RYLA - A Personal Story

"Courage isn't about knowing the path, it's about taking the first step." ~ Katie Davis

Stepping into Leadership - A Personal Story

I stood in the middle of the empty intersection. The slight breeze shifted the trees, as well as moved my bright red hair out of my face. I stared blankly at the top of the hill, which had a small wooden building that I would later figure out was the dining hall. I heard the voices and laughter of teenagers from behind the building. A small lady drove me up here in her white truck and told me to join the others while she took my luggage to my cabin. I turned my head to the right, sneaking a glimpse of her grabbing my bags and dragging them into one of the four cabins. Finally, I turned around. I looked down the hill, where I had been dropped off. I saw my parents car driving away slowly. I watched it until it dissapeared. I wanted to run after it and tell them to take me back home. As the car vanished from my view, I turned back around to face the dining hall at the top of the hill. My mouth went dry...  I was all alone.

About 5 months prior, I was sitting in my favorite club, Interact. I had just received an application for camp RYLA. It was a leadership camp sponsored by Rotary. I was no stranger to leadership camps. I have gone to one almost every summer. Our local Rotary club offered to send one person in the county to RYLA free of charge. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity to better my leadership skills. Halfway through the summer, I received a big orange envelope in the mail. I had been waiting to hear back from Rotary for a couple of months now and I was finally starting to lose hope. I ripped open the envelope to a big “Congratulations!” as well as the RYLA logo. I screamed at the top of my lungs and jumped around. I got on the phone and told everyone the good news. It was an honor to have been chosen. I was the only one in the county going! That night, as I lay down in bed, my eyes flung open in horror as I came to a terrifying realization… “I was the only one in the county going”.

For the following months, I paced and began chewing on my fingernails. I worried myself sick. All of the other leadership camps I had been too were usually stationed here in McDowell. If they had been anywhere else, I was usually there with friends that I had known prior to the trip. I had never been alone. I always had someone next to me. RYLA was different. I would be in a new place with people that I didn’t know. Not only that, but phones weren’t even allowed, so I couldn’t ignore everyone and pretend I didn’t exist. I was scared out of my mind. Eventually, the day came to load up and head down to Brevard, North Carolina. I kept telling my parents to stop here and there. I was doing anything and everything that I could to prevent myself from getting to camp. By the time I arrived, I was 30 minutes late. I hesitantly got out of the car and stood to the side with my bags while my parents signed some papers. When they finished, they kissed and hugged me goodbye and got in the car. A small lady walked up to me and offered to drive me up the hill. All of the other campers had already walked up there and settled into their cabins. She dropped me off at the intersection and drove off.

I wanted to cry. I had never felt more alone in my life. However, after taking a deep breath, I took a step forward. “I can do this.” I stepped forward again. “Meeting new people is fun.” I took another step. “I am here to become a better leader”. Two more steps. “I am here to become the best me that I can be”. I walked all the way to the top of the hill and rounded the corner of the dining hall to meet with the other campers. The next week was the best week of my life. I made new friends, learned new things, did service projects, and had a ton of fun.

This experience helped me become a better leader. It helped show my bravery, and how even in the scariest of moments, I can still move forward. It’s helped me make better decisions. I can now proudly walk into my future, knowing that as long as I keep my eye on the prize, I will get there. It doesn’t matter how big the hill is. What matters is what is at the top of the hill. The end goal. I can do anything I put my mind too, but not if I am not willing to take that first step. I learned all of this, but I wouldn’t have if I had turned around. All it took was one move in the right direction.