What Really Matters

Callan

As I've travelled away from my own family, and become part of a much larger and smellier one, I've come to appreciate what really matters. Who's there for you when you fail an exam? Who's there for you when you've had a rough day and have no one else to turn to? Who's there for you when you've just seen a place that brings you to tears and makes you question how life can be so unfair? Family means certainty, support, brotherhood. Family means love. My understanding of what family can mean has shifted, and my appreciation of family has finally reached the level at which it should be. 

As teenage boys, we're expected to be hard, insensitive and unemotional creatures, but the calibre of the lads on this trip has been made clear to me by their honesty and willingness to open up. The debrief sessions have been an invaluable part of my experience in India, and I have learnt just as much sitting around in a dingy Delhi hotel room as I have wandering city streets. 

I look forward to seeing how this new family develops over the next 2 weeks, and I can't wait to return to my own family and show them the love and gratitude that they invariably deserve.