We chatted to host and OAG member, Amber, to find out how joining OAG changed her life…
Here’s what Amber had to say.
I’m going to be completely raw and honest with this story, in the hope that anyone experiencing any of the same feelings, gains the courage to take that leap and join in with our community as it may just change your life too.
I spent many years watching other people living their best lives, surrounded by friends and family going on epic adventures and exploring the outdoors, getting involved in all the activities that I was so keen to get involved in but every time I started to look into local groups I just could not find the courage to go along and join in… why?
I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was in our local pub with my housemates at the time, a place where we always enjoyed our evenings. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety, like everyone was looking at me, I suddenly felt really awkward in my environment and in my own body.
This was the start of my social anxiety and it wasn’t something I had ever experienced before.
Fast forward to the pandemic. It was a time for reflection for a lot of us and it was during this time that I knew something had to change.
Once the pandemic had passed, I remember looking up different groups on Facebook for all the different activities I enjoyed doing. I was searching for hiking groups, local girl groups, kayaking groups etc. I couldn’t believe my eyes when all these groups started popping up with thousands and thousands of members. There was one in particular that caught my eye from the logo and the name
“OUTDOOR ADVENTURE GIRLS”
I know this sounds really cheesy but for some reason, I just knew that this was the group for me. I didn’t know why but I just had a really good feeling about it. I joined the Facebook group and saw that there were members dotted all over the country as well as regional groups for different areas of the UK, including the South East which covers my local area.
I had a quick look at the events and at the time there didn’t seem to be much going on so I sat and pondered for a while and thought there must be so many women who feel exactly the same way that I do.
Women who have the same interests as me but always put it off because of that little voice in their heads the “what if” voice – “what if no-one likes me?” “what if it’s really awkward?” “what if we have nothing to talk about?” “what if no-one turns up?”
I had that “what if” voice in my head at the time but also had another voice that kept telling me to JUST DO IT.
I hated feeling the way I was feeling and knew in my mind that nothing would change unless I made a change.
I was fed up with having no-one to do the things that I enjoyed with and even more fed up with missing out because I was waiting for people to be available.
That’s when it all started…I posted my first event on the South East group, which was a walk in the New Forest (for those of you that haven’t been it’s definitely worth a trip). I was so nervous that I actually drove the 80 minute round trip, the day before, to walk the route I’d planned so that on the actual event day I wouldn’t mess it up!
The event day came and I made sure I was there early to wait for the ladies to arrive. Lots of ladies started arriving and any that were in hiking gear, I smiled and said hello to, to see if they were there for my arranged hike! Not all of them were but I still had the confidence to ask if they were there for the OAG meet up! When in doubt, always ask because they’re just as nervous as you are!
We ended up having the most amazing walk through the forests, with lots of chatter and laughter along the way and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. We sat and relaxed after lunch and what struck me the most was the conversation. Nearly every woman there that day had been tempted not to come because of the worry of turning up alone or because it was out of their comfort zone but by the end of the day they were incredibly glad they did.
In November of that same year, I went on to arrange a weekend trip in Wales, just on a whim, because I really wanted to do the Four Waterfalls Walk and thought I’m sure there will be others up for it. Sure enough 12 of us went on the trip! We had the best weekend of hiking, red wine and music by the fireplace, yummy food and a session of relaxing yoga.
I’ve since posted lots of events and heading into autumn last year, I set myself a goal of walking the South Downs Way. I posted the first leg on the OAG South East Facebook Group to see if anyone fancied doing it with me. 12 ladies completed the first leg with me! Since then six of us have recently completed the whole of the South Downs Way together, by organising one date a month when we’re all free.
We’ve now become friends and have been on all sorts of trips and days out together. The best part of it is that we’re all different ages and different backgrounds. Some of us are mums, some of us are married, some of us are single but we’re all friends! It just goes to show that in this group we can create connections regardless of any social differences because it’s all about the shared love of adventures, the outdoors and having an open heart.
Outdoor Adventure Girls have given me so much since joining.
From giving me the confidence and courage to put myself out there, to meeting new people and beautiful souls along the way as well as creating amazing friendships with people who love to adventure and explore just as much as I do.
I can’t thank Sophie (the founder) enough for creating this epic community.
We are an outdoor community providing safe and inclusive environments for women to reconnect with nature and the outdoors, through our local meetups, weekend getaways and international trips. You can join our Facebook groups here and all of our UK getaways and international trips can be seen here.
Our mission is to create a safe and inclusive environment for women to feel confident outdoors, connect with other like-minded women, and challenge the lack of representation of women in the outdoor space.
We can’t wait to explore with you all!
