Outdoor School

I know this post is really long but it's important to me so please read. I promise it gets more interesting the further in you go.

             I just missed an entire week of school. I have several hours’ worth of makeup work to do. I have to take several tests on Monday. I am going to fail those tests. Do I regret missing school? Absolutely not.

            This past week I decided to go to The Outdoor School with 103 sixth graders from Dunlap Elementary School. I went as a cabin leader with several other students from Righetti, to help the campers have the best experience possible. All the cabin leaders had to come up with fun “nature names” like “Willow” or in my case “Shark Bait.” My role specifically was to be in charge of a group of 13 boys who were in my cabin, “Pismo.” Every night they slept in my cabin and every day I was responsible for making sure they got to activities on time and that they were all quiet and asleep by 9:30. I was also assigned to a dining table where myself and a group of six campers sat to eat every meal together. I made sure they ate enough good food and only took what they could eat so they had minimal waste. I was also placed into a hiking group. The “Fleas” and I went on all the curriculum hikes together listening to the naturalist tell us about specific things about the environment as we hiked: plants, animals, geology, Chumash culture, and a Night hike. On these hikes it was my responsibility to keep the kids quiet while the naturalist talked, encourage kids to get involved asking questions and participating, and lastly making sure no one fell behind on the hikes.

            It may seem like I had a lot of responsibilities when it came to being a Cabin Leader, but it was probably the most fun I’ve had all year. I got to hang out with 11 of my good friends, and develop interesting relationships with kids who didn’t know my real name. I had the opportunity to be a role model for kids who were at an age that they really need one. I remember back when I was in sixth grade and was at outdoor school, I really looked up to the cabin leaders. They were much more relatable than a 30 year old naturalist or a 50 year old teacher. The cabin leaders were in High School. They were the “cool big kids” whom every sixth grader wanted to be. Last week, I got to be that “cool big kid.” All the kids needed the Cabin Leaders for one reason or another. The trouble makers needed someone positive who would give them a reason to be good. The ones who were too afraid to put themselves out there needed someone who would back them up when they did. The quiet ones needed someone who would hear them speak. The bullied needed someone to look out for them. The outsiders needed someone who would include them. I had a different experience with every kid. Every kid looked up to me in a different way. And not to sound full of myself, but it felt good. To go from a world and community where you have no voice, where you are the bottom of the food chain where its every man for himself, to a place where you not only have power, but you’re looked up to and admired, where people respect your leadership and authority, is incredible.  I’ve always enjoyed activities where I get to lead, from refereeing to school activities, but nothing compares being a cabin leader.

            During outdoor school, I woke up at 6:30 every morning, a whole hour before I wake up for school, and I felt energized. The days were exhausting, and I still woke up early every day ready to start the day. I didn’t feel groggy, I never yawned, I was alert. I still don’t have a definite answer why. Taking care of preteens is supposed to be exhausting and it was but I still don’t feel tired. I have a few theories. The first is the energy of the kids. The kids woke up excited to see what the day would hold, and maybe there excitement wore off on me. Second is the fact that I went to bed at a reasonable hour. Lights out in the cabins at 9:30, and even though I didn’t go to sleep until 10:30, I still was asleep earlier than at school. My last theory is my individual experience. I love the outdoors, I love the adventure of the unknown, of seeing knew things, and waking up in a new, beautiful place excited me. Though all of these reasons seem valid the exhaustion hasn’t caught up to me. There is no doubt that this week should have been tiring and no matter what the reason I awoke with energy is, I just am not that tired. Don’t get me wrong I’m not upset I’m not tired, I’m just confused. Maybe the fresh air is the cure to tired.

            As a Cabin Leader I had to help the kids learn, but I have to say, I learned a lot myself. My masterpiece is all about getting outdoors. I absolutely love hiking and getting away from it all, getting dirty hiking through the woods, camping, just full on nature. Outdoor school has reinforced that. Because of outdoor school I have learned the value of opening your mind to the world around you. That sometimes you need to shut up and listen, that hiking at night without a light can be beautiful. That a week without internet and TV and cars and long showers and clean clothes and a working toilet, and all the other modern conveniences really isn’t that bad. While there is value in “coming prepared,” there are things you really don’t need. I only wore two different pairs of pants and a pair of shorts the whole week and switched off between three shirts. I wore the same jacket and same sweatshirt all week. I could have packed in a small backpack. I didn’t need my phone or its charger. There are a lot of things that I would have normally brought but didn’t and I’m glad, because I didn’t need them. Would I have been more comfortable with more stuff? Yeah, probably, but I would have ruined the experience. We all get so worried with being comfortable and bringing all our modern things with us that we forget that the whole reason we go to the outdoors is to get away from all those things, because otherwise, we really aren’t going to the outdoors. I’m not saying show up with shorts and a T-shirt and that’s it, but really think about what you’re bringing places and if you really need it. Enjoy nature as it comes, don’t modify (and therefore ruin) the experience.

            The reason I post this to my blog is because it relates to masterpieces. The point of our masterpieces is to be a leader inspiring people with our work and our passion, asking questions and insisting on answers. My Outdoor School experience was just that. I lead and inspired sixth graders, I found my love for nature and have been inspired to continue to explore it through hiking and backpacking. I had fun experiences with my fellow cabin leaders making memories, another thing I love very much, inspiring me to take people with my backpacking for more memories. As far as I’m concerned I’ve done my masterpiece. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve become inspired, and I did something I love. I know it’s my masterpiece because I loved it so much I’m going to keep doing it. The point isn’t to finish it’s to find what you love. And I have.

Outdoor school is an experience I will never forget.