This past weekend I attended the “Ignite Retreat” held at Holy Cross’ Joyce Contemplative Center. The college hosts the retreat three times a school year and describes it as “A one-night retreat for first-year students to step away from campus, meet new friends, and explore community learning to dialogue across differences.”
This year was a little different because they opened the retreat up to sophomore students, like myself, who didn’t have the opportunity to attend their freshman year due to switching to online learning during the fall semester.
When I was choosing whether to attend or not, one of the significant factors holding me back was the fear that I would be the only sophomore attending a majorly freshman retreat. Looking back, I am extremely glad that I didn’t let this silly fear hold me back. Was the majority of attendees freshman? Yes, but it didn’t matter. We are all attending college during a very strange time which forged a deep sense of understanding and community. That being said, as a sophomore, I did feel a little different from the freshman. I learned that I still hold some resentment over the fact that my senior year of high school wasn’t all that I hoped it would be, and even further, that I will never be able to get the college freshman experience, as I had one semester at home and online, and the other on-campus but still online.
Today, it is especially easy to feel like time is going by too fast, and because of that we long for something to cling to. That is why I think it was so crucial for me to go on this retreat. It didn’t give me the solutions to all my problems, but it gave me something so much better: a sense of peace when everything on-campus can feel so overwhelming. In the past couple of years, we have all gone through many transitions, and this retreat reminded me to be more patient and kind to myself, as well as to those around me.
The environment of the JCC is beautiful in the fall, with all of the leaves ablaze, but I imagine that it would be lovely in every season. The food they serve is also incredible!
There is another retreat coming up right before finals week called the “Eat, Pray, Study” retreat, and I am so excited to get away from campus for two nights to have some peaceful cramming before I take my finals. I cannot recommend enough taking a look at the retreat schedule and seeing if any topics interest you; they are all amazing, so you really can’t lose no matter which one you choose!