Personal Narrative: Trout Lake Camps

When I was 11, my parents were battling in an ugly divorce. I wasn't seen as a kid because for a brief moment I became an adult that could make tough life changing decisions. As a child , I was confused on what was happening. I didn’t understand why my mom was gone one day, returned the next and then  just gone. I couldn't comprehend why police officers would regularly come to my broken home. The gruesome divorce and after period was an emotional roller coaster that never ended until today. It was difficult to adapt to the new lifestyle with a new single mom. I vividly remember having to sleep on the floor for months , having an empty naked white fridge and having to support my single mother every night as she dealt with depression. Although, life was hard I stayed strong, supported my sisters and accepted the new life I  was given.

When I was a child, most of the stories or situations I have been through was, mostly, my dad hitting me and my parents fighting constantly; so pretty much I did not really grew up watching Barney, traveling to places, and going to Disneyland often. I thought I would have to live like this for the rest of my academic life, but one day around the age of eight, my dream came true. My parents had enough of each other, so they went their own ways; even though, I was glad that I do not have to life miserably anymore, I was not. I thought that everything would settle down and live a calm life with my mom, but as a result, I ended up raising my two siblings. My dad left the house, my mom was in her own world, and I had to watch my siblings. I thought my parents divorce would benefit me, but all it did was for me to not live as an eight-year-old would. I thought that my dream of going to a great university and becoming a Physician Assistant came crashing down. A couple weeks later, my dad came back and long-story short, my siblings and I had to go hang out with my dad for

During the summer before my Freshman year I went to hell and back, and by hell I mean Philmont scout ranch. Just a little background, Philmont scout ranch is 140,117 thousand acres of big rugged, dry, mountainous terrain. I knew what I was getting into, Ever since I joined boy scouts Philmont was regarded as the ultimate scouting experience, so of course i was pressured into that. Eventually summer rolled around and before I knew it I was on a train to New Mexico.

Growing up I didn't have a lot of time to read, I did not grow up in a stable environment for children to thrive. When I was in the third grade my life would take a drastic turn into a downward direction. My mother whom I loved so much changed drastically, started locking us out of the house. Doing any type of homework was impossible to accomplish when you are stranded outside. Later that year my parents got a divorce. There was constant turmoil; my mother was now living with a man that would later become my stepfather. Their relationship was very toxic; at first my stepfather seemed charming, we traveled to places we have never been to before. After a couple of years, things changed, they couldn't manage their finances and we were constantly

This camp was hard for me because I was four hours away from my family and my house. I couldn’t see

I live in a small town that goes by the name of Lafayette. The population is 4,500. Everyone knows where everything is, when everything is, and what everything is. As a child, my mother and I would go to a beautiful waterfall on a small back road when the sun was shining, when the trees and rocks were just right, and when it was damp and perfect for four wheeler rides. The Union Camp waterfall is majestic. The scenery makes a person speechless. We would always go when the weather was perfect. The waterfall is one childhood memory I will always remember. The activities my mother and I would do were always a blast. My trips to Union Camp waterfall are memorable because of the scenery, the weather, and the activities.

Let's start back when he started having his early stages of his complications. Something that he loved to do during the summer, was to take us camping at Joe Pool Lake for the weekend. Whenever we would go camping, he would also bring our pontoon boat with us to either go swim out on the lake, go tubing, or go fishing. This day was different though, he didn't seem like himself at all. Some of my mom's friends came out to the campsite, so we were all wanting to go out on the boat, and usually he is the first one to ask us if we want to go out on the lake, but he was nowhere to be found. My mom went into our camper, where he was laying down in bed, and asked "Do you want to take the boat out on to the lake with us?" He said "No, I'm not feeling good. My stomach hurts, but you all can take the keys and go." When he said this, we didn't think much about it because stomach aches and pains can be a normal thing that can come and go. Well little did we know, this was just the beginning of the most terrifying and tragic journey that we have gone through. We proceeded to take the boat,

God has been at work in my life in so many ways in this last year. This past summer, I worked at Trout Lake Camps, a Bible camp in Pine River, Minnesota. This experience not only taught me how wonderful a Christian community is, but also how to give my life completely over to Him. I was able to have meaningful conversations with campers about their faith, and ways they could come closer to God. I also know that God has placed this camp in my life not only to tell young students about Jesus Christ, but to learn how to stretch my faith beyond its limits. I can not wait to bring what I have learned to Northwestern. I believe that UNWSP will continue to stretch my limits and take me deeper in my walk with God. I plan to make life-long friends while

Hannah, a freshman in college, has had a life of asthma, major depression, and epilepsy. While on theatrical stage in her first college debut, Hannah collapses on stage in a seizure. After running tests on Hannah in the hospital, the doctor suggests that her lifelong health issues could possibly be because she is a survivor of abortion. This is the first time Hannah not only learns she’s an abortion survivor, but adopted too. In anguish and searching for answers, Hannah journeys with her friends to Mobile, Alabama in search of her birthmother. When Hannah first reconnects with her birthmother, Cindy, tracking her down at her work office, Cindy rejects her yet as again as she did at her failed abortion. Hannah finds herself asking God what to do in her situation.

At a young age, having all four of my grandparents die was crushing. One in front of me, two by suicide and one to cancer. In the second grade when my dad went to rehab, not only eroding our relationship, but also tearing apart my family. As a result, during my third grade year, sleep was rare due to the echoing fighting that I would hear in the adjacent room. Meanwhile this lack of sleep only made school worse. Being called a “retard” because dyslexia made it a pain in the ass to read. This fearful environment slowly began to embed anxiety into my young self. Now that my family was begging to get tired of my hometown in Arizona, we packed our bags and moved to San Diego. In 6th grade is where I got into my first fist fight in the middle school locker room, where Mr. Beckley had to break us apart. Only giving me the “new kid” a bad reputation to some, but respect to others. The ones who began to give me respect, would only bring me down further than I already was. On to my later years in middle school where I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Witch felt like a constant rain cloud over me at all times, where the weight of my bed sheets was too much to handle. Therefor causing more chaos in my family. This would give myself an almost constant knot in my throat ready to break down and cry at any part of the day. But like any story, there's light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how long it seems or how dark it gets, there is... Going into my freshman things

Maria woke up and thought to herself, I need a change. Something adventurous. Maybe I’ll go to that strange lake I saw. It sure is hot today. And I think I deserve the rest since papa made me work so hard yesterday. With that in mind, she slipped on the worn ruffle dress her sister had passed on to her three years ago. Maria missed her sister, Margarita. Margarita had died many many years ago, at the young age of nine. Seeing that Maria possessed a petite figure, and that Margarita was abnormally tall, Margarita gave the young Maria the dress as a birthday gift. The story goes, Margarita and three toddlers named Juan, José, and Alejandro were playing in the dirt when their mother came up to them and yanked them as hard as she could. You see, her husband had been gone for longer and longer trips out west at a time, and only came back

7am. That was the time I arrived at the parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The destination was Montreat, North Carolina and I was about to embark on a journey with twelve other kids to attend my first Montreat Youth Conference, a retreat focused on strengthening and shaping youth’s faith. The number of stories I’ve heard of what a week in the black mountain area of North Carolina entailed led me to crave the formation of my own stories. This trip was reputable for being “life changing,” and Montreat was supposedly a “thin place between heaven and earth,” but before going on the trip I was perplexed as to what those words meant and if they were ever going to hold meaning for me. However, after a twelve-hour

Summer Promise is not just an ordinary teenage book, but a novel where anyone can learn about God and how he helps you pull through the bad circumstances and makes the best of the great ones. Christy Miller, native of Wisconsin and 14 years old, moves to California with her Aunt Marti and Uncle Bob. Christy lived on a farm, so she had no idea of the luxuries someone could have like clothes, relaxing on the beach, makeup, and beauty, but her aunt made sure that she learned the amenities of a teenager. Christy met her “first love,” named Todd, and he was different than all of the other surfers. Todd believed in Christ, and that God was the person who controlled his life. Throughout Christy and Todd’s journey, Christy learns about God, why he is important, and that she should give her life to him. She meets incredible people on the way, who show her the light. Summer Promise exemplifies how people should always put God first and displays a sweet, innocent teenage love.

I was born in Plano, Texas, with a condition called Congenital Talipes Equinovarus, also known as clubfoot. Clubfoot caused my right foot to be rotated internally at the ankle. After surgery corrected my ankle, and although one of my feet was smaller than the other, I was able to have a healthy childhood and to play sports with no issues. As a result, of my condition and the care that I received from my doctors, I began to develop a great passion and appreciation for medicine and science. This lead me to Murfreesboro, TN where I volunteered at a summer camp for children with mental and physical disabilities, called Camp Ability. Many of the children there had little options for treatment, either it was too expensive for them to receive or the

During the last two weeks of my summer employment with the Salvation Army Pine Lake Camp, a team including myself was sent to The Salvation Army Berkshire Citadel to run a series of camps, but there was a few unforeseen complications. Our team lead had to be suddenly transferred to another team, leaving the Calgary team in a predicament. Before the issue had even been raised to the group, I was approached by the camp program director, she pulled me aside and asked if I would be willing to colead the team. I was shocked, and honored she acknowledged me, as the youngest person on the team, to be given so much responsibility. The role I had been given required myself and a college student to work together to coordinate, promote, budget, and