Windsor Mountain Essay
09/26/2019
Eli Zahavi
Fitz English
Windsor Mountain Essay
9/17/19
When to Be a Leader, and When to Be a Follower
“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
-Truman Capote
My Experience At Windsor Mountain
As I stepped on to the teleportation planks, I hovered above the unknown. 10,000 feet is a long way to fall. The wind was blowing so hard, I almost tripped. One more step then I would safe on the mountain. When I made it, reality snapped back to me. I was 1 inch off the wood floor walking on a wood plank, “safe” on more wood. I realized in the moment that me not being a leader helped me cross between the high mountains. I don’t always have to be the leader. Being at Windsor Mountain showed me how sometimes you need to be a follower and how different Fenn is from other communities.
Sometimes you can’t always be the leader. During my 8th grade class trip to Windsor Mountain, I learned this the hard way. I found this out by doing a team building activities. The activity was that our advisor had to cross between four platforms with nothing but to wooden planks that couldn’t reach a platform by themselves. I started off the challenge by being the leader and directing my entire advisor. This was weird for me because I thought during one of these challenges, I would be a follower, but it turns out that I took the lead. This turned out to be problematic. I was being too loud with my ideas, and pushing them in people’s throats. This drowned out anyone else’s ideas, which just left the group with a lot of bad ideas, by me. The counselors saw this, and didn’t allow me to talk, which would help the group succeed in the goal of crossing the platforms. When I was not talking, the group was getting more done. This made me realize that I don’t, and can’t always be the leader. This showed me how you sometimes have to be a follower.
Fenn is so much different than other communities. One other experience that showed me this at Windsor Mountain was the campfire on the first day. After a long bus ride, and activities, everyone at the camp gathered around a campfire. After the sun set, it was cold, and everyone was trying to be as close to the campfire, so they could warm up. My advisor, Fitz, played some songs, and so did some counselors. Some people told stories, and some showed drawings. This campfire was really special for me. Normally in a school the community isn’t so great as ours. It’s really special that someone can go up in front of their grade, and show off their passions and not get ridiculed. This campfire was really special to me and showed me how lucky I am to go to such a great school like Fenn—a place different than other schools.
A single experience can change someone’s life. Go look for yours.
I remember those team building challenges, when you were being the leader. While I do think that you were doing an adequate job, I agree that it isn't always the best choice, and you should always listen to others ideas.
Posted by: Nick Brady | 09/28/2019 at 04:24 PM
I understand the difficulty it takes to step back and let others come to conclusions rather than adding to the firestorm of ideas. Amazing descriptions of people simply speaking, especially “this drowned out (other ideas) which (left us) with a lot of bad ideas”
Posted by: Will | 09/29/2019 at 06:29 PM