adventure risk challenge a leadership and literacy program 2012 University of California, Berkeley | Yosemite Field Station The Unstoppables Ana Aguilar Cristian Mendoza Diego Pompa Epifania Guzman Instructors: Jesus Alejandre Claudia Muñoz Joaquin Garcia Greg Rideout Michael Bañuelos Sarah Cupery Ottley Michelle Lee Jasmine Marquez Naly Thao Krissy Van Winkle Nolberto Sanchez Colin Carpenter Quad Andrews www.arcprogram.org Victoria Fipps ana aguilar A River to My Heart I am a river Taking shelter within me My mother being mother nature I’ve realized Made up of tears of a mountain Just like the trees and fish Giving me the most I am One by one The giant and small She’s the main tributary Beautiful The tears roll down slowly The old and young The soil and strong Of happiness They needed me. The trees Sorrow I’m not the mother of nature Everything around me For the longest time And pain But I do act as if I She is my best friend and companion. I’ve ignored This river, gave birth Giving up everything for me Everything in my body I started off small and weak To those living things and my siblings In my water Like a little creek So that we Those precious tears But as the tears rolled down Big boulders and dead trees could have a better life Of happiness and joy Gently caressing the cheeks Get in my way Making us feel loved Of love and care I got bigger, Family problems And that we I’ve been stuck Stronger Self doubt Are something greater Far too long Pain Her reason On the negatives My body of water flowed Loneliness Not on what really matters With such a rush Draping over my body Later in my journey The positives. Just like my childhood, A heavy weight upon me My father became noticeable I treasure those tears I had to grow up quickly He was always there but unheard As a pirate treasures his gold With no time for the light of the My tears build up The thick leaves of the trees I see that those tears warm sun, And yet for some strange reason Hiding him that I’ve ignored The happiness and joy of nature, I cannot flow through muffling his voice are what makes everything To hit my water I think I’m going to die out As I continue flowing Better And reflect Yet that’s not what I want I listen to his song Brighter Taking up a new life style Stronger and beautiful Bearable Living with separate parents All the emotion is too much Than it was before Worth living Listening to over heard arguments Till I finally burst through those The tears obstacles Especially Feeling relief Those of my own. Letting myself break through Taking up a parenting role I move fast Caring for my siblings And rapid And mother Since I had so much holding me back All new to me I survived. I carved my way down the mountain Just like I do every day. Leaving traces, I think and hope Leaving things in the past That I am Yet they stay as scars Strong enough to push through. Leaving my mark in others hearts Leaving only the hidden pain In the past I’ve given up A shadow in my heart But I give thanks In my being That I In my tiny being. Decided on keeping my life. All my life and my self There’s still times Friends are like the whispers in the wind As I look far ahead Scar-ing When I think it’s too much Helping along the way I know I will become Emotionally, And I want it to stop Constantly reminding me that Something bigger Mentally, End. I can push through Stronger Physically. But taking my life is not the solution That I will. And more beautiful Or a way out With my family alongs sides me I feel free I’ve realized that The way down is too far I know I am unstoppable, Yet a strong pull I am scared of that journey Beating the odds everywhere I go. Towards something bigger My family are tributaries But I know I AM a river made up of tears Yet unknown Helping me push It’s the only way That pull is too strong and reach the unknown So I let myself fall I just wish to slow down They bring happiness and pain Just like I did in life Support and love Even if it made me sad at first Many living feed off of me Everything they give into me I was glad that I brought happiness I provide life and hope Allows me to others They depend on me To grow They see me, Stretching their roots into my water And become stronger Now a waterfall 2 ARC Summer 2012 The Person I’ve Always Wanted To Be Trapped in my cage of solitude, doubt, fear, I believe that a big part of being able to open up one bad thing in life after another, struggle after and negativity, I was always thinking the worst. is having trust in others. I have always been the struggle. I was never happy, only in pain. I always I remember deciding that I didn’t want to apply kind of person that didn’t give their trust to oth- dreamed about being happy. It was one of the to ARC anymore, but my mom still wanted to ers. I guess a lot of it was because I was afraid of many things in life that I really wanted. ARC has look into the organization. My mom encouraged getting hurt. Because of ARC, I now can trust made my dream come true. The whole time here me to go, since I had interest in it. I didn’t want others. I can trust others because it comes easier. I felt light. I don’t necessarily know specifically to go, but a part of me felt something weird Being able to trust was a hard process. But here, what the light was, but it was just ARC in gen- and told me to go. I wasn’t quite sure if it was it’s very crucial to have trust amongst ourselves. eral. I felt something I thought I couldn’t feel, I because I was tired of life: the life I felt no part The time I gained full trust in others was on our felt happy and complete. I found myself laughing of, as though I was just floating by; the life from rock climbing and rappelling expedition. It was all the time and having this smile upon my face. which I tried to run; the life I hated; the life I’ve just something that we had to have. Since I was This smile and laugh of mine didn’t feel fake. It tried to run away from multiple times with the afraid of heights it was hard to climb. Neverthe- was all mine and truthful. I started to laugh and help of blades, pills, suffocation. I always felt less, my group showed me that they were there smile all the time while just talking to others and like if I died no one would really care, and life to support me. They were very supportive and during the expeditions. It was an amazing feeling would be the same without me. I felt insignifi- let me know that they had me. All I could do was obtaining this emotion of happiness. ARC has cant. I was just a little toy for society that was trust them with my life. Ever since that day, I helped me discover the happiness I’ve dreamed always pushed, made fun of, or hurt. I was just have been able to trust. of and always read about. I am very thankful for a bother to everyone. I decided to go to ARC that. not knowing what wonders were in store for Rock climbing and rappelling, the hardest chal- me. Adventure Risk Challenge seemed like just lenge for me, allowed me to learn many things. I I am also thankful for all the skills I have learned. a mere summer filled with fun and classes. But learned how to trust, how to get past my greatest In ARC I have learned to be a great leader. Many now I realize it’s more than that: it is life chang- fears, to believe in myself, and I learned that I things make up a great leader such as compas- ing. ARC has changed me for the better. am proud of myself. I was first up in my group, sion, service, integrity, trust, and empathy. and on the 3rd hardest climb. I felt the harness Throughout this 40-day course, I have gained I was known as the quiet and nerdy girl at hugging my body. All I could many leadership skills. I was able to school, the one who everyone ignored. If you hear was my heart beating be there for others and become a saw me, I was always alone. I wasn’t your ste- and my brain repeating “You great leader. When I was first head reotypical cheerleader who had friends, was pop- can’t do this. You’re going to honcho, leader of the day, it was at ular, and went to parties. I was always very shy, fall,” like a broken record. I base-camp. I remember being scared especially when I was younger. This year I took checked to see if they had since I thought I was a horrible leader.