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Passion, Ambition and Love...

September 18, 2008

The 18th Century French philosopher Denis Diderot once stated, “Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”

My summer was initially set to be four months of mildly productive existence where I would lazily enjoy marathons of The Office, a daily lunch of veggie burgers, and maybe even a local internship in my hometown. However, little did I know that this summer would actually be a life-awakening experience of 6:30 a.m. alarm clocks, all the food Rollins Food Service could possibly provide, and quite possibly the best job I have ever had.

It all started towards the end of spring semester. I was a 19-year-old student wrapping up her first year at good ole “Rolly Colly” when I received a campus-wide e-mail from the Explorations Office stating that they were now accepting applications for students interested in being Summer Orientation Leaders. After a flurry of application paperwork and a lengthy group interview, I soon received an e-mail informing me that I had got the job.

Nearly two months later, after enjoying a quick girls’ beach vacation in Naples as well as a family road trip to Tennessee, I found myself once again driving down the Interstate, exiting onto Fairbanks, and heading towards my second home, Rollins College. I will admit that driving down Holt Avenue, I felt rather out of place. There were neither any students milling about the sidewalks, nor any sports teams tearing up the Sandspur field with their round the clock practices. In fact, the only evidence of life that I saw was in the movement of the construction workers who were updating some of the Greek houses.

However, from the moment that I stepped out of my car and lugged my bright pink suitcases to my room, I realized that this was going to be an experience unlike any other. Sure enough, the next week was filled with more activities than I had partaken in my whole summer.

The Explorations Office, who runs Summer Orientation, wanted the Summer O Leaders to feel as comfortable and close with each other as we possibly could. Therefore, we spent our week participating in group bonding activities as well as various training sessions. Our group bonding activities included playing multiple rounds of “Would You Rather…”, dinner at O’Boys and Applebee’s, ice skating, one “bonding” activity where they took the term literally and tied leaders’ hands up two by two to see who could break free, and lastly, a trip to Florida’s “Best Half-Day Themepark”: Gatorland!

Our training sessions, which may not have been as much fun as devouring bowls of queso at Applebee’s, were still helpful and entertaining. We attended a diversity training session, learned about a poverty-stricken area of Orlando, worked on residence hall decorations, as well as collaborated on a skit exemplifying Rollins College life, which was to be presented to the students during the Orientation sessions.

Needless to say, the week that we spent together 24/7 really broke the ice, and soon all of the leaders began to see each other less as coworkers and more as friends. We literally spent every free moment we had with each other: going to dinner, working out, and even hitting up the local movie theatre. It was a beautiful friendship that was growing just in time for the actual orientation to start. By the time the first-years came, we were overflowing with excitement and energy.

The next two weeks were a whirlwind. All 10 leaders were divided into partners as well as teams. Lucky for me, I was partnered with someone who was just as hyper and outgoing as I am: Christopher McCauley. Together we made up the back-bone of Hakuna Matata (our team name.)

Summer Orientation days started early and ended late. The mornings began with helping students carry their luggage to their room, greeting anxious parents, socializing over breakfast, performing our well-rehearsed (and rather comedic) introductory skit, hosting small group sessions so that students could become acquainted on a more personal basis, devouring the delicious bounties of Rollins Catering, and participating in game-show-like trivia about Rollins.

After a quick break to freshen up, we headed to a local elementary school where we volunteered our time by painting the school’s crosswalks and bookshelves, organizing the school library, weeding the garden, decorating bulletin boards, cleaning lunch chairs, and much, much more. Our evenings were well-spent competing in Curtis Earth Trivia, downing all of the fried food group we could handle, lounging at the pool, and then socializing over Apples to Apples and pizza until utter exhaustion pulled us to bed.

The second day started with students and leaders engaging in groggy breakfast conversations over Panera bagels and coffee until everyone was up and ready for the Fox Hunt, in which teams participated in a quick exploration of the college campus and ended with students receiving their fall schedules and meeting with advisors.

The last part of the Summer Orientation was quite possibly the best: the egg drop competition. Each team was given an egg and a small packet of supplies and was instructed to create a device that would protect the egg from a two-story drop as well as to create a commercial in which to sell their product. This activity seemed to be the most fun for both students and leaders as the creative juices flowed and team pride thrived as each team competed against one another with their rap songs, alma mater parodies, and infomercials as well as their parachutes and anti-shock technologies. Needless to say, it was the part of Summer Orientation that few students are likely to forget.

Honestly, I could sit here and continue to rattle off all of the activities that Summer Orientation allowed me to participate in. However, I wouldn’t even be skimming the surface of the opportunities that it provided with me. Taking on the position as a Summer Orientation Leader gave me the opportunity to step up as a leader on the Rollins Campus by allowing me to make first hand connections with dozens of first year students. It also gave me the opportunity to connect with other orientation leaders and create friendships that I hope to keep throughout the rest of my Rollins life and perhaps even longer. Even more importantly Summer Orientation gave me the opportunity to find myself once again and to find my passion once again, which as Diderot stated “can elevate (my) soul to great things.”

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I had been lifeless or stagnant before I took the job. However, as we all know, as we experience more and more of this complicated world, unfortunately, some of the life within us begins to fade. Passions, ambition and love are often traded for reason, reality and responsibilities. As beautiful as the latter may be, emotional tragedy is inevitable when they replace the former.

As many people have said before, “It is a sad day when child-like wonder is replaced with the cynicism of adulthood.” Thankfully, somehow, someway, my experience as a Summer Orientation Leader, allowed me to once again find my passion for being me and for living my life to the utmost, and for that, I am grateful to all of those who helped make my Summer Orientation experience as beautiful and lovely as it was.

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