The Student Mountain Experience

We are just finishing up (one more day to go) the Student Mountain Experience. We are at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park Colorado. The weather has been great and the location incredibly beautiful.What is totally impressive is this group of young adults. The ages range from eleven to twenty. They are from all parts of the country. We also have five sets of siblings. I am touched by how willing they are to learn and grow.Particularly how eager they are to talk about what is going on in their lives and how they feel about it. Unlike us adults they don't have as many years of coping mechanisms and built up emotional armor to keep themselves protected.One 14 year old eloquently summed up the attitude I saw in everyone here when he said: "I don't know if this will work but I want to feel lighter so I am going to give it a shot".In addition to learning and growing we have also had alot of fun and gained some really tight bonds with new friends. We had some intense games of capture the flag, volleyball, swimming, rafting and other fun stuff.I couldn't wait to get home to share my excitement.