Retreat

Today I woke up earlier than I have in months. 7am is earlier than a lot of college students wake up, I thought, but I was amazed at how many people were out an about. I was up to go to a 9 hour retreat for Student Senate, and just like last year, I had been expecting a very different turnout than there actually was. Last year I was the only member-at-large to go to retreat, and this year only 10 other people showed up. However, the select few were the dedicated, and it was much more fun than I had been expecting. Just goes to show never to judge before you try, because it may just surprise you.

We drove two hours to a ropes course and did team-building exercises, and in any other setting what happened would have been considered sexual harassment, given how physical we were with each other. :) However, I've always liked doing those kind of games (e.g. the spiderweb, the human knot, etc.) so I wasn't upset or uncomfortable at all. And it was really nice to get to know some other Senators better; it will make the meetings more fun and go a bit faster because I'm actually better friends with people in the group. And there are some really cool and interesting people in Senate, many with great ideas and ambition that is refreshing in what I feel is sometimes an increasingly jaded atmosphere.

The only downfall of the trip was that 2/3s of the group didn't come, for some reason or another (probably mostly because we had to get up so early), and it would have been beneficial for them to come, however much I prefer a smaller group. Many people in the organization could use some team-building exercises (if you have ever been to a meeting you understand what I'm talking about). People tend to think that their voice is the only important one and don't collaborate.

In other news, Soundbytes had a concert tonight that was really fun. Afterwards Counterpoint performed and then a really cool CMU student band. It was kind of a jazz rock thing that had a lot of potential, I thought, and although the acoustics in Kirr Commons is horrible they still managed to sound really good. And the Truman scholarship is due in about 5 days, which is crazy. I have so much work to do, but I think it's worth it. And soon enough it will be over and Thanksgiving will be here! I can't wait to go home.