencies and people, are all working hard to find ways to provide more opportunities for young people to have things to do and places to go, to encourage and inspire their brilliant young minds and channel the phenomenal energy that young people possess.
Covid took away so much, I hope we can continue to offer challenges and opportunities for our young people so they all have a chance to widen their horizons and discover that to climb a mountain you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you'll get to the top.
