How do the choices we make set our future path? -driving Q

In what felt like the middle of no where, my class grew from a bunch of kids in an iPad program, to a team. 

For 1 week, my whole PLP grade went to loon lake for a Team-Building and Leadership retreat. During this retreat we learned a lot about ourselves, but also about eachother and community. I think that everyone that was on this trip took at least one thing away from it, but I know that I personally took away a lot. 

Throughout the week we worked on a booklet, which was filled with activities that helped us understand many things, like what a successful leader, what type of leader I am, my strengths, etc. Before we went through this book, I thought I already had a really good understanding of this, but I actually learned so much more. 

One of these things that I learned that really stuck with me was identifying my leadership style/styles. My leadership style is encourager. This style is pretty self explanatory; I am very encouraging, I celebrate achievements, I give lots of support, and lots of appreciation. I feel like this fits me perfectly. Now I know my leadership strengths, and where/how I can support my team the best. 

Another thing that really stuck with me are my emotional intelligence traits. I am emotionally self aware, I have group awareness, and I am empathic. Knowing these continues to help me use my strengths when working in a group, but also helps me understand what I need to work on. I know I need to work on optimism, adaptability, and emotional self control (a trait I think might be the most important to have!). 

The book wasn’t all we did while on our trip, we also got lots of hands-on actives. Some of these were like high-ropes courses, rock climbing, and archery. Through these activities I found the groups we were placed in started to grow, and created a sense of trust within everyone. More trust was built as we grew into more intense activities, like the trust fall. For this trust fall, one person stood on a chair which was on a table, and fell backwards into the arms of classmates. This activity was really big for me, because it was one of the first times I have trusted my peers so much. Falling from so high is really scary, but having a team there for you makes it so much easier.

This was such an amazing week, I learned so much but still had so much fun. I got to think about so many different things, and do so many things. But before I leave, I need to answer the driving question! “How do the choices we make set our future path?” Everything I ever do will effect me and my future, even if it’s in the smallest way. But these small effects can lead to much bigger ones. Going to a small retreat for one week in 9th grade might not seem very impactful, but that one week taught me skills in need for my future, and taught me how to get there successfully. Being a good leader is one thing, but understanding why you are a good leader and how you can be an even better one is so much more.