I don't like to use the term disabled anymorebecause I'm able to do a lot despite my condition. I want to tell anyone with physical or mental challenges to don't give up..ever.
Last week, I went to Wonderland Camp and as always, I had a
blast! I saw my old friends: Michelle, Victoria, Alena, Jason, Kortney, Taylor,
Kristie, Jeff, Ben, Brad, Dustin, Kayla S., Kayla W., Mary, and Morgan. I also
made some new friends: Jeffrey, Brittany, Mandi, “Herbie”, Crystal, and Sara.
On Sunday, We had a pool party. It was ice cold but Kortney and I went in
anyway. Herbie and Michelle were so sweet and tried not to let us get too
chilled. The camp wasn’t as busy with people as before but it still had the
welcoming feeling that I love. I was so happy to be back.
On Monday morning, it was very stormy. I was watching the
rain and in my Edward Cullen loving mind, the camp reminded me of cloudy Forks
like in Twilight, which was sort of cool. What can I say? I have a vivid
imagination and I love those books. For the most of that morning after
breakfast, people napped but Kortney and I had our own fun, talking and
coloring.
Later that day, the sun finally came out and we went to
Crafts. We tie-dyed our shirts. My shirt had a splattered design. Michelle
splashed every color on my shirt with her hand. It looked so cool and unique. Then
that afternoon, my cabin hung out in the tree house. I love it up there.
Because it’s so high, it always feels like I’m flying and the view is incredible.
Listening to music, we played Truth or Dare and other games. We even ate dinner
up there. We all had a relaxing time.
For the evening activity, we had a movie night. My cabin
went to the movie with our pajamas on and I put soda in my water bottle so I
had something sweet to drink. We watched “Night at the Museum”. I’ve watched that movie a dozen of times
(most times probably at camp) but it was cute. After the movie, my cabin went
on a scavenger hunt to get our snack. It was quite an adventure. Who knew that
camp could get that dark? Using our flashlights, we went all over camp up to
the tree house. Kortney got lost in the dark once and laughing, I lit a path
for her with my flashlight.
On Tuesday morning after breakfast, we had pool time. Kortney
and I just laid our chairs back and tanned by the pool. The sun was warm and
soothing while we sipped on drinks (me with my remaining coffee and Kortney
with her Dr. Pepper). Later that day, we had Rec and Crafts. In Crafts, we had
a choice of making scarecrow, or a snowman, or a ghost (because that week’s
theme was “all holidays”). I chose to make a ghost and Kayla S. helped me. I
drew a scary face on it, which made Kayla and I laugh. In Rec, we had mummy
races. We got wrapped with toilet paper and we had to run across the field. It
was so funny. Some paper fell over my eyes and I had to tear it off of my face
while I was racing. Then after the race, we just played soccer.
During the evening, it was karaoke. Everyone was excited to
sing. I sang Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”. Then I danced and hung out with
friends. There was also people dressed
as clowns outside, face painting and making balloon animals. Michelle got me a purple
balloon dog. It was a fun night.
On Wednesday morning, we took a hayride through the woods,
down to the water front. At the water
front, we rode the boat and as always, the bouncy waves rocked me to sleep on
Kortney’s shoulder. Later that day, Michelle and I hung out in the game room
and listened to the jukebox. We were singing and acting goofy.
Then that evening, the talent show started. Brad was
hilarious when he pumped up the crowd. It was impossible not to cheer or smile.
In the show, there were a lot of hysterical, adorable skits, where a camper ‘married’
a counselor and Brad conducted ‘the ceremony’. (I wish that I’d thought of that
a couple of years ago, lol). For my
talent, I sang Britney Spears’ “Lucky”. I also sang Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus,
Take the wheel” with Sara and Crystal. The
talent shows are always entertaining.
On Thursday morning, we just hung out mainly. During
breakfast, they told me that I had a “surprise” coming. I had a hunch that Joe
was visiting but they wouldn’t tell me until lunchtime. He got there at nap
time while I was hanging out outside. I was thrilled to see him! I gave him a
big hug, dropping my pen and journal that I was holding. Brittany and Kortney were laughing because I
couldn’t stop smiling. We talked throughout nap time and he had everyone
outside cracking up. He stayed for dinner and of course for the dance.
For the dance, I wore a black and white top, my favorite
pair of skinny jeans, my favorite pair of black shoes, and I had my hair spiked.
When the dance finally started, Joe drove me to the dining hall. He spun me in
circles, the colors of the bright lights blurring together and my stomach being
tickled from the inside. Singing, he also
took me out of my chair and danced with me, which was awesome! I was grinning
from ear to ear. I’ll never forget it. I spent the whole night with him. The
night was downright amazing!!
On Friday, it was bittersweet. Even though I was exhausted,
I didn’t really want to leave. The week had been such fun and it was great to
see my friends. I didn’t want it to end but I knew that Wonderland Camp will
always be there for me to make more memories. I’ll be back in the fall and new stories
will be told.
I've been a fan of Glee since January and I was truly sad to read that Cory Monteith, who played Finn on the show, had passed away. He was a good singer and actor. Also, he seemed like a cool, nice guy on all the interviews that I've seen. I really hope that the media won't taint his memory with lies; have some respect for his family, friends, and fans. All Gleeks will miss him.
Last week, I went to Wonderland Camp and it was such fun. I
saw my old friends: Faith, Dustin, Alena, Angie, Michelle, Justin, Austin,
Chris, JJ, Kortney, and Jason. I met new friends too: Brandi, Chelsea, Taylor,
Josh, Brad, and Megan. My friend Scott also came to visit me for a
day on Sunday and I was very excited. It was so, so, so nice to see him again!!
He gave me a cool looking hat that had my name on it, which I wore the rest of
the week. On Sunday, we had a pool party but it felt like swimming in ice water
so I hung out at the campfire. First days at camp always make me so happy. It’s
like a welcoming party at my second home.
On Monday, after a long and winding walk to the water front,
we rode the boat. At first, Kortney and I were giggling and joking. Then,
because the waves were so relaxing, we fell asleep on each other’s shoulders.
Later, in Music, we played musical squares (like musical chairs) and we
pretended that we were in the jungle. Then, Crafts, we tie-dyed our shirts. My
shirt was blue and red, attempting to make purple (the attempt failed but the
shirt was still cool).
After dinner, that
evening, we had karaoke night. While Chelsea held the microphone, I sang
Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”. It was great! I also danced and hung out with
friends. As a joke, Brad took my hat and Kortney, JJ, Josh, and I chased him
around. It was so funny.
On Tuesday morning, we had pool time. Kortney and I went to
the splash pad, Wonderland’s mini water park. There were all kinds of sprinklers
of all sizes everywhere. Someone would run with us through the water and we
loved it! After hours of complete fun, it was rest time. I sat outside with
Faith, talked, wrote in my journal, and watched people. I love watching the
activity around camp at quiet time; watching people play basketball, laugh and
walk around, or go in and out of their cabins. It makes me smile for some odd
reason.
Later, in Crafts, we
made paper monkeys. The monkeys supposed to hang on doorknobs and they were
sort of cute. In Rec, we played an
ice-breaker game. We got in a circle and threw a ball to each other. If the
ball came to you, you had to say your name and something that you like. I said:
“My name is Lena and I like Peter Pan.” (That’s all that I could think of at
the time). After dinner, it was the
carnival. There were games, prizes, face painting, and snow cones. Even though
it was extremely hot outside, I had a blast!
On Wednesday, in Music, we had talent show practice. I could
already tell that the talent show would be fun later. For Nature, we had a
scavenger hunt. We ran all over camp looking for things, which was amusing. We
also got to pet a turtle at the field and it was adorable. Later, we had pool
time. I went to the splash pad for a while and then hung out with Faith at the
cabin.
After dinner, the talent show began. For our group talent,
we did the “Cha Cha Slide”, which was hilarious. For my individual talent, I
sang Britney Spears’ “Oops, I Did It Again.” All of the talents were
entertaining. Every time that a good song came on, everyone in audience would
get up, dance, and sing along. It felt more like an actual concert than a camp
talent show. It was wonderful.
Before bed, Kortney, Faith, and I laid back and looked up at
the magnificent stars. It was such a pretty night. The three of us just
relaxed, talked, and made wishes on the stars. It was a good ending to the day.
On Thursday, Faith and I hung out in the game room for most
of the day. We were playing our favorite songs and playing video games but it
wasn’t until that afternoon that I got the most awesome surprise ever this summer!!
Everyone was waking up from their rest. I was debating whether I wanted to go
to Beauty Shop or not, since Faith did my hair and nails during rest time, when
Angie burst in the door, saying, “Can I borrow Lena?” Then, she drove me
outside without another word. I barely had time to put on shoes (I think that
Chelsea only got to put one shoe on me). A group of my friends were outside,
including Mary, Morgan, and Lois. They all had goofy smiles on their faces.
Having no clue what was going on, I just said hi. I saw someone crouching
behind Lois but I couldn’t see who it was at first. Then, that someone stood up and walked towards
me with a grin. It was Joe!!! I let out the loudest, happy squeal that I’m
pretty sure that the whole camp could hear. I hadn’t seen him in two years so I
was beyond ecstatic. Being unable to say
anything besides hi at that moment, I just hugged him. It was awesome seeing
him. He then told me that he was staying for the dance, which made JJ and me delighted.
Joe came with us to Beauty Shop and I asked him to drive me (like old times).
Even though I went to Beauty Shop, I really just talked to Joe (I was planning
to put on my make-up after dinner anyway). We talked about random stuff and he
had me laughing as always. He also knew the words to “Lucky”, my favorite
Britney Spears song, which I thought was so sweet. He then went to his car for
a minute to get something and when he came back, he had something silver in his
hand. It was his chain necklace. It had a cross and a tag that had a beautiful
Bible verse on it. He wore it at boot camp and now he was giving it to me. It
felt so cool that I was the one that he was giving his necklace to.
Later on, the dance began. I wore a lacy, blue shirt, my
favorite pair of skinny jeans, my black shoes, black nail polish, blue eye shadow,
and black mascara and eyeliner. My hair was also very spiked. I truly felt like
a rock star! I danced with Joe and other friends. I got out of my chair more
than once. I was having a blast, dancing and acting silly. All I could see were
spinning lights and smiles. It was impossible not to feel jovial. I was even more on cloud nine when Joe told me
that he might volunteer in August. Everything was perfect. After the dance, he drove my chair on high
speed to my cabin. We beat Kortney. It was an hour before JJ and me went in our
cabins. I don’t know how many times I hugged him bye. I just was so happy that
he came and I’ll admit it, I was very hyper from the dance too. We finally said
bye to Joe and went to bed. I’ll never forget that day; best time ever!!!!!!!
On Friday, the bittersweet day, everyone was packed and
wearing their camp shirts. People were signing each other’s shirts and hugging.
I got the Bundle O’ Fun Award for always being happy. Last week was so special
to me. I saw old friends and met some great new ones. The whole week was one,
big, fun adventure where anything could happen. I can’t wait to go back to my
secondary home.
The other day, I was talking to my mom about what old movies
that I would love to be remade and one
of those movies is Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth”. It’s a fantasy movie and with
today’s technology, along with the classic Henson style, it would be cool. Mom
thinks that it’s crazy but I think that Adam Lambert would be awesome as the
Goblin King as well. David Bowie played that part in the original movie and he
was outlandish and sang amazingly. Adam is a very outlandish performer and has
an astounding voice. He would be perfect. Come on Brian Henson , this would be
incredible!
Also, looking at creepy drawings of Alice on Flickr one day, I was talking to
my friend Peter about how “Alice in Wonderland” would be a good horror movie if
it was done right. I think that the majority of fairy tales shouldn’t be changed into something evil or dark at all but Alice could work. When you think about
it, some of the themes in the books are sort of dark anyway like people getting
beheaded.
In a world so harsh, so cruel, it’s so easy to give up.
Another news story always seem like another tragedy but I believe in the light.
Let’s just hope, just smile, just show kindness to one another.
My prayers and thoughts are with the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.
I realize how lucky I am to have such awesome family and
friends. I realize that not everyone has angels on Earth to protect them and
that God has truly blessed me. I find the beauty, the magic in our laughter, in
our obstacles. Nothing can break me as long as love and understanding surrounds
me.
