Beginning & End

Last Sunday we had our first team building. The first team building is always the activity that takes forty-four individuals and unites them as a whole. This is my third year in the program and this was the third time I would be participating in the first team bonding. My first year the first team building was the most uncomfortable only because I was shy and timid. This year however I felt everyone came together quite easily. Everyone was encouraged to partner up with people they did not know as well and everyone worked together beautifully. My favorite activity of the day was the obstacle course. With this activity you were to line up with someone whom you usually don't speak to and then one of the partners was blind-folded and the other was to guide them. This activity is extremely important because it builds a great trust. A trust that is vital when traveling down to New Orleans. In New Orleans there are going to be times where you need help and you need to know anyone and everyone in the group will be able to assist you. That trust and caring is something we start building on the very first group bonding with this activity. When we began the activity I did not have a partner so I was teamed up in a group of three. Poor Sheridan had to guide both, Danielle and I. Sheridan, even though she had the difficult job, executed the activity perfectly. She kept Danielle and I both calm and safe. By the end I had put all my trust in Sheridan to guide me blind-folded over a stump, bench and down some rickety stairs. When it came time for the other partner to be blind-folded I did not have a partner so I was able to observe the group. This time around the activity was more intense. The guide had to take the blind-folded partner across a road. I was walking alongside Liz-Marie whom was blind-folded and Kevin who was her guide. Liz-Marie was very afraid of crossing the road but the whole time Kevin kept trying to calm her down and assure her everything was going to be ok. It was an amazing activity. I was watching the group grow closer and closer reaching the family dynamic we achieve while down in New Orleans. It was amazing seeing the group change. Every year the group is made up of all different types of people but somehow these people come together and can work peacefully side by side. I found myself reflecting on my first team bonding the whole day. I cannot believe how much of a transformation I have taken. I look at this years sophomores and cannot believe it is just the beginning of their NOLA career and I reflect on myself and cannot believe mine is coming to an end. I cannot wait to see this years group grow closer and become a family.

Meg Hawkins