Brittany Holmes
Lenard
Life of the Mind
14 September 2015
Blog #1
Now soar like an Osprey! I had the pleasure of attending the Student Outdoor Adventure Retreat (S.O.A.R.) the week before classes started.
On the morning of August 25th I left home and drove to Stockton to formally move in to my dorm, so that I could attend S.O.A.R at Camp Ockanickon. All the new freshman students who were accepted and paid $250 for this unique program were put in different colored tribes. I was assigned to the “red” tribe. Tribes made it easier to keep track of the 238 students that attended S.O.A.R. I moved into my dorm and had lunch with my family. After lunch was finished, I was called to my tribe and we did many ice breakers and got to know each other. Then the T.A.L.O.N.S. which were assigned to each tribe told us to board the buses and we were off. After an hour or so of driving, we finally arrived at the camp. We gathered our belongings and were directed to the cabins we would be staying in for the next two nights.
The following morning, August 26th, we woke up bright and early and ate breakfast which started the day. Let the activities begin! My red tribe started off with an activity that was called “Low Elements.” This was not just one activity, but multiple activities that were designed for team building. One activity was called “Lava Rocks” where we had to get a group of 14 people from point A to point B by using only seven small carpets. There were certain rules; for example, someone always had to have a body part on the carpet or else it would be taken away. Another rule was that we couldn’t touch the ground, or what was called the “lava” or we would have to start over again. My group was able to get everyone across the “lava” successfully! The second part of the day we went to a presentation on the many different ways that a student could get involved on campus.
On the third and final day we woke up early and started our day. The first activity was a board game called “Keep it Real” that was designed to get to know people I played the game with. I enjoyed this game because we got to really know the people we were playing with a little better than just knowing their favorite color. I got to know if they have ever experienced someone being racist, how they felt about certain topics like bullying, and what they feel most strongly about in their life. After we finished all the morning activities, we ate lunch, and then we continued on to the next and final activity, the high ropes course. The high ropes course was a course in which I climbed up a wooden pole and walked across to the other side and then came back, and it also had a rock climbing wall. That was not my favorite, it was scary.
When it was time to pack up and leave I was excited to start the school year, but also sad I had to leave Camp Ockanickon because I had so much fun with everyone. S.O.A.R. was a great experience, I made tons of new friends, experienced many fun activities, and did things outside of my comfort zone. I am glad that I got to participate in S.O.A.R. and would recommend it to any incoming freshman!