Jason
A couple of years ago I worked at Lakeville Elementary Camp as a Counselor In Training. Many of the children so were diverse, so different, yet I could still pick out the same similarities in all of them. Many of the kids possessed many of the same qualities: playful, wealthy and innocent to many of the world’s growing pandemics.
One day, a boy named Jason arrived at camp. All of the counselors immediately fell in love with his playful personality and permanent smile. As his second-grade counselor, I observed a lot about his personality. He seemed to be shy around his friends, so I encouraged him to play with the other campers. However, he I seemed to be the only one that he really opened up to. He always talked to me about his favorite TV shows, dance moves and his love for food, which complimented his ever-growing appetite. I accepted this and tried to both be the best role model I could be for him and to also develop his relationships with the other campers. Little by little he opened up to the other kids; it made me so proud and gave me a sense of satisfaction to see him smiling and having fun on the monkey bars with the other campers.
One day I came back from lunch to find Jason talking with some of the friends he had made that summer. I was pleasantly surprised to see him socializing and smiling as usual, and I approached the crowd asking what they were talking about. It turns out that they were talking about their families and their lives outside of camp. When it was Jason’s turn to go, what he said bewildered me. ‘’I don’t have a home,’’ he said as the other kids turned to look at me in confusion. I’m not sure how I reacted, but I do remember realizing how fast I was growing up. As he told me his story about how he lives with his mom in a shelter, it blew me away how open he was to talking about issues like poverty, especially in an environment filled with people so different than him. It made me realize the innocence of young children, how none of them could ever think of not having a home; Jason was different. I’m not sure how much he grasped the magnitude of his situation but it was the way he was so open and honest about it which completely changed me. It made me realize that we should strive to keep our innocence as much as we can; there is only a short period in our lifetimes when we aren’t stressed, swamped, and stifled by life’s issues. Most importantly, he taught me that no amount of money could buy any amount of happiness.
At the end of the summer he told me that he had the most fun of his life going to camp and having me as a counselor. Just being able to help out someone less privileged makes me feel so much better as a person. I will never forget Jason; I hope he will never forget me.
A couple of years ago I worked at Lakeville Elementary Camp as a Counselor In Training. Many of the children so were diverse, so different, yet I could still pick out the same similarities in all of them. Many of the kids possessed many of the same qualities: playful, wealthy and innocent to many of the world’s growing pandemics.
One day, a boy named Jason arrived at camp. All of the counselors immediately fell in love with his playful personality and permanent smile. As his second-grade counselor, I observed a lot about his personality. He seemed to be shy around his friends, so I encouraged him to play with the other campers. However, he I seemed to be the only one that he really opened up to. He always talked to me about his favorite TV shows, dance moves and his love for food, which complimented his ever-growing appetite. I accepted this and tried to both be the best role model I could be for him and to also develop his relationships with the other campers. Little by little he opened up to the other kids; it made me so proud and gave me a sense of satisfaction to see him smiling and having fun on the monkey bars with the other campers.
One day I came back from lunch to find Jason talking with some of the friends he had made that summer. I was pleasantly surprised to see him socializing and smiling as usual, and I approached the crowd asking what they were talking about. It turns out that they were talking about their families and their lives outside of camp. When it was Jason’s turn to go, what he said bewildered me. ‘’I don’t have a home,’’ he said as the other kids turned to look at me in confusion. I’m not sure how I reacted, but I do remember realizing how fast I was growing up. As he told me his story about how he lives with his mom in a shelter, it blew me away how open he was to talking about issues like poverty, especially in an environment filled with people so different than him. It made me realize the innocence of young children, how none of them could ever think of not having a home; Jason was different. I’m not sure how much he grasped the magnitude of his situation but it was the way he was so open and honest about it which completely changed me. It made me realize that we should strive to keep our innocence as much as we can; there is only a short period in our lifetimes when we aren’t stressed, swamped, and stifled by life’s issues. Most importantly, he taught me that no amount of money could buy any amount of happiness.
At the end of the summer he told me that he had the most fun of his life going to camp and having me as a counselor. Just being able to help out someone less privileged makes me feel so much better as a person. I will never forget Jason; I hope he will never forget me.
