"My Retreat Experience "

My Trip-Trailblazers Retreat Weekend

Should I stay or should I go? The bus is there, the doors are open, and my bags are packed, but as I look in the corner of my eye, my mom is there, ready to turn around and go home if I decide not to leave.

Today I am here to tell you about my experience of a lifetime.

As I step aboard and wave goodbye, I am still wondering whether I am making the right decision or not. There are a bunch of people who I have never met and don’t know anything about. What will they be like? Will they look and stare? Will they ignore me completely? Will they be rude and ignorant? Or will they be kind and generous like a good old friend?

I was sitting alone while starting to regret getting on the bus at all, until Dave came up to me and asked if the seat beside me was taken. I told him that it wasn’t, so he sat down.

The bus ride didn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would have. Dave and I talked the whole ride there, so I forgot all about being shy, nervous, and worried.

Finally we arrived. We started off with a few name games to get to know a bit about everyone. The goal of the games turned out great because heading into the first night, we all new a little bit about each person.

The next day we had our first discussion group. This group was meant to talk about why we were all meeting over this 4 day trip.

Donna was first to break the silence. She told us that she worked for the organization “AboutFace” and that “AboutFace” was meant to help children, teens, and even adults deal and get to know themselves and others with a facial difference. The point of this trip was to help the teens feel more comfortable to talk about their facial difference, self esteem, or anything else that they wanted to share with people other than their closest friends and family.

When people started asking questions to the staff or the other teens, it made me feel that I didn’t have to be shy or scared if I wanted to talk. This also made me feel that I truly had made the right decision on stepping on the bus and coming on this trip.

Throughout the next few days, there was high ropes, low ropes, rock climbing, archery, swimming, canoeing, and kayaking. Each one of these games or activities was to help build self-esteem according to the goal that you made for yourself. The goal wasn’t to say “Hey, that person made it up the whole wall, I can too.” It was meant for you to see how much you think you could accomplish, and then really see how much you accomplished. It didn’t matter if your goal was to finish the whole activity, or just to start it. The goal was geared to your own standards, so if you didn’t reach it, it was ok, because at least the opportunity was there.

Within the three days we were at the camp, it was nice not to hear a bad remark about anything or anybody. We were all one and we were all accepted for who we are and not what we looked like or sounded like. There were no cruel words and there was always trust and support through the other teens, volunteers and staff.

I am very thankful that my parents signed me up for these activities and encouraged me to go. If I had not gone I never would have known that there are so many others like me, going through the same challenges that I have to. I am also thankful that there are these groups for teens and that they are an open invitation to me. Some people without a facial difference would like to go and meet new people, such as the ones I met, but can’t.

This 3 day AboutFace Trailblazer trip, that I had almost not gone to, was the best thing that I have ever done. I now have many new friends that I can always relate to and keep in contact with. I am so glad that I brought up enough courage to get on that bus in the first place.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my experience of a lifetime.