Remember the elementary school days when making friends was so easy? Well, this is pretty much like that. I’m not a very loud person, and shy to a certain extent. Arriving to this place called “Scott Residence Hall,” for Summer Scholars made me feel nervous for many reasons. A feeling of getting to know people on a close level was something I thought I could not do so easily. Usually it takes awhile for me to open up and talk, but this was different. I did not talk much the first half of the day at the dorms, nor on the bus ride to Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, NE, but something happened. This something was change, and I was able to meet these strangers that were put in front of me and know them on a more personal level. With this occurrence of my life I now believe that Obama did keep his promise in bringing change, even though this wasn’t how he meant it. The quote “Strangers are just friends who you have yet to meet,” is a quote that rings true for the week-long stay at the dorms with my roommates Josh, Danny, and Will.
The activities that we did were interesting to say the least. At Carol Joy Holling Camp we had many types of Co-Op team building, or trust-building exercises. Being split into three groups, mine being “Super Fly,” I was able to connect to my group, and as the name suggest, build trust. The high wire courses, both individual and teamwork orientated, were a great way to push yourself, and your group members to do what they think is impossible. Supporting and trusting your group mates was the main objective of all the obstacles. The Individual high wire, you had to trust your team mates that they would not let go of the rope. I did not think that I would be able to climb the top of a lot of the obstacles on my first try, but I attempted to push myself, and possibly set an example that anyone else can do it too. The teamwork high wire course was the one I really enjoyed. We worked together, even as moral support, to get across bridges, wire, and a zip line. Not only did we do Co-Op team building, but we had a dance party(Once my friends left I got pulled into the middle to dance, I do not know how to dance, but observed what everyone else did and attempted to and probably failed), Mojo Hunt(3rd place), went to the HPER, and much more.
As the days progressed, everyone was able to get along and be good friends. We did a lot together like: hanging out, watching movies, playing volleyball, and eating together. Even though we are out of the dorms, we are still going to class together! I think living at the dorms before class was a great idea. This is mainly because you could already have connections with your classmates and new friends once you walk into the classroom. The class I was assigned, American History, had readings the first day of the class. With the activities prepared for us and having to do homework, I was able to follow along and not get left behind. Due to the time class is, I had to decline an interview for a job offering I applied for. This made me have no outside commitments, but the only time I did leave was on Tuesday from 6-9PM to go to…SCHOOL! I had already been taking Intro to Philosophy as a night class and, unfortunately for me, I had been given an exam a week prior to Tuesday, which was due Thursday, June 10, 2010. The RA’s were willing to let me school an activity to finish my take-home philosophy exam, but I declined to participate with other students. I enjoyed the experience so far, and do believe that the experience has brought me confidence and brought me out of the comfort zone.
