Summer
Wow.
Summer is pretty much over for me. I leave in a few days for college and I can't wait. I have a lot of cleaning and a lot of packing yet to do, and I still have to write thank you notes for graduation. Oops. It's a lot to do in a small while, but I think with a few late nights and a couple of coffees, I just might be able to pull it off.
So, how was my summer, you ask?
Fucking amazing.
Breath-taking.
Awe-inspiring.
Accomplishing.
Words can't describe what I experienced this summer. I grew so much in so many ways, and I didn't even realize it until I was with people I hadn't seen in a long while. I felt like I was glowing. I feel like a completely new person. Many a times I saw myself from the outside and I was happy with who I was, who I am becoming, and who I will turn out to be. I have a lot of rebuilding to do, a lot of rediscovering, a lot of uncovering. And I have the perfect environment to do it in, because I will be with people who don't know the old me, and I can't wait to let the new me shine and will it ever shine brightly.
I am ready to be on my own, to make my own decisions, to actually feel like I'm doing what I want to do, and not what other people feel like I should be doing.
Northwoods was amazing, and I have never felt so sure about something until I was back up in the barn last June. I met so many people that I will never forget, and I can honestly say that I only cried enough times to count on one hand. And it is because I am genuinely happy, I am genuinely satisfied with where I was and what I was doing. Sure, there were things I could have done differently, but I did what I did and I don't regret anything. Sure, there were people I wasn't particularly fond of, but I'm not going to let another person decide when I am done at Northwoods. My time there is nowhere near a close, and I feel I will carry the Thunderbird spirit with me to my grave.
Music camp was a completely new experience. I put myself in to a position I wasn't sure would fit, but it did and I am happy with how it turned out. I helped plan morning worship and campfire everyday. I knew I could do campfire, no problem, but I wasn't sure how worship would jive with me. But I felt a tug to do it, and I did, and I am so thankful I followed that tug. And in all honesty, I didn't feel completely ready to dive in to camp and interact with the campers until Saturday, our very last day, and I was sad to say goodbye. It was a hard transition to go from Northwoods straight to Music Camp, but I would do it again because both places, both camps, mean so much to me, and I now know what to expect and how to prepare.
What was even more amazing than Music Camp was what came after. Melissa, Katie, Beth, Jeremy and I all headed to Duluth and crashed at Melissa's for a weekend. We spent many hours on a rock by the shore of Superior, continuing the Leadership spirit with Boundary Breakers and learning even more about each other. We took many naps, had many laughs, built a fort or two, bowled a couple games, and just had good, plain fun. It was exactly what I needed with exactly the right people in exactly the right place.
I know this is a long post, but it was a long summer, and I can't believe it's coming to a close. I am fully ready to start a new chapter, however, and I am thankful for each and every person who came in to my life this summer. I gained a new family or two, I'm falling in love with an amazing person who I have yet to tell, and I am off to a beautiful city to study beautiful music.
I am happy.
Summer is pretty much over for me. I leave in a few days for college and I can't wait. I have a lot of cleaning and a lot of packing yet to do, and I still have to write thank you notes for graduation. Oops. It's a lot to do in a small while, but I think with a few late nights and a couple of coffees, I just might be able to pull it off.
So, how was my summer, you ask?
Fucking amazing.
Breath-taking.
Awe-inspiring.
Accomplishing.
Words can't describe what I experienced this summer. I grew so much in so many ways, and I didn't even realize it until I was with people I hadn't seen in a long while. I felt like I was glowing. I feel like a completely new person. Many a times I saw myself from the outside and I was happy with who I was, who I am becoming, and who I will turn out to be. I have a lot of rebuilding to do, a lot of rediscovering, a lot of uncovering. And I have the perfect environment to do it in, because I will be with people who don't know the old me, and I can't wait to let the new me shine and will it ever shine brightly.
I am ready to be on my own, to make my own decisions, to actually feel like I'm doing what I want to do, and not what other people feel like I should be doing.
Northwoods was amazing, and I have never felt so sure about something until I was back up in the barn last June. I met so many people that I will never forget, and I can honestly say that I only cried enough times to count on one hand. And it is because I am genuinely happy, I am genuinely satisfied with where I was and what I was doing. Sure, there were things I could have done differently, but I did what I did and I don't regret anything. Sure, there were people I wasn't particularly fond of, but I'm not going to let another person decide when I am done at Northwoods. My time there is nowhere near a close, and I feel I will carry the Thunderbird spirit with me to my grave.
Music camp was a completely new experience. I put myself in to a position I wasn't sure would fit, but it did and I am happy with how it turned out. I helped plan morning worship and campfire everyday. I knew I could do campfire, no problem, but I wasn't sure how worship would jive with me. But I felt a tug to do it, and I did, and I am so thankful I followed that tug. And in all honesty, I didn't feel completely ready to dive in to camp and interact with the campers until Saturday, our very last day, and I was sad to say goodbye. It was a hard transition to go from Northwoods straight to Music Camp, but I would do it again because both places, both camps, mean so much to me, and I now know what to expect and how to prepare.
What was even more amazing than Music Camp was what came after. Melissa, Katie, Beth, Jeremy and I all headed to Duluth and crashed at Melissa's for a weekend. We spent many hours on a rock by the shore of Superior, continuing the Leadership spirit with Boundary Breakers and learning even more about each other. We took many naps, had many laughs, built a fort or two, bowled a couple games, and just had good, plain fun. It was exactly what I needed with exactly the right people in exactly the right place.
I know this is a long post, but it was a long summer, and I can't believe it's coming to a close. I am fully ready to start a new chapter, however, and I am thankful for each and every person who came in to my life this summer. I gained a new family or two, I'm falling in love with an amazing person who I have yet to tell, and I am off to a beautiful city to study beautiful music.
I am happy.