It’s the summer after my freshman year, so maybe you’re thinking that I would be chilling at home watching Netflix all day for three months. Well, you couldn’t be more wrong! Since we got out of school in May, I’ve been very busy, and I want to tell you guys all about it!
All of the Troy Camp 2017 campers and counselors!
The main focus of Summer ’17 for me is research, but I want to talk about that more specifically in another blog. Here, I want to talk about the beginning of my summer: CAMP! I’m a counselor in a student organization called Troy Camp, which you can read about in another one of my blogs here. Through this org, we take about 200 students from the area surrounding USC to summer camp every year for free. I was lucky enough to be selected as a cabin counselor for 5th grade girls this year! The week we had up in Idyllwild Pines Camp was one of the most magical of my life, and I’ll write a few of the highlights.
My cabin!
On the first day of camp, my 10 campers hopped off the buses with the biggest smiles on their faces. My co-counselor and I greeted them with our camp names (mine is Q-min, don’t ask), never revealing our real names until the last campfire ceremony. On day one I realized that this was a high energy group. From then on we had several dance parties, fueled by Shawn Mendes, glow sticks, and pillow fights. We conquered fears from horse back riding to camping to jumping off the diving board at the pool. My campers ate s’mores, slept in tents, and hiked all for the first time. For some of them, this was the first time they had left their parents overnight and we dealt with a little homesickness, but they were grateful of the experience after it was over.
One of my campers on her horse
Outcamp, a special camping night for the 5th graders only
When it came to the last campfire, we sang a camp song together and we revealed our real names. Most of my girls cried, and so did I. We didn’t know each other 6 days previously, but we had become a little family at camp. The cool thing about Troy Camp is that I get to see them again! Every month during the 2017-2018 school year we will meet up to go places like the aquarium, Disneyland, and the beach. I’m so excited to see them soon, and I’m so grateful for this awesome experience!
My cabin at the last campfire
If you go to USC or are thinking about coming here, look into joining Troy Camp! There is more information on our website. Also, just look into service in general because it feels so nice to give back to the USC area and it’s unbelievably amazing residents. You won’t regret it.
Have an awesome summer!
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