One Dog Year

Four score and seven years again in 2010 my parents came to me with the chance to travel across the country and go to camp. At first I refused because I thought my life was fulfilled and I had everything figured out…….I was 8 at the time. Also where is Eagle River? Little did I know Marimeta would fill a hole in my heart I didn’t know existed.

Flash forward to the 2016 Mari Meta Captain Announcement. As my name was called everyone kept telling me how confused I looked. But it wasn’t confusion it was astonishment. I mean, in just 7 years; yes one dog year, I have gone from the girl who cried every night of her first summer to someone in charge of an entire team. This is just a glimpse of how much I have grown at camp.

Like any tree, shrub, or caterpillar; growth is essential to live life to its fullest. With Marimeta, not only have I grown in height, but also in confidence, independence and strength of character. These are lessons no book or teacher could have ever of taught me.

As the wise poet Hannah Montana once said once wrote: “Life’s a climb but the view is great.” Nothing ever said could be more true. Because even though I’m not done with my climb just yet, the view I’ve had for the past four weeks of my team smiling and cheering behind me has been pretty great!

And once I was named captain, I had to break from my own climb to help my team with theirs. This has shown me that working alongside my team is bigger than capturing any flag, scoring any goal, stalking any lantern or even attempting to dance in any MTV. It’s about the pride you have in your team through thick and thin.

Of course my growth, my climb or this final view tonight could not have been achieved without the support of many different people, and to all them I am eternally grateful!