Need an ESCAPE?
Margaret Marrer
Issue date: 2/1/05 Section: Commentary
Ask anyone who knows me and I'll bet you a golden Sacagawea dollar that they'll say that I've never been quite like everyone else. Call me quirky, call me weird, call me an oddball or one brick short of the wall, but please don't call me the same. I do not necessarily "fit in" at Georgetown. I am far from the stereotype that exists here on the Hilltop. I do not wear pearls, polo shirts with a popped collar, Nantucket red; let alone makeup on any kind of regular basis. I play rugby, listen to Irish music and pretend I can break dance. I like who I am, even if it is a bit on the odd side, and have come to be very comfortable in my own skin. And, to be frank, I have absolutely no desire to change myself to fit into some kind of mold.
However, when I decided to come to Georgetown I was terrified that my peers would judge me based on my differences, which really made me, ME. When I arrived at Georgetown in the fall of last year I really struggled to find places where I could really be comfortable being myself without restraint. I was constantly searching for places at Georgetown where I really could be me. I have found, much to my surprise, quite a few places like that, but some surprised me more than others. Last January I went out on a limb and signed up to go on the ESCAPE retreat here at Georgetown. A little background on the program, ESCAPE is a non-religious retreat for freshmen and transfers at Georgetown, and the most participated in program at Georgetown. For me, going on ESCAPE was one of the best decisions I have made thus far during my time as a Hoya.
When I first arrived at the buses outside of Village C on a Friday afternoon last year, I was sure that I really wouldn't get anything out of the program, and completely ignored all the directions from the student leaders. I will always remember what we were told at the beginning of the retreat, that this was not a spectator sport, and you got out of it exactly what you chose to put in. But there I was, with about fifty other people who I did not know, and I was being asked to be myself, and honestly I was terrified. I thought that these people would never be able to accept me the way I was. When I look back on it, I realized that I was judging everyone else around me just as much as I feared they would judge me. I remained determined to stay reserved and I planned to merely observe others during the weekend.
However, when I decided to come to Georgetown I was terrified that my peers would judge me based on my differences, which really made me, ME. When I arrived at Georgetown in the fall of last year I really struggled to find places where I could really be comfortable being myself without restraint. I was constantly searching for places at Georgetown where I really could be me. I have found, much to my surprise, quite a few places like that, but some surprised me more than others. Last January I went out on a limb and signed up to go on the ESCAPE retreat here at Georgetown. A little background on the program, ESCAPE is a non-religious retreat for freshmen and transfers at Georgetown, and the most participated in program at Georgetown. For me, going on ESCAPE was one of the best decisions I have made thus far during my time as a Hoya.
When I first arrived at the buses outside of Village C on a Friday afternoon last year, I was sure that I really wouldn't get anything out of the program, and completely ignored all the directions from the student leaders. I will always remember what we were told at the beginning of the retreat, that this was not a spectator sport, and you got out of it exactly what you chose to put in. But there I was, with about fifty other people who I did not know, and I was being asked to be myself, and honestly I was terrified. I thought that these people would never be able to accept me the way I was. When I look back on it, I realized that I was judging everyone else around me just as much as I feared they would judge me. I remained determined to stay reserved and I planned to merely observe others during the weekend.