Student Reflections
Best for Boys
“Only by coming face to face with who we are and what we are capable of do we begin the journey to become all that we can be.”
Participating in the Tihoi Venture Programme, Year 10 boys learn to appreciate the greatness of the out-doors and relate their experiences to everyday life.
Boys have the opportunity to identify who they are and what they are capable of as individuals, and they return enriched and empowered.
Boys learn to face and overcome new challenges, to work with others towards shared goals and to extend their own personal boundaries beyond what they might ever imagine.
Mirror Image
“I stare at the mirror, what do I see,
A modern day horror, or is it just me.
Alone out on solo, lonely as can be,
Nothing for miles, but the bush and me.
18 weeks a challenging time,
Far too magnificent to be put into rhyme.
I wake every morning to greet the new day,
Wood pigeons, tui’s it takes your breath away.
In the outdoors feeding the rat,
Giving Tihoi my all, my destiny on my back.
A boy to a man, as you grow older,
You are no longer carried on your parent’s shoulders.
Where to now? My life in my hands,
Freedom and sacrifice, they come hand in hand.
Who are you really deep down inside,
Your reflection is clouded by modern life.
For as I cast my gaze over this place,
My mirror is cleared, I have found my place.
18 weeks of pain and joy
Reflected in the mirror,
That is,
Tihoi.”
Author: Alistair Carmichael
2009/02
What Shaped my Life
Out of all the major aspects that have shaped my life, Tihoi would have to be the place that changed me the most.
Before Tihoi I had very low self esteem and very low confidence, so I resided most of my life in my room, on the computer. Exercise was a hassle for me and I never did any unless I had to. School was just one day after another of waiting for the days to go by, and my study… well it was non-existent. So you could say I had a very boring unfulfilled life.
Tihoi had a great impact on my life. During Tihoi the values I gained have helped me in making my life purposeful. Tihoi helped me socialise and push myself physically and mentally, further than ever before. I stopped being lazy and started to appreciate life and try harder in all aspects of it, instead of just looking at a screen the whole day thinking that pixels mattered.
So all in all, out of my experiences, Tihoi changed me the most, it allowed me to take on responsibilities and helped me leap from childhood into who I am today.
Year 10 Students reflect on their Tihoi experience
…Rock climbing
“To reach great heights you must be able to overcome difficult obstacles”
…Kayaking
“You don’t have to go with the flow (eddies); sometimes going with the flow can get you into trouble (waterfalls).”
…Caving
There are lots of challenges you must face even though you can’t see the light.”
...Sailing
“My life has goals; it’s just like doing things I don’t want to in sailing so I can make it to a special bay.”
…Solo
“I knew I had to last it because if I couldn’t overcome a difficulty, some time later in life a similar difficuly would come up and I would have wished I’d pulled through.”
…Tramping
‘People say they can’t wait till the end of the tramp, but when they get there they feel like turning back and doing it again. It’s just like life.”