Once Upon A Time, I was accepted into the Leadership Buffalo Rising Leaders Class of 2005.
Way back then, the opening retreat was a complete mystery. My class and I met up in a local university parking lot. Thirty or so strangers boarded a big yellow school bus without knowing the destination.
A few hours later the bus stopped in beautiful Silver Lake, NY.
Shortly thereafter, one of the LB leaders said, “We hope you like high ropes!”
I panicked, hoping desperately that “High Ropes” was a metaphor. 🤣🤣 It was not!!!
I am terrified of heights! Not an exaggeration, I get nervous on a stepladder.
They kidnapped me from my comfortable home on the ground and brought me to a treetop obstacle course in the sky!!!
I had to convince myself to do this obviously insane task. I put on the harness and the lil blue helmet. I climbed the rope ladder, full of fear on the third rung…made it to the tiny wooden platform where an instructor hooked my line to the top rope. Then I inched my way across a single rope. Made it to the next tree. Put both feet on that platform and hugged that tree like no tree hugger ever hugged a tree before!
While hugging the lifesaver tree, one of my equally terrified classmates made it to her tiny platform on the other side of my tree. She too flung her body at the tree with gusto. Her breasts were pressed firmly against the backs of my hands. Neither one of us cared and were so afraid of falling!
Then I hear an instructor say, “Now, you have to repel backwards from the tiny platform.”
I’m sorry, I have to what????
Then I did it. Had deep bark indents in my forearms. I Was shaking, nauseous and tachycardic, but I did it!
I did not want to let the team down.
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#leadershipdevelopement
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-Senior Accounting Major at Oakland University - Tax & Consulting Intern at Yeo & Yeo CPAs & Advisors - Aspiring Forensic Accountant
1moWhat a great two days! Very grateful to have taken part in this wonderful program!😊