Diva Puts Her Big Girl Pants On

I'm twenty years old, and I've still considered myself to be a "teenager"...up until a few weeks ago. A lot has happened the past few weeks that have made me realize how old I am...not like the "omg I'm so old" old, but the "i really can't believe how fast time is flying by" old. I do my own laundry, I buy most of my clothes, I basically live away from home, I have a job, and I drive a car. I'm not fully on my own yet, thank God because I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do when Mom and Dad let me be free in the real world...I've been doing a good job lately just not thinking about it. This summer has already taught me what a big maturity gap lies between a twenty year old and an eighteen year old. Number wise, sure it's only two years. Maturity, however, is weighed entirely on a different scale. I've begun to call my cabin Kanuga High because of all the drama that has ensued within the past few weeks. The staff housing here is divided by sex and by age; I live in the under 21 girls cabin, which complicates things because that means that I live with all of my counselors. Because it is still conference period, we are working solid 12 hour days, going back to our cabin and spending more time with each other. It's seriously almost becoming to much sometimes. Granted, they are really fun and really good girls. There's just something I forgot about being a teenager...they're boy crazy. Seriously. And in addition to the boy craziness, a few of the girls are just now having the freedom from mom and dad because they either haven't been to college yet or have only been there for a year, so they're still in the "wild and crazy freshman" mindset. I had to take a minute and refresh my memory of what that first few months on my own were like and it really hit me why these girls are acting the way they are. Being away from home is fun and exciting and new. This would be perfectly okay if one thing were different. You see, they haven't hired an RA for my cabin yet, which means curfew isn't enforced and staff activities haven't really started. So at night, all the girls have to do is go to the boys cabin. Hopefully, as the staff directors are hired things will get better. This past week, I had to learn how to put on my Director hat and leave the Friend hat hanging by the door. My girls did a few things that earned them what my mom likes to call a "Come to Jesus meeting". I quickly learned how difficult it is to lay down the law and keep the director hat on even when it's easier to toss it away and keep the friend hat on...it's much more comfortable after all. However, in the end it all worked out well. I finally got to take the director hat off for a little while and the girls have settled down and become a little less sassy...turns out I'm not the only Diva working at camp this summer. Here's to hoping that I'll have many more hats to adorn the top of my head this summer...I'm thinking rock climber or maybe potentially super hero? We'll see.
God has really been teaching me a lot here. I truly think He's put me here to show these girls His grace and his love, because I remember how freeing it was when someone told me that I shouldn't look for my prince charming on this Earth because I already have one in heaven waiting on me. I truly think that if the girls here can see that and stop relying on the boys here to satisfy them, things would go over a lot smoother. I have been praying really hard that God uses me to my full potential this summer and allows me to be an effective leader while at the same time showing these girls the love and grace of God. In addition, being away from Chad and my family has also taught me how important it is to have that relationship with God. Phone calls have been pretty rare and when they happen they don't last very long. No one has written me letters or sent me packages (GET ON IT!) so I've had a lot of time to myself, which has been very freeing. I've had the time to have those serious conversations with God that I don't always want to have and He's definitely been showing me how to be a positive moral influence on the life of the girls and children I'm working with.
Next week we have 30 kids already registered for Children's Program. THIRTY KIDS. holy madness. We haven't had more than like 7 since we've been here so it's going to be craziness. I CAN'T WAIT! I am so excited about relaxing and potentially waterfall hopping this weekend if the weather is nice. I will let you know how that all goes...here's to hoping for no broken bones, and a sane mind by this time next week!!

Diva Apologizes

Sorry I haven't been updating recently! The internet in our cabin has been down, so I have to trek up to the inn to get any internet. Camp pretty much rocks. The past two weeks have been pretty light as far as kids go, but next week we are expected to have at least 25 or 30 kids which is cray-cray. Baker Building is really great and all of my counselors are finally here. One is even a Pi-Pi (hollah, sarah). I promise I will update you on everything soon. I will be making individual posts introducing you to each of my counselors.
I have definitely learned a lot about myself as a leader, woman, friend, and care giver so far. I've earned the nicknames "grandma" and "mama bear" in the cabin because I go to bed early and I'm the mama of our cabin. hah!
Promise I'll update fully soon!

Diva Does Dirt. And Spiders.

So it's day two here at Kanuga and I LOVE CAMP. Seriously. This week at Kanuga is "orientation week". Each program is spending this week just getting acquainted with their fellow counselors and most importantly, cleaning up the buildings and preparing everything for the kids. Well, needless to say the Baker Building has needed some serious TLC. Me and my counselors (WHO ROCK, btw) spent the whole day practically up to our elbows in bleach and dust. I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself today. I killed off a huge spider nest that I found creepin in the corner of the room (not to mention the bug crawling on my computer screen as I type), and I dominated the bucket of bleach like a champ. By the end of the day, I was sweaty and dirty and tired. But you know what? Diva went on a "hike" after all of that work. Holla!
Just being here for the past 48 hours has made me so eager for this summer. I absolutely love my counselors that will be working with Children's Programs, and the other counselors in the other programs. I love my boss, I love my cabin, I love Kanuga. Granted, the bugs could lay off a little. And some AC would be nice every now and then. But being in the mountains just opens my mind to an entire new mindset. A mindset that's open and adventurous and willing to do a lot more than the Diva would ever consider doing. One of my fellow counselors, Chelsea, and I took a stroll around the lake this afternoon, and I found myself stopping at one point completely in awe of the fact that I get to work here and live here for an entire summer. It's funny because when I talk to the girls that live here and tell them about Darlington and how flat and humid it is, they are just like "oh, that's weird. I can't imagine not living here." I caught myself thinking today that I could get used to the hills and the cool breeze, and the shady trees, and the constant trails to hike on...whoa. Did I just say that? Oh bye, Diva.
Lesson of this week: It's weird the things we discover about ourselves when we step out of our comfort zones just a little--enough to get sweaty, dirty, and sunburnt. Me? Well, just in the past 48 hours, I've discovered that I might not be such a Diva after all.
Tonight was pretty interesting. After we got back to our cabin and took a nap and showered, we took a stroll to see what was for dinner--since spinach stuffed porkchops didn't sound so appetizing, a few of the counselors who have been coming here for years decided they would open my eyes to the wonderful place that is Hotdog World. And man, let me tell you. I've never seen a bunch of people get so serious about a hotdog. But, I'll let them have it. My corn dog rocked. We then took our second trip to Wal-Mart(see? I'm not completely out of touch with society) to get some things for the Baker Building that we needed. I did something I've never done before--I was responsible for the company credit card. That's right. I said it.
If you ask Mom and Greg about me and credit cards, the story never goes very well. Let's just say a trip to Belk to buy a dress turned into a trip to Belk to buy a few dresses...and some jeans...and some jewelry...and some sunglasses. Whoops. Anyways, after our responsible trip to walmart, we returned to watch a movie in our little cabin. Actually, it's a pretty nice set up. As of right now, I have a room to myself, and I share a bathroom with another Assistant Director, Ellen. We still have a few girls that haven't moved in yet, but I'm fighting to keep my room to myself--it's smaller than the rooms at Presby. I'll post some pics as soon as I can, but until then I'll leave you with this:
Anyway, I love camp. I love my counselors. I love the mountains. I love this life. I'm starting to think that Diva might leave sooner than I thought she would.

PS: please pray for my mama. She's in the hospital having some tests run and it's pretty hard being 4 hours away and relying on texts and emails to keep up with her condition. Thanks, pals.

Diva Leaves Darlington

Well, today's the day. Dad's car is all packed (see the picture of how a diva packs below), and this girl is ready to go. I feel like I've been counting down the days for months now, and now that the day is finally here I don't think it's really hit me yet. Maybe by my fourth night without air conditioning, it will hit me. All joking aside, I am really so excited to get there and to get started. I already love the people I'm working and living with and cannot wait to get to know them and begin camp.
Earlier last night I was thinking about everything I wanted to accomplish this summer. I've come up with a "Bucket List" if you will:

• Go on a real hike. Not like a little stroll around the lake. A Big girl hike.
• Conquer the climbing wall.
• Go white water rafting.
• Learn to appreciate the outdoors (not so concrete, but it's a serious goal)

So, there you have it. It may be short, but hey, I only have 10 weeks. Here's to hoping that when Diva leaves camp, she won't be such a Diva anymore.

This is Dad's car all packed and ready to go.

Diva Does Packing, Has Car Trouble, and Leaves

You would think that it being Sunday and all, I would be packed and ready to leave for camp tomorrow, right? Well...because I am the queen of procrastination, I began packing for this 10 week journey at approximately 2pm this afternoon. Whoops? What are you supposed to take to camp anyways? Do they have any classes on this? Like Camp 101 or something. Presby...get on it. After a long afternoon of fighting with my closet and my suitcase, I think I have only over packed a little bit. Looking back on my packing experience, I've always been an over-packer. "Yes," I would always argue with mom, "it is necessary to bring 4 pairs of shoes for one night. You never know when I'll need to dress up." It is a running joke with my family that whenever I pack to go anywhere for a weekend or a few days, my parents usually stare at my suitcase, look at me, and with a smirk on their faces, joke "Are you going for a weekend or a year?" Well, all I can say is that I'm well-prepared. If something happens and I am stuck at Kanuga for 6 months, I am ready. And if not, well then, I just have more options that anyone else there. Although I will have to leave a lot of diva at home, a lot of the diva in me is joining me at camp. This includes my wedges for carnival night and weekends, my headband with the flower on it, my pearl earrings, and a few sun-dresses. I will say that I bet I will have the most comfortable bed at camp...maybe not something to brag about but hey; If presby has taught me anything, it's that a comfy bed is really important in keeping your sanity during high stress times...like starting a new job at camp for instance.
Speaking of high stress situations, this week threw a little curve ball in my journey to the "noog"(Thanks Holtie for the new nickname). As some may know, my car (Cora) has been having a lot of car trouble in the past few months. It's always been on the interstate, and she hasn't broken down for a good 8 weeks or so, which means that I was finally getting comfortable driving her again. She had gotten me safely to Kanuga and back twice, so in my mind we were good to go for the summer. So rewind to Friday. I was leaving the bank when all of a sudden Cora wouldn't go. My power steering was turned off and every single emergency light on my dash turned on. You know that sounds when you stick your tongue out and like make that vibrating/spitting sound? (Gross analogy, I know, just bear with me) Well, that's what she did. She quit and would not budge anymore. Apparently, Cora doesn't like the heat...she must be a Diva, too. After an embarrassing conversation with the lady in the drive-thru window, I managed to get my little car down the road far enough to pull over and call my dad for help. Good...I leave for camp in 3 days and my car is broken down. No bueno. Fast forward to today, and here I am. Car still in the shop, not going to be ready by tomorrow. So, what is the plan B? Dad will be making the 3 and a half hour drive up to Kanuga to drop his little girl off...just like camp back in the day. Thinking back on it, I just can't help but to laugh and to think that maybe God let this happen to really get things going with a punch just like they did that one summer when I was 9. Let's just hope this time, Papa Rich doesn't have to drag his little girl into her cabin kicking and screaming...I'm twenty now. I'll just cry after he leaves.