YL Camp

“Come on y’all, throw your luggage in the bus, let’s get this show on the road,” yelled my camp leader Jill. We had to carry two separate buses and travel two hours to get on another bus with kids from other states. I prayed it would be an elegant bus with televisons. We came to our stop and transferred our luggage to the charter bus. There, I met numerous friends- so many to where I barely slept. After seven hours of conversating we were in Jasper, GA.

After riding up the winding hill and our ears popping from the unusually high elevation, we pulled up to a camp with an estimate of twenty other charter buses. All of us were exhausted and desperate for an ounce of sleep, except me. We got off the bus and were overwhelmed by a line of people high-fiving us and taking videos, which we didn’t find out until our camp meeting that night.

Once we got moved into the cabins we all found it necessary to take a power nap. Jill received a schedule for just that day and we weren’t allowed to see it. It was a surprise. We were never aware of the time since we weren’t permitted to have our phones, but it was usually in the late afternoons when we had our meeting times.Steve was our speaker, an amazing speaker if I must add. He would spend an hour or so talking to us about our relationship with God. He wouldn’t drill it into our heads, rather place it in our mind as, “what if theres a God…” Then we could view a video from our activities that day. Ocassionally I would see myself in them.

Twice that week we had fifteen minutes to lay in the grass and talk to God, or even just lay there. I had never spoken to him like I did in those moments. Tears were pouring down my face, and I felt an instant moment of forgivness, of relief. Then we would get quite a few hours to go around the bonfire or play volleyball. After the emotional moment I just experienced I decided to sit and talk to my best friend.

The camp not only helped better my relationship with God, but it was also the most enticing moment I’ve ever had. For the first time I was able to zipline, blob, and learn new tricks going down a water slide. Regardless of all of that one activity succeeded above all. The Quantum Leap. We would put on our gear and climb up a telephone pole then manage to place ourselves standing on top. Within seconds I was at the top; I was one of the fastest climbers. I understood I was secure, but that didn’t disregard the fact I was carrying my own weight and felt defenseless. ‘Think of yourself jumping into Jesus’ arms and proving your trust for him.” These words are what inspired me to follow through. I took a deep breath and jumped. We had a stick to hit the bell with. I missed by an inch, but that didn’t less the significance of that moment in my life. I had just proven my love and trust for God.

The camp was no doubt the best experience I have ever had. I bettered my relationship with god. On the ride home I felt like a brand- new person. I vowed to be a worthier person. There are times when I slip up, but I know I am always forgiven.

Finding Myself

My childhood memories remain a blur to my new eyes. I believe I lived a normal life. I'm sure I watched Barney, fell off a bike, got in trouble, played with a barbie, or at least forgot to feed my Tamagotchi every once in a while. One thing I'm positive I did was learn to read. I was an average kid so I was in Kindergarden by the normal age of 5. I can't recall my teachers name, but I know she had short black hair, wore glasses, and that she wasn't a woman with patience. I couldn't blame her. I'd go physco watching over twenty 5 year olds for seven hours straight, meaning as nobody slept during naptime, rather during math.

I was a hard- headed child and would never pay attention. In fact, I fell asleep and fell out of my desk on the first day of 1st grade. It wasn't that I didn't care, I was just unaware of my surroundings. I was forced to read books, and had teachers cramming information in my head since I was remember. Not to mention all these books I would read were unrelatable and quite irrelevant. Not once was I able to pull any credible information from a book of literature and use it to relate to anything of significant importance. At least not until I was introduced to Junie B. Jones.

The first series that actually took a grasp on my attention would be Junie B. Jones. She was different from every other kid. She dressed different, she would act different, and didn't give a damn what people thought about her. She lived in her own little world, as well as I did, which really made me curious about her experiences so I could relate them with mine. I wasn't exactly able to relate on an educated level with her books, but it was a great conversation starter. Not to make her books seem pointless, they actually did teach me a lot of lessons. She taught me how to use my manners around adults, good pranks to use, and how to avoid trouble. Even though, she never neccessarily did that.

I've always wanted to be independent and loathed the help of others, so I was determined to learn how to read. It took a great deal of practice and parents assistance, but I eventually grasped the idea of reading. Even to this day, I can't say I know how to read because everyday I learn new ways to expand my vocabulary, and different ways to pronounce words, but I can say with a straight face that my kindergarden year was the year that opened my mind up to endless possibilites.

I am...

I am...

     I am sinful and impatient
     I wonder if I'll ever be good enough
     I hear my doubts and fears echoing throughout me
     I see the failures of life
     I want to erase the doubts of others
     I am sinful and impatient

     I pretend perfection
     I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders
     I touch the cold memories of my past
     I worry I will never understand the true meaning of life
     I cry about my false accusations
     I am sinful and impatient

     I understand everything happens for a reason
     I say I'll do better
     I dream of becoming a person of true importance
     I try to make others embrace the beauty of life
     I hope to change lives
     I am sinful and impatient.

Take Flight Old Man

There are times when we find ourselves caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's in those situations when we consider how much assistance we desperately need, so if someone was to provide you with that aid wouldn't you desire to return the favor? Or wouldn't you at least thank them? Be the person we all should be.
     If you were to come across an old man lying face down in the mud wouldn't you help him? What if he had wings that consumed half his body? Well, in Gabriel Marquez's story, "An Old Man with Enormous Wings," Pelayo had a "kind heart". He dragged the old man out of the mud and brought him back to his house. Or his chicken coop rather. I would've much rather stayed in the mud pit than get tossed in a boisterous chicken coop where the stench is unbearable. It's just inhuman to do that to someone. I even feel bad for the chickens.
     Throughout everything, Pelayo and his family of three actually gained from the "angel", but they not once acknowledged that. The day after the "angel" arrived, Pelayo and his wifes child, who was sick with a temperature, got out of bed and was feeling well. Another instance where Pelayo actually gained from the "angel" was when they made a profit off of him. They set up the chicken coop to look like a side show for onlookers to see, and to tease the "angel" as if he was some sort of circus freak. Not to mention all of the profit they recieved from the "angel" was used in vain. They bought the very best linens and upgraded their pity house(shack) into a two story luxury home. They never considered the fact it was the "angel" who brought those luxuries among them. Sometimes you just have to put yourself into the other persons shoes in order to realize the appalling things you do. Maybe then you could realize how much a simple thanks does.
     There's been times when I've needed assistance. Onetime I found myself lost in the mall at the age of eight. I wasn't observant of my surroundings, and I somehow managed to walk away from my mom. Not long after I realized my dreadful mistake, a kind old lady helped me find my mom. It relates because at that point I needed someone to reach out and be the person my mom would've been.
     Another instance would've been when I didn't stand up for someone being bullied. I knew that if I was in their shoes they wouldn't have hesitated to stand up for me. In that short instance where I kept my mouth shut, I was just as wrong as all the people that came to tease and torment the "angel". Maybe even as wrong as Pelayo and his wife for using the angel's powers in vain.
     I authentically reinforced my statement that we all need to be the person we should be. If we actually followed through with that, just imagine how much more apparent the world would be. Where we all treated eachother with respect becasue it's in the nature of any kind- hearted person. Which is, in fact, what we all should be.