My trip to San Francisco…San Francisco, Cundinamarca, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, because of the challenges that it presented and because of the things that I learned by facing those challenges. I only spent two days there, but they were two of the most important days of my life.
The first day, when my classmates and I arrived, we were immediately treated like adults because we were given the freedom to choose who our roommates would be and only two teachers went on this trip with us. This meant that we had the responsibility of arriving on time to each and every single activity, only with the consequence of missing it.
The first activity that was a challenge to me, was one in which I had to develop trust in my classmates, by standing on fifteen chairs (each one piled up on top of each other), letting myself go and letting my other classmates grab me so that I wouldn’t fall down. The first time I did it, I was very nervous so I jumped off the chairs and I fell flat, hitting my butt. The second time I tried it, the same. Finally, before doing it the third time, one of the counsellors had me practice how to let go without being afraid of falling down. I practiced several times. Finally, I realized that the amount of chairs was not proportional to my height so I asked them to remove some chairs. They removed a few, I stood up on them and I tried it again. I finally let go of myself but, for a second, I thought I was going to get hurt again so even though I screamed “Aaaahhhh!!!” for a second or two, my classmates finally grabbed me and I landed safely. Then, I tried it one last time and even though I was still screaming, I was improving. What I learned from this activity was that I need to develop trust in other people in various circumstances.
The next challenging activity was one where we had to walk around the area of the place where we were staying, with a rope attached to our belts. I was extremely scared because I cannot run fast with people behind and in front of me, and since this was done by teams, all teams were constantly running behind each other, so I was extremely scared and stressed since I thought that I could fall down in any moment.
The last activity that we did during the day was one that was emotionally challenging, not only for me, but for everyone. We had to stand up and talk about three things: our anger, our happiness and our fear. Each factor was represented by a different coloured paint, so we had to paint our face every time we talked about one of them. It was then that I realized the single message that became the most important thing about this trip to me: I have an enormous capacity to love almost everything and everyone around me. This activity was followed by a bonfire in which we had to pick up stones and give one of them to the classmates who have been important in our lives. I gave stones to my best friend Rodrigo Zamora (with whom I have an unparalleled relationship in terms of loyalty and friendship), Stephanie Goldstucker, Alberto Azout and Daniela Mattos, who really moved my feelings because, even though I don’t know her very well, she and I get along very well and she said that she could be a better friend to me.
The next day, we had to walk down a mountain to go into town, where we would visit a retirement home for the elderly, to entertain them by providing them with laughter and fun for a few minutes. When we arrived there, I was surprised by the happiness that they seemed to feel when they were with us. At the same time, I was also shocked to see them that some of them were so old that they didn’t even have any teeth. Maria Clara, the ethics teacher, asked me to improvise a show for them so that they could sing and feel happy for a few minutes. I started singing “El Rey” and everyone – my classmates and all of the elder people – sang along with me. It was an amazing few minutes during which I felt lucky enough to bring happiness to the people around me. However, the last challenge was still to come.
After our visit, we had to return to the place where we were staying, by going up the mountain, with a rope embracing all the members of each team. Again, it was physically challenging, but, even though I was asking my counsellor to let me quit from the beginning, he did not let me and I realized that I had come to complete the entire journey back.
But, perhaps, the single most important activity to me was the last one: the signing of our t-shirts by our fellow classmates, our teachers and the counsellors. It was then that I hugged a friend who is leaving next year, up to the point where she and I almost cried. I would have cried on forever, but she did not want to cry until the very last moment.
My conclusion from this trip is the following one: if there is one feeling that makes up most of me, it is love. My capacity to love is probably the greatest thing that I’ll ever have. What I learned on this trip is perfectly expressed by the following message from the song “Nature Boy”, written by Eden Ahbez: “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”.
The first day, when my classmates and I arrived, we were immediately treated like adults because we were given the freedom to choose who our roommates would be and only two teachers went on this trip with us. This meant that we had the responsibility of arriving on time to each and every single activity, only with the consequence of missing it.
The first activity that was a challenge to me, was one in which I had to develop trust in my classmates, by standing on fifteen chairs (each one piled up on top of each other), letting myself go and letting my other classmates grab me so that I wouldn’t fall down. The first time I did it, I was very nervous so I jumped off the chairs and I fell flat, hitting my butt. The second time I tried it, the same. Finally, before doing it the third time, one of the counsellors had me practice how to let go without being afraid of falling down. I practiced several times. Finally, I realized that the amount of chairs was not proportional to my height so I asked them to remove some chairs. They removed a few, I stood up on them and I tried it again. I finally let go of myself but, for a second, I thought I was going to get hurt again so even though I screamed “Aaaahhhh!!!” for a second or two, my classmates finally grabbed me and I landed safely. Then, I tried it one last time and even though I was still screaming, I was improving. What I learned from this activity was that I need to develop trust in other people in various circumstances.
The next challenging activity was one where we had to walk around the area of the place where we were staying, with a rope attached to our belts. I was extremely scared because I cannot run fast with people behind and in front of me, and since this was done by teams, all teams were constantly running behind each other, so I was extremely scared and stressed since I thought that I could fall down in any moment.
The last activity that we did during the day was one that was emotionally challenging, not only for me, but for everyone. We had to stand up and talk about three things: our anger, our happiness and our fear. Each factor was represented by a different coloured paint, so we had to paint our face every time we talked about one of them. It was then that I realized the single message that became the most important thing about this trip to me: I have an enormous capacity to love almost everything and everyone around me. This activity was followed by a bonfire in which we had to pick up stones and give one of them to the classmates who have been important in our lives. I gave stones to my best friend Rodrigo Zamora (with whom I have an unparalleled relationship in terms of loyalty and friendship), Stephanie Goldstucker, Alberto Azout and Daniela Mattos, who really moved my feelings because, even though I don’t know her very well, she and I get along very well and she said that she could be a better friend to me.
The next day, we had to walk down a mountain to go into town, where we would visit a retirement home for the elderly, to entertain them by providing them with laughter and fun for a few minutes. When we arrived there, I was surprised by the happiness that they seemed to feel when they were with us. At the same time, I was also shocked to see them that some of them were so old that they didn’t even have any teeth. Maria Clara, the ethics teacher, asked me to improvise a show for them so that they could sing and feel happy for a few minutes. I started singing “El Rey” and everyone – my classmates and all of the elder people – sang along with me. It was an amazing few minutes during which I felt lucky enough to bring happiness to the people around me. However, the last challenge was still to come.
After our visit, we had to return to the place where we were staying, by going up the mountain, with a rope embracing all the members of each team. Again, it was physically challenging, but, even though I was asking my counsellor to let me quit from the beginning, he did not let me and I realized that I had come to complete the entire journey back.
But, perhaps, the single most important activity to me was the last one: the signing of our t-shirts by our fellow classmates, our teachers and the counsellors. It was then that I hugged a friend who is leaving next year, up to the point where she and I almost cried. I would have cried on forever, but she did not want to cry until the very last moment.
My conclusion from this trip is the following one: if there is one feeling that makes up most of me, it is love. My capacity to love is probably the greatest thing that I’ll ever have. What I learned on this trip is perfectly expressed by the following message from the song “Nature Boy”, written by Eden Ahbez: “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”.
Copyright 2007 (renovado en 2009), Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario