Done.

Remember that time I was a counselor at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp?
Remember that time I went all the way to Michigan for about nine weeks?

For my final activity with my girls, the last night of camp we all sit in a circle in the cabin with our flashlights and I have a ball of yarn. We start with me holding the yarn, and then I throw it to someone who shares one thing they learned about their art, one way they grew as a person, and one of their favorite memories. As each new person throws the yarn, they hang on to their corner, and at the end we've made a web. A web of support, and a physical representation of what we have in common through our experiences at camp. I'm looking at this blog post as my own personal closing activity, so I will share the same things. Of course my girls can almost never keep it to only one thing in each category, so I won't try to either. :)

Things I Learned About Music:

• Conducting a band is really challenging, but really neat. With some score-reading practice, I could totally handle a band. I love having that many different sound colors at my fingertips.



• I have the ability to accompany a choir. Or at least a children's choir.



• In the two private lessons that I took this summer my teachers talked to me a lot about ping and placement. Of course we focus on placement in my lessons at home, but it was really neat to hear some new ideas and play with some new spaces.



• I learned several other things too but these are a couple of biggies.

Ways I Grew as a Person

• Ways I grew as a person? What a stupid section heading.



• I practiced creative problem solving.



• I took the lead in resolving conflicts.



• I made the most of opportunities.



• I learned that I enjoy meeting new people!



• I learned that I am capable of (and good at) many more things than I previously thought. I learned not to underestimate myself.



• I realized how important it is to feel connected. I learned the value of keeping in touch. I realized how much I love my family, how far away MI is from VA, and how long 2 months is!

Some of my Favorite Memories

• Bro-ing out with seven bros at Harry Potter, McDonalds, WalMart, and the beach.



• Hanging out in Highlights every day during sessions 2-4.



• Evening off dates with Leslie.



• Penguin-sitting.



• Singing Brahms Lieder. It was really neat to work on that set with someone other than Andrew. It was also cool to really feel comfortable taking the lead in a rehearsal.



• Awesome-Sunday mornings. It was so lovely to go to small breakfast with a few counselors and almost no campers. It was also lovely to walk around a quiet camp on cool, misty, MI mornings.



• Making almost 30 friendship bracelets.



• Playing Water Quidditch!



• There are SO many more.

It's weird to think that I'm going home tomorrow. I feel like I've been in a different world out here. What will it be like to go home? I desperately miss my family and dear friends as well as warm Virginia and the ocean. However, what will it be like to go back there where none of them know what it was like here? BLFAC has been my whole life for the past 2 months... and now it's over? I'm very glad that I've kept this blog and my journal. I'm also very glad that I'll be able to keep in touch with my coworkers through facebook, emails, and letters.

VA, I'll see you tomorrow.

<3, Martha