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Summer Camp |
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DawnG 
since 2000-06-23
Posts 1494United States 
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Hi everyone, This is my first venture into posting prose. I hope you all enjoy this. It is a story I wrote back in 1991 when I was a junior in high school. I post it today and dedicate it to the undying memory of one of my best friends whom passed away earlier this week. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Summer Camp Practical jokes. Bug juice. Friends. Independence. Love. FUN!!. What do these words mean to you? To me they bring back memories of a place very special to me. This is the place where I spent my last nine summers. This place is my summer camp. The summer camp I attended for the past nine years is a very special place. This is Easter Seals Camp Heffernan, a camp for the disabled. This allows myself and the other campers to feel like part of the crowd. This may not seem like a big deal to the casual observer, but to people like myself who spend most of the rest of the year feeling like an outsider, it is a very BIG deal. During the two weeks we are at camp, we are never stared at, made fun of, laughed at, or shunned. A person can wake up each morning and feel secure in knowing that they have 40+ friends waiting for them to share their joys, their fears, and their sadness. For two weeks being physically disabled is the norm for these campers instead of the exception. Friends are a special part of camp for any person. Myself, like countless other youngsters going off to camp for the first time, had that fear of having a horrible two weeks and never making any friends. After only being at camp a half-hour I had already made two of the best friends a person could ever ask for. Christy, Sarah, and I soon became inseparable and everyone dubbed us the “Three Musketeers”. Christy, Sarah, and I have remained for the most part inseparable throughout these past nine years. Although none of us live very close to one another throughout the year, we still stay in close contact to one another, thanks to the telephone. Even though a person has their best buddies at camp, everyone is friends with everyone else and we are all a family. The Senior Staff come back from year to year as do 95% of the campers. It is not uncommon for a visitor to the camp to hear it spoken of as a home away from home for everyone. Coming to camp also gives the campers a sense of independence. For many this may be the only time during the year that they are able to be away from their parents and that in it self is a sense of pride. Also, everything is totally accessible to the disabled, including attitudes. Society puts up so many barriers for the disabled that it gives the campers a real sense of pride to be able to say “I can do it!”. So what if it takes a camper 25 minutes to finish a task that another person could do in 10? It is important for that camper’s self esteem to be allowed to do that activity. Activities that are done at camp often surprise the average person. I remember a time when I was talking to someone about a picnic that we were both attending where volleyball and baseball were both going to be played. I said that it sounded like fun and this person was surprised to hear that I had played these games. I have the ability, as does almost every other disabled person to do the same things that everyone else does. The only difference is that the rules or way of doing things may have to be modified a little. Although Camp Heffernan may seem like a place where the disabilities of a person are dwelt upon, the opposite is entirely true. The older campers stay up gossiping late into the night about whom likes whom, and “just stuff teenagers talk about”. The disabilities are dealt with when they need to be and the rest of the day is spent on just plain having FUN! Summer camp is a special place for everyone. It is a place to grow as a person and to learn about other people. For persons with disabilities, summer camp is a place where the disabilities can be placed into the background of their lives for a change, and they can focus on having fun and making new friends. Camp Heffernan also gives these children a chance to meet others who are going through or have gone through what they are experiencing and truly understand. No one can understand the way another truly feels unless they too have gone through the same thing. [This message has been edited by DawnG (12-13-2002 11:17 PM).] |
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| © Copyright 2002 Dawn - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Munda Member Elite
since 1999-10-08
Posts 3544The Hague, The Netherlands |
Hi Dawn, I really enjoyed reading your story and the inside it gave in your world. High time we finish that "duet" uh?  |
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