Personally, all I seek to do this school year is appease myself. Out of all people, I want to make myself proud. I want to finally take initiative and be productive, not procrastinate, try my absolute best and not slack. It's not going too well since I'm starting this blog 3 hours before it's due... but I have the rest of the year to achieve my goals.
This summer was extremely impactful on my life, compared to any other I have experienced. I attend a camp out in Estill County, Kentucky. It's called Burnamwood and it's a small presbyterian camp. I'm not the most religious person, but I have my moments, which may seem shocking since I'm quite far on the Left side. I have made some memories of a lifetime there, but this summer held something more.
I think I knew that I was in for something special when during the first week (of 5) of camp, I had the honor of taking on the rare task of beating my close friend, Rachael Gilbert, with a pool noodle while she was dressed as a giant whoopee cushion. Trust me, I have proof (see below).
We then started this new activity at camp where we could write letters to one another and we could not read them until the end of the week. Of course, there were your expected, "I love you so much," and, "You mean so much to me," notes, but when I was going through them, one stuck out. And it read, "Keep your head out of your ass." Signed by the one and only, Branham Chandler. Yes, I had to ask why he wrote such a note.
Backstory to Bran; I've always looked up to him going to camp. When I was little I wanted to be his friend because his father was the cool Benjamin Chandler. When I was older, I wanted to be his friend because he inspired me. He did whatever his heart desired and didn't give a single care what people thought of him, and he honestly set out to make his life full of joy and happiness. I wanted to be just like that.
So when I asked him why he told me this, his answer shocked me. He said to me, "You are capable of incredible things. You are a very smart person and have the ability to rise above anything...With what you have to give, you can't afford it. You're a special person. I mean it. Don't be stupid in this life."
That woke me up. I just knew I had to make every moment count that I live, and I knew that mentality is what made him grow into a person I admired so much.
(The picture was taken the day of his last camp, since he was graduating, and yes, I had been crying).
Finally, I had the wonderful opportunity to be a CIT for many weeks in the summer beside him and others who had helped me grow up and even find myself a little.
CIT stands for Counselor In Training, so I got to watch after some little campers, which was a big deal, since the CITs were the coolest people in the world when we were small.
After spending a great deal of time watching over a lot of germy, awkward, smelly, rambunctious, annoying, loud, and agitating children, of course then and there I knew I wanted to work with them as a career.
But really, I adore working alongside and with children, knowing I'm helping them grow as others have helped me is an incredible feeling. They have just as much of an impact on my own life as I do on theirs. It's a feeling I always want to keep, long after I've graduated and left this camp, so I know I want to pursue a career in teaching preschoolers. I think it would be the absolute time of my life. Even if the pay is low, I'm doing what I love and not letting petty things stop me or trick me into a lifestyle I don't want to live; I'm keeping my head out of my ass.
So yes, this summer has been extremely and wonderfully impactful on my life, and has changed me immensely and for the better. It's helped me find out things about myself I would have never known to be able to fill out this blog post. I'm so grateful for the experiences I have been given.
Oh, and my super power would be the ability to stop time at my choosing.
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