Youth Activites

One of the best part of growing up in my community was the youth activities. Some of these activities span from playing sports, learning about how to tie knots, going canyoneering, making lunches for the homeless, learning how to be physically fit, going to youth conference, playing games  and going to the new Macy's to get Kong cones. Each of these activities were fun in their own way, but they were more than that. They helped us as youth get to know each other and form a bond. I can personally say I do not think I would have been friends with some of the people in my ward had I not spent time that one-two hour time every week with them. This went on from age twelve to high school graduation. This bond meant a lot, and it sometimes it was even tested. Our summer trips for young men's usually consisted of canyoneering. In these canyons we would often have to repel down some tall rock face. This was usually nerve racking, but it would be even more nerve racking if you did not trust the person that was belaying. The person belaying has the most important job, as they literally hold the life of the person repelling in their hands. When the person repelling stepped off of the ledge they had to put their trust in that person. It was like a trust test, but instead of falling and hitting the ground from five feet, you fall one-hundred plus feet if your partner isn't paying attention. That being said everything generally went fine and people did the job they were supposed to. Experiences like these always built trust within our group. It built a unity and a feeling of being a part of something. For these reason the youth activities were some of my favorite experiences growing up and I would not trade them for anything.