Nature Awaits Thee
- Christa Salinas
- Oct 20, 2014
- 4 min read
Senior Retreat
Earlier during this semester, the Senior class embarked on a 2 day retreat. It has been my honor to be a part of this tradition & amazing adventure for the past three years. As tradition has written at St. Anthony, we travel to a wonderfully, breathtaking, faith driven camp called Camp Eagle. Really honing in on creating trust within each other, growing in faith & becoming closer to the people you travel with, the camp offers endless activities & relaxation. No camp can be called a legitimate "camp" unless they have the BLOB! Camp Eagle is no exception to this stereotype. Numerous chances to test your nerves with ropes courses and perhaps just to take part in a pick up game of basketball, ping pong or sand volletball. Not to mention, the views are without a doubt my favorite part. (CAUTION: Cheesy Statement Ahead!) It allows me to just simply sit, breathe and appreciate everything in my life.
Walking around & appreciating, breathing in all of nature's awesome, I found this tree growing out of a patio area that overlooked the river. Its' pure majesty & beautiful texture instantly caught my eye. The colors! Those neutral blending & weaving together created such a magnificent dressing for this mighty survivor. I could not resist testing out a cheap yet excitingly "experiment" macro lens that I purchased recently. I appreciate that I was able to focus in on the texture alone. Perhaps not necessarily needing it to be sharp, I find just the distortion plearing.
Just looking at this bridge gave me mixed feelings. It is a bridge that leads to the magnificent water slide. Obviously, complete safe & trusting in construction, however, the thinness & restless nature of it made me think instantly. "I will surely trup over my own feet & somehow become intangled within the siding." Needless to say, I did not take any chances of my unpredictable clumsy nature; 1. because I had no swimsuit & could not participate in the swimming event & 2. there was a definite, sure feeling & instinct that told me, "you will trip." However, I really enjoy the composition of this scene. The view from my standing point to that of the platform over the river made my feelings of uncertainty come to life. Fun awaits on the other side, however, a true test of balance & positive spirit became an obstacle meant to be met at another time.
Once again, what is a camp without a bonfire! Always a treat planned for the one night that we spend at Camp Eagle, the wild s'mores rumpus began! I was lucky enough to scrounge together the last bits of graham cracker & chocolate & had the honor of knowing a kind student that had roasted a mallow for me. The most beautiful night, perfect starry skied setting, soft guitarist playing & students really being able to sit back, relax, talk, laugh, sing, be silly & for once not think about school and homework; truly magical & awesome! I have a handful of students that are photography masters in the making: creative, thought-provoking, truly embracing a "hipster" mentality & just wonderfully great, they passed the camera around to see who best would create & capture the bonfire's magic. This photo is from one of my most cherished & favorite students (shhh I have told my students I don't play favorites, but really who doesn't). It is intriguing how he has captured the movement of the fire's sparks as the wind sweetly takes them dancing through the sky. Such a wonderful snapshot of the environment from that night.
This was really a special & rare moment that I got to share with two of my great co-workers. What a sensational find this was! Nature showing us the definition of perseverance, teamwork, & strength. We sat there, one with look of magic in his eyes (the look children get in their eyes during Christmas; the glimmer and twinkle), one with uncontrollable excitement of what she could take away from this emotionally, mentally, spiritually & me, holding my camera as steady as possible, attempting to get the best angle imaginable & contorting myself to the sidewalk in which this was all taking place.
Bringing the retreat to an end, it is the tradition of creating a community based on faith, friendship, love & family, that we nail our prayers and burdens to these crosses. They are brought back to the school & displayed for the year to share with the community our faith in that we are all there for one another, sharing in each other's joys, happiness, trials, obstacles, burdens & journey. The highlight of attending these retreats is connecting with co-workers and students. We share our goals for the year & what we hope and strive to do in helping everyone succeed & grow in preparation for the next step in their lives. It really is an honor attending these every year. I love sharing in the awesome energy & happiness that is always created.
