If you’re planning on thinking of an elaborate excuse to skip any future residential retreats you may have to go on, don’t be so quick to judge – they’re actually not half bad.
This past weekend, the Leadership, Environmental, Service for Justice, and Creative Life Residential Colleges trekked up to Rock Hill, NY for a 24-hour retreat at the Iroquois Springs campground. Being a member of the Leadership living community, I was required to attend the retreat from Friday to Saturday, along with the rest of the Leadership and Environmental residents. While many of us were initially skeptical about the experience as a whole, I believe that the retreat tradition should continue because of the lessons that we took away in the end.
On Friday afternoon, while most students were bringing in the weekend, we trudged onto the bus with our over-packed duffels and low spirits. Now, for those of you who know me, you’re probably thinking that I don’t look like much of the “camping type.” I will be the first to admit that I tuned my iPod to “Big Girls Don’t Cry” on the bus ride to the camp site. Dramatic? Perhaps. However, like most of my fellow peers, we were excited to be back at school and simply wanted to enjoy the first few weekends on campus.
After peering out of bus windows for several hours and asking ourselves, “Is this real life?” we arrived at Iroquois Springs. At the beginning of the night, many of us spent our time dreaming about what we would be doing if we were still on campus. Receiving text messages from friends about their exciting plans for the night did not make it any easier.
However, things began to look up once we arrived at the bonfire, where I achieved a new personal record of consuming four and a half s’mores. I felt as though new friendships began to form and everyone started to enjoy themselves. Games of flashlight tag and manhunt took place and we ended up having a lot of fun (once you were able to sift through the complainers and drama queens.)
Soon, what I thought to be the most unpleasant part of the retreat took place: sleeping in nearly 30-degree weather without any heat. I spent the next 9 hours waking up periodically throughout the bitter night to make sure that none of my toes had fallen off. I kept asking myself, “I wonder what lesson they are trying to impart on us right now?” I thought that maybe it was teaching us tolerance or the ability to appreciate the everyday privileges we are so quick to take for granted. Regardless of whether or not any of my thoughts were correct, we survived the night.
I felt as though the second day of the retreat was the most inspirational and was well worth the time. I began to think about the role that I aspire to play in the Fairfield community, as well as in the rest of the world. As Joseph DeFeo, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Students said, “In some ways, college only takes about two years to complete if you concentrate on all the classes, tests and homework nonstop. You are given four years to develop relationships, try new things, and learn about yourself.” This pouted out to us of taking advantage of opportunities and making the most out of our four years.
In all, I believe the tradition of the residential college retreat should remain. The experience was a positive one, with the exception of the frigid temperatures and everlasting bus ride.
(A word of the wise to members of the Ignation Residential College, who will be attending their retreat this upcoming weekend: don’t forget to pack a Snuggie.)
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