I have never been on any type of retreat before and when I picture young people going on retreats I always saw them as a religious experience. I am happy t say that this retreat did not have the basis of religion. Of course there was a spiritual value to this, but I believe it is something everyone should have a chance to witness. On the retreat I not only learned about my fellow coworkers, I also learned a great deal about myself. Some sessions we did really forced me to look deeply and critically at my character and myself. When people use the word force, they tend to mean it in a negative manner but in this case, being forced to really reflect was such a powerful emotion and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to do this. Another aspect of the trip that I enjoyed in particular was the fact that at the ranch we stayed we were, in a sense, isolated from the rest of the world. Our phones would only get a signal in certain areas, but this was an awakening for me, to disconnect myself from the electronic, technology world and I was able to get in touch with nature and all of my natural surroundings. All in all, the retreat was an amazing experience and gave me the chance to get to know and be close to everyone, but also to get to know myself, with no distractions. An opportunity like that is rare. I would never trade my experience for anything.

The retreat at C.O.D ranch was amazing. I believe that us as young teenagers never take the opportunity to express ourselves and appreciate the nature. We are always in the city surrounded by lights and other energy resources. Having the chance to unity with what we could say total different strangers, was a great experience also. Once again we as Raza broke another barrier by keeping all of our activities into one big diverse community. It was a chance to express who you really are and know that other students your age are one the same page as you.

“There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough to pay attention to the story.” This quote from Linda Hogan explains in a nutshell the emotions I felt between myself and the nature surrounding the COD Ranch. I am not a religious person but the entire time I spent at the Ranch, I felt an inner connection with a greater entity; a potent force that joined my soul with the depths of this earth. The feeling was unexplainable but gratifying in every sense. There were many instances where I would stop everything I was doing and just look at the sky. It would transform into a vast baby blue ocean, stretching across the land, cradling the sun in its watery arms while wisps of cloud floated across the surface. I felt so small; so insignificant but at the exact same time I felt empowered and great, like a queen or a ruler. I have never felt such opposite emotions in the same setting. I truly felt that I connected with every living being on this planet. I felt at peace with the animals, plants, and most importantly I felt in sync with my enemies. Being able to forgive is an accomplishment in itself. Now, I am free. The fact that I was able to open my heart, mind, and soul up to nature, has made me believe I can open up to anything, embrace any change, and ultimately heal the hurt of this earth.

To be completely human, I believe one must be completely passionate about something. Usually it is believed one must love themselves before they love someone else. It is believed one must only like ideas and material possessions and love only people. As SJEP graduates of 2009 we were granted the amazing opportunity to spend time with, bond, and interact with the other students who have the same love and passion for social justice. Being at a place as beautiful as the C.O.D Ranch was such a wonderful opportunity. We were able to interact with each other and spend time together without distractions like televisions, Internet, or cell phones. We experienced happiness, sadness, and anger all within three days with people we had just recently met. We became more than friends, we became a family. We developed even deeper critical consciousness. We became more conscious than we were when we arrived. As a family, we became part of workshops that might have even changed many lives. The new SJEP students highly appreciated the opportunity we were given to attend the retreat and we are all eternally grateful. I had a magnificent time at the retreat and I am highly content that I successfully built fourteen foundations for wonderful friendships to come during the summer.

The retreat that took place at the C.O.D. Ranch cater to skills and information that became useful during the course of the internship.  It also gave us the chance to get to know each other before we started working together, that way we didn’t have to waste time with introductions and ice breakers and we could start working on our project right away.  The retreat was well organized to accommodate all the different workshops that they presented.  All where on different topics but fit together nicely into one category: social justice.  Students were allowed to be creative and challenged by being asked to think critically of issues and concepts, to find the root of the truth.

The retreat was very inspirational in many different ways. It changed my outlook on my culture and everything around me. Starting with the first day with Cucho’ s presentation it opened my eyes to how our culture is still around and very important to everyday life. I also learned that we could connect with our culture on an everyday basis.

Every workshop that was presented made an impact on my life in different ways and how to look at things in different perspectives. Throughout the retreat I found that I was opening my eyes and soul to a more conscious mind.

I found Clare’s presentation very helpful and interesting. It made me notice that this world is so messed up in so many different ways.

Wesley’s and Kim’s presentation was also a great presentation that I related to a lot and presented me with great knowledge about us women and how strong we are and how we need to stand up for our selves. I really enjoyed this presentation. 

One workshop that made an impact in my life was the last workshop. I think this workshop defiantly brought our group together. It put me in a peaceful mindset and reenergized my energy in to a positive and more productive way to make a change in the world.   

Reflecting on the whole retreat it was a great experience that I will never forget because I learned and felt that I grew as a person in my mind and soul. Everyone that attended the retreat came from different environments and different experiences but we were all still focused in to being united and being a great group that we are. I am very thankful for having the opportunity to be able to be a part of the SJEP group.

The retreat changed my perspective on many things; I don’t even know where to begin. Going into the retreat I knew that I was going to have fun and relax but I had no idea that I would reflect on so many things. The first thing we did was the opening ceremony with Chucho. For some reason the meaning behind that really impacted me. The fact that we are all different but there for the same reasons was really powerful and made us that much closer to each other. The concept that we were there to introduce ourselves to each other and Mother Earth, to let others and her know why we were here and what our purpose was. It was a really good feeling to be so connected to so many things and to so many people. These connections are really deep and play a role in how you see things, one other thing that really changed some things about me was the ceremony we did with Dr. P, the meditation and reflecting opened up a lot of things for me. Sitting there with your thoughts was a really good way to prioritize or shift your thoughts about yourself, others and things around you.

The self-reflection is what impacted me the most. I had the opportunity to explore myself and dig into problems, feelings and experiences I’ve gone through, without trying to sound too cheesy I got in touch with some things that I hadn’t been and I guess you can say I was disconnected from myself. Being in the presence of everyone else helped me reconnect…I think that’s something we should all do. We are always on the run busy with our lives and get really caught up with other things and lose sight of simple things we should really appreciate. Like family, friends and others around you but also simple things like water, fire, air, air conditioned rooms, shoes, shelter, and clothing; all of those things are something that we over look in our daily lives. I’m not sure if some of these things we did was as deep for others but speaking for myself it was really deep for me and it was very transforming,

I feel like everyone should experience this type of reflection and this type of transformation because as human beings its something we all need, is to re-connect to yourself and feel connected to others, earth and yourself. It was only a few times we did these ceremonies but for me it was a lot to take in because it was such a new feeling. My renewed mindset is something that I will always and I defiantly won’t forget my experience and the people who contributed to it.