Leatha McDaniel
Galen College of Nursing
The people around us make experiences great and unforgettable. I was oblivious to this fact before my first completely independent summer trip for three weeks. In the past, I always traveled with my parents. They were all great vacations but they were not planned or controlled by me. It was all up to my mom. This time, however, I was the one who found the opportunity to go to the seaside with a group of young people and spend 21 days there. My parents were happy to let me go on this trip; as they also saw it as an exciting opportunity. It was up to me to plan it all on my own. I learned about the surroundings of the area I was to go to, the organization which planned the trip, got to know the people and found a way to get there. You could say that this was part of my road to independence.
The deadline to get everything ready was quite short, so I was mostly just trying to get all of my things together and not building any expectations for the trip. This was probably also an important part of why it had influenced me so much. I was open for anything. Nevertheless, the trip ended up a bit expensive for my family and on my road to the seaside, I was feeling very doubtful about having made my family spend so much money on me. Then I arrived
One may think that three weeks is not that long, but three weeks with 50 new completely different people from different parts of the world is quite something. It took almost a whole week to only remember their names. The very first evening we had together, we all went to a café in the center and it had karaoke. After having sung in a choir for a big part of my childhood, this is something I totally enjoy. I was the first brave one to come out and sing “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. It has become a tradition to sing this song any time I karaoke. Later I was told that some were quite impressed that a girl, who did not know anyone, had enough confidence to come out and sing in front of everyone. However, I remember it as just having lots of fun. Through this, we discovered that one of guys in our group was actually part of a musical band and we of course made him sing a song as well. It was an evening when everyone started to relax and try to be him or herself.
Being part of a fun group is a great experience. Playing games, having competitions, singing, and enjoying all the different flavors of ice cream may sound like kindergarten; but who knew that grown-ups enjoyed the same things as our little brothers and sisters? There were so many different games we played, starting from charades, card games, word games, team games and ending with full out competitions on limbo, volleyball and long-distance swimming against the current. It really made each of us more relaxed and at home. Our group was fun, open and ready to try all the new actives offered by whoever. It was great being part of such a positive group of people.
An important part of this trip for me was communication with boys. I was never one to hang out with boys much. Here I was friends with many guys and girls. We all had fun at the beach, during games and at the parties. With some, I connected more than with others and with some even more than I had expected. This was the first time I had “fallen in love”. Sure, I was to get my heart broken later, but I suspected nothing about it back then. It was a new feeling that I did not expect and it made me feel scared. Moreover, the feeling was towards a guy I was convinced was totally just a friend and nothing more. Surprisingly for both of us, we were elected as Mr. and Ms. of the trip, which gave us just that much more to laugh about.
Girls surprised me quite a bit too. I lived in a room with three other girls and we somehow became a family, even a pretend one. One of them was the “mother” and I, together with the other girls, were “sisters” and, consequently, “daughters”. Living with girls is completely different from just having girlfriends. The conversations we had at nights, the advice given by our “mother”, the thoughts expressed by us. I am ever so fortunate to have been able to meet them again after the trip.
It was the last day, which was most emotional. People kept on leaving and I felt that I would never see them again. They all lived so far away and trips to see them were far too expensive. It was as if my heart was tearing to pieces and I did not want to believe in the inevitable future. Each one of them had influenced me and changed a small part of me.
Before this trip, I was completely dependent on my parents. I did not even bother to understand the points of view of others and the reasoning behind them. This trip was the turning point in my life. It made me more independent and taught me the true value of relationships. There was much discussion among participants about the organization of the trip. Many negative sides and mistakes were brought up. Regardless of all of this, the trip even now seems completely amazing and breathtaking to me. It was not because of the accommodations we had or the food we ate. The people made the trip what it was. The people gave me unforgettable memories and I was able to experience completely new emotions. Thank you to each and one of them for being part of that summer for me.
Once I got home, my life started to change bit by bit. I continued long conversations with the guy I met and by spring the next year I got a job. That job allowed me to visit over six people from that summer’s trip. This experience inspired me to change my life and thus changed the inevitable future.
