Reflect and Nourish

Earlier this month, I went camping for the first time as part of a school trip in Mukwonago, WI. Although I was only there for one night and one day, I made many memories and took away a couple of lessons. 

Here’s how it went down: We all arrived at the site at about dusk. After settling into our cabins and meeting our roommates for the night, we headed over to a dining hall to munch on some pizza. I have to say it was pretty high-quality pizza — cheesy and well-seasoned with just the right amount of crispiness.

Next, we went into another building to do a couple of icebreakers. One of them involved a student leader asking us questions such as “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” “Is a tennis ball green or yellow?” and “Is cereal soup?” It was pretty intense.

Then we formed groups with our cabin roommates and competed to see which group could build the tallest tower under a time limit using a maximum of five materials: a toilet paper roll, pipe cleaners, balloons, newspapers, and tape.

My group didn’t win, but we all agreed that we did a good job forming a strong foundation using the toilet paper roll as a base and adding plenty of tape. 

The last activity of the night was a group bonfire with s’mores.

Student leaders provided us with marshmallows on sticks ready to roast in the fire. When I stepped up to the fire to roast mine, I hesitated a bit because I was afraid of the fire. 

One of my roommates noticed my hesitation and kindly offered to roast mine for me. She burnt it well — to the point where the marshmallow was so blackened that it kind of looked like it was covered in Oreo bits. 

She burnt her own marshmallow thoroughly as well and said something along the lines of “Mine is burnt. Like, unhealthy burnt,” and we both cracked up. 

I really enjoyed my s’more — the contrast of the warm, gooey marshmallow with the cool, flavorful dark chocolate satisfied my taste buds to a T.

The bonfire concluded with a quick group game, and then we went back to our cabins to get some shut-eye. 

The next morning, we had breakfast at about 8:30 a.m. We were served a potato, cheese, and egg dish with sides of cinnamon rolls and fruit. 

This was followed by a group viewing and discussion of a TEDx Talk called “Changing the discourse on environmental migration” by Natalie Haas. In the talk, Haas states that many people are forced to move due to their homeland becoming uninhabitable as a result of climate change. 

She argues that we need to work together to both solve the climate crisis and help migrants who have been forced to flee their homeland. 

Among my cabin group, many of us mentioned how we never thought of the perfectly logical connection between migration and climate change and brought up the importance of self-education on these issues. 

After the discussion, we each went off to various group activities we were assigned to.

I participated in canoeing (at the lake pictured above) and team-building, which included collaborative games like passing multiple objects around a circle and “tanks and commanders” (one partner – the tank – is blindfolded, and the other partner – the commander – gives their tank instructions on what to do and where to go). 

At the end of the day, we gathered for a brief closing meeting, packed up our bags, and headed home. 

My biggest takeaway from this retreat is that we all need each other. 

Whether we are tackling an issue as imperative and large-scale as climate change or simply roasting marshmallows with friends, we need to be open to both giving and receiving help from other people. 

Additionally, I learned that we all need to do our part when it comes to educating ourselves on current events, political candidates, and global issues. No single person’s individual actions are enough to make a difference — we all have to be committed to creating a better future both for ourselves and, more importantly, upcoming generations.