Camp Manito-wish

For our 8th grade community building trip, our grade went to Camp Manito-wish. While field trips are fun, some of us were dreading parts of this overnight trip. We didn't want time away from our phones, or not sleeping in our own beds. We were nervous about having to talk to people we usually don't talk to and not being in the comfort of our family. We weren't very opened minded going into this trip. Little did we know, the things we worried about would turn out to be things that we enjoyed. I learned about people that I usually don’t talk to and made new friends. If I’m really honest, it was nice to have a break from my phone.

When our class first arrived, we were split into 3 different groups. In our groups, we would get a challenge given to us by our counselor. One of my group's challenges was a game on the low ropes course. There were four islands and a rope and we had to find out how many people were on each island by asking yes or no questions. During that challenge, we had to listen to each other, work as a team and think outside of the box. We all put in a lot of effort and did our best. We also made sure everyone was included and heard. Everyone put themselves out there and everyone was very supportive of one another for trying something new. 

Coming into this trip, I don’t think we were always looking after each other. We cared about each other but we didn't know how to show it. At camp, we would be encouraged to be kinder and sometimes had to reflect on the jokes we were making towards each other instead of with each other.  These suggestions gave us a different perspective and we learned to be a better class and better to each other. I think the biggest thing that made us have a stronger connection was the group building activities that got everyone on the same page and we turned into a team. We saw that working as a team helped us get there so much faster than picking at each other even though we were doing it to try to get something done. Our grade will forever have a stronger connection because of this trip. And we learned to work as a group and respect one another. We will never forget this trip and how much fun we had.

Our trip to Camp Manito-wish helped me think of myself as a leader. I learned how to be a better listener to my classmates and I also know how to have fun as a grade while including everyone and making our grade stronger. We are becoming more open minded and are better working together and respecting one another. I think this will be great for us in high school and in life.

Thank you Camp Manito-wish for a great time and thank you to our advisors for making it possible!