RYLA

I was briefly reunited with my Fair Lawn friends, only to be separated from them again because we were placed into separate bunks. The 14 other girls in Bunk 23 at first intimidated me since many of them were friends from school. However, by the end of the week, these girls had become as close to me as my best friends that I have known for a lifetime. We laughed together, cried together, and bonded to become one family, from which I learned many lessons. That night, we were placed into our “small groups” which were made up of 15 people, and one counselor. Seventy percent of RYLA was spent with our small groups as we took on challenges together, conquered our fears together, and became lifetime best friends. Every night after a long day of activities, we met for two hours with our small groups in order to process the day and talk through our feelings and reactions to the activities. All groups were given unique bandanas and told that their first job was to create a name for their group. Our bandanas were green and had cacti on them, so we were called “Can’t Touch This” (because were cacti). The next day was filled with activities with our small groups, including one of my favorites called “Web of Life”. In this session, our small group stood in a circle, and our counselor Kyle, threw the yarn ball to someone saying what he added to our group. That person then threw the yarn to another person saying what they will add to our group, holding onto a small portion of the string. This continued until everyone received the yarn, and created a web which linked us all together, highlighting how we all need each other for the web to take place. This meant that even if one person let go, our entire web would collapse, showing our need for everyone in our group.

By Tuesday night, my bunk and I were all having an amazing time at RYLA; however we were still wondering why this experience was life-changing. Fun it was, but at that point in time, I would have been fine to go home and return back to my life with my old friends and technology and never think about RYLA and how it impacted my life. Then, Wednesday rolled around, and the week made a complete 180° turn. The morning began with a scavenger hunt in our small groups in which we worked to gain resources to aid us in a later challenge. That later challenge, known to past RYLAtiers as the Leadership Quagmire, would take all the skills we had learned previous to it, to accomplish a common goal. We were brought into the closed arena where each group was given a circle on the ground, or “an island”, and their goal was to all move to the island to their left by moving to the right. The only way to move was to step on the “resources” or foam tiles earned in previous challenges, but if you or your small group were off them for even a second, the eager counselors were there to take them away. We were given a paper explaining the rules and stating that we were given 30 minutes to complete this challenge. The quagmire began with large personalities yelling at each other, thinking that their opinions were correct, and that only they knew how to correctly complete this challenge. This went on for a grueling hour, until the orange “Peelers” took it upon themselves to begin working by themselves to get to their destination island, borrowing multiple resources from other groups. Their strategy was not going to work, because they had left two other groups with no tiles. People began to get frustrated, and only thought of their own groups, and how they could complete this challenge correctly and before the other teams. Mama RYLA and all the other counselors began to come up to certain individuals and say, “I’m a humanitarian from Rotary International, who are you?” and simply, “Do you need help?”. Many people were confused with these remarks, and although many said no to the questions, a few bold voices did ask for help, and were rewarded with additional resources. Then, one voice screamed, “Guys, we all need to work together and share resources or else the task will never be completed! We need to share our supplies and form one large circle to walk around the islands on order for this to work.” What amazing advice! After almost three grueling hours, RYLA 2014 completed this task. We entered the arena as eight small groups, and left the arena as one family: RYLA 2014. This challenge taught me many important life lessons. One, asking for help doesn’t show weakness; instead it shows strength to realize that no one knows everything. Two, we were a team of leaders, not a leader and a team. Lastly, not everyone can be right all the time, and sometimes, it’s important to step back and listen to others, as their opinions can help you succeed as well.

As soon as the quagmire was successfully completed, the mood of RYLA had completely changed. Out were feelings of negativity and countdowns until we returned home, and the camp was filled with feelings of community, love, and a longing to stay here forever. These newly formed bonds were put to the test the next day. Thursday began with us all being given the RYLA 2014 shirts to show that everyone, including all the counselors, were one family and one unit. We then practiced trust falls between two or three people, which lead up to trusting your group enough to let them pick you up above their heads using only two fingers each. A terrifying but exhilarating experience, but that was nothing compared to what was to come. As the entire group walked up heart attack hill to the theater, the anticipation of what we were about to do was killing us.

Trust fall.

            We walked into the room, and were shown the proper way to have our group accurately and safely catch us as we fell backwards off a five foot tall stage into the arms of our small groups. Immediately, I was terrified, since I was freaking out when my group had to pick me up. How on Earth was I going to fall back and how the heck were they going to catch me? As soon as I thought that, it was like my small group could read my mind. Solely from the petrified look on my face, they knew how frightened I was, and they began whispering encouraging things to me telling me how far I had come this week, and that they promised on my cute counselor Kyle’s life that they would catch me no matter what. I began to temporarily calm down because I knew that they would catch me. I had nothing to worry about because my family was behind me, and they would not let me fall. Other groups began to go, and before I knew it, it was our turn. I had butterflies in my stomach, and told my group I would go second. Walking up the stairs to the stage felt like eternity, but before I knew it, I was on the stage with my back to my group, and my hands were twisted towards my body clutching the foam ball I was given in the kung Fu death grip, exactly like we were taught.  Out of nowhere, I began to sob, as my fear of falling overwhelmed my entire body. I knew they would be there to catch me, but I was still frozen with fear. I was then comforted with the calming voice of Mama RYLA who said, “You know sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Literally, twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery, and I promise you something good will come of it.” With that, I was ready to fall and convinced that my group would catch me. Three, two, one. I carefully slid back and released my feet from the stage. I was falling and it seemed like an eternity before I felt my group catch me. I was alive, and together with my family, I had accomplished my fear.

            I dreaded going to sleep on Thursday night, because I knew that when I woke up on Friday morning, it would be time to leave RYLA. Friday was understandably filled with lots of tears, but also a lot of laughs, and promises to keep in touch no matter how far we lived from each other. As we arrived at Passaic Valley high school and had our closing ceremony with our families, I could not shake the feeling that the greatest experience of my life had just ended. All people kept saying was, “Promise me you will text me as soon as we leave?” “Remember to add me on Facebook!” and “Answer my texts!!” When I arrived home that night, a feeling of loneliness spread over my whole body. I was home, so why was I feeling like this? The truth was, I could be home, but my family was spread out around Passaic, Hudson, and Bergen counties, and there was nothing I could do about it. We all talk throughout the day on group chats and Snapchat, and have planned meetings, but I miss them every day. These people touched my life in ways that they will never know, and have taught me tremendous lessons about life and myself. RYLA has taught me that not everyone needs to be a leader in every situation, and no matter where you go, you always have the potential to meet lifelong friends. Long live the bonds made at RYLA 2014!