Renewal

What if you had the opportunity to go somewhere where you know no one from your current life, and you’re allowed to be anyone you want to be.  Would you be kinder?  Ruder?  Happier?  Funnier?  Sluttier?  These people probably won’t even see you again, you can pretty much do anything you want and get away with it.
 
I had this opportunity three years ago when I went to a weekend-long leadership conference through my high school.  I can’t even remember where we went, but we met with students from nearby states, and we stayed at a campsite somewhere up north.  I do remember that it was cold, so it was probably in February or March.  Anyway, I was the only Muslim there, but honestly, I could have been anything.  I was at a point in my life where I felt so restricted at home, that being without a clear set of boundaries was a new world to me.  What did I do?  To tell you the truth, nothing!  I always told myself that if I got this sort of opportunity, I would be totally different.  But instead, I was SHY.  Me, shy?!  It was the strangest feeling.  I felt like a different person.  Today was the first time I looked at all of the pictures from that weekend, and it doesn’t even look like me in the picture.  It was such a strange experience.  What held me back?  I’ve never been quiet or shy or timid a day in my life.  I still can’t put my finger on it.  It’s one of those things where I want to go back and do it again, just to see if I would be the loud and outgoing person I really am.