In all honesty, my personal experience didn't matter much. My opinions weren't important when it came to what we were doing. How I felt wasn't a big deal. And to be completely truthful, I probably acted like a terrible person, or at least, I felt like one. I had gone to a different week-long camp called NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) and my introvert self was stretched thin. I was probably over dramatic and closed off. I probably could have done better.
Here's the thing. There were really two different sides to Mission Arlington; when we were working and when we were all together.
There were two buses, and usually, the buses got split up when we were working. The buses went to different apartments when we were doing Rainbow Express. We were generally split into two groups when we did volunteer work. I was with a smaller group of people when we worked. And honestly, doing the work was fun. I was the song leader for our Rainbow Express group and I had a ton of fun doing that. I helped tell Bible stories. I helped distribute craft supplies. I loved playing the games with the kids (except that one time when I slipped in the grass and twisted my ankle and had to wear my wrap for the rest of the day (I twist my ankles a lot, by the way)). I had fun carrying boxes of chips and super heavy six-packs of soda up and down and up and down stairs and knocking on doors. I really liked the working side of Mission Arlington.
But the personal side... I kind of failed at.
I blame Mafia. Mafia was the popular game to play while we were waiting for supper or while we had free time or before lunch. And I'm a really good Mafia player, but the thing is, people didn't really know that about me. I never got picked to be anything, much less the Mafia which is what I really wanted. And I really wanted to be the storyteller, because hey, I'm a writer and I'm good at stories and I would be great at picking people to be Mafia or doctor or sheriff because I can read people. But like I said, people didn't really know me and all I got was frustrated.
But in spite of me probably acting like a horrible person, I made a friend, and I'm really glad I did.
I'm also glad neither of us like baseball.
We went to a baseball game on Wednesday cause that was dollar hot dog night so we could buy our own food. Me and Will, my newest friend, spent pretty much the entire time walking around the stadium and talking because neither of us cared about what was going on. I'm still not even sure who won.
And on Saturday, when we went to Hurricane Harbor as kind of payoff for all the work, I buddied up with him, another kid named Nick, and my brother, and they convinced me to get out of my comfort zone a little and do some of the bigger waterslides. Even though I almost died, like, twice (not because of them), I had a ton of fun.
So all in all, I did have fun doing Mission Arlington. I might have been emotional and people-hating for maybe forty percent of the time, but I truly enjoyed everything else. And I'm really looking forward to doing it this year, which I'm sure is going to be way better. For one thing, I won't have camp before it again, which should help a lot. And I'm an old-timer now, so I'll know what to expect. Some things I'll do the same, like not getting involved in girl drama. Plus, I will know to never, ever, buy coffee on a road trip, even if sleeping in the car makes me carsick and I need something to keep me awake. (There are people who hate me now simply because of that terrible choice.)
Anyway, I can't wait till next year!
--Kaytie
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