Expedition Log: Preface

I've never really been in a situation where I was stretched to my limits of endurance/performance in terms of survival. But I can think back to a time in my second year at high school when I had to lead the whole grade. I joined the committee that would organize the shuugaku-ryokou, the five-day trip we juniors would take at the end of the school year. Planning the trip itself was difficult, but I found that one of the largest hurdles we had to overcome was proving to the school and ourselves that we were responsible enough to go on this trip.

Unlike previous years, Task 1 for us was to regain trust from the teachers and the school; the trust we had lost on our previous school trip where some students had been caught smoking and disobeying other rules. Before we even got to planning the actual trip We needed everybody's cooperation to show that we had learned our lesson and were responsible enough to take on this large scale trip. In order to do that, we needed strong teamwork within the grade.

Instead of simply blaming the grade from afar or a higher position, we as a committee discussed how our goal would be: to lead our peers, while maintaining the mutual understanding that we were all part of the same team. We organized events such as Mini-Sports Day and a laid-back talk session in the cafeteria, to get to know each other better and to induce teamwork. To include everybody, I typed up our weekly meeting records and pinned it to onto our notice board. We carved out a "Popo-chan box" out of a cardboard for people to write their opinions on a slip of paper and hand in.

There was no obvious indiciation where the teachers finally told us, "Ok, you guys can go on your trip." But it was clear that there was a strong sense of togetherness that had naturally spread throughout the grade, and was driving us toward our ultimate goal. At the same time we had to lead, it was important for us to show that we weren't smarter, superior than everybody else in any way. Being a good friend and listener built a strong basis for the trust we needed as leaders.