There is one experience that distinguishes itself more than any other I have had. At the age of ten, I accompanied my family and forty high school seniors on a two-week trip to South Dakota. We spent our time living amongst the Lakota-Sioux Native American tribe and learning many of their cultures ways. This tribe did not have much experience with Caucasians and therefore the importance of building a relationship with them was crucial so that they would learn to not fear outsiders. As result of this, my brother became one of only four Caucasians to ever learn how to make a buffalo hide from a raw buffalo carcass directly from the Native Americans. The people of the Lakota-Sioux tribe could cure any ailment with the happiness alone that surrounds their community. The tribe consisted of roughly ten children, only a few teenagers, four adults, and of course, The Chief.

The group that I arrived with consisted of teachers and students adding up to about forty-five people, and my family of five. We were located in a small woodland area in part of their reservation. We spent our time walking the grounds of the reservation with some of the tribe members as they shared various excerpts of their history with us. A story of a man as large as a buffalo and as witty as an eagle stood out to me tremendously. This man stood gifted with brains and brawn but lacked characteristics to fill in the gaps; this ultimately lead to his downfall. It made me realize some of the personal concepts that I could take away from this story. I began to ponder the thought of how incompleteness can destroy something that may appear indestructible, and how beauty can deceive. We collected vast amounts of lumber and built an eight-by-eight foot sweat lodge. The stars shining, the fire crackling, and laughter echoed through our camp. Inside the lodge, I met with twenty or so others and we filled the inside of the tent with as many people as we could fit. After we got situated the chief entered with a bowl of red-hot rocks that sat in a fire all day. He assumed his seat in the front middle of the crowd and dumped the rocks into a pit in the center. As he sat, he began to recite a prayer and splashed water onto the pile of rocks. Steam instantly filled the tent and I clearly remember every inch of my body being covered with droplets of sweat. The toxins in my body secreted out of me as I gave into the magnificent heat. Afterwards, my brother described it perfectly when he said we had just taken a, “life shower.”

As our two almost-opposite groups began to grow closely together, we both started to learn that we proved alike in many ways. Our groups trusted them and they began to trust us. This was obvious by the way many of their quiet members started to open up and share stories from their pasts. On one of our final days, The Chief had all of the members of our group gathered together and wanted to take the time to do individual aura readings. This specific event has become crystal clear in my mind. I saw my mother step up to the chief and he placed two metal poles on both sides of her and after a couple seconds took a step back. He said that he could not see the aura of this woman and this confused me. While frightened, I realized my turn had come and I stepped up to face the chief. He held the poles by my sides for only a second or so until he stepped away. He started proclaiming that he saw the “Blue Child”, and “Indigo Son”.

Immediately confused I did not know what to do. By definition, the Indigo Child is one who is believed to possess special, unusual, and sometimes supernatural traits or abilities. My mother has said that since my birth there never existed an easier child. I did not cry at all my first night home from the hospital and she said this was a sign for the future. Though I may not have supernatural powers or abilities, I take what The Chief said about me to heart. Each day I try to fulfill what I must do for me to continue to do great things. I try to ask myself what God would want of me in every situation I get put in.

Though these somewhat ridiculous expectations could hinder other people’s abilities to succeed, I use it to drive myself towards the right thing. I believe that the Native American people trust their gods immensely and for that reason I trust what The Chief had to say to me. Everything that they teach involves love and helping people and even if I do not believe in the same God as them I respect their perspective. Visiting the Lakota-Sioux Native Americans changed my life and set me on a path that I believe will take me far. Their stories and messages will stay with me for the entirety of my life. I can call them for motivation when it is needed and help sculpt my character to match my ideal self. Many improvements are available for those who exhibit uncommon effort.

1 sentence theme: Uncommon effort is necessary to become the form of ourselves that we desire to be.