Sarah Carsey
“The adult looking back now, though, is grateful for the adventure into independence, a new experience apart from the familiarity of family, the chance to learn from doing, right in the place where the doing actually happens and the freedom to let that exploration spread beyond the usual bounds until I had exhausted it.”
I'm not sure how our teachers kept it together in the days leading up to Outdoor School. I still remember the crescendo of excitement, which must have meant serious crowd control issues. Everything was exciting, finding out who our roommates and chaperones would be, seeing the cabins, the mess hall, everything was new! Most of the talk was about the "ropes course" where we would test our fitness, coordination and (most critically) teamwork. While I know that was what I anticipated most, the activity I actually remember most vividly was much less complex.
We were asked to spend some period of the day with our thumbs taped along side of our index fingers in order to have a better understanding of what it would be like to be a creature that hadn't received the blessings which are opposable thumbs. I found this fascinating and challenging. I spent far longer than the requisite period of time in a state of limited dexterity. That night was my cabin's night to set tables and otherwise prepare for dinner. I still wasn't using my thumbs.
I could tell you that spending that time coping with a physical limitation led me to my career in nursing, helping others cope when their bodies aren't doing quite what they're supposed to, and perhaps in some indirect way that is true. The adult looking back now, though, is grateful for the adventure into independence, a new experience apart from the familiarity of family, the chance to learn from doing, right in the place where the doing actually happens and the freedom to let that exploration spread beyond the usual bounds until I had exhausted it (and created some mild to moderate skin irritation under the tape on my fingers).
