This past weekend was the fall First Year Retreat. I was lucky enough that I got to join in on the action over at Silver Lake Camp. As a freshmen, I am still looking to make friends and form some true relationships with other people here at GU. As the weekend went on, I enjoyed myself more and more. As I grew closer with the people in my small group, learned crazy dances and connected with God through song and prayer, I realized that I am meant to be here at Gonzaga. I had a wonderful time on retreat this past weekend, so here is why First Year Retreat rocked!
1. Coming into the retreat, I knew a solid three people. I was not super close with any of them, they were just familiar faces that I could point out in a crowd of people. I personally am not a huge fan of meeting a lot of people at one time, but when I left the retreat, I felt comfortable talking to over half the people that joined me this weekend. Even if we did not have anything in common, I knew that if I needed to talk to someone, I could do that with over half the people there. That’s such a cool concept!
2. Many camps, as great as they may be, do not have the greatest food. That was not the case this weekend. The food was great and the people that prepared our food were super nice!
3. Like many other retreats, we were put into small groups to discuss topics that come up over the weekend. I think the small groups this weekend were the perfect size. They were small enough that you could get close with the people in your group, but not too small where there was not a variety in opinion. In my group personally, we were able to dive deep on some topics that we do not talk about everyday. Having that close group made it easier for people to open up and share what they were actually thinking.
4. ALL the leaders were spectacular! Not only did they offer advice that us first year students could really use, they also opened up about things they admit about messing up and things that they wish to go back and change. The maturity that was apparent from many of the leaders was refreshing and made me very proud to be part of the Gonzaga Community.
5. Lastly, this retreat did not focus on one denomination of faith. I personally am Catholic, but I got to learn things about the Christian faith that I did not know before. Also, people that have no distinct faith were able to learn about Christianity and Catholicism but were not put in a situation where they felt uncomfortable not having a faith.
Everyone had a different experience this past weekend, but mine was great. I very much recommend it to anyone thinking about attending the one that will be in February. I met so many people that I made a genuine connection with and that I see myself talking to again during my time here at GU. Thank you University Ministry for the great weekend!