The Templeton Honors College Adirondack trip left a positive lasting impact on me that I never in a million years would have predicted. When I first heard about the Templeton ADK trip, I was very overwhelmed. I DEFINITELY was not a camping person, and I was already anxious about college as is, so this wasn’t exactly the information I was looking to receive.
I spent so much time stressing about all the people I was going to have to meet and all of the uncomfortable and foreign experiences I was going to endure. What I didn’t do was stop and talk to God about it. I never thought to ask God about all the good things that might come out of this trip, or stop and take time to really put it into perspective and remind myself that at the end of the day, it was just camping. On this trip, God changed my heart and my mindset in a miraculous way.
I went from being consumed by fear and anxiety about meeting new people and being uncomfortable, to an overwhelming eagerness to seek out any and every scenario in which I found myself doing things I never thought possible. I met my best friends on this trip, and I pushed the boundaries of who I am not only as a person, but as a Christian.
I held a frog, I caught a fish, I swam to an island; all these things may seem silly and insignificant, but these are things I would have never done on my own terms. I explored the limitless possibilities of what God can do and what I can do with God, and I would never trade my week in the ADK for anything.
I implore anyone who is feeling afraid or hesitant, like I was, to have an open mind and an open heart to receive God in a way you may have never thought possible. No matter how horrible of an attitude you show up with, I promise you will leave with a smile on your face wishing you could go back.
