8/1

The highlight of today was definitely the amazing race that we had around Chiang Mai. My group was so fired up for the event! We decided to pack our lunches and head straight to the venue to start strategically planning for the race (we had collected various maps from the hotel lobby). We seemed competitive, but we were only trying to have as much fun as we possibly could, and receive the best we could get out of the experience. I could really feel a sense of teamwork among us and I cannot stress how grateful I am to be part of this wonderful Heritage family.

Prof Zac started the leadership session by making us do self-introductions to the people we didn’t know or were unfamiliar with. I have to admit that it felt silly greeting my peers formally by shaking their hand. However, I soon realised the importance of a good self-introduction, and how a firm handshake can go a long way in creating a good first impression. Prof Zac then asked us to reflect on what kind of leader do we personally think we are. Honestly, I feel that my confidence as a leader is lacking. I find myself shying away from public speaking because I’m so afraid of how people may judge me based on what I say. I know that I still have much to improve on not only as a student leader, but as an individual as well. It’s a new year and its high time for me to step up and feel confident about my own leadership skills.

We soon split into our sub-groups and set out for the amazing race. The amazing race was really fun! My group managed to uncover all 3 locations and complete almost all the tasks (optional and compulsory) we had to do. That being said, there were times when things didn’t go as well as we wanted. There were times when I felt exasperated and tired. There were also times when I didn’t understand the way my team mates went about handling the different problems we faced along the way. However, I’ve learnt that we all deal with problems differently, and that everyone’s leadership style differs from one another. What’s important is remembering that we all had the same end goal in mind, that is, completing the race to our best of our ability, and making sure that no one got left behind during the race. Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten 🙂 Overall, I feel that we worked great as a team. Even though there was no ‘formal leader’ in our group, it was nice to have people step up and also have people take a back seat when necessary. To me, that’s what teamwork is all about. As an entire Heritage team, we managed to clinch 2^nd place for the amazing race! Yay 🙂 It was fun being able to explore Chiang Mai freely, unfettered from the imaginary chains of our mobile phones.

We’ll be leaving for Singapore tomorrow. Its too soon! Chiang Mai has been nothing short of amazing. Words alone are insufficient for me to describe how much I’ve gained from this experience. I’m most thankful to have made new friends within the big USP family. Being part of the Heritage group has undoubtedly been the best thing that has ever happened to me so far. The people in my group are warm, friendly, kind, understanding and CRAZY (to say the least). Being able to tour Chiang Mai with the USP has undoubtedly been an absolute privilege. I look forward to many more adventures in USP!

I feel very thankful 🙂