This course was very hard to complete because I wasn’t able to see my family for two long weeks. I was forgetting their faces; I thought I wasn’t going to see them ever again and at many times some of us wanted to give up, but we all learned that we could do anything if we really set our minds to do it. If I really think about it, that’s one of the most important things I found out about myself during this course. What really helped me discover this was when we had to hike for thirteen miles in a day. I really wanted to just sit back and parlay (relax) but I didn’t give up.

The most difficult part of this trip was when I had to walk ever day with backpacks that weighed half as much as me. I thought that my legs were going to break off. I was stressed out.  I wanted to cry but I couldn’t because I promised myself that wasn’t going to cry.  But the last night we spent camping, I couldn’t hold it any longer seeing what had happened to my friends. Carlos got tendonitis, Barbara was home sick, and Kelly was throwing up.

However, teamwork helped us get through the two weeks. A solid group of friends can help you stay up. They will hold you up no matter what happens. For example, when I had problems with one of the guys, Dwight and Kelly were there for me. They helped me get back up without me asking for their help. Another time, Barbara was having problems because she thought she couldn’t make it through the course. We helped her out by encouraging her to keep on going.  To stay positive, we would remind each other of the fun things that happened.

       For example, Dwight was upset with an instructor. He wanted to go home. We cheered him up by reminding him of the time we boycotted waking up. We were supposed to get up at four in the mourning but none of us did. Our instructors made all the noise they could but we didn’t wake up until five.  Steve was playing drums with the pots, pans, and spoons, and Jen was singing. I slept through all of that while my friends were trying to survive. It was so funny when I woke up and found out what happened.
 

We all had fun and decided that are friendship wasn't going to end for now, and that we all were going to be back for next year.

Now I want to share some of the  poems I wrote during the course to cheer me up.