My Capstone Experience
My Capstone experience was a trip to the Air Force Teen Leadership Summit Camp in Estes Park, Colorado. This camp is a camp that allows teens from Air Force families to come together for a week and have an "Adventure Camp" experience while learning leadership skills. However, you have to apply to get in. Because of this, my capstone experience started back in February, when I started writing my application essay. There were several questions I had to answer, and it took me a while to complete, but in the end, I was proud of the result. A few weeks later I found out that my hard work had paid off and that I had been accepted into camp. I was very excited but also nervous. I was really excited to go to Colorado because I had never been there before, but I was nervous to travel there by myself. A few days later however, my dad told me that a few of his coworkers' kids would be traveling part of the way with me. This made me feel better, and it was how I met my first friends on the trip. Throughout the week, we had the chance to sign up for various activities from paddle boarding to pottery, but I wanted to do somethings that sounded both fun and challenging. The day time activities were fun because we had different groups of people almost every day, so we always got to met new people. In the evenings, we did lots of different leadership activities from games to scavenger hunts to help us learn skills, be more confident, and interact better with each other.
Day One
We didn't do a ton of activities on the first day. I've been up since about 4:30 in the morning however, in order to get here. We flew to Chicago, and then into Denver. Now that I'm here, I'm blown away by the view. Most of the day is just getting checked in and scheduling activities for the week. |
My First Hike- Getting Started
Today I have my first hike. I'm a little nervous because it's the longer of the two I have planned for this week, and I'm not really in shape. On top of that, I have to adjust to the altitude. This picture is from the first few minutes. Everything is going smoothly so far, but we're less than a mile in (it's about 7 miles round trip). I'm still amazed by how pretty it is outside. |
My First Hike- At The Top
Though it was hard at some points, I've finally reached the top. We didn't reach a peak at the top of this hike, but we came to a really beautiful lake with a view of the mountains. I could actually see glaciers from up there. It was a little colder, but its wasn't too bad. I'm so proud of myself for being able to make it all the way up. We stop at the top for lunch and I get the chance to take in the amazing view. |
Day 3 Hike- On My Way
This picture is of me in the van on the way to the location of the start of my second hike. The hike for this day is much shorter, only about 3 miles, but I know it will be a challenge because it is steep uphill the whole way up. We are going to a lake again, which is nice because they make for a nice view. I'm with a new group of people today and I'm really excited to get to know them all! |
Day 3 Hike- On The Way Up
Even though this hike isn't as far, it feels like it is. Even though it is challenging, I'm having a lot of fun. There are a lot of interesting things to see, like the rock in the picture, and the higher we get, the more we can see the surrounding mountains. I have fun getting to know the people in my group and we make games of guessing how long we've been going how how far we've gone to pass the time. |
Day 3 Hike- At The Top
By the time I get to the top, I'm exhausted. Even though it wasn't as far, it was very tiring. This lake is smaller, but the view it still very pretty. We have longer to spent at the top today because this is a shorter hike, so we play games, eat lunch, and climb some rocks. Before we leave however, it starts to rain and hail! I was so surprised, and even though the hail was small, it was still shocking for the summer. |
Horseback Riding
Horseback riding may not seem scary, but it was something that I was still nervous to do. Some of the trails were steep, and had heard that this had caused people to fall off in years prior. However, it was something that I really wanted to do, so I decided to try. My horse's name was Rascal and he was really calm and sweet. I had a lot of fun and I'm really glad that I did it. There were some times that I was a little scared, but I never felt like I was really going to fall. |
Leadership
This picture is from one of the many leadership activities that we did at camp (I only included one post because it was hard to get a picture of myself while doing the activities). We did a variety of activities, but my favorite was the scavenger hunt. We went to different spots around camp, and at each place we did a team building exercise, something to help us communicate and work together better make good decisions under pressure. |
Making Friends
Throughout the week, I made a lot of new friends. It was so cool getting to meet people from all across the country. Even though we were from different places and were different ages, that amazing thing happens where you throw a group of strangers together and they become friends. I know that I'll keep in touch with the people I met at camp, and if I get to go back, I hope I'll get to see them again. |
Going Home
I have learned more from this trip than I ever thought I would. I pushed myself to do things outside my comfort zone that were challenging for me, and I can really say that I have grown as a person. I have made a lot of great friends that I know I will keep in touch with for a long time. I'm sad to be going home, but I hope I can come back next year! |