Dearest Journal

I'm finally ready.
6 days. 7 dorms. 266 delegates. One million bugs. Endless smiles. Relentless laughter. (Can laughter be relentless? Hm.) Countless relationships.
After two and a half years of mingling curiosity, interest, anticipation, and even a little doubt I experienced Mt. Adams Leadership Camp with probably the most cohesive and promising of ASB teams. Without sounding completely cliche, I believe that camp truly changed my whole outlook on the rest of the world. The atmosphere was so surreal and the concepts and values they taught there were so simple-- something so common sense and realistic-- yet extremely impacting. "A waterfall starts with one drop". Out of context of camp, I would first read that phrase with sketicism. Come on, a waterfall starts with one drop. Ehhh?... And?
I'll tell you what the "and" is the and is what creates leaders in our world, the champions, the olympians, the mothers, the fathers, the love that makes you do crazy things like jump on Oprah's sofa. Something as simple as acknowledging a person with a "hello" has changed people's lives and has saved lives. With even one saved life, that's just another stream to that waterfall that will multiply and mutiply. The analogy that comes to mind is the spread of STD's, although of a much different connotation and seriousness. Perhaps my "hellos" will bring out the leader in that shy freshman, future-president of Key Club, or perhaps my "hellos" will simply put a smile on someone's face, even if for just that moment. I wish that my "hellos" had the magical power of enhancing test performances. Heck, maybe they do! I have to try it out.
That's probably what I most loved about camp-- it reminded me to keep trying, it awoke what I know I have inside myself, and it motivated me to take action. No matter the calibur, number of failures, or criticism I receive, I have Mt. Adams backing me the entire way. I'll never forget thinking during John Norlin's inspiring speech, that I would go home and tell the ones who have impacted my life so greatly how much I appreciate them. And I did just that. It's easy to overlook, but we really don't give acknowledgement to those we love and care for the most. I think it's almost human nature. As long as we remember once in a while, we'll be alright.
What makes me smile tremendously, is the joy at having many new friends who have experienced the same relic. The first day, in councils, I remember already judging each person by the way they dressed or talked. It's was completely unconscious-- I didn't realized I did that until the 5th day of camp. Then, when the 13 of us found ourselves squeezing onto a 3 ft by 3ft platform in the challenge course, something weird happened. We were all insanely closer. I instantly liked each of them for their quirky personalities, their reactions, and even their faults. In an everyday situation I know I wouldn't have been that close of friends with such a diverse group of leaders. That's what Mt. Adams does, it makes the important things possible. I knew then that what Hazen needed to be successful was just a communal blindness to pre-conceived judgements and a willingness to listen, to get to know one another. No, we don't all have to be friends and we know we're not all going to be, but respect should be ubiquitous.
And after all this, I'm not blind to the realistic world. If anything, Adams taught me to be realistic. Stop this heeby jeebiness about meeting certain standards to fit in, be liked by certain people in order to like myself, etc. They are not true.
I know after a while, some of the sheen will rub off and I will falter to old ways, to believing in the lies, but that's part of life. Things won't ever be perfect, I won't always be happy.
If you have the chance, find a way to get to this camp. It's impossible to "encapsulate" in one blog post as you can imagine, and everyone deserves this experience.