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Should I quit my expedition? Opinions needed

Hi there.

In July 2015 I am going on an expedition with 9 other people from my school to Ecuador for 3 weeks. It's with a company called 'Outlook Expeditions' and it's similar to things like 'World Challenge' which is quite popular as far as I'm aware.

Anyway to go on an expedition like this, you have to raise an awful lot of money. Due to various reasons, this past year it has been quite difficult for me to raise much money so now with just under a year left to go, I've still got a lot to raise but not a lot of time.

I should mention I'm now in year 13 and this is part of the reason I'm worrying. Raising funds for an expedition like this requires a lot of time and effort but this year is obviously a very crucial year. We've got the uni applications which will undoubtedly take a large amount of my time these next few months and as well as this I've gotta resit all of AS maths alongside my A2's (Maths, geography and Spanish) so this is also going to be an extra pressure placed on myself.

What I'm worried about is if I'm going to have enough time to raise some money for this expedition or if it's just best for me to quit right now and forget about this all so I can just focus on my school work and getting into uni. If anyone has been on an expedition like this and can provide and opinion then I would be very grateful. Thanks

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Reply 1

kazantu

Haha, I got back from the exact same expedition with Outlook about a month ago. From actually being there, I think I can confidently tell you that it's worth it. The difference between the experience and your normal way of life – be that trekking in the Andes or lugging rocks in the rainforest – means that you can't quite forget it. While there was admittedly not a strong sense of teamwork among my group (fair enough since some people already hated others before even signing up), you do tend to think somewhat more cooperatively after spending ages with the same people, and independently too since you'll likely be encouraged to use your initiative and work out logistical matters for yourself. All in all good skills to have in life :smile:

I didn't really manage to raise much at all myself since I was never able to make it to bagpacking events and the like, and no one really had a problem with that. I think as long as you put some effort into fundraising while giving yourself plenty of time for revision you shouldn't have too much of a problem. The idea is that you do what you can to prepare for the trip, not more than you can handle.

I'd say try and do some fundraising early on before the pressure gets too high. Also, depending on the dates, you might have a small window of opportunity after your exams to do some extra fundraising too. I might suggest talking to your person organising the expedition about it as well, just so they understand your predicament.

Reply 2

samy1014

Well I'm really glad to hear you've been on the same expedition and you've enjoyed it and what you've said is really quite sensible I suppose. I can definitely try to raise as much money as I can, even if I can't get all of it. I mean, it's the effort that counts right? Yeah I think I may have a chat with my teacher who's doing this but thank you very much :smile:

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Reply 3

kazantu

Exactly. School still comes first after all :wink:

'Tis no problem and anyway, I hope you do well this year and that you get what you want, and from one fellow Ecuatoriano to another-to-be, good luck over there! It'll certainly be well-deserved :smile: