Please tell me a few stories about tents during your travels.

The Story of the Tent

As night fell, insects kept chirping in the grass, taking away the tranquility of the night.

I remember one night a few weeks ago, I couldn’t fall asleep listening to this kind of cry. I closed my eyes and recalled that night...

I sat in the tent and watched my friends around me sleeping soundly. I feel a little jealous because I can't fall asleep and lie down to dream with my friends who are sleeping sweetly. The night wind blew outside the tent, and I felt so cold. It was all my fault that I forgot to bring my long-sleeved shirt. Both pairs of trousers got wet and were not dry yet. Wearing short-sleeved shirt and shorts, I could only hug myself and tremble.

The dark night brings loneliness into my heart. I sighed. I will leave here early tomorrow morning. Leave this hateful, terrible, but lovely Pulau Ubin. In the past five days, the overwhelming experience has turned Pulau Ubin, an ordinary place in the sea, into paradise and hell. The past five days have been full of sweet, sour, bitter and spicy tastes.

During the outreach school, two things happened that greatly changed my view of the classmates around me.

It turns out that humans are not as selfish as I imagined. The next day, our group set up all the tents and followed the leader to climb the stone wall. Even the rope was not tied up, and small raindrops fell from the sky. After a while, the small raindrops quickly turned into huge raindrops, and there was thunder and lightning, so we had to run to the stone wall indoors to do some activities. After climbing over the stone wall, each of us was exhausted and staggered towards our tent with heavy steps. What was obviously a short distance seemed to turn into a road that would take a lifetime to reach the destination.

When we finally arrived, the sun had long disappeared. Only two and half of the original four tents remain. The most unfortunate thing is that the tent that was completely demolished happened to be the one where I and three friends slept. At that time, I couldn't see my fingers, the surroundings were still wet, there was mud everywhere, and there were many bugs. But no one complained, no one said anything. Everyone was looking for flashlights in their backpacks that were soaked by the rain, and they sacrificed their time to eat to set up the tent.

In the dark, wet gloom, I felt the love of my friends. Being helped by others without any need for repayment made my heart feel so warm. The person who is setting up a wet, dirty tent that is not his own sleeping tent is not a team member, but a friend who is lending a helping hand. It was in this disgusting, dirty environment that I discovered how important friends are. Even though the tent was uncomfortable that night, my heart was filled with gratitude. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

The second thing that I will never forget is also related to the tent where I slept.

On the evening of the fourth day, the sun set, and the clouds in the sky were dyed with luminous orange, which was so beautiful that it cannot be described in words. Everyone was busy setting up tents to sleep in at night. Only a few friends and I were squatting aside, cooking. Since the tent I pitched collapsed, I was responsible for cooking from the second day on. None of the other three friends who slept in my tent were good at pitching, so we slept every night in a tent that could collapse at any moment. Tonight, because the four of us were not present when we set up the tent, a few kind-hearted friends helped us set it up. When we climbed into the tent, we found that our tent was very stable and comfortable! We were so surprised that we cheered on the spot.

When our friends saw that our tent had not been set up yet, they took the initiative to help us and even set it up better than us! They didn't sleep by themselves. They could choose to ignore it completely and let us do our work when it gets dark, but they didn't mind causing more trouble for themselves and spent their energy and time to help us. At that time, my heart was filled with gratitude, and the warmth put a smile on my face. It turns out that people are really not selfish at all.

At dawn, we got up and silently took down the tents that others had set up for us and put them away. I really feel a little reluctant to let go, I really want to turn back time, go back to last night, and sleep another night. When the group discussed the past five days in the morning, I finally found out which kind-hearted friends had helped us. I lost control of myself and ran over and hugged the classmate tightly to express my gratitude. I curiously asked her why she helped us, but she answered casually: "That's my responsibility as a team member, just like you cooking for us." I was stunned. It turns out that some people are grateful even for squatting silently while cooking. The warmth in my heart turned into a burning fire, and I hugged her again with all my strength.

A few weeks ago, a tent taught me the importance of friendship. Today, that tent is still at the outreach school and continues to teach other students the basic but forgotten principles of life.