the best kept secret

Last year, I participated in what Huntingdon students call Huntingdon's best kept secret. It was one of the best experiences I had in all of my four years.You go into it not knowing who you'll be with or what you'll be doing. Meeting outside the library at midnight, staying out until 3pm, and immediately trashing all of your clothes seem like factors for the worst night ever, but it turns out that the things you gain from the experience are beyond anything you could imagine. We grew as a group as we were forced to work together, but in the end, what we found made everything worth the sleepless night and constant searching.
This year, as with the tradition started in 1942, the seniors who participated in the hunt last year led the hunt for the juniors and seniors who chose to participate this year. We had 55 begin the hunt, compared to our almost 30 last year. It was a massive group of amazingly diverse people who had to learn how to work together for the greater good of the group. They did surprisingly well at some moments and surprisingly horrible at others. I worry that their frustrations with each other will effect the way they remember what all happened. They went through a lot together, but I hope that will only help the hunt for next year. Being on the other side, as a leader, is so amazing; watching a group of peers discovering things they never knew were there and discovering a  secret tradition that has lasted nearly 70 years.
Huntingdon's best kept secret, the Oracle Hunt, is one of the most physically exhausting, mentally challenging, and generally incredible things you can do at Huntingdon. If you were a student at Huntingdon and you didn't do it, you really missed out. If you're currently a student and are thinking about doing it, you definitely should.