Saturday was a busy day, too. We went up to Bastyr University in North Seattle. We began with a trust exercise where one person would lean back and the other person would catch them. Then this turned into a three person, sort of like a pendulum. Then, we did it in a circle and lifted the person and carried them around. It was tough for me to lose control and allow other people to control my movements, which can be tough for any person, but can you imagine business students? Yikes! One of the scariest parts of the day came next. We split into two groups and one group put on blind folds. The other group went and tapped on a person’s shoulder and we had to silently lead them through a forest, over various obstacles. I led someone first and it was EXTREMELY challenging. We could not speak. We could only hold onto them, guide them, and show them the best we could where tree limbs, branches and where to stop. We had to get them to climb on a bench, walk down a fallen tree, walk through two trees making a v-shape, and we had to lift each one over a rope. For me, the most challenging part was how to tell the person to stop. All the guiders lifted each blind folded person one at a time over a rope, sort of like what we did earlier in the day in carrying them around. We reversed roles and then I was blind folded! I knew it was a man leading me as soon as he touched me – everything was a bit more forced and strong, but I felt secure since I knew he would not let me fall. Everything went pretty well, until we got to a muddy hill. We had to go down the hill, but apparently it was so muddy we could not walk down it. So they backed us up to it, put our first first and put us on our hands and knees. I assumed a push up position and slid down in a backwards push up position. It must have been a 30-40 ft hill that seemed to go on forever. Some people stopped part way through and tried walking up it, but the guiders put us back down into the mud. My laundry is full, again. This activity built trust so quickly among us. This was our second time meeting as a class and we felt much closer after this activity because you had to trust the person guiding you. We had lunch at the university – yuck. It was a vegan lunch, and if that is for you, great, but that was not for me. It was pretty flavorless and left me pretty hungry. After lunch we went to the “woozie walk”. Basically, it is two wires running from two close trees, and expand to farther trees. It made a sort of v-shape so you climbed on the wires with your partner, hands up in an A-frame and walked down the wire leaning in to support each other. it starts out close together, but then gets farther apart with each step, so you have to increasingly lean farther in and you and your partner balance your weight. It was funny because we had a couple in our group and they made it the furthest. They had great communication and trust throughout the process. The next activity was tough because energy was dwindling and the task itself was probably the hardest of the day. There were 5 trees in a U-shape, more or less. There was a wire running between each tree. We split into two groups and one group started on one side of the U and the other team started on the other. We had to walk on the wires and make it to the other side, passing the other team. If anybody fell, we started over. This took us an hour and a half to complete. We figured out that one person could hold onto the tree, one person could hold that person’s hand and reach across to bring another person across. Essentially, there were four people on each wire and we crossed around each other at the trees. It was incredibly frustrating because we had to keep starting over. The last challenge was a rope swing. We had to start behind a line and swing to a VERY small platform that could barely fit 14 people. This was tough because some people could not just swing on the rope to the other side, so we had to lift them onto the rope and swing them across. If somebody fell on the rope, they just had to go back. If somebody fell off the platform, we all started over. This was probably the quickest of the activities. We tackled this one relatively well. What would a day be without reflection? We closed our eyes in a circle, facing outwards. We thought about specifics of the day. Then, the leader tapped 3 of us on the shoulder at a time and read out a statement, such as, “Touch someone who has inspired you today”, “Touch someone who makes you laugh”, “Touch someone who challenged you”, “Touch someone who supported you today”, “Touch someone you want to learn more about”, “Touch someone who you value as a leader”, or “Touch someone who went above and beyond today”. We would then go tap on someone’s shoulder. After a few statements, we would rejoin the circle, close our eyes, and new people would be selected for the touching. It is nice to see how people see you. When you are tapped on the shoulder, it makes you feel good about yourself. We also had a reflection following this, covering the whole retreat and we focused on our frustrations and what we were impressed about. We were incredibly encouraging and positive throughout the whole experience. Everybody was included, ideas were tries and new ideas were accepted. We all had really great chemistry and fed off each other’s energy.

The biggest thing I learned from this retreat was that you will always have outside forces that you can’t control. They will throw you around and sometimes you just have to pick yourself up and go from there. It doesn’t matter how many plans you have because life has tree roots you can trip over, mud hills, and other obstacles. If life throws you down a mud hill, sometimes you just have to slide down it, get a little dirty and pick yourself up at the end of it, wipe yourself off and continue. It doesn’t matter what threw you down it. That has passed and you can’t climb up it, so what is your new direction? Sometimes somebody will be at the bottom to help you up and clean you off, but sometimes it is just you. Enjoy the times someone is there, but if they aren’t, keep walking because they will be there, eventually.

For the most part, we all have our paths in life. Some are shorter than others, some have more twists and turns than others, and some have portions of their paths that have not been surfaced, yet. While we sometimes get to choose our paths, other times we merely have to start walking where the path starts. Sometimes the path is well populated, while at times it is just you. We each get our unique paths, with unique experiences along the way. Sometimes we get to walk with a friend, experiencing something together. Sometimes we have to rely on ourselves. You can run. You can walk. You can skip. You can fly. You can travel the path however you desire. Sometimes we just need to sit down on our path. No two paths start at the same place and no two will ever end in the same destination. The greatness of each path is it does not matter where you start – it matters how you travel your path. Who do you wish to accompany you? How fast do you want to travel? What do you want to see? Who do you want to meet? What attitude and mentality do you want to possess? What do you want to accomplish? Think carefully, but not too carefully. Each decision alters your path and sometimes the decision can send you on a “detour”, but think of the “detour” more as an extension of your path – more enriching experiences. When you have some company on the path, enjoy it. Laugh, smile, and live with conviction because you never know when your path will turn.

When teenagers walk in, please do not dismiss us as other-worldly creatures without respect, dignity, and manners. We, too, are humans. We can dine in elegant, candle-lit restaurants. We may not know what everything on your fancy menu is, so when we ask, answer politely – not like we are stupid. You, too, once did not know what that sauce was covering fine pieces of meat. We came to enjoy an evening, hoping to enjoy your food, ambiance, and service. We dressed up and we even made reservations! Obviously, we are serious about thoroughly enjoying our night – you could help us in that quest. Oh yeah, did I mention we are going to leave you a 20% tip just like the other people in the restaurant? But no, you do not think so. You stereotype teenagers and so we are left with very unfortunate service. Your manners are different, quieter, attempting to conceal the fact that you would rather not be serving us. You tried very hard to seem friendly, but we saw through your act. I know how you would treat a table with adults, I have dined with my parents. Is it too much to expect that same service with my girlfriend? I do not think so, but apparently we do not seem worth it. Your service leaves me not wanting to patronize your restaurant and absolutely discouraging others from dining there, as well. In fact, your service was so condescending, I would rather dress up and go to a fast food restaurant. At least when we get up to the counter, they will not say “Hey, kids!”. By the way, we are not kids. Would you greet a table by saying, “Hey, adults!”? We may not be able to drink, yet, but we are able to partake in all the adult privileges, same as you. For all purposes relating to your restaurant, the only difference between the service you should offer us and a table full of adults is that you take away the wine glasses and the wine menu. Other than that, I expect the same service, just as you would at my age. It is rather unfortunate because I enjoyed your food, the restaurant had a very romantic feeling, and the host was quite friendly, but because your waiter cast us off as typical teenagers and treated us differently than other guests, I will not be coming back. On top of the fact that I will never be coming back, when people ask for recommendations, I will strongly discourage them from dining at your restaurant, Cafe Amore in Seattle, WA. Please, next time young adults enter your restaurant, Cafe Amore, treat them with the same respect and service you would other guests.

I just finished my first quarter of college and I have already started my next quarter. College is a little tough to figure out…what am I doing here? I am “supposed” to be learning. But, learning what? You go to classes, you come back, you study, you do something fun, you study, you eat, you may party, you eat, you study, you listen to music, etc. Ultimately, you go to college to further your education and increase your chances at a better job and in turn, a higher salary. Now, what if I told you that’s all nice, but there is more to it than that? In college you are mostly tested on material, information, knowledge, etc. Learn the material, synthesize it, apply it to a test or a paper is the normal process. While you may learn the material to do well on the test, I don’t think it is the actual material that matters. I believe it is the process of learning which matters most. I think through learning you discover yourself and I think that is what college is about. It is about discovering your passions, your beliefs, formulating your morals and re-defining the person you wish to become. It is about trying new things and going out on a limb just for the sake of the new view, whether something is there or not. Sure, I am learning material about philosophy, geology, history, anthropology, and math, but I am learning myself. I am learning about myself through the process of learning. At the end of the day, the material will have come and gone, but what you learn about yourself will always be there the next day. Each day I hope I learn something new about the way I think, the way I perceive things, and the direction or path I am taking in life. I hope it’s a happy one, too. With that, have a happy day – learn something about yourself. Make it fun. Make it strange. Make it worthwhile.

Enjoy this picture of this dog. Her name is Angel…how can you not smile seeing her? She is so joyful.

The words and photographs work cooperatively to reveal a story.