Camp Everytown - Social-Emotional Learning

 Salvador, a rising senior at the Dominican University of California, went to camp in 2010, as a junior at Los Altos Hill High School.

Here's his story about Camp Everytown is not just a four-day experience, but a journey of a lifetime...

      Some say that a single moment can change your life forever. Others say that leaders are made not born. And to some degree, I agree with both of these statements. I loaded onto the bus and scanned for an open seat as I walked towards the back. There were a couple, "hey," "how's it going?" and an occasional, "Are you ready?" as I found an open seat. The doors of the bus closed and our trip to camp started. I could hear the wind blowing as we drove down the freeway--that would be the last time we would sit in silence for the next four days. None of us knew what to expect--we had heard a few things from past students, but they all ended in "I don't want to give it away, you'll see for yourself." I prepared myself to cry, laugh, sing and anything else I had been advised to do so, but nothing would prepare me for the next 4 days and 3 nights at camp.

      What I can tell you is that Camp Everytown is only going to be a positive experience if you allow it to be--only if you attend with an open mind, if you participate in the activities that are asked of you, if you reflect everyday on these real issues and their real presence in our school and in our community. Camp Everytown will allow you to grow as a person, will bring you close to others attending camp and will strike your heart and mind in a way that will motivate you to change the world that surrounds you and stand up for others. At Camp Everytown you will embrace diversity, come into contact with opposing views, will feel exposed and may even walk with your heart on your sleeve. But know that is exactly the experience at camp and it is necessary. Know also that it is almost impossible, to shield your emotions because you will connect with your classmates and the staff at camp on a deep level, just like I did, almost 5 years ago.

       I made it my mission to attend camp whole-heartedly and keep an open mind. That turned out to be the best thing that I could have done. By the end of the first day, my classmates and I were competing to see who could meet everyone first and who could name everyone in the group. By the second day, we were sharing our goals for the next academic school year. And by the end of the third, I was not at camp with strangers anymore; I was at camp with my extended family. I'm not going to say that there weren't activity that I would have preferred not to be a part of. I do not regret the things that I shared because it brought me closer to those at camp, but it also made me feel exposed, in a way that I had only done so to a few friends in the past. And through it all, the talks that I had with my cluster group, the late night conversations in the cabins, the time that I fell and stepped right into the creek and when I shared my family's story with others, I would not change anything about my camp experience. And to be honest, the activities that focused on breaking barriers, like gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and income shined light onto these topics and united us as a cluster of students. As we returned home on Saturday afternoon, we all felt empowered, connected, invincible and like a family. Unfortunately, days after returning from camp, my classmates--the people that I had attended camp with--the people that I know called my extended family, started to turn a blind eye and acknowledge me less in front of their friends. I realized our time at camp had ended.

        I realized that everything that I had learned at camp were tools that I had to apply to my own life. I realized that camp was more than just crying, singing and a break from school. I realized that camp was a summit--a meeting place for leaders, thinkers, hard workers and individuals. It was a place for us to come and share our stories with others, not because it was an activity that we participated in, but because it allowed us to find similarities--similarities in our struggles, in our dreams and in our passion to change the world around us. And even thought back on campus, we returned to our labels of jocks, nerds, beaners, and rich kids, we were all connected in a way that would be impossible to break.

      Five years later, the love that I hold for camp is still much alive. I look back through pictures of us in the cabins, exploring the woods, singing around the fire and playing the piano. I carry my hug on my lanyard as a constant reminder of what I did at camp and the promise that I made to myself and to everyone else at camp. I promised to start everything with an open mind, to not judge others on their appearances or actions because they are more than just what meets the eye, to be proud of who I am and my culture, and most importantly to embrace diversity and contribute to the wellbeing of my community and those that surround me.

     Camp Everytown has forever changed my life. I owe it to the organization and to my high school for allowing me to attend the program. I owe it to my classmates and past alum that contributed to my pleasant stay at camp. And overall, I owe it to myself for deciding to attend because it was my experience that motivated me to change the world that surrounded me through volunteer work, summer jobs and studying to become the first in my family to graduate from college.

Remember, "there is strength in the differences between us...because I know there is comfort where we overlap." ~Ani DiFranco.