be somebody

I was just stalking myself on facebook (don't judge me. you know you do it) when I came across one of my albums from my Freshman year at State. The album is titled "Punk". Okay now anyone who knows me or has even glanced towards my general direction knows that I am the farthest person away from punk you may ever meet. With my bright, almost blinding, colors I wear on a daily basis, the music I listen to, or my crazy demeanor, one could describe me as bubbly, bright, or maybe even obnoxious...

So I got to thinking about what we do to cover up our true personalities...I know that we all go through stages ...I've been through a Goth faze, a Punk faze, a Prep faze...thank God I'm finally in a stage that I actually think is right (even though I am insecure at times)... but what is it about changing ourselves that is so... attractive?


Our clothes, our hair, our make-up, our music choices, our bodies; I feel as though we as a society are always trying to strive for something that isn't true to ourselves. Searching for something that will make us happy has become a past time for most people. And let's be honest, that's like searching for a needle in a haystack.

I spend my summers with the most amazing people ever. Camp Hope is for people with developmental disabilities looking for a week away from this material world I speak of. To come to a place where they can be who they are and no one will ask any questions about it. To come to a place where no one will stare at them or laugh at them because of their personality quirks that we as counselors love so much. To come to a place where they can just...BE. Every summer I work there I cherish, because every summer I learn that its okay to be me. The campers that I serve during the summer have a hard life...people look down on them because they might not be as smart as a "normal" human being is expected to be... or they may act a different way that may be deemed inappropriate in "normal" terms. But that doesn't stop them. Everyday is a joyous day to be the person that they are. My campers embrace themselves and embrace life EVERY DAY. Every day "normal" people run away from themselves...put on different masks around different people...try to conform to the "status-quo"... They run away...But not my campers. They run towards. They are who they are and that's all that matters...Isn't that just beautiful friends?

This was my second summer working at Camp Hope, and this summer I learned so much about myself from watching my campers. I really learned that I could be somebody. An amazing somebody. A somebody that I just may want to be for the rest of my life. I'm putting my campers ideals into action in my own life...from now on its time to embrace my personality, my crazy-silly-hyper personality. Its time to embrace my body, my not-so-perfect body. Its time to just...

BE

to embrace life. to run towards.