Camp Dream Street, the Happiest Place on Earth Part One: The GE Years

                I’m just going to be completely honest; I’ve been procrastinating about writing this blog post for a few weeks now. It’s not that I don’t want to write about Camp Dream Street. It’s that writing about a place where I’ve grown, changed, and learned so much kind of intimidates me. Okay…REALLY intimidates me. I have so much to say, but it’s all so hard to put into words. I guess I’ll just dive in and try to express how much I truly love Camp Dream Street, and how much influence it has had on my goals, my independence, and many other facets of my life.

                I am relatively new to Dream Street. I’ve heard people say they’ve been at Dream Street 5, 10, even 20 years, but I’ve been to Dream Street a mere three times. I heard about Dream Street when a very close friend of mine, Sarah (she first attended in ’08) told me how much she loved it, how I needed to go, etc. I was pretty reluctant at first, mainly because I had never stayed away from home for any length of time, and I really didn’t think I was independent enough (and I was kind of a chicken lol). Finally she convinced me to apply in ‘09. I was too old to be a camper, but I was old enough to be a Great Expectations participant. I went ahead and applied, anxiously waiting to find out if I got accepted. Finally, I got the news that I was accepted to GE! Despite my initial reservations and jitters on the day we drove to camp, I was totally excited to go to Dream Street!

                My first day started off a little rough. I barely said a word to anyone because I was so overwhelmed and shy. Luckily, I was befriended by a very outgoing girl at the camp. By the end of the first day, we were totally inseparable! She taught me a lot about speaking my mind and standing up for myself. Even though we grew apart after our second year of Great Expectations, we reconnected a few years later when I found out she was in the hospital. Tragically, she lost her battle with blockage in her colon soon after we reconnected. Because of her, I’ve learned that I should be confident and should never be afraid to be myself. My true friends will love me for who I am. I don’t think I would be where I am today if I hadn’t met her. She was an amazing young woman, and it broke my heart to lose her so soon after she reconnected. Nonetheless, I was blessed to know her and she changed my life for the better.

Before GE, I was painfully shy. I’m still a pretty quiet person, just less so now, and I don’t have as much anxiety in social situations anymore. I don’t think I spoke very much my first year, even if it was just in front of the other GE participants, and by my second year I was singing in front of the whole camp! GE made me realize that what I have to say is important, and I should never be afraid to speak up. It gave me the courage to speak in front of my whole school my junior year about why I’m pro-life, have a discussion with several sophomore and junior religion classes about what it’s like to live with spina bifida, and then enter a speech competition, speaking about respecting people with disabilities. It also gave me the courage to speak up in the campus newspaper about the problems with disability access at my college. Before GE, the idea of merely answering a question in class or having to lead prayer for my whole class was enough to make me want to pretend to be sick so I could get out of it. GE helped me find my voice and my confidence!

GE also helped me become much more independent. My first year, I was constantly forgetting to bring essential things with me; a bathing suit on days we were supposed to swim; various toiletries for "shower party" (for those unfamiliar with dream street, that's just the name for shower time. Many campers need assistance transferring into and out of the shower. To keep it as fun as possible during shower time, they play music and listen to radio broadcasts about what happened at camp.), etc. The upper staff in my cabin were constantly finding and bringing me things that I couldn’t find or forgot. By my second year, I was pretty independent when it came to getting myself up, dressed, and packed for the day, etc. The independence I gained at Dream Street gave me the confidence to look at colleges other than just local colleges. I looked at College of Charleston and Millsaps, but I fell in love with Spring Hill College. It is a small Catholic college that is absolutely perfect for me! I couldn’t be happier at Spring Hill! I will forever be grateful to Camp Dream Street for giving me the courage to go outside of my comfort zone and explore out-of-state colleges. I’ve met people that I know will be my friends for life, and I’ve taken classes that have inspired me and made me a better person. Going to Spring Hill was one of the best decisions I ever made, and a decision I never would have had the courage to make without Dream Street.

I also got to do so many new things in GE, things I never thought I would be able to do. I walked on a balance beam (it was just a few inches off the ground, and I had two people holding on to me, but it still counts, as far as I’m concerned), I played wheelchair basketball for the first time and fell totally in love with it (which led to the basketball coach at my high school to teach me more about basketball, and the volleyball coach to teach me how to play volleyball in a wheelchair), and got to drive a car. I don’t have my permit yet, but I’m working on it now. Being a part of GE broadened my horizons and showed me that having a disability doesn’t have to hold me back! I never thought I would play sports, and I wasn’t sure when or if I would be able to drive. Now I know that with hard work, a will to succeed, and just a pinch of Dream Street magic, I can do anything I set my mind to!

Something else that was a new and valuable experience was helping upper staff member lead an art activity. Because I want to be an art therapist and work with children who have disabilities, I’m so glad I had this opportunity to practice doing arts and crafts with kids. This experience encouraged me when I wasn’t sure if art therapy was the best career for me, but it didn’t convince me entirely. The experience that made me absolutely, 100%, completely, entirely sure that art therapy is my true calling occurred this past summer…To Be Continued!