A Bonfire of Epic Proportions (Sketch #6)

My bleary eyes peeled open as I tried to focus them on the wooden ceiling above me. This was certainly not enough sleep for anyone to function, especially not when in this kind of situation. I attempted to move my stiff limbs from the bed, which was much more work than I would have thought. My feet shuffled across the floor as I felt something under my foot. I looked down nonchalantly, only to see a giant grasshopper. “Holy *^%&$@!” Without thought, a very not-nice word flew out in a scream from my mouth as I hopped around the room in a frantic dance that must have looked like I was on fire. Thus began the second day of the best week of my life.

            This whole process began when my school asked for applications for leaders for a 6^th grade trip to our local camp, called Sky Ranch. Having been to camp every summer since I was 8, I knew I could easily handle the outdoors aspect of the trip. I am also the oldest in my entire family, so I have gotten very used to taking care of younger kids. After a couple of months, I found out that I had been chosen! I was ecstatic.

            After packing up my shorts, t-shirts, and old tennis shoes, I was ready. Loading the bus with the 5 6^th graders, I had no idea what kind of week I was in for. The heat on the bus was nearly suffocating, but singing a bunch of songs helped us pass the time until we reached Van, Texas. In our matching green shirts, we all stepped into the camp with a confidence that only comes with the naïve nature of young children.

            The first day I bubbled with joy at this opportunity to influence these girls, but this slowly dwindled throughout the week, especially with plenty of episodes like the one where I inadvertently exposed my campers to a word most of them had never heard. I had even put non-SPF lotion on one of my girls, causing her to get massive sunburn on her back. After all of these events, I knew there was no way to redeem the week, especially by this point it was the last night. As my mind swirled with disappointment, we made our way to the final event, the bonfire.

            The heat of the day still seemed to stick to my skin as we walked closer to the glowing ebb that was the bonfire. We sat on a blanket, but that didn’t stop the wet grass from soaking through my shorts. The smell of the smoke filled my nostrils as a sense of change washed over me. The entire group of 6^th grades was eerily silent, and I knew this night would be different. It was silent for nearly 10 minutes, and I thought this would be a bust of a night. But, a brave little girl stood up and began to talk about the amazing week she had, and how she had learned that she could be a successful person just like her counselor. Another boy stood up and said that he had learned that he should be confident in himself despite his learning differences. The stories continued for a couple hours, until one of my girls stood up. She began talking about how she had learned to love her body instead of trying to hurt herself because I had shown her that she was beautiful.

            Tears began flowing down my face as I realized that she was actually talking about me. I had taught a little girl something that huge?? There was just no way. I could not comprehend something of that depth. It was so incredible to me that I could influence anyone to that extent; especially with the mistakes I had made all week. As she sat down, I could do nothing but hug all of those girls and thank them. Despite me being the ‘teacher’ that week, they had taught me so much more: that I can be a light to someone without even knowing it.

            Now I left that trip not without some major bug bites and bruises from the slides, but I know now that yes, we all make mistakes, but if we are doing everything whole-heartedly with the best of intentions, it can turn out for the best.