Melissa Leimbach - 1/04/09
It started with a few fights with my parents. I'm not necessarily a "bad kid," it's just I tend to do risky things that end up seeming stupider after I do them than in the heat of the moment. That's as far as I'll go on that topic, but it's sort of what started a lot of things. So these fights you see, obviously impacted my parents more than I thought because over the following summer they "suggested" I go on an Outward Bound trip. They tried to sugar coat it and say that I would enjoy it because I am the outdoorsy person and that it would be the experience of a lifetime; and truth be told I only went to get them off my back.
So we arrived in Boston to ride a bus all the way to New Hampshire to start our so-called adventure. We did the cliche group circle with the corny little ice breakers and the typical sharing your name and a few things about yourself thing. Frankly, I was a more judgmental person then and I assumed by these simple statements that each of them made that we were too different to ever be friends. Back then, I was even more stupid than I was judgmental.
Over the next 7-ish days we canoed, made camp, ate dinner and slept, woke up, ate breakfast, packed up and started over again. In the beginning it was probably one of the more awkward periods of my life, having to sleep in tents with, pee in front of, share your thoughts on the days with, work with, and so many other things with complete strangers. But after awhile we weren't strangers at all. In a few mere days I had better relationships with those people than I had taken years to build with ones here in Maryland. It's quite strange to think about now.
We did the same basic thing for a few more days but hiked instead. And honestly, us girls started to get pissed at the instructors and the rules and the whole basic principle. It was annoying to us that we had to survive depending only on ourselves, considering we all lived pretty sheltered lives if our parents could afford to send us away like that. But when the end came near we realized how caddy we had all been; a few days ago to each other, or a few years ago to the people we loved back home. We certainly shared some tears towards the end.
And even though it DOES sound really cliche to say; I was extremely thankful for the sheltered life I had at home when I got back, and the stupid fights with my parents did stop. And it's weird to think, as a 13 year old girl, that one's spirit and soul can grow so much over 10 days. Needless to say, things are much different for me now. I'd like to think I'm less materialistic too, and stronger; physically, and mentally.
