Personal Narrative: My Pilgrimage

During the summer between my sophomore and junior year at Broadneck, I traveled to Maine on a weeklong pilgrimage with church. Although I would not consider myself religious by any standard, I have regularly attended this church since I was little. So naturally, as part of the youth formation, I attended the pilgrimage. During the trip, I felt enormous growth both mentally and spiritually. We stayed on a small island, partially owned by one of the members of the church’s congregation. It had no electricity or plumbing. Initially I was not looking forward to being without my phone, or even a proper shower for a week. However, throughout the course of that week, my whole mentality shifted. I remember very distinctly waking up on the first day to an incredible sunrise unlike any I had ever seen …show more content…
During that week, I learned to adjust to a much slower pace of life. Without my cell phone, I did not get constant messages from my friends and family. At first I felt isolated, but began to enjoy the freedom it provided me. I hadn’t realized just how much stress is present in the daily rush of regular life until I was able to separate myself from it. We performed many service projects, including harvesting seaweed from a nearby beach so it could be processed into fertilizer for local farmers. This gave me a strong appreciation and respect for nature and those who rely on nature as their way of life. Beginning the trip, I did not have many positive expectations, but was greatly surprised. I was most shocked by how much I learned about myself, and the people around me. We lived together as a group, cooking and eating together, exploring the island together, and sweating together. While I am still not very religious, it was an incredibly spiritual experience that gave me a new