I'm Back!

I was actually back yesterday, but I was too tired to think, let alone blog. It would have been messy.

So now that I'm fairly rested, I feel equipped to describe the madness that was Junior Retreat.

We get there and claim cabins. It turned out not mattering that much, but still, whatever. Then we all go sit in a room and play little games. And then we listen to jazzy music and make posters. Ours had Yar and narwals. So you know it was good.

After lunch, we watch a fairly depressing movie about kids in Israel and how they handle the conflict there. Kind of cute, kind of slow, in the end just incredibly frustrating. Or rather, I think the whole issue is incredibly frustrating (and a good example of a time when you have to put common sense over religion).

During a moment of free time, we girls had a dance party. Which was sweet.

And then we discussed the movie and discussed school and bonded. And watched another movie (Dead Poets Society) and discussed school and bonded more.

There was a lot of that.

Et cetera. We played manhunt until like midnight, went to our cabins, chilled out, went to other cabins, chilled out, et cetera. I have heard there were crazy games of truth or dare, and we essentially piled as many people as possible onto one bunk bed, which was just hilarious, and no one got much sleep.

The next morning, we did more bonding-type things. Some guys tried to throw a tree into a frozen lake. Then we took a bus home, and I tried to sleep for a bit, and it was all lovely.

I had fun.

Then I came home and like, passed out. I was like, about to go to sleep, watching Sisterhood of the Traveling pants with my sister and my little cousin who's visiting, when Isabella calls and asks whether I'm coming to hang out.

So I get out of my pajamas and go.

I love being a teenager. There's an awesome independence and an equally awesome rationale for doing stupid things. It's like, do you ever wish you could have a day when nothing really mattered? I feel like that's our lives sometimes. Which, in a non-nihilist way, is really fun.

Because nihilism sucks.

I have loads and loads of video from the trip, so expect some.

Love always,
Clara

P.S. REAL CONVERSATION

I was tired, and had just described the guys throwing the tree into the lake.

Me: There was this rock island thing and to get there you had to climb down a cliff and use a rope and cross the stream and wander through the magical forest and there was this tree on the side of the land and the lake was icy and...

Daphna: Are you sure the whole thing wasn't just like, a bad acid trip?

... like I said, I was tired.