Valerie Efros - 8/08/08
I had not realized how deeply affected I was by Outward Bound until a few months after my course ended. As I've heard others say--I now see my life as before Outward Bound and after. It's as if suddenly the light inside me turned on and the doors opened to all the wonders of life. From the 22 days I was out in the backcountry my whole mind set had changed from this to that. I started off as a girl who was caught up in others' opinions, lacked confidence, and whose soul passed by the beauty of the world.
What am I now? Now I am a girl who is what she is, walks with confidence and never takes beauty for granted. There are nights in my life since this past summer that I find myself crying. I cry because I long for the feelings I felt out there, the feelings that I am unable to grasp in my own town. That butterfly in your tummy when you summit a mountain or watch the sunset before the sky fills with glowing stars. I wish I was back there, back in that place of solitude. Now I am a sophomore in high school, and I know myself more than I ever did before.
Going on that Outward Bound course was the best choice of my life and if I had not done it I would be a totally different person. I went on a High Sierra mountaineering course and not only was it extremely hard physically but it was also the most mentally challenging thing I have ever experienced. I would never have thought that doing a rappel would make such an impact on my life. A few days before my course was going to end we had an opportunity to do a rappel 160 feet in the air and everyone on my trip was doing it but me. I had everyone’s camera in my pocket, ready to take their pictures as they embarked on a short adventure that I was not about to experience. My instructor convinced me to do it, and I can't thank him enough because it made me see that my fears are holding me back from doing so many things. After the first thirty seconds of the rappel I opened my eyes and screamed THANK YOU to everyone for making me go on it, I had the time of my life. Anyone who is considering going on an Outward Bound course, I strongly recommend it. It changed my life, maybe it will change yours.
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