Survival

The lessons that I learned at the PROMISE retreat in Rocky Gap in February 2009 have became embedded within me. I have transferred the skills that we learned about fire, shelter, water and food into my educational experience. Attending the retreat and learning survival skills showed me that I can survive grad school because I already have what it takes to complete it. What I learned is that I have to use what has already been given to me to survive the experience. This includes the motivation and will to survive the process, the initiative to take the necessary steps to survive and complete the program, a good strong support system to help me when I need it most and to keep me uplifted and encouraged when I am feeling weary. I also learned a lot about myself as a person and realized through the experience at the PROMISE retreat that it is okay to be myself . The team building process was very effective because it gave me the opportunity to see through a fun experience that I have something to offer that is very different from what the next person has to offer. This makes all the difference when working with teams. The team that I was with consist of several engineering and science students which is very different from my social work background. I loved how we all worked together to SURVIVE. What stand out in my memory the most is the building of the shelter, it showed me that I can take anything if and make the most out of it. If I had to described the 2009 PROMISE retreat in one word it would be EMPOWERING.