My Summer at Camp K: Changing a Life

This summer, I have the privilege of working as a camp counselor at Camp Kostopulos Dream Foundation in Salt Lake City, UT. Camp K is a camp for people of all ages with special needs and disabilities and is geared towards making dreams of very special people come true. Two weeks ago, on Monday May 16th, I moved up to camp for the first time. Naturally, not knowing anyone there or what to expect beforehand, I was nervous. Over the last two weeks, however, I have spent 24/7 with the other 36 staff members, and we quickly went from being strangers, to friends, to a family. I feel like I've known these people for so much longer than two weeks, and I couldn't be more excited that I get to spend the summer with them. We've trained in the freezing rain and mud together, we've spent late nights cuddling on the couch, we've played ridiculous games, we've laughed until it hurts, we've fallen asleep during staff meetings together, we've drove into town late at night for ice cream, we've tried new things together, we've spent hours in the pool getting sunburnt together, and I've grown to trust and care for these people very much. We all come from different backgrounds, and we were all brought to camp K by different reasons. But over the last 2 weeks, we all came together and pushed ourselves through the long days of training and eventually realized we were all at camp for the same reason- to change the life of a disabled camper. Jared, our program director, has told us stories of campers who wait and anxiously count down all year long for their one week at Camp K because it is the best week of their whole entire year. At Camp K, no one is disabled; everyone is just differently abled, and we believe that each of our campers is capable of achieving their dreams. Camp K offers an environment where that is possible. I feel immensely blessed to be a part of this organization. This coming Monday, our first round of campers arrive and summer camp officially begins. I am so excited!!!! The long 17 hour days and daunting task of behavioral management will all be worth it just to see the smiles on the faces of these very special people. I am dedicating my summer to changing the lives of my campers; but really, when it is all said and done, the life that will be blessed and changed the most is mine.