I Believe

As I prepare to return to South America I will confess to much more than trepidation, the reality is that I am terrified about going back. What fills me though with PRIDE is the love and support I have experienced through what has been a very difficult period in my life.

So often in life we fail to tell those that are closed to us just how much they mean. It is only at times of tragedy that we think of all the things we have left un-said. How often I have heard people regret never telling someone that they loved them.

One positive thing about being beaten, bloodied and left for dead on the streets of Northern Ecuador is that it makes you realise just how fortunate you are.

I mean this in more than the simple material comforts that we all take too much for granted in the developed world. What struck me most of all was the fact that I am the richest man alive. I have a wealth beyond the dreams of Kings because I was fortunate enough to be born into a loving family who went to extra-ordinary lengths to secure my return home, to comfort and support me and to help me re-build.

I am the luckiest man alive to belong both to a very large family and yet at the same time to a very close family; none more so than my parents, my sister and I.
When God placed me with a family he could not have given me greater wealth than becoming my parents son. I never want to have the regret that I did not tell those I hold most dear just how much I love them. My Friends and wider family know this I am sure...But I want my parents and my sister to know that I LOVE THEM much more than words can ever say.

So many people have told me that my horrific experience in South America will take a long-time to get over, many people think I should spend my time be-moaning that which is lost. It has been traumatic but life has to move on and you can never regret all the tommorrow's you have to share when you are sharing them in the love and warmth of a family like mine.

One of my favourite songs is "The Wind Beneath My Wings", a song which poses the question "Did you ever know that you're my hero. [That] I would be nothing without you? Well I do fly higher than an eagle , but it is not a solo flight...the success in all I do comes from my family and friends.

When I was a boy, Glasgow was the centre of my universe. A daunting metropolis of gargantuan proportions. By the time I was an adult London had filled this void, and by my late 20's it was NYC. I love them all and they serve to remind me that there is a great big world out there for us all to find if we want to open our eyes and allow ourselves to learn.

I have had a rainy day, that's all. My glass is half-full not half-empty (memories here for all the students I have coached through Oxbridge entrance). The experience of August has taught me a great deal which I will share as time goes on. As my Mum always tells me "You can be all right today and all wrong tomorrow" and, as usual, she is correct. No-one can predict the wheel of fortune, but you will have a far greater engagement with life if you ride it rather than being a spectator.

I set out to make this project exciting for students and that is how it will remain.

My dear friend Alice sent me a message of support that summarises all those I have received...

I believe...
in mind over matter;
in the human spirit to prevail;
in miracles and blessings; both great and small;
in possibilities;
that hurdles in life are meant to be jumped over, not as something to stop us.
I believe in you!

Too often we think that it is never the right time to tell someone you love them, trust me on this It is always the right time...you may never get a second chance.

God Bless you all and here's to a successful year now we have successfully jumped the first hurdle together.

Will
X


Dear Will,
A quick note to wish you well on your wanderings. I bumped into Anne in Dorking yesterday and she's totally rooting for ye. I'll be priming the students on the Galapagos Islands: we're currently looking at sectors of industry so they'll ask about what primary, secondary and tertiary activities are undertaken there and what impacts they have.
All the best, mate,
Peter.