This is something I wrote when I got back from camp, to tell all my friends what the experience was like; kind of like what Taylor did..
Just thought I'd share.
"I was reluctant to go to Mt. Adams leadership camp, as some of you know. I was dreading the day where I'd have to leave my cell phone, my computer, and my zune behind to be shipped six hours away and put into a cabin with 23 other guys i did not know. It was all worth it.
Imagine the perfect world, or the perfect school. Every person around is willing to help you with whatever you need. Every person around is willing to hug you when you need it, be your shoulder when you need to cry. You could wave, shake hands with, or hug every person around, and they would do the same right back to you with matching sincerity and love. You could be crazy around anyone, and they wouldn't judge you. You could wear whatever you wanted to wear, or do whatever you wanted to do, and they would love you just the same.
The main theme of camp was love. You may not like every person, but you have to love them. Love is not something you feel, it's something you do. You have to love everyone, even of you don't feel like.
At camp, I learned how to be a good leader and class president, how to run meetings, how to plan effective assemblies, all of that good technical stuff. But I learned so much more.
First, and probably the most important thing, I learned so much about some of my fellow schoolmates. The 12 of us from Oak Harbor grew so much together, and we got so close as a group. It's really going to help our school next year, the fact that we all know we have each other's back, and the fact that we've learned the same things and want to share that with the whole school. Sure, everyone says, on't judge a book by it's cover,' but I learned the meaning of that from the girls. Every person has a story; every person is the way they are because of something, and you shouldn't even consider thinking of them in any different way until you know the whole story.
Here's something you might or might not know about me: I am very self conscious. At camp, I rarely looked in the mirror. The only time I did was when I was brushing my teeth or something. I didn't notice this until one of the last days when I actually did look in the mirror. I felt so comfortable with myself and the people around me that I didn't care about how I looked; I knew the people around me were going to appreciate me for who I was, and not how I looked or anything. That's a great feeling, trust me.
So here's where it gets hard. Mt. Adams was an incredible place, yes. But it's my duty, and the everone else's duty, to make our school just like Mt. Adams. You may not have went, but I'm sure, if you're around any of the 12 of us that went, you'll notice something different. That something different, is the something that we need to bring to the school. It's going to take a while, and it won't be easy, but it's simple. Something John Norlin told us: It's simple, yes. but not easy.
Every waterfall starts with one drop.
The smallest thing you can do can affect someone in the biggest way. For instance, the nasty look you gave someone walking down the hall may be the one thing keeping that person from expressing their ideas and changing the world. However, the smile and wave and 'How's it going' you gave to the same person could be the one thing that pushes that person to speak up, and changing the world.
So it's up to you, to break out of your comfort zone, and say 'hi' to someone you've always seen, but never spoken to.
Personally, I want to work on letting the people I appreciate know how much I appreciate them. I'm going to try to compliment more people every day.
And I challenge everyone who read this whole thing, to do the same. Make a goal for yourself. You can change the world. I know I'm going to. "
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