Camp Delta X From Steven's POV

Going into Camp Delta, I never expected much out of it because although I had heard great things from other people, I only knew a handful of people while the rest were total strangers to me. At best, I thought it would be a waste of four days living with total strangers that I've never met before. I was very nervous heading into camp because I felt that everyone else knew each other while I didn't, so I would feel isolated. Little did I know what was to become in the next four days that followed my arrival. When I first arrived, my first thought was that everyone was so friendly even though I had no idea who they were. Later, I was placed in the Toad Family, starting what would be an amazing adventure with these total strangers that I would call my family. It's normally very hard to get me to open up to people I've never met before, but after bonding through various activities, it was impossible not to open up to these people that made me feel so welcome. The most memorable activity for me would be the first one, where we all had to jump into a rope in a certain pattern, one by one, without any of us messing up. As time went on, we went through countless attempts, and I was starting to get frustrated. However, we never gave up and continued to motivate and encourage each other. Eventually, we were the last family to have not finished, so all eyes were on us, creating even more pressure. Through our will to never give up, we persevered and eventually finished. Words could not even begin to describe how we felt when the last member successfully jumped, as we all ran and hugged each other through all the sweat. Imagine that, twelve total strangers that had only met two hours ago, hugging it out with sweat dripping from all of our bodies. Even though we came in last, I knew it was the start of something special.

Throughout the first day, we struggled heavily, coming in last in pretty much everything we were a part of. However, we never gave up, motivating each other and pushing each other to do the best we could. We learned to depend on each other because alone, we could never accomplish the goals that we set, but as a group, we could do anything we set our eyes on. I was tested mentally and physically, but my family was always there for me, no matter what. As the days went on, I opened up more and more because everyone at Camp Delta was just so welcoming and willing to interact. Even though I'm typically a quiet person, Camp Delta really helped in cracking my shell so that I can display who I really am as a person. In the next few days, we as a family became stronger as a team, and our teamwork really showed in the biggest activity on the last full day of camp, named “ The Big Game.” As a family, we fought through the various challenges one by one, eventually finishing first. When we finally finished, I was so proud of all of us. I felt that we had come so far, from dead last on day one to first on the last day.

I want to thank my whole family for everything that they did in those four days. You guys made my weekend so enjoyable and made it a weekend that I'll never forget. Through the laughs and the tears, we made lifelong bonds of friendship that made this weekend so much more worth it. To my counselors, Tuyet and Vivian, thank you for constantly motivating me to open up more and always believing in every single one of us. To the staff, thank you for planning a whole weekend of activities where everyone is able to express themselves and make new friendships. Even though I came in not knowing anyone in my family, I left feeling that I had known them almost all of my life. On the last day, we all cried (shoutout to Harry who cried a whole box of tissues by himself) because we didn't want to leave the place where we made so many new friends and had so much fun together, not as strangers, but as a real family.

-Steven