let me just start off by saying that it felt like i JUST wrote my post for twitch and shout 2011. i can't believe the best week of the year has already come and gone. this year i had the 13 year old boys. most of them were going into 8th grade, but we had a few 7th grades and 1 9th grader. they came from all over -- we had a few from texas, a few from georgia, 1 from new york, 1 from illinois, 1 from south carolina, 1 from north carolina, and 1 from florida. we started out with 10 boys but after a few unfortunate circumstances we dropped down to 8. camp has changed my life again - and i know i say that every year, but this year was different. i saw a group of boys go from picking on each other and some being bullies/bullied to encouraging each other, loving each other, and most of all, learning to love themselves. i don't think i've ever been more stressed, frustrated or anxious in my life. but i would give anything to have this amazing experience at camp again. each year at camp is new and interesting and you never know what lessons you'll learn about others or yourself.
saturday [july 28] - today was counselor orientation day. all of the counselors meet a day before camp starts to discuss logistics, have team building exercises, build friendships, make our weekly camp schedule, and go over our camper profiles. i knew a lot of returning counselors from last year, and it was absolutely incredible to see them. i also met a lot of new counselors whom i love dearly and already miss.
now let me tell you about my co-counselors this year. their names were mindy, AJ, and cody. i don't think i've ever had a friendship develop more quickly than with these 3 people. by the first night with the campers [sunday] we could already tell that we would be best friends by the end of the week. our camp director, hailey, advises us to give ourselves to the campers during the day and be the best counselors we can be, and then hang out with the counselors at night. usually one counselor stays in the cabin while the rest chill in the dining hall or play games in the gym. the 4 G2 co-counselors somehow ended up staying the cabin every night and would hang out/bond with each other. we never planned on it, but it just happened. it usually started out with mindy and i [who slept in a girl counselor cabin] saying, "oh we'll just stay until the boys fall asleep and then we'll leave", but then we stayed up for an hour or 2 after and talked in the cabin. we usually reminisced about the day and tried to stifle our laughs so we wouldn't wake our campers.
we were also assigned 2 CTl cabin buddies, shelly and derek, who are our honorary co-counselors. we definitely couldn't have made it through the week without them.
sunday [july 29] - so today the campers came. i was on airport duty [a lot of the campers fly, so i was one of maybe 10 counselors who had to go to the airport to pick them up] so i got back to the camp around 2:30ish. one of my G2 campers flew, so i helped him check in a then i went to meet my other campers back in the cabin. i got to meet most of their parents, which was really nice. out of our 10 initial campers, 5 of them were first timers at camp twitch and shout, and i think the parents [hopefully] felt reassured talking to us. our campers were incredibly different and unique in their own special way, but the one thing that set them apart in the real world was the one thing that bonded them at camp -- and that was that they had tourette's. their TS severity ranged, and i don't think i saw some of them tic. a few of them actually had the same eye-blinking facial tic as me, so that was pretty funny because we set each other off when we were talking. after everyone in our cabin was there, we had a scavenger hunt [and since we found all 20 clues, i got pied in the face], dinner, opening ceremonies, and bed. our campers had a rough time getting to sleep [because they're so sleep deprived from being excited about camp but now that they're here they just want to make new friends and meet each other] but it all worked out.
monday [july 30] - first official day at camp!!! 7:15 wake up call [too early, in my opinion] followed by flag pole and breakfast. our first activity of the day was mountain biking. the camp director, hailey, came with us and we brought up the rear and had some bonding time. but before biking even started, one of our campers told us he didn't know how to ride a bike. cody and AJ volunteered to stay back with him and try to teach him how to ride a bike. and you know what? they succeeded. and that camper will remember that moment for the rest of his life. but back to my mountain biking experience. i don't think i've been on a bike since i was 12. but riding a bike is something that will always stay with you. thankfully. after the first 10 minutes we had to ride down a steeper little hill with a sharp turn. before you even guess what happened, let me tell you. i ate it. hard. i didn't turn quick enough and i hit a rock and fell. and hailey was in front of my laughing her butt off. the reason she was laughing was because i was laughing. even before my crash, i knew i was going down. and when i'm scared, i laugh. and that's why it was hilarious. i [still] have a nasty bruise and bump on my leg. but it's okay because i mountain biked and LOVED it. and when we got back from our trail ride, our camper who just learned to ride a bike showed us his newly acquired skill. and i think that was my first proud moment at camp -- seeing someone accomplish something new. and his cabin mates were stoked for him! after biking we had nature craft and made leather bracelets. not too difficult. then we had lunch and shoes off time. shoes off time is a rest hour where we highly encourage the campers to sleep for an hour before the next activities. our campers did not like to sleep. schmeh. after that, we had rock climbing and the pool. at the pool everyone has to take a swim test. our same camper who just learned to ride a bike, let's call him justin, was really scared for the swim test. after he finished he said, "miss ali, i didn't think i could do it! but i did! i passed!" i told him, "justin, this just goes to show you that you can do whatever you put your mind to. don't ever think you're not capable of doing anything." and that was another epic moment for me. after cabin choice and dinner we had the luau pool party, where the entire camp swims [about 200 people]. we had the third annual belly flop contest, which one of our campers won for his second year. then the 13 year old + campers watched iron man 2. and then we went to bed. today i learned how to be patient. i learned how to encourage others. my campers learned that encouraging others and having a positive attitude will make you a happier person, and sometimes bring rewards [we won the spirit stick!!!]. i learned that while people come in all shapes and sizes, they strive for one thing -- acceptance.
tuesday [july 31] - today was an interesting day, to say the least. everyone in the cabin was exhausted from the lack of sleep they were getting [their choice, not ours] and we had a rough start. but after sports, arts and crafts, lunch, shoes off, pool, boating, and cabin choice, everyone was happy and doing well. i think we were finally getting in the groove of camp. it also rained today. MASSIVELY rained. like a torrential downpour. and because of this, we had the talent show tonight where not 1, not 2, but 3 of our campers performed!!! camper 1 opened the talent show by playing the guitar and singing 'let it be'. and he was amazing. camper 2 performed maybe 5th or 6th and sang justin beiber's 'boyfriend'. he was awesome. camper 3, who lost his voice and demanded that we tape his mouth shut, closed the talent show with an original song he wrote and composed on the guitar. and he sounded INCREDIBLE. he was really scared that his voice wouldn't sound great, but multiple people came up to him after the talent show and told him how amazing he was. proof that sometimes all you need is a little re-encouragement from your peers. today i learned that my cabin of 13 year old boys can tie-dye better than i can. i learned [per mindy] that sometimes all you need is to liberate yourself by peeing in the lake. i learned, again, that encouragement really can change someone's perspective. i learned that actions speak louder than words. and i learned that everyone has something, no matter how put together they seem.
wednesday [august 1] - by today, i think all of us counselors were freaking out because camp was practically over, even though we still had 2 1/2 days. today was another great day. we drummed, did archery, went fishing, and went to the pool. i also ate a worm. let me tell you that story. our cabin buddy, shelly, was fishing with us today and she told us that last week she had gotten 12 girls to eat worms. that statement may or may not be true. now these worms had been sitting in a large bucket of dirt the entire week, so it wasn't like they were clean. 2 of my boys were eating worms, so i decided to do it. and that's the story of how i ate a worm -- because i didn't want to be stood up by my 13 year old boys. but i was the only counselor in G2 who ate one, so i'm awesome. oh and then tonight we had wacky olympTICS, which is really messy color wars. i was on the blue team and as a counselor i was expected to participate fully and encourage all others to participate. i did a great job, let me tell you. i even let my campers get me messy without fussing over it. including when one of them had a shaving cream and scooped it into my eye. i wasn't a happy camper, but i was a good sport. before wacky o started, we had a surprise skype phone call from james durbin from american idol. holler to my friend drew who arranged it. he has tourette's and is an inspiration to a lot of campers, so it was incredible for them to hear that life gets better, especially from someone who is living their dream. today i remembered how awful middle school was. my campers and i had a few conversations and i felt their pain. as the only G2 counselor with tourette's, i understand what these kids are going through. not that the other counselors don't, but i think that my tourette's helped me connect with them in a special way. one of my campers, who i absolutely adore, was always on edge. let's call him wyatt. whenever someone would say "wyatt", he would always say, "WHAT!?!?!", like he was in trouble, even though he never was. i had a few special bonding times with wyatt this week and i made him my special project. i wanted him to realize that people were there for him and were on his side. i think it was today, or maybe earlie in the week, that one of the other kids pissed off wyatt to the point of tears. he sat down and started sobbing uncontrollably. i told him, "wyatt, we're here for you" and he said, "no you're not. you're teachers and you have to be nice to me." i proceeded to tell him that i was an accounting major, not a teacher, and that if i were a 13 year old kid, i would want to be his best friend. he then said, "you have to say that". he just always felt like people were against him. that's what i wanted to make sure that he knew people really did love and care for him -- and also that we were rooting for him. throughout the week, wyatt and i developed an incredibly special bond. he would tell me things, like that he wanted one thing at camp -- to get a camp girlfriend [it happened and they were adorable], and whenever i came up just to talk to him, he would be honest with me and tell me that he was happy. that's why camp is amazing -- because you help campers realize that they are special, and while they do have tourette's, they are loved. if i didn't touch another kids life at camp [i think i did, so no worries] it would have been okay, because wyatt learned that people have his back. today i learned that sometimes all we need is someone to talk to confide in. i remember what these boys are going through [i was an 8th grader once] and i just wanted them to know that everything will be okay. even though they are going through hell now, life gets better. and i think my campers started to realize that today.
thursday [august 2] - so today was the last full day of camp. we had arts and crafts, pool, and the high ropes course. the high ropes course is about 40 feet off the ground and you have to maneuver across 3 obstacles, going from one telephone poll to the other. you conquer your fear of heights and you learn about team work. this challenge is something that cannot be done without the help of your team -- which was 4 of the campers and 2 of the counselors [including me]. now i'm not usually scared of heights, but for some reason being 40 feet off the ground walking on a tightrope had me freaking out a little bit. i knew i was safe, but i had a few issues. my issues were usually starting the challenge [like walking across planks of wood to the next telephone poll] but once i was actually completing the challenge, i was good. i probably freaked out most of everyone, but i finished. all 4 of my campers finished. and they learned teamwork in the process. i don't think camp could have ended on a better note. after camper justin completed the ropes course he said, "miss ali, i didn't think i could do it." but he completed the ropes course. with flying colors. then we had the camp dance. and it started to sink it that camp was over :/ today i learned that camp is a life changing experience. my campers learned that as well.
friday [august 3] - after a back to back sports session of dodgeball, football, and basketball, we had lunch and closing ceremony. the closing ceremony is the best part of camp. i cried. cody cried. stephanie cried. we all cried. not because camp was over [well, partially], but because we knew we had changed our campers lives. they had changed ours. and we knew that even though this was the most emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting week of our lives, we wouldn't have traded it for a free Caribbean vacation. i love camp twitch and shout and the ability it has to change lives. i love the way that it allows kids to learn and to grow - and to learn to love themselves. i can't predict how my kids will act over the next year but i know that in their heart of hearts, camp changed their lives.
this is julie and i before wacky o. julie is the funniest person you'll ever meet. and that's coming from me.
the theme of the dance was superheros, so my michelle, jo, steph, and i were the ninja tourettles :]
the amazing 2012 twitch and shout counselors!!!
the G2 counselors, on saturday before the kids arrived.
and this is our post camp picture. we were just a little exhausted.
thursday was superhero day, so i wore this beautiful homemade t-shirt.
this was me right after my campers pied me in the face.
camp twitch and shout 2012.
