September 2005  IGNIS Retreat

You know how they say college is all about new experiences?  Well they’re actually right.  I’ve been at college for three weeks and I’ve already done at least one new thing.  On my third Saturday of my college life I went on my first retreat.  It was just for freshmen which was good because that meant that everyone was in the same position that I was in.  I only knew a few people and was eager to meet more.  We went to a camp on Lake Erie and I have to admit that I had a good time.  Thankfully we didn’t leave until like 11:00 because it’s a Saturday and who wants to get up any earlier than 10:00 a.m.  

When we got there we started with some icebreakers which were pretty fun.  I got a general idea of who everyone was and where they were from and everything.  We also did some relaxation and memory exercises which were neat although the music along with having my eyes closed made me drowsy which I suppose did help me relax. 

After that we broke up into smaller groups which were more fun than the whole large group because you got to know people more as an individual and those are the people that I remember the most.  We shared our feelings about how college was going so far for everyone and our fears and hopes.  It was nice to learn that everyone was in the same position as me and felt pretty much the same about what was going on.  It helped me to realize that I wasn’t alone after all. 

We also broke into groups and took two pictures of God, peace, friendship, trust, and love.  It was fun to see what all the different groups came up with and interesting to think of what represented these things to you.  Some of the leaders, who were upperclassmen and sophomores, spoke about their experiences and what worked for them and helped them get through freshmen year and college.  Then we had some free time and I walked along the shore and picked sea glass (technically lake glass).  I found a lot actually.  Mostly clear but a couple green and brown. 

Here I am with my sea glass!

Afterwards we did this activity where we each had someone that we had to find out about during the day and then we had to tell everyone what we found out.  We did this by standing in a circle and throwing a ball of yarn around and by the end we had a whole web connecting us.  Then we went down to the beach and had mass by a bonfire.  It was a lot of fun because it was so different and relaxing. 

But I think that the most fun that I had all day was on the bus ride home.  The entire bus was singing songs and just having a lot of fun.  It was a great end for a great day.  I definitely bonded with a lot of people and made a lot of new friends.  I would most definitely recommend it to all other freshmen.      

-Mary

Mary's August 2005 Journal