Wednesday, November 17, 2021

In The Words of 2021 LIT, Connor Mercer: Take Advantage of New Opportunities

 


During my time at William Lawrence Camp, I’ve always made a point to do something at camp that I can’t do at home. In my case, this thing was pretty much anything except for archery. When not at camp, I spend any time I can get practicing for my next competition whether it be after a long day at school or on the weekends after I finish my homework. You, like most people, are probably thinking to yourself that camp would be the golden opportunity to spend as much time as possible doing what I so deeply enjoy. However, I see camp as a chance to take a break from the normal routine. Starting with my first summer here at WLC, my activities consistently excluded archery. Instead, I signed up for things such as Challenge Course, Wilderness Skills, Woodworking, and many more. These activities inspired new interests in me and carried over into the outside world. Now, I spend time taking short walks in the woods enjoying nature and building things with my grandfather in our workshop. These new activities also taught me important lessons such as problem solving, patience, and resilience. The skills I learned and the interests I discovered have enabled me to be a better person both socially and academically. None of this would have been possible if I had just stuck to the same old routine. Yeah, sure, I would be better at archery, but I would have just been practicing the same old thing and probably wouldn’t have learned anything new. Instead, I learned skills that I will utilize throughout my life no matter where I am or what I am doing. I hope that by reading this I have inspired you to take a break from your normal routine and take advantage of new opportunities.