Experiences

Life is about experiences.
Of course, university degrees, prestigious jobs, and social status all count towards those experiences, but too often the two parties are believed to be equal and interchangeable.

I myself, for one, often have this mindset that what I do defines the kind of person I am. I often think in terms of 'If...Ill be able to...' as opposed to "Because...I'm able to..." (the cause/effect relationship) One classic example includes "if I volunteer at the hospital, I'll be able to have a better resume on my med school application". Easter Seals is beginning to make me think more in the latter mindset. It's not what kind of activities I do that matters, but what I learn from doing those activities, and how I allow those to shape the ways I view myself and others.

This blog has taken a while to write, simply because lots have happened during the past week that I didnt know where to begin. However, to follow through with the title,

Experience #1 - Campers' personal care
I went into the position of a cabin counsellor knowing that I will be expected to provide personal care for all campers, but I definitely didn't expect to gather so much information, the dos and don't's, of anything from lifting/transfering (ie. from wheelchair to bed) to changing attends to feeding to recording BM charts. The overwhelming aspect was not the theory but the practical sessions - when we actually tried to practice the different categories of care (well, most of them anyway=b) on each other. Maybe it's because I've seldomly been involved in personal care, but doing everyday tasks on someone else definitely is quite different than performing them myself. Having people practice on me also helped me to experience from a camper's perspective, and realize the small things to do to make someone more comfortable (ie. not clench someone's wrists during a lift)

Experience #2 - First impressions (and their lack of accuracy)
I've always been horrible with first impressions - this was no different. As much as I try to avoid it, I assign somewhat of a stereotype to a person about 10 minutes after meeting and talking to them, which will likely to change within several days. The problem though, is I tend to allow these personality labels stick, and thus almost 'give up' when it came to socializing with those whom I thought I disliked. I both love and hate the fact that people don't turn out the way I thought they'd be, although times it's for the better (ie. this incredibly sarcastic guy is actually quite serious and insightful).

Experience #3 - Comfort Zones
I remember the themes for WAY's Winter Retreat 2 years ago (mainly because I led one of the Bible studies=b) was getting out of your comfort zone. I've always seen myself as someone who has minimal trouble doing so - I'm usually not afraid to try new things and meet new people. When it came to meeting 70+ new staff that's made up of tons of interesting people, but mostly none that shared my top priorities, I crawled under my old comfort blanket. It felt like frosh week all over again, although even with Frosh week I felt that I was surrounded by people who shared many of my interests. It's hard to explain - sometimes two people just 'click' when they meet and gets along incredibly well right from the beginning, and sometimes it takes a while for that 'click' to occur. To be honest, I have yet to experience either of those, despite the fact the staff is a group of amazing people. I think I've tried quite hard this past week already to open up more of myself, something I don't often do with people that I don't know too well. I really wish that my comfort zone has expanded to the point where I can let people know exactly what my thoughts are right from the beginning, without the fear of being judged.

Experience #4 - Empathy & compassion
Though camp hasn't officially started yet, I don't think I can do my job without these two traits. By empathy, I don't mean saying ' you must be quite hurt' to a kid that has just fallen from his wheelchair, but making someone feel that I've given them my 104010% attention and are going through the exact emotions myself. By compassion, I don't mean help the campers out of pity, but help them dress, move from one area to another, because I genuinely wish to serve.
These two things are definitely what I lack at this moment and need God to provide. Without them, there's absolutely no way I can last through this summer.

Experience #5 - Adventures
For those of you who don't have Facebook, I just posted a video of me falling from a 70-ft swing at the camp, which is also equipped with a high ropes course. Simply put - I loved every moment of it - the feeling of wind on my face as I rose after my descent, the feeling of freedom as I was in the air, mixed with the assurance that my chest and waist harnesses will prevent me from plunging head-first into the ground. Like I said, if I were to choose a superpower, it would definitely be flying.=)
I also got to try a pottery wheel for the first time. It's always seemed easy in the hands of professionals...but I never realized the difficulty of maintaining an even opening and pushing the slippery clay upwards with my hands. Unfortunately my 'vase' collapsed near the end of the session=(
During free time, there were volleyball, soccer, water polo, badminton, and even DDR.=b I'm not particulary great with volleyball, but it was neverthless fun to play in a non-competitive environment. Badminton's another story - Wilson racquets and a flimsy outdoor net simply do not do justice to my badminton passion=b For the longest time ever too I've been frustrated too with people who think they know the game like the back of their hand when the reality shows the opposite.

Experience #6 - Eccentric personalities
We have staff that came from the Northwest Territories, England, France, the States, and Australia. We also had a staff who flushed people's clothing down the toilet because she was angry at not being allowed to go to the pool, not to mention she also drank from people's water bottles, and stole ipods and cellphones. Needless to say, she was soon fired.
We have staff who are proud of their sexual preferences. We have staff who can play just about any song that we request on guitar. We have staff entering grade 12 and staff going into grad school. We have staff with the most distinctive laugh ever, and staff who can dance in 'sign language' to justin timberlake.

I think these covered the major areas...but seeing the time, there are probably lots of things that I forgot at this moment=b.

Overall, I would think this past week was a valuable learning experience...I wouldn't call it the best week of my life, because there were many areas that I had hoped for the better. If anything, my staff cabin is definitely a damper. Long story short, I didn't get placed with the person I had requested, and instead was placed in a cabin on the edge of the field with 8 others, with no showers and cobwebs everywhere. At least the only time I'd spend in that cabin is probably the 6 hours that I sleep there.
Nevertheless, when both are weighed, the positive still by far outweighs the negative. After all, how many people can say that they've been woken up by wild turkeys pecking at the door?=)

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