So when my producer Rachel told me I was assigned to go to “Princess Survival Camp” for a story, I was nervous. Instantly I had images of repelling down cliffs, tying Windsor knots and spearing fish with a stick. I’m so NOT rugged. Admittedly I’m a bit of a wuss. I also have performance anxiety. I think it goes back to the days of elementary school kickball. I was always one of the last kids picked for a team. I was a nervous wreck at the thought of having to do some kind of physical activity in front of others. The pressure was way too much. This is why Princess Survival Camp freaked me out. I envisioned one enormous elementary school kickball field raging with competition and expectation. I was definitely going to need a margarita.

A few good things … Rachel told me Sonja Gantt would be going with me. I was excited about getting off of my regular shift for the day (I was excused from the morning news which would mean no alarm going off at 2:30 AM) and to hang out with my friend Sonja, whom I think is great and don’t get to see nearly enough. Also, this survival business was going to happen at Crowders Mountain in Gaston County … a gorgeous place to get in touch with nature.

Sonja and I were joined by a group of ladies from the Women’s Auxiliary Motorsports. They were lovely, outgoing and friendly. I put my fears out there to the group before we headed off on our adventure. I wanted to let them know they should expect very little out of me and if they were to be partnered with me to perform any task, I was sorry ahead of time for not being able to do it. Sonja reminded me this wasn’t a competition. She was being far more positive about the whole thing than I was. Everyone was very supportive and told me I’d do fine. I assured them they were wrong.

Terry was our “here’s-what-you-do-if-you-get-stuck-in-a-really-bad-life-or-death-situation” teacher. A cute British guy who sounds like he’s Australian and calls everybody mate. He’s the guy you’d want with you if your car ran off the road in the middle of a blizzard. Terry has an extensive resume filled with life saving, get you out of the worst kind of pickle training ever. Terry’s a bad dude (by bad I mean good).

Terry asked us to think about all kinds of things I’d rather not think about. What would you do if your car ran off a bridge and you ended up in a body of water? (Think Matt Damon in Bourne Supremacy) What if your plane crashed on a small island and the winds were blowing at 30 mph and there were sharks in the water? How would you save yourself? I said that I probably wouldn’t … I’d just figure it was my time to go.

After talking about such unpleasantries, we headed down the hiking trail at Crowders Mountain. Then we went OFF the trail. I’m a stay on the path kind of gal … a rule follower. I remember one of the women in the group asking why we went off the trail. Terry didn’t answer and just kept leading us off the beaten path. I certainly wasn’t going to question Indiana Jones. But turns out, that was a major mistake on behalf of the princesses. After hiking for a while Terry reprimanded us because no one asked for a map. Something about not leaving your destiny up to someone else. Point taken.

Terry put us through a series of tasks. One of the things we had to do was build a shelter that was supposed to protect us from the elements. We had garbage bags, some string and whatever we could find in nature. We split into groups for this one. I was happy not to have to do this by myself. Our group was feeling pretty good about the shelter we built. Terry said our shelter would’ve protected us for about two minutes.

When it was time to break for lunch, Terry told us our options … crickets or grub worms. You’re going to have to watch the story online or on TV for the rest. And then email my bosses and tell them I deserve a raise … or a pony at the very least.

It is my sincerest hope that none of us ever find ourselves in a situation where we have to use any of the skills I learned during Princess Survival Camp. But if I ever end up lost in the mountains somewhere, hopefully I’ll do more than just curl up in the fetal position behind a tree and complain. I’ll try to remember what the cute British guy who sounds Australian said.

Get a group of your friends or co-workers and take the class. It’s not just for princesses. You’ll learn something about surviving the outdoors. You might just learn something about yourself, too.

Click here to learn more about Princess Survival Camp