On Saturday, August 1, ARC’s 2020 summer participants graduated and returned home after a month of outdoor adventures and reflective writing! In the final week, the students completed a 5-mile run, they performed their poems at Voices of Youth, and they wrote essays capturing the impact of their experience. In the essays, the students described finding their voices, gaining greater confidence, and making lifelong friends.
Lidia Acedo detailed in her essay how powerful it was to find a group of people who accepted her for who she was. “During my time in ARC, I’ve realized that there are good people out there. When I shared my truth, rather than feeling judged, I felt welcomed.” ARC’s curriculum, which encourages vulnerability and openness, gives students space to share who they truly are with one another. Lidia added, “This has been a summer of learning how to open up to new people, how to speak about my past in a dignified way, and how to validate others in this world.”
Many of the students shared about gaining a stronger sense of self. Janeli Acevedo, wrote, “Before ARC, I stood low in the shadows…I would always keep to myself. ARC helped me in so many ways of opening up to others and finding my voice.” She also expressed how she now feels greater confidence for her future. “I want to speak my truth and become a strong powerful woman…My loud, confident, irreplaceable voice will lead me there.”
Vanessa Bustillos found that she was capable of a lot more, not just emotionally, but physically as a result of all the outdoor adventures. “Before ARC, I was the type of person who didn’t like to exercise. I never could have imagined hiking so many miles in a day or lowering myself down a mountainside on a rope…This experience has impacted me in a very positive way. I am a new person.” In all of the students’ writing, there was this same strong sense of positivity and a bright vision for the future.
Adagio VanPeborgh echoed Vanessa’s feeling of increased confidence. He wrote, “This summer I have grown an insane amount in ARC, especially in leadership and confidence…I have found ways to change and grow that I previously thought impossible…I now see myself more as a creative and thoughtful person, one who can bring joy to those around him in so many ways…I have learned to have confidence in myself. I will love myself with the passion of a thousand roaring lions.”
Lidia, Janeli, Vanessa, Adagio, and the entire 2020 ARC team’s experiences would not have been possible without the generous support of the ARC community. We are so grateful for our supporters and partners who share a belief in the power of integrated outdoor and literacy programming. Thank you!