Hello! Day 2 in Charlotte was packed. First we did a 2 hour tour of the city, which was very informational.
At night, all 15 of us went to an escape room. I’ve always wanted to try one, so I was so excited.
Each room had 5 people, and my team was Abbey, Keith, John, Josh, and me. We were the only team to win the game [with 1 minute remaining]. I’m so proud!!
However, in order to win the game, it required a lot of problem solving, communication, and teamwork to finish the game.
And the game was hard. The biggest challenge was that in order to succeed, you had to think outside the box. That was my biggest challenge; I have a very keen eye to detail but struggle with the big picture mindset. But that’s where my other teammates step in.
We all have different strengths to use to our advantage. For example, I have strengths that lie in the Relationship domain and I was skilled at communication, empathy, and teamwork. I am a Relator and would always talk to everyone to see if they found anything or needed help.
As for everyone else, almost all of us had Restorative or Strategic as our strengths, which is probably why we did so well in this puzzle game. We were strong at problem solving. Also, almost everyone had Relator or Harmony as a strength and that also played a role in our team dynamics.
I learned a lot through this game. I learned that I am very strong with relationship building, as well as seeing the little details. I realized people who fit in with the Strategy domain did the best in this game. They could think big picture and connect everything together, whereas I looked for details and searched every little corner for clues.
Overall, I was able to keep a supportive and collaborative team environment, as well as help find the more detailed clues. For example: I literally spent WAY too long looking at a blanket trying to find meaning behind it, and I wouldn’t give up. Turns out, it was important and ended up leading us to 2 big clues! But then, I also wasted too much time looking at pictures of leaves on the wall, and turns out they had absolutely no meaning at all. So my strength became my weakness on that one!
Overall, this was an amazing experience because I got to bond with my teammates, but also had a hands on experience with learning what my strengths and weaknesses are.