RYLA Student thanks Club for Opportunity!

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.  RYLA.  In a time when leaders begin showing their colors at a very young age, RYLA provides an inspirational setting for young leaders to meet other young leaders, while they all learn more about the leadership qualities they possess.  The 2006 "Reach Your Peak" conference was held at the Overlander Mountain Lodge, which is nestled in the Rocky Mountains, creating the perfect setting for a relaxing weekend, filled with new opportunities and friendships.  Anyone who has had the opportunity to attend this weekend long conference knows how incredible it is to be there, and this year I was lucky enough to be one of about sixty students to be chosen.

 

After spending the majority of a day on the road getting reacquainted with an old friend and meeting a new one, both of whom were attending the same conference as me, we completely comfortable showing our amazement at the panoramic view we saw as we drove up to the lodge, which was to be our home for the next three days.  Having arrived several hours before most people were set to get there, we were able to fully explore our beautiful surroundings.  Long story short, we were like little kids in a candy store.  Soon other people started trickling in and we began meeting the people we would form unforgettable friendships with during the course of our stay.  Before we knew it, it was supper time. 

 

Once we finished our delicious meal, Rhonda, the organizer of the conference, announced that we would have our first speaker right away.  A short, middle aged man stood up and ushered us into the main sitting area of the lodge and we all thought, "Oh great, another older person telling us who we are and what we should do."  Fortunately, George J. Boelcke was nothing like that.  Mr. Boelcke had come to talk to us about personality types, from his book Colorful Personalities, and how different "colors" function in the world.  In a matter of minutes he had us divided into groups; vibrant oranges, knowledge based greens, organized oranges and emotional blues, and surprisingly we all understood each others needs and interests almost perfectly within our groups.  It was a truly eye opening experience, and as the knowledge based green person that I am, I am truly looking forward to reading my copy of Mr. Boelcke's book.

 

The next morning, we began our day with a truly inspirational speaker, Alan Law, a thalidomide baby.  Born without arms, life hasn't been easy for Alan Law, but he has never let anything stand in the way of him striving to be the best he could be.  Based from his book Alan Law's Five Laws, Law spoke to us about never letting anything stand in our way and following our dreams no matter what the odds might be.  During his presentation, we learned the five laws: Attitude is everything, Love keeps us going, Victims exist but it can make us stronger, Imagination is the key to unlocking potential, and Never Give Up!  If a man who has no arms can play the drums and live by the saying "There is no such thing as can't." as Alvin Law has, the rest of us have no excuse for not living up to our full potential. 

 

That afternoon, a speaker came in to talk to us about The 7 HABITS of Highly Effective TEENS.  Although our time with this topic was short, I learned what things I need to work on to fulfill my potential and be the most effective person I can possibly be.  It was interesting to see what things I had naturally picked up and what wasn't quite there yet.  With a copy of the book in my hand, I left that seminar with a lot of new ideas running through my head. 

            After spending a late night, up, making the most of the short time I had with my new friends, we all got up the next morning to go off on our outdoor activities.  My group climbed into a huge van and set off to climb a 5000 foot high mountain.  While we pushed ourselves to new levels of endurance, we became even closer friends, learning each other's strengths and weaknesses.  When we reached the top of that mountain and looked down at the highway below you could almost feel the pride radiating off of everyone.  We even had a few encounters with ticks (not fun at all at the time, but hilarious now).  All in all it was a true bonding experience, and my words cannot do justice to the emotions I felt. 

 

Unfortunately, that was our last full day at the lodge, and to celebrate, a local jazz band was brought in and we all hung out and exchanged e-mails so we could keep in touch.  Needless to say, no one got any sleep that night as we were all too busy soaking in the last hours with people we will probably never see again.  The next morning was bitter sweet, as we were all getting to go home, but we were leaving behind some of the most memorable days of our lives. 

 

I will never forget this experience and what it has taught me about the person I am and the person I want to become.  Our group may have dispersed, but one thing is for sure, no matter where the amazing people I met at this conference go, they will rise to the occasion as the leaders of the future.  The world has nothing to fear, with these incredible people at the controls.   

THANKS ROTARY!

For The Time Of My Life!