14 Things People Who Have Done The Duke Of Edinburgh Award Will Understand

It was all worth it for that Bronze award, honest.

Whether you're a British high school student and it's a choice between this or Physical Education, or you're someone who just likes a challenge, the D.O.E award seems like it's right up your street. Not only will you get to spend weekends at a time with your friends, but you'll also get some crucial life experience and plenty of selfies with sheep along the way. You thought that walking 20 miles a day would be a total walk in the park, and unless you're someone who does this kind of thing on a regular basis, then your body is going to be screaming at you for days afterwards and there will probably be some dark moments along the way. There are some things you didn't even consider when you first signed up. You never thought about having to carry toilet roll because so you could do your business in a bush, having to carry the place where you'll sleep, and forget having any decent meals for the entire trip. You're in Britain so of course it's never going to be sunny and when it is, you resent it because it makes climbing some silly mountain so much harder. You're going to regret your decision as soon as you're left in the middle of nowhere because you're out of your comfort zone and even though you have your zombie apocalypse plan sorted, you're never going to be ready for it when it eventually happens. You and your friends are looking at a big area of nothingness and you need to navigate all by yourself. There's bound to be a McDonalds around here, right?
Contributor

Lover of Tolkien's world, Harry Potter and baked goods. A camel once put his head on my shoulder and it was the best day ever. sara@whatculture.com