I've Been Changed, Again

Today was the last day of camp at Sunrise Day Camp.  It truly was an exhausting and yet rejuvenating experience for me this summer.  Not only was I struggling to take all of my classes and do my internship I found myself working harder than I have ever worked at a summer camp - and I have to say I truly enjoyed it.

As a teacher I know in my heart of hearts that I have made a difference in some of my students' lives.  Sometimes its evident as while they are still in school or when they graduate but most often its not until years later that I discover something I did made an impact on them that caused them to follow a certain path, a path they had never contemplated until they took class with me.

This summer I was able to see in a very brief time that I had made an impact on some of the campers lives.  They may never remember my name and as I get older I may not remember theirs but I'll remember their faces and the looks on those faces as they accomplished new things this summer.  Its not every day an educator gets that kind of immediate feedback.  Its one of the things that I love (and miss) about being a performer - the applause, the immediate knowledge that what you did was appreciated.

This summer at sunrise I didn't get that kind of accolades but the hugs I got from some of the kids as they left from the last roundup at the hub said it all - they appreciated what I did and I felt the same towards them.  No, they're not my ACT kids, but some of them came awful close.

I saw many kids this summer who struggled under incredible loads of baggage brought about because of this disease and the effects it had on their families.  For some of the kids, they were the ones fighting the disease.  For some of the kids, they were witnesses to the effects it had on their own siblings.  Either way, it takes an emotional and psychic toll on these kids.  For the most part they bear it well and do their best to make sense of a maddened world in which this disease still ravages families.  But because of their time at Sunrise working with all of those selfless councilors and my fellow specialists they were able to just be kids for a while and forget about dealing with the disease and just have fun playing, having fun and learning new skills.

Watching thier bravery made me realize that no matter how tiring or exhausting my life may be or how overwhelmed I get by life, its nothing campared to these brave kids.  They have become my heroes, they are my examples of how to embrace life.  And as a result, I have been changed again, I hope for good.

	wicked Soundtrack - Wicked The Musical - For Good .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Take care of yourselves, stay well and with any luck I will see you soon on the road!