DAY 10
On day ten, as we rode home to Chicago, many students took a moment to pause and consider their favorite moments of Tiyul, what they learned and the memories they made. A few of these reflections can be found below.

Mia A.
Before white water rafting, I was not sure if I would like it. I was scared that I was going to fall out of the boat. When we got on I immediately started having fun. We used teamwork throughout the whole time. When people fell out everyone worked to pull them back in. Everyone encouraged each other to try everything. At one point, in a calm part of the river, one guide flipped over a raft, turning it into a makeshift slide. I did not know if I wanted to slide off of the boat into the river because it was cold, but everyone was cheering each other on and I ended up going. Also during horseback riding, I said that I was too scared to do it. I didn’t want to miss out on anything so I decided to go. I ended up having so much fun and I am so happy I went. 

Emily G.
One of my favorite moments of the trip was when we went canoeing. It was a great experience that I will always remember. It gave me the opportunity to be in nature, a peaceful setting, and a special thing to do with my friends. Being on the lake felt so peaceful and I felt so good in that moment. At the start of the trip, I was a little bit anxious, however, I overcame it and ended up having a blast. Being so happy on the lake with my friends was the first of many amazing moments on the trip. 

Sam A.
On Sunday, I accomplished a new challenge, to go white water rafting. Although I had been white water rafting once before, I was afraid of what was yet to come. Many of my friends were telling me that the water had been freezing, so for that reason, I was nervous. Later, when I was on the water with my peers, we decided to jump off the boat. It may have been exciting to do, but my friends were right, the water was freezing. The adventure was exhilarating and I would do it again. 

Zoe C.
My favorite day of the trip was the last day. I really enjoyed going to the stables and seeing the animals. I love animals, and I loved being able to see creatures that I don’t normally get to interact with. My friends and I hung out with horses and goats while we were waiting. I was a little nervous because I had previously had a scary experience with horses. Once I got on the horse, it was very fun and easy. My horse was very sweet and the scenery was so pretty. It was an awesome way to end the trip.

Lev G. and Benjamin G.
On Sunday, we went white water rafting and ziplining. The white water rafting was the most fun on the trip. At first, we were both a little nervous because Lev and I had never done a class IV rapid before. Even though we were nervous going in, we used the teamwork skills that we have been developing throughout the past 10 days to help cope with that fear. This being said, it made the white water rafting the most enjoyable activity.  

Emmet L.
One of my favorite moments on the trip was when we made our own path while hiking on the untouched land around the camp. We began the hike by walking uphill where we saw a beautiful waterfall. Some of my classmates walked in the shin-high water while others skipped rocks. We then went on to create our own path by walking in ways where people haven’t been before. The hill we walked on was very steep making it a hard challenge to keep balance. At the end of the hike, I was exhausted but proud of the challenges that I overcame.

Samara L.
On Sunday we went white water rafting. I was so nervous because the group who went before us was soaking wet and cold, but it ended up being one of my favorite moments of the trip. We went over many rapids, my favorite being the one called “double trouble.” The double trouble rapid was the bumpiest. Some people fell out and others even lost their crocs. We all got soaked on it, but it was so fun. Our instructor was super helpful and led us down the river safely. Even though we ended up being cold and soaking wet it was a really great, new, and fun experience. 

Sofia S.
“Im ein ani li mi li.” This quote, “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me,” has been apparent throughout the whole trip. While many people think this quote highlights the importance of taking care of yourself, I think that it also has a much bigger meaning: if we don’t own up to our actions, nobody will for us, and the history will forever be forgotten. This idea of owning up to our actions was highlighted on our Civil Rights tour in Alabama. In Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, all of the places we went to in Alabama, there were signs and museums explaining the persecution of Black people in the spots that they happened, making it possible for my generation to deeply care about something that happened years and years ago.  Now, we can apply that knowledge to fight against the current issue of police brutality and not stay silent because we aren’t the victims. Owning up to things is not an easy thing to do, but it was clear that Alabama knew that it had to be done, so the history will never be forgotten.  

Zach S.
On Sunday, we went white water rafting. I thought it was very fun and a great thing to do with my friends. It was also a great team-building exercise because we learned to work with each other and how we react to certain things. One fun thing that we did while white water rafting was that we stopped mid-way and we made a slide with our raft and some people lost their crocs but overall it was really fun. Another thing that made it a lot better was that I was with my friends because there’s one month left of school and it wouldn’t be fun with people that I’m not close with. So I would say it was pretty fun.

Noah W.
This Sunday we embarked on our white water rafting adventure. At first, I was very nervous, as this was my first time rafting, but after I got onto the raft with Mr. Sheahan and five of my peers, I was immediately feeling much more comfortable. Our rafting journey began with carrying our rafts down a long pathway and into a stage III rapid. Our instructor Ben, made the journey very fun and entertaining. As a first-time rafter, I was very proud of myself for staying on the raft all the way up until the last rapid. On the very last rapid Mr. Sheahan and I were thrown out of the raft and into the freezing water. Mr. Sheahan fell right next to the raft and was able to be pulled up by Ben and Zach. I on the other hand was not as lucky and was thrown 10-15 feet away from the raft and was unable to be rescued by my team. I drifted through the stage IV rapid for one to two minutes before being rescued by Orli and her team. Even though I had fallen out of the raft, it was still an amazing and very fun experience that I would 100% do again.