It's now May, the sun has finally began to shine, and camp is now feeling oh so close. It is now just 30 days until I'm on that plane to the US of A for my second time with Camp Leaders. The contract has been signed, the flights are booked and the visa has been approved - all that's left to do is pack!
Now, bit of a throwback to this time 2 years ago when I was still a camp 'bambi' and going to camp for the first time. I was completing my first set of university exams, I was 'sans beard' and Middlesbrough were still in the Championship (up the Boro!). I am now a little older and (arguably) wiser.
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| Not quite camp related but Boro getting promoted was certainly a big change! |
Now that camp is so close it feels rather odd. Coupled with going back to camp is the end of my work placement. For those who don't know, I'm currently on a 1 year internship within the Commercial Baking division of a well known UK bank. My role within the bank is a Change Analyst. In non 'business bullsh*t' terms, I am working on a programme which is going to change my element of the bank. Given I work within change, and always seeking to move forward and improve, you would expect me to be the same with my personal life. Whilst I'm absolutely mad excited about camp, the flip side is that my placement will be coming to an end. Whilst it's not quite lifeguarding in the sun all day, my placement was still a fantastic experience and I will genuinely miss it. But, that's change, that's life, and as the door of the placement closes, the door of camp opens...
Now two years have passed, and I'm ready head back to camp for the second time, the e xcitement is still there. My other job in those two years was with Camp Leaders, doing marketing and interviews - aiming to change even more lives through Camp Leaders. Smaller Earth, Camp Leaders's parent company, are aiming to change the lives of 20 million people by 2020 (see smallerearthgroup.com for how they aim to do that). Working with Camp Leaders / Smaller Earth has made me realise ho w much I do miss camp though. Talking about camp for a living has been great - and one of the reasons Camp Leaders does so well is that we all believe camp is the best thing in the world. Me included - hence why I leapt on the change to return to camp.
One thing hasn't changed though. My nerves. First time around was the fear of the unknown. I had never travelled solo before, never been away from home for that long, never worked with kids like that before... 2 years on, without being complacent, I'm over that. My new nervousness though now, is, what happens if camp, well, doesn't live up to expectations... What happens if camp wasn't what I remembered... This is genuinely my biggest worry about returning to camp. I've bigged this up so much so there is a hell of a lot to live up to.
It still all comes down to that word though. Change.
Yes, I may get sentimental about the past, or fearful about the future. But if we don't take risks in life and make a change, we stay still, we don't improve, and well, it makes life boring...
I recently spoke to a friend who withdrew his application - citing he thought he would be away for too long, and worried he wouldn't be good enough.
I took a big risk applying to camp in 2014. It payed off beyond my expectations, and has changed my life for the better. I am more positive, see the world in a better way, and am far more relaxed than before camp. 2 years on, the only thing that hasn't changed is my enthusiasm for camp. So, here's to risks, to change, an hopefully another life changing experience on camp in the USA.
Labels: #Camp, #CampLeaders, #countdown, #Memories