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Ok, so those of you who know me in person know I'm pretty enthusiastic and once in a while I exaggerate things. But I am NOT exaggerating when I say that this week at camp was one of the most, if not THE most, amazing experiences I've ever had in my life. If I ever had any doubt that we can make a difference in this world, it has been cleared up.

The camp is for girls going into 6-8th grades, and we had 31 campers. The girls got there on Sunday and left Thursday, and the staff all got there Saturday. It was out in the redwoods, on the Matole River. Here's a picture of part of the main lodge and some of the grounds:



We had all sorts of workshops, including a 2 hour one on deconstructing the media. They cut out pictures from magazines of images of women they thought were and weren't realistic and pasted them on posters. We talked about the different things that made them feel that way and how they would LIKE to see women represented in the media. Then they each made a page for their dream magazine and we put them all together, so basically they all contributed to making their ideal magazine. It was really awesome.

Here are the posters they made during the workshop.






































We also had a super fun clowning workshop (I took that one – SHOCK! :-), a woman from the Rape Crisis Center presented one on creating healthy relationships, we had one on discovering your true colors, along with belly dancing, west African dancing and all sorts of other really awesome topics. We also spent lots of time in the river, song a ton of songs and had a blast overall. Local singer/songwriter Extraordinaire Lila Nelson came down and played and stayed over so that was SUPER fun. The next day all the girls were walking around singing her songs. Also, each cabin wrote a skit that they performed for their parents on the last day. So cute!

The campfire we had on the final night was amazing. We all went around the circle and said what we got out of the experience. I can't tell you how hopeful it made me feel to hear a sweet 11 year old girl say, 'I learned that I'm beautiful just the way I am and that I don't have to look like the ladies in the magazines– even THEY don't really look like that!" Another girl said, "I learned that love is like confetti – you spread it all around and eventually you always get it back. I'm taking home all the love that you all have shown me." Another one said, "I'm taking home the knowledge that I am beautiful, because nobody ever tells me that in my regular life." Powerful stuff from such young girls, I tell ya.

It was really awesome to see some of them come out of their shells. One girl literally almost left when she got to camp because it was her first time away from home and she was scared. She decided to stay, so when she chose to read a poem at our talent show on the 3rd night, I really almost cried.

Every night we sang this song at the end of campfire:

How can anyone ever tell you
that you're anything less than beautiful
How can anyone ever tell you that you're less than whole.
How can anyone fail to notice
that your loving is a miracle
How deeply you're connected to my soul

It was all just wonderful. The other women who made up the staff were all amazing and I just feel SO lucky that I was able to be a part of something so awesome. There's NO way I'm not going back for as long as I can. :) As I've mentioned before, it's a non-profit camp that doesn't turn anyone away for inability to pay, which is why I spent the last 6 months working my butt off being the Fundraising Coordinator. But it was SO worth it.

And I’m touched and proud to say that we were able raise over $500 in donations through Jessicurl.com, so thank all of YOU for your support of this awesome camp! I really really appreciate it and can honestly say you have helped to change the world, one girl at a time. Thank you!