Thursday, July 14, 2011

Balancing Act

Today was my favorite day so far. I loved the Ropes course! It was challenging without going so far out of the comfort zone that I panicked, to use the explanation that Dean Rose provided us.

I was in a group of 11 W&L girls, facilitated by Dean Rose and Tiffany. We had to perform a variety of tasks that tested our abilities to work cohesively as a group. Our first task was to get everyone onto the other side of a jump rope, which is not as easy as it sounds. The tasks only got more challenging from there, but I loved every minute of it!

My favorite was when we had to navigate a long series of tightropes. Each “rope” was a thick metal cable about a foot off the ground. Each person had to always be touching either another person or prop, such as a tree or rope. While we initially approached the task in a very individualistic manner, we learned to work together. It was much easier to inch along the rope when we had the support of other hands and the vocal encouragement provided by all of the other girls.

I also really enjoyed the change of scenery. We traveled by bus to the border of Rhode Island, to a large tract of land owned by Brown University. The woodlands were beautiful, and my friend Maddie (Miley) remarked that they reminded her of her home in New Hampshire. We were by the Atlantic Ocean, which reminded me of my home. I was so happy to feel the breeze and hear the waves!

I’m sure I would have loved to view the scenery as we traveled through Rhode Island, but I was too tired. On the way to the Ropes course, I was sleeping and resting up for the challenge. On the way back to Brown, I was so exhausted from the course that I fell asleep immediately.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t take a nap once I returned home. I received an invitation earlier this week to attend a pizza dinner tonight in Keeney Quad, specifically so that Brown’s Partnership Scholars could meet first generation Brown students and have a Q&A session. Of course, I had to go and represent the ILC, not to mention chat with the Brown students and get their opinions. I noticed that a large portion of the girls in my W&L class were also Partnership Scholars, which I found interesting. The pizza party was interrupted partway through because of a fire drill, but afterwards we filed back inside and finished our talk. I thought that I learned a lot and I was glad to meet the students and get their input.






Although I am now exhausted, today was by far the most satisfying day of class. I felt that I became a lot closer to the 10 other girls in my Ropes group and that we now all trust each other for support and acceptance. This is a great feeling, but what is even better is that I felt that today I grew to be a little bit of a better person too. Potential personal growth feels so empowering! Anyway, the upshot of this blog is that I loved the Ropes course and wish I could go back tomorrow. Goodnight everybody!

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