Going on a retreat is the epitome of college. From RA retreats to PAL retreats, to the Leadership Oxford retreat, I felt like I was missing out because I had yet to attend one of these infamous retreats.

Luckily, an email was sent out offering to attend yet another retreat for sophomores who had not attended a retreat before so of course, I immediately signed up. Upon realizing it was the weekend of Halloween (and all the Halloween parties!) I was a bit disappointed because I had promised myself that this year I would go to a Halloween party. However, I would unquestionably sacrifice any weekend to be able to repeat the experience I had at this retreat.

My only goal for the entire weekend was to leave the retreat having found one genuine friend. That was all I wanted. I wanted someone that I could truly rely on and who would really be there for me during anything and someone that I could also be there for.

At the beginning of this year, I did not want to be back at Oxford and had no desire to be sucked into the routine of studying and hanging out with a limited number of people. Ever since I was little, I was surrounded by a considerably large group because I was part of a six-person family. Because of this, I craved having multiple people in my life and having the freedom to spend quality, one-on-one time with a lot of different people.

So, I wanted to transfer because I was unhappy, uncomfortable, and dissatisfied with the personal connections I had made in my first year.

My friends were amazing; I just needed more people in my life to be able to lean on. In order to amend this, I put myself out there and decided to become part of the orientation team this year. Through this experience, I was able to solidify one friendship I had commenced last year and was lucky enough to find one new and truly amazing person that has been there for me a countless number of times this semester; furthermore, she is one of the reasons why I still attend Oxford.

Because of my experience as part of the orientation team, I had hope that at this retreat, I could, again, find and leave with another person I really connected with. And sure enough, I left there with three amazing people I know I will be friends with for a very long time.

Through outdoor adventures, team building exercises, late night conversations, and periodic discussions, I was able to find amazing people right within my Oxford community. I was able to be a part of the ‘tight-knit’ community that is so commonly talked about and missed from Oxford continuees.

I was able to see the difference between keeping to myself with the the excuse of having to study and the occasional help of my phone versus putting all those distractions down for a weekend and truly engaging and being in the moment made. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at Camp Mikell with the group of ExCELL retreat members.