Physical journeys are embedded in everybody's lives.

Whether its as and life ris king as hiking up a treacherous mountain, or as simple as strolling to a local coffee shop. After hearing many other speeches about their own physical journey's, there is no doubt, more to it than just arriving at a destination. The physical journey also encompasses the emotional change in onese lf, in result of hardships and or obstacles faced in the process of the journey. Through my exper iences, I was able to discover some pretty nasty truths about myself, and of all of humanity. This is some heavy stuff, so if your ready, embark on this journey with me now. It was an average day of the Summer Holidays. 3 o'clock. 28 degrees celcius. Loc ation, friends house around Beverly Hills. Spending a little time there, I discovered that my stomach wasn't so happy about the food i was putting in it. Basically put, it was nagging for attention, an at tention that I could not satisfy at that given time. After ignoring it for a considerable amount of time, I realised that it was begginning to thump louder... I, continued to ignore it by preoccuping myself ho lding a conversation with my friend. Soon enough it began to release immense pain in the abdomen area on a nd off every 5 minutes. It was safe to say that it was the most intense and excrutiating pain I've ever felt in my stomach. Halfway through talking, I had to deal with a searing pain that caused me to flinch in t he most unusual ways. Every one of them seemed to get exponentially worse. I realised it wasn't the be st idea to hang around anymore. Farewelling my friend, I began my way towards the train station. Before I steppe d out of the house, I was pierced yet again, which sent me sprawling out, kickstarting me into a journey t hat will soon shape me in mysterious ways. It was simple. Trek 300 metres to trainstation, Estimated arrival of the train i s in 5 minutes, get off, and walk half a kilometer back home. Seemed easy enough. Though, as cliche goes, it was easier said than done. Another one of those struck, harder than ever. It struck so mercilessly, causing my whol e body to stutter violently. That, was when i realised that this wasn't a joke anymore. Its darn serious. Whatever is in that stomach, wants to come out. It's ETA would probably be in around 5 minutes. Any longer, it may just giv e way. I couldn't imagine it happening though, and after finishing a course in English last year on Power, I remembered that the human will always prevails. And so, in order to beat that ETA, I ran. That, I can tell you, was one of the worst mistakes I could have possibly made in that journey. I don't know if all of you have play ed pokemon back in the days but when one of your pokemon were poisoned in battle, one of the things you do not d o is run. Anyone who's played it will know that running would only speed up the process. And that was exactly wha t happened. It was like shaking up a coke bottle, or chucking sodium in water, so to speak. Unfortunately, I onl y learnt of this halfway through

running when I realised that holding it in was next to impossible. At that very moment. I could feel my body give way in full submission. It would have to be one of the most humbling moments in my life. There I was, helplessly standing there while substance was r eleased, like how you would squeeze out barbecue sauce. I will spare you the details. But at that moment, I had a su rge of mixed feelings, ranging from relief to the deepest shame, and at the same time, excrutiating anxiety. Somethi ng told me that getting to my destination will be much harder. And it was. I continued, now, the burden no lon ger in my stomach, but... elsewhere. Never before, have I felt so out of place in this world. The rest of the way to the trainstation, I tried to move every bit of my bone as normal as possible, inorder to prevent a spill. My selfconciousness made my face red. Every glance at me felt like an everlasting glare. Suddenly the whole world felt like it was revolving around me... in a bad way. It felt like there were judgemental eyes everywhere, watching my e very move. Burning with nervousness, i made my way down a flight of stairs that lead me to the platform. Luckily, I w as in time for the train. I tried to shorten the distance travelled as much as I could so that i could get on using t he least movement. I seperated myself from a business man who was nearby, in case there was some sort of odour that was being emitted. This, was one of the most stressful moments in my life. I Walking out of train station. dilemna of stairs vs lift. Public toilet. The unimaginable experience. My reflection. ashamed of what happened, but today, I'm proud to tell you all ab out it. I see the whole world differently now. In a whole new light. I have been enlightened with the fact tha t, we as humans, are so out of control. Even if its as simple as your own bodily functions. Being a 16 y ear old, I thought this could never happen to me. That is how i concluded that I must submit to nature. Becaus e I am powerless against it. Next time when my body tells me that its time, I will definitely listen to it, lest n ature repeats itself. As Marlow did in the heart of darkness, I look at all of you in contempt, for no t understanding the intensity of my experiences. But i also choose to shield you from the horrid truth, by saving you the details.