Trust & Bonds

So, now that my shows have reached their mid season finale breaks, I'm going to have more time to post about things other than show recaps, so look forward to seeing more of a variety of posts in the future.

Recently, I went on a retreat with a group of girls from my school. Some were my best friends, some I've never spoken to, and some mere acquaintances. I was certainly hesitant at first and doubted what would come out of it, but over four little days, I made friends and bonds that mean so much to me. I never thought it was possible to put your trust in a person after only a short number of hours, but that's exactly what happened. We were randomly placed in groups of 5 or 6 girls, each given a random leader, and over the course of four days, learned each other's stories and life struggles. I had two girls in my group I was friends with previously, but the others I was only acquainted with at the time. Now I truly know them. To learn more about their life, their story, what makes them who they are, was such a nice experience.

If someone were to tell me previously, "you're going to make bonds this weekend and trust people you never thought you'd speak to," I wouldn't have agreed. I've had trust broken before and it's made me hesitate to trust so quickly now. Trust needs to be earned, not given away freely, but these girls did earn that trust, they just earned it in a short number of days. We were each other's support system, there to hear them let anything out, there if they needed a shoulder to cry on, and just because the weekend is over does not mean those bonds no longer exist. We will always be there for each other because we became friends, we got to know each other better and truly became closer as a group.

If you ever have the opportunity to do something like this, please take it. You may be placed in a group with completely strangers, but they won't be strangers for long. This was a shorter post than normal, but I wanted to post something about this past weekend, for me to look back on, and to encourage you to take an opportunity like this is one ever comes. I'll leave you with a quote that one of the leaders said during their talk (where they share their story and address a topic) that I think is very inspirational and a great thing to hear:

"I am who I am because of who I was. I am the sum of my experiences."