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.