July 27, 2011-Ropes course at Brown University

2h

9am-11am

A day at the ropes course.

I attended the Ropes course at the Leadership Institute at Brown University. I learned about leadership and the importance of team work. This was a low course, consisting of a series of real and imaginary obstacles designed to challenge us to work to accomplish the task as individuals and as a team.

The course consisted of a series of ropes, and obstacles between trees about a foot above the ground. These obstacles examine physical conditioning by testing strength, balance, stamina, agility, flexibility and examine mental conditioning by inviting us to confront issues such as a fear of failure or a fear of losing control.

It was a fun course because we learned to trust our teammates and I actually made great friends in my short 2 weeks at Brown. My best friends were Jacques, Austin, Kevin, Heather, Tori, and Leah. I learned more about myself here than anywhere else and I decided firmly that I wanted to do Doctors without borders later in life because of the things I learned at Brown.

Overall, the idea behind the ropes course was personal development and team-building. Lesson learned: Physical fitness, and mental fitness are both required to overcome challenges. Mental strength is important to accomplish even the most physical tasks.