So this weekend was an interesting mix of ups and downs. I was intending for this post to be a video composed of footage I had taken of the Association of Black Students retreat – a lot less people know about it than you would think and I think that showing some of the fun stuff we did would help to encourage people to attend. Unfortunately, I wasn’t actually able to go. Believe it or not….I slept through my alarm. By the time I woke up I was an hour too late to even think about trying to catch the bus leaving for the campsite.
But just because I didn’t get to go this year doesn’t mean that I can’t still inform others about some of the things that go on there and give reasons as to why you should go. First off, the retreat is basically just an opportunity to get to know the other members of the Black community – upperclassmen and underclassmen alike. Think of it like a two day long mixer where the only requirements are to spend time outside and eat food. Plus the trip is available for people of any race – something that I think a lot of people don’t realize or don’t believe – so anyone else shouldn’t hesitate to go either. WashU students are, on the whole, pretty welcoming and these students in particular. You won’t have to worry about a thing.
Secondly, you get to escape the WashU bubble for just a moment for a lot cheaper than other clubs’ retreat prices. Being away from the pressures of college, spending time out luxury camping in big cabins…it’s like taking a well-needed breather and reminding yourself that there are other things going on in the world besides that Bio or Chem exam. You can spend that breather doing whatever helps you relax, whether that be letting loose with friends or just laying in a hammock in the shade, so this retreat really is a golden opportunity. I’m honestly super angry that I missed it.
And lastly, there’s a party at the end and the music is always on point. Obviously this is the most important reason for going, but I’ll let you come to your own conclusion whenever you decide to give it a try. My only point is that you do give it a try.
But, even though I missed out on the retreat, my weekend wasn’t all bad. I had auditioned for WUHHU – Wash U Hip Hop Union – the weekend before and found out last Friday that I had been accepted! Even better, I got the opportunity to try coming up with my own choreography and already have my first dance in the works thanks to the extra time I found myself with over the last couple of days. I’m really excited to show it off to the other dancers. Apparently, the way it works is all of the WUHHU members gather to see a handful of members perform their choreo then decide to join a dance team based on what choreo they liked. You can choose to perform in one dance or in all of the ones showcased because the practices are set up so that none of them overlap. I’m not totally sure right now, but I think that I might be showcasing what choreo I have at the next meeting, so I’m really hoping that what I came up with is up to par. I would hate to go perform my stuff in front of everybody and then not have any dancers want to join me. But that’s part of the excitement I think. I’m fairly confident in what I’ve come up with but there’s still the chance of failure that gives me that little extra jolt of adrenaline and nerves. Hopefully that little bit of stress will make me do even better.
So, like I said, there were ups and downs this weekend. All in all there’s nothing to get too upset over but I’m still hoping this coming week is better. Maybe I can finally get started on that video I mentioned earlier. Even if I can’t film the retreat anymore, I can still show what it’s like to live on campus at least. So look forward to that in my next post.
