North Carolina Outward Bound - Travis Ferrell

It was an honor to be chosen to participate in the North Carolina Outward Bound (NCOB) program. This year, the NCOB anthem really connected with me when things got difficult. There were three moments that changed my perspective on life: One was when I was in SOLO. During this time I was by myself for 3 days and
all I had to do was rest and think.

During this time, I studied over my life and the things I’ve done, wondering if I could have done things differently or was my fate already pre-destined. I wrote songs about the experience and missing the people that I thought I cared for the most. I looked over the people that I met over my time at NCOB and how they compared to the people back home. I noticed that the people at NCOB felt more like a family and the people at home are the people that make me feel more alone. I’ve never been able to have
real fun like when I was at NCOB.

Maybe it’s the decreased amount of consumed meats or the availability to smell real “fresh air“ within the smell of yourself but whatever the reason, I felt like I was going through what life really was. The days started to slow down and every minute seemed like an hour. I felt like I was trying to live in survival mode. The fasting for three days helped me think too.

The second experience that offered me clarity was when I was feeling kind of low for two days and my counselor Jess told me a story. She told me a story about why there is no right thing to do or
wrong consequence, just outcomes.

During this summer at NCOB, I pretty much learned that there is no giving up. You don’t have to give up when you truly believe that you can’t take any more of what is getting thrown your way. If you can find something to occupy you’re mind from thinking in the negative then you will be able to persevere through whatever it is that is troubling you.

I also learned that more of your “friends” that you meet from far away are more likely to stay in your life and be real friends and more compassionate then the ones at home. You could find a home in people that you never could find at home. I still talk to some of my NCOB brothers even if I'm flying by just to say “hey.”

At the end of the NCOB course you feel like you learned skills that you can apply in the future but you have to remind yourself that you can’t go back to the same ways or things that you used to do. You have to remind yourself that you have grown. I cannot thank the NCOB team for another opportunity to finish
the NCOB 21 day course.