can I just say that I am obsessed with this picture!!
I'll be honest, Natalie totally inspired this post.
I am packing, again, to go 9 weeks in the mountains.
Half of me is convinced that I am going for spiritual reasons: to live in community and provoke deeper conversations with Gd and between HS students and Gd. The other half of me knows that being staff at FH doesn't exactly mean you are going for the right reasons. I spoke with L today and she said that it will be challenging and beautiful. People will make-out, get mad, make up and be real. I am trying to process the human-ness of it all.
My freshman year at FH, I forgot jean pants. It gets very, very cold at night and the entire week I borrowed other girl's jeans. I remember I took communion one night and it hit me hard that Jesus was the Savior.
My Sophomore year was pretty great. Lots of sex talks in the bathroom. I saw Kim's underwear and she and I had a really long and good talk in Heather's car one night. I was angry at this point in my life. I learned more communication skills that week. I also forgot to bring a sleeping bag.
My Junior year at FH was...well it was okay. Kim was pregnant. Angie was pregnant. Most of that week I remembered jealousy. I also remember L. I recall a moment when we were by the bathrooms down the hill and she smiled and asked if I wanted to join her in a stroll. That's the same year Charlotte and I started walking around the lake.
The summer before my Senior year I forgot to bring soap. I fell in love with someone. I don't remember his name, but I remember that another girl took him away.
The summer I graduated, I also had an internship. It would be the first summer that I was a camper and a counselor. FH represented so much for me. It represented a journey. It represented praying with a friend who was suffering from depression underneath a tree. I fell in love with a boy who actually liked me too. We dated. He had long ties with FH. He was a musician.
There was one summer that I did not go to FH.
The summer after that, last summer, I visited for a day. I felt like I was at home. I also went to Jr. High camp and Young Adult Briefing- but there is something specific and special about High School summer camp at lakeview.
I hope that expectations are met. I hope that Gd is seen. I hope that I meet people who are good for me. I hope that we are not exclusive.
I am going to miss my friends a lot- I already miss the ones in SF. But since I have been in SD, I will miss them too. I have spent a fabulous two weeks with these people; an array of them, all very unique and lovely. Wine, beer, cheese, Mexican food, starbucks, shopping, movies, late night talks, long talks, short kisses, long hugs, tall boys and medium girls, surprises and routine.
These seasons are fascinating; I don't want them to runaway.
