Out of My Comfort Zone

Out of My Comfort Zone and Lovin’ It!

Madeleine Kelly ’14, LA student

Senior Madeleine Kelly (at right in photo) spent her junior spring term at the Island School in the Bahamas. She shared with us her experience and the impact that it had on her.

One afternoon, a few others and I were down by the docks skipping rocks along the shoreline. While the rest of us were able to skip the rocks across the water easily, my friend Charlie could not skip one. After a few minutes of watching Charlie try and fail, one of the others asked Charlie if he knew how to skip stones. “I can, ” he replied comfortably. “I just haven ’ t

yet.

” That simple statement of quiet confidence summed up my entire experience at the Island School. The Island School website states that they welcome high school students from all over the globe to participate in a unique experience. “With the campus and surrounding ocean as our laboratories, we partner with a world-class science research facility. Together, we engage in the process of inquiry in order to discover sustainable solutions to real world problems. That ’ s all true, but to me, as a “ survivor ” of 100 days of the school’ s sink-or-swim (both literally and figuratively) rigor, the Island School is a place that supports its students in a way that allows them to feel safe while pushing them to their limits. From the moment the 48 of us arrived at Cape Eleuthera, we were pushed academically, physically, and emotionally.

Madeleine (fourth from left) and her friends at the Island School.

If someone had asked me on day one if I could run 13.6 miles, or publish a scientific paper and present my findings to the Bahamian government, I would have said absolutely not. But as the weeks went on and I became stronger both physically and mentally, I realized that I could do all of those things, and that even if I couldn ’ t do them on my first attempt, I would be able to do them eventually. I learned to persevere and not to let anxiety or lack of confidence stop me from trying, and then, if I should fail, from trying again.

Every day, the Island School presented me with a new challenge, like taking part in a pig slaughter, running 13.6 miles in the 100-degree heat, and free diving with sharks.

In the beginning, each challenge that presented itself felt larger than life and frightening, and I was so sure that I wasn ’ t going to be able to get through it. As the semester progressed, though, the seemingly insurmountable challenges the faculty threw my way began to excite me. I looked forward to pushing myself through another obstacle because I began to understand and appreciate that I was a competent and resourceful person. That ’ s when I realized that I was going home from the Island School with more than just a great tan and some quad muscles.

“The Island School is a place that supports its students in a way that allows them to feel safe while pushing them to their limits. ”