One hour. One hour until we are stripped of our phones and forced to be secluded to the woods. I can feel the nervousness on the bus as we start the one-hour drive up to Waynesboro, PA. The bus is silent as most of us use the last minutes to use our phones and text other friends while others stare at the passing towns and ominous fog on our way up the mountains. We’re all tired and unaware of what will happen over the next two days. I wonder if the retreat will be just as still and awkward as this bus ride.

We finally arrive, tensely holding our phones and peering outside at our new surroundings – a playground, a log cabin, and the wilderness. We unpack and start our junior retreat. Over the next two days went by too fast for me. I got to talk to my classmates about topics that wouldn’t normally come up at school. We start by discussing school, and as we become more comfortable and more trusting, we discuss our friends, family, and ourselves. Even outside of group discussions, we spent more time talking, playing gaga ball, and sometimes playing tennis or basketball. By the time retreat was over, I really didn’t want to return back to my normal life again. I wish I could go back and talk with my 11F advisory, eat more delicious chocolate pudding, and live in the woods deliberately. However, life must go on … Happy Ring!