Both of my daughters were privileged to join Grand Canyon Youth on river trips down the lower Colorado River during high school. One kid was enthusiastic about the possibility of adventure. The other one? Not so much. This story is about the kid who said “No,” the parent who insisted “This is a trip of a lifetime, you’re going,” and how that trip changed a life.

 

 

My oldest daughter, Melissa, is an introvert and all through her school years never really sought out social activities. She felt overshadowed by her social-butterfly younger sister and seemed content with just a few friends. I attributed her lack of engagement to “being shy” and never connected it to a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. When the GCY river trip was offered, it was a hard “no” from her, but after being outvoted by her parents, she reluctantly signed up to go with a friend. She returned from the river a different person.

The guides on these trips do so much more than row boats, cook, and keep track of kids. Melissa’s guide read them poetry as they floated along calm water and encouraged her to row the raft. He told her he “had never seen anyone her age read the water like she did” and actually let her row through a pretty good rapid. She has a picture to prove it! Whether or not his words are truthful doesn’t matter. For a kid who needed a self-confidence boost, it was everything.

At the bottom of the Canyon, her heart grew larger as she cheered for a petrified fellow rafter when they jumped off Elves Chasm. Melissa did not jump but was so emotional watching this scared girl harness her courage to take that leap that she came home in tears, proud of how her peer overcame her fears. Empathy took hold and has played a huge role in Melissa’s adult life decisions.

This trip instilled in Melissa a love of the Grand Canyon that I never could, and viewing that river still does something to her soul. Her demeanor changes, and she appears lighter somehow, perhaps free? It’s almost like she is returning home. Thank you, GCY, for the gift.