Coming Of Age (Draft)

“Wake up! Wake up!” my dad yells as he comes into my room. I opened my eyes very slowly and then it hit me. Today is the day that all the students in my middle school have long awaited for – the 8^th grade retreat. It’s the day where all the 8^th graders spend a night at a retreat center and have nothing but a faith filled experience. I get up, get ready, and make sure I have everything packed with everything that I need to bring. As I leave the house, I carry a backpack with my school things, a duffle bag with all my clothes, and a pillow so I can sleep comfortably.

I arrive to the school and I spot my friends right away. All of them had more than 3 bags. Immediately worrying that I under packed & forgot something, I check my bag then reassure myself that I have everything I need. As a request from our retreat coordinator, we were asked to start the day and come to school with an open-minded attitude. Contradicting on what we were asked to do, because of so much excitement, we obviously didn’t go to school with an open mind. It was all we could talk about. We talked about how we’re all going to be together for a weekend away from home, how we’ll all hopefully come out with a stronger bond as a class, and so forth. We just couldn’t shut up, especially because this is our first and last overnighter together before we graduate and go our separate ways.

We couldn’t even pay attention in class because of how anxious we were. Staring at the PA system attentively, an announcement finally came through the saying, “8^th graders please report to your homeroom. Your bus is here”.  Nervous, excited, and psyched, we rush out of our first period and go to our homeroom. We double-checked if we have everything, and next thing you know, off we go.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrive in this secluded, quiet retreat center in the heart of Kalihi Valley. We settle into our rooms and meet in the hall.  Starting off a fun, faith filled weekend, we did icebreakers then moved on to the serious stuff. Our retreat was themed “We Are One Body” and because this was a Catholic School, the main focus was to find our selves in God and to strengthen our bond as a class.

We were then split into groups and had to build something that showed or meant “Community” using the things we were given in a small zip-lock bag. We were given things such as clay, balloons, sticks, etc. The main purpose of this activity was to be a team and to put all our differences aside. We all contributed equally to the activity and we were pretty proud of our final product. After everyone showed their products, we were dismissed and had "free time" outside. Being tired and sweaty because we played volleyball, our retreat leader, Mrs. Fay called us to meet in the parking lot to learn some sort of “tribe call” which we called the “Faith Check”. The faith check was not only meant to grab our attention, it was to remind ourselves that we were under the presence of God.

Dinner came by. Before we ate, we learned a unique prayer called “Before We Eat”. Every year at every retreat, the graduating class learns the prayer. I personally like this prayer because instead of talking, we sang the prayer and also did hand motions. We had food such as ono taco salad, the classic spaghetti with meat sauce, and to top it off, for desert, we had ice cream. 

After dinner, we had our next set activities and were proceeded to the chapel. Our pastor, Father John gave us reflection questions such as “How often do you talk to God?” “What’s your next step after this retreat is over?” “Do you appreciate your family, friends, and those around you?”. During this reflection, I could feel the presence of God with me. I felt as if he were listening to me and understood me. I felt as if something was uplifted from my chest and that my relationship with God is stronger than ever.

Ending the night, we had a candle activity where we were to grab candles from the middle of our circle and had to give it to another person representing an apology for what was done in the past. It was an emotional hour, and after the activity it felt as we all left the hall with no tension whatsoever. With many friendships rekindled, we felt like everything was on a new, fresh, clean slate. And trust me, it was one heck of a good feeling knowing that we all have nothing against each other anymore. 

The next day, we did a "trust walk" where we were blindfolded by the retreat leaders and had to trust the person in front of us to lead us in the right path. This activity gave me a sense and feeling of happiness, friendship, and trust. After the trust walk and during the remaining hours of the retreat, we we’re given the time to do anything we want to do. Before the retreat, our leaders had prepared envelopes with our names on it and our classmates could drop compliments, secrets, letters, etc. for us to read when we get back home. I spent my last hours of the retreat writing compliments for each and every one of my classmates. We all left the retreat center as new people. 

Two years later, I still remember every single detail about this retreat. This retreat was definitely one to remember. The feeling knowing you’re in a positive environment with great company under Gods presence is very uplifting to the heart. Leaving this retreat, I was reminded that we should appreciate everything and everyone around us because in a few months, we’ll all be going our separate ways and taking the next step in life – going to high school. I learned that just because we'll all be separated and in different schools, it doesn't mean that we're never gonna see each other again. We have to put faith in ourselves and in our friendships with each other. We have to put faith in trust. We were also reminded that our relationship with God is very important, no matter what circumstances we’re in. We learned that we should never neglect him and that he's always the one person  there willing to listen.

My faith was strengthened and my hopes were lightened through this eye-opening weekend. It was definitely a life changing experience. I was physically and mentally away from reality and it gave me a chance to work on my relationship with God, my family, my friends, and myself. I learned to step out of my comfort zone. I learned to never keep things bottled up. I learned that I have others around me that I can turn to whenever in time of need. I learned to never judge a book by it's cover because you never know what's inside. Many say this and it may sound cliche, but without this retreat, I wouldn't have been the person I am today. Hearing that we were doing an essay on Coming of Age, I immediately knew that this would be one of the best topics because this retreat matured me spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.