Natalie Santiago is a first-year
from Chicago.
The PossePlus Retreat that recently took place was a weekend that will always resonate with me. I had no prior knowledge of this retreat and went because my friends told me it would be a fun camping trip where everyone just hangs out and meets new people. I never expected that it would have me questioning the way I live my life once it was all over.
I found out that the PossePlus retreat is another day of inclusion in a way; people of all kinds gathered to discuss an issue that is prevalent in our community and we talked about steps towards that change. But that's not really what I cared about. The theme of this retreat was Crime and Punishment, but I felt disconnected from this particular topic because of my lack of knowledge and experience on it. However, that topic had little to do with the connection I felt towards my classmates. I was surprised to find out that 100 kids would be sitting in one small space for hours to discuss our feelings and open up about our experiences in relation to this topic.
What I took away from the retreat was that more than anything, we all want the same things; we want to see change and we want to be a part of it, but in the back of our heads we feel like there's never really anything we can do at this stage in our lives. Listening to people open up about their experiences with police brutality and what their associations are with our justice system, it made me realize what group of people I had joined.
Posse is the closest group of individuals I have ever met and I respect each and every one of them to the fullest because these people care about each other and are always there for one another; they are a family and home away from home. I felt like an intruder in their home at first, but as time continued they showed me that they didn't care about reasons to feel excluded. They cared about making it a safe and comfortable space so that everyone would feel welcome. We all felt connected to each other in this enclosed space and it was one of the most powerful entities I've ever had the pleasure of feeling.
Coming back to campus made me see that life is so much bigger than we all choose to see it. Many people don't look past today, but it's having a vision that creates change. When it gets to the point of where people you don't know can bring you to tears, you realize just how precious each day of existence is and not to take anything or anyone for granted because we never know what could happen at the end of the day.
DePauw aspires to be like this group of individuals, and if you took the time to accept one of them, you would see why. I can't thank Posse enough for including me in this emotional event because they made me open up and confront a side of myself I kept tucked away.
Posse is a way to bring out appreciation within ourselves and our communities, and all it takes is a little impassioned risk.