On August 26th, most freshmen were at home preparing themselves for the rapidly approaching semester. I, however, was smack dab in the middle of the forest at Camp Ockanickon, Medford, NJ, preparing for an incredible experience.

SOAR stands for Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat, and I must say, that’s exactly what it was. We started off the trip by splitting off into various “tribes” of different colors, and immediately began ice breakers to become acquainted with our team. Shortly thereafter, we loaded each tribe into separate school busses and headed for the retreat. I must say, I wasn’t expecting much from the bus ride…but it ended up being one of the best parts of the trip. Barely any of us knew each other at that point, so it was pretty interesting trying to learn so many people’s names and backgrounds in such a short amount of time. When we finally got to the camp itself, that’s when I knew it would be a great time. TALONS, or The Activity Leaders of New Students, immediately broke into groups and began playing wacky ice breaker games. Once people realized that nobody there was going to judge them, more and more people participated and made these games worth the while. After the first day, pretty much everyone on yellow tribe (the best tribe in the world) knew each other’s names, and we already had established unbreakable friendships.

The next few days were loaded with various bonding activities such as rope courses and rock walls, great food prepared by the amazing camp chefs, and memories that none of us will ever forget. While I’m not allowed back at SOAR as a camper since its freshmen only, you can bet your bottom dollar I will do everything possible to be a TALON and follow in their footsteps.