Imagine a place where judgement is non-existent; a place where people thrive on little sleep, sunburns, and hugs; a place where being yourself has never felt more thrilling. Anyone that has ever interacted with me or has seen my Facebook page would tell you that there are 3 things in my life that I hold very close to my heart:
- My Family
- Camp Footprints
- Kronk (my feline friend)
1 year ago I was asked to co-direct Camp Footprints with two of my good friends, Sean Tran and Nik Gandhy. Having started at Camp when I was only 9 years old, being asked to direct was like winning an oscar, I had finally made it! Everything I wanted to grow up to be as a camper was now becoming a reality. After months of late night phone calls, Skype meetings, scheduling, interviews, team building and amazon prime shopping, Camp had arrived whether Sean, Nik, or myself were ready for it or not.
Instead of spending our days as team leaders, which we had all been previously, hanging out with counselors and campers and coming up with team chants and, we spent our days dealing with preparation of campfire skits, campsite maintenance issues, and snack deliveries. Not so much the sparkling job of director as I had imagined it to be...
By the end of the week however, something felt different. As we would sit at our own staff table and observe our 5 teams of campers, counselors, and CIT's talk amongst themselves, unaware of our observation, we soon realized what we had accomplished. The sheer fact of bringing together 50 people that hardly knew one another with little to no experience of disabled children, would usually not end on a positive note. But if there is ever one thing you really need to know about Camp Footprints, it's to be prepared to be proven wrong.
People that wouldn't even interact with one another in the "real world" become best friends at Camp. People who hate the outdoors, getting dirty, and dealing with bugs resisted leaving the campsite at the end of the week of Camp. People who are afraid to let their true selfs be seen become the people who change the lives of children simply by being themselves without knowing it at Camp.
Our camp theme this year was Love Without Limits, something that I myself find hard to do in trying situations, let alone everyday life. But in those moments of self doubt, anger, resentment, or hurt I take a 3 & 1/2 minute break to watch our music video from this year and I am reminded of the person I am "up the hill". Sure, as a co-director you don't get the most glamorous jobs to do but when in life have you ever had exactly what you wanted and not have had to work your ass off for it?
I wish there were words to describe how much these people have changed my life for the better, but all I can really do is show you this video and give you this web address and ask you to keep on living a life uncommon.