January 4th, 2013
I woke up this morning in a cabin in South Africa, overlooking the Indian Ocean out one window and the mountains out another. It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been, but yet it still didn’t seem real. Am I actually in South Africa? I was so busy this morning making sure everything was prepared for camp to start by helping out the camp leaders and determining how I could help out these kids. I was so busy that I never actually took the time to think about what is this camp going to do for me and who am I and why am I here?
After greeting and meeting the kids and hanging out and doing activities all day, I found it extremely interesting to see how these kids are behaving. Many of the kids were very outgoing, however others seemed so quiet and hesitant. It was obvious they were holding emotions and stories inside. It began to make me wonder what would I be doing in these situations and how would I behave. Who am I and how would I act if I were a camper?
Following the evening speaker, I really began to question, who am I and who do I portray to others when I’m around other people. The theme of the Africa Jam camp is “Be the Change”. When thinking about the theme, I realized how can you make changes happen if you don’t know who the “be” is. If you don’t know your own true identity or self, is it possible to help others or make a change?
Ultimately, today has been an eye opening experience realizing that knowing your own identity is one of the most important things you can have in life. Am I really the person that I say I am, or am I portraying a “fake” identity. Ultimately, I end my day thinking, who am I.
Lauren –
Olivia, Mitch, Lauren, Kate, and Grace — I just realized that none of the blog entries has received any comments yet, and I want you all to know that your entries have been read and are appreciated! I check to see if there is an update every day. It is great to hear how things are going. Thank you!