Princeton Retreat

What a life changing 24 hours.

I decided to attend a retreat that the Muslim Life Program at Princeton University was hosting. The only reason why I wanted to go was to escape the city life and experience the fresh air of nature that I was accustomed to growing up with. First off, I had no idea New Jersey had forests and nature reserves that were good and authentic to the true camping experience. That was one of my preconceptions that happened to be busted during this trip. The other preconception was the people.

Going to a camp with other Ivy League students seemed out of my league, almost intimidating to a degree. They happened to be the nicest people I have ever met. I was the first "camper" to arrive on the grounds and found myself sitting with the assistant director of the program while we waited for the other people to arrive. God bless her soul. She made me feel like I was one of them and introduced me to all of the other campers with no hesitation at all. We all sat around the bonfire, roasting our marshmallows, and began chatting like we knew each other for years. It was a comforting feeling that even though I was such in a foreign place in New Jersey, I was surrounded people who I could place my trust in. As the night began to come to a close we headed to our respective cabins to catch some sleep before the morning prayers. After almost burning down the cabin with a fire (ask me if you want to know the story), we began the Saturday morning.

We performed the morning prayer in the middle of a field with the dew of the grass still fresh. It was as if time stopped for the moment as I stared off into the lake thinking about where I was in life. I could see the fog hovering over the water while the cold air filled my lungs with every breath. In that moment, I felt true peace in my heart. We went to eat breakfast and then proceeded to our first group session. LISTEN UP. Ivy League people face the same struggles as normal individuals do. Heck, they face even more with the added pressure of exceeding in school. We were broken into groups of 7 where we sat and talked about what was happening in life and how it was affecting us spiritually. It was raw. It was intense. It was pure. I felt connected with these individuals on a personal level even though we met for the first time the night before. My heart no longer felt alone.

I had the greatest opportunity of having a personal 2 hour session with the Chaplain from Cornell University. This guy was AMAZING. You could feel the honesty pouring out of his heart and brightness coming from the face. He listened to my mumbled mess of problems that I was facing and gave me real advice. He told me I needed to take time for myself and trust God with your matters. "If you focus on worshipping God, He will take care of all your affairs". That stuck with me and will never leave.

We had a Q&A session with the Chaplains too where we could answer questions that normal college students faced in daily lives. The one thing I loved was the informality of the program. I NEVER once felt forced or pressured to do something, rather learning for the sake of understanding. If anyone has the ability or opportunity to attend one of these in the future, PLEASE DO. I gave myself every excuse in the book of why not to go. It was too far or I had homework that I needed to catch up on. Im glad I didn't fall for that. My life and heart felt ease after I left and I made some close friends that I can lean on when I need it.

Here is a quote that I left with:

"In order to save a man from drowning, you must first take them out of the water before taking the water out of them"