Essay on The Most Important Event in my Life, and How It Changed Me

Summer camp is a time to create memories of laughter, friendship, and new adventures. It is a time to get away for a week, and experience new adventures with familiar and fresh faces. It is a chance to experience the sound of crickets at night while lying awake in the bunk, wondering what kind of excitement the next day will bring. Camp is where friendships are created that last a lifetime.

It taught me how to be a leader. As I went through each step of the senior project,

I raised money for scholarships to camp; helping hundreds of kids come to camp that would be unable to afford it otherwise. Development of a diverse staff was important to me. So I recruited, interviewed and hired central city staff to be part of camp. This involved going to their neighborhood for interviews because they had no means of getting to camp.

For me, the biggest reason for summer sleep-away camps is to help the child develop more. Camps offer more life experience that are likely to come up in later adulthood. For instance, when I was younger I went to a camp for a whole month! I was terrified of being away from my parents for that long, however I overcame this fear and I was able to gain many great experiences and tools I use today. One thing I improved on was swimming during my time at

Some of my favorite memories made in high school thus far are due to my involvement in the Best Buddies program. Best Buddies is offered across the United States and is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the exclusion of people with special needs. I joined the program my freshman year and was selected my junior year of high school to be in the Best Buddies class where I get to develop a closer relationship with all of the buddies. In total there are about twenty-five special needs kids that attend my school. I am proud to attend a school that welcomes these kids and always makes sure to include them in major school events and extracurricular activities. Recently, Tyler, one of the buddies, scored a touchdown while playing with our varsity football team. This was a proud moment for the Best Buddies class because we wanted him to have this amazing experience.

While being allowed to come into the camp, I learned a great deal about how the homeless live. This particular group was very self sufficient

The first week, of my second year, being an assistant counselor at Camp Shalom was one of the most enlightening weeks of my life. The Camp Shalom

It gave me a glimpse of what it will be like when I am a teacher someday, and I was able to share with a younger generation one of my passions. The week of the camp I worked for approximately thirty-five hours. The actual camp was twelve hours, and the rest was planning the activities for our classes. I was in charge of teaching voice and directing the play for the end of the week. It was a lot of hard work, and a lot of the kids were hesitant to participate at first, but in the end it was rewarding because when I see these kids in the community they see me and usually give me a hug or tell me how much they loved the

All the fun begins when everyone attending camp from Lee County arrives at our local middle school to begin our camp experience. As a 4-H teen leader, I will be responsible for many of the campers I see arriving. Once everyone is checked in, luggage is loaded, and roll is called, we are off to the 4-H center. The bus ride is long with kids constantly asking, “Are we there yet?” and “How much longer?” Being asked hundreds of questions along the way doesn’t put a damper on my 4-H spirit because I know how important my leadership role will be during the week.

I led a group of first-year students on a rafting trip the week before classes started. That was an experience. For many of the students, this trip was their first time camping and being responsible for themselves. As leaders, we were pushing that we were just the leaders, not the guides and that they, as students, needed to be responsible for their stuff and be proactive regarding chores. I would say they almost got there by the end of the seven days. I was very proud of the community we fostered on the trip and how much the students supported each other throughout the course of the trip. We had many fun times on the trip, from playing flip-its with whip cream to extreme cross country bocce ball tournaments. I'm excited to lead another group next

CMB: Do you have a favorite story about how this program has influenced the community or an individual?

I wish to raise my involvement to the next level: as a Recreational Leader. I would like to join a team of students committed to the same interests as I am, and create something amazing for the hundreds of participants that have attended a Summer at Saints camp, and make

CIT at Camp Bear Track (10th-11th) I was a camper at Camp Bear Track for seven years, and the past two years I have been a CIT (Counselor in Training). Next summer, I plan on returning to Camp Bear Track for my tenth year as a counselor. As a CIT, I had to set and reset the dining hall for every meal, lead activities, prepare for the night game, be a leader for the campers in my cabin, exemplify Christ-like ideals, and give a chapel to the whole camp. As a second year CIT, I was given more responsibilities and was chosen as the leader of all the first year CITs. Camp Bear Track is my favorite place in the world, because I have made lasting friendships at camp with people from all over the nation.

Me and my good friends Josh and Daniel volunteered at Salvation Army. Salvation Army is a place that people who don't have houses and can’t afford food or other essentials. They provide homes for homeless people and food for people who have a home but cannot afford food because of house taxes. They also have apartments connected to the food building. We did lots of different things at Salvation Army like we prepared and served meals, washed dishes, mopped the dining room and also cleaned up food. And all the other things we did are on the paper. We actually did everything on the list! The experience there was amazing knowing that I am making a difference in people's lives by serving food and helping clean up around the place, and we also got an opportunity to talk the some of the people around the

I witnessed true comradery, I learned how to be compassionate and experienced a love I’ve never known before. I learned how to give without expectations of something in return (other than the good feeling accompanied by it), I learned to never judge a book by its cover, be grateful for what you have because some aren’t as fortunate, and most importantly be kind to everyone!