RAaW Retreat ’14

Last Friday, Racial Awareness at Waynflete (RAaW) spent half of the school day at faculty leader Sue Stein’s house for our annual retreat. The purpose of this retreat is to have the group bond so that we have a comfortable environment to share stories and have discussions during the Friday activity block when the activity meets.

After walking to Sue’s house, the whole group went to the kitchen and started to either cook tacos and cheese quesadillas or set the snacks on the table. I don’t think anyone cried while cutting onions this year, nor did we burn anything. Everyone enjoyed the lunch we prepared, and after our stomachs were filled, we began to share an item that we brought which is significant to us. I love this part, because it shows how much we trust each other, and we share a part of us that the other members might now know about us.

After, we were broken up into groups. Sue and Lorry Stillman choose who we were working with, and we were given a scenario with our partner/s that was shared by a previous RAaW member about an incident that occurred at Waynflete. One of the policies that we have at RAaW is that we keep stories confidential, and since the scenarios are not my own stories, I can’t share them with you.

However, what I can say is that the discussions we had were amazing. We didn’t have enough time to share each scenario with the whole group, but I know we had really interesting conversations with our partner/s. I look forward to finishing them at our next meeting. The two that were discussed in the group brought vibrant conversations, and I don’t think there was a person that didn’t share their opinion with the group.

As a senior, I’ve been in RAaW since my freshman year, and I always look forward to these retreats. My first year, the retreat helped me in getting to know the other members, and the next meeting I didn’t feel as awkward being there. I felt comfortable, and I knew I could share a story and share my opinions with the group. The members always surprise me with what they share in different ways. Sometimes it’s because they are so comfortable in sharing an item that is so personal to them, and other times it’s because I never knew about a certain aspect about a member. I just love the whole feel of the day. I don’t think I can put it quite into words how amazing this retreat is, or how amazing our discussions are. However, if anyone ever wants to get a taste of what the discussions are like, stop by during one of our Friday meetings, come to a movie night, or maybe join the group!

RAaW is truly an amazing activity, in my opinion, and I think this retreat has to be one of my top two favorite retreats.