CYIA Commentary

Well, it is a cool, breezy day in Ocean City New Jersey, (in other words, not a great beach day)  and I am currently waiting on my Dad to finish napping so we can go on a walk on the boardwalk together. So, I thought it would be fun to update my blog since I haven't done it in, well, who knows how long. So, here I am, feeling rather out of practice, seeing as, well, I AM out of practice. But I'll never get back INTO practice if I don't practice, so I'm practicing. I pity you, though!

A lot has happened since I last posted! I, for one, decided to go to CYIA after all that jazz about skipping out and having a "relaxing" summer at home. Hah! Since when have I opted for doing nothing when I could be doing something? I should have known I couldn't NOT go to CYIA!

So, here I am, ready to compare and contrast the ins and outs (and in-betweens) of camp and my beach vacation: Prepare for a long blog post!


Camp was, overall, an very worthwhile experience.I was greeted by "HANNAH!!!" and practically mobbed by Becca and several of my other camp friends. Right from the git-go I met several new people, and classes commenced with Gabe forcing us to look .each other straight in the eyes and say, "I am NAWT INterESted in YOU!" Complete with Southern Drawl, of course. This was one of the many ways he tried to ingrain in us a "non-dating" perspective from the very beginning. He wanted to be sure we knew the purpose of the camp was to spread the gospel, not to find a boyfriend/girlfriend. Made sense to me!

Classes started in a hurry, and I came to love my desk partner, Katy, dearly. She was so sweet, and very quiet at first meeting. But as the week went on, she got more and more talkative. It is always so exciting for me when a seemingly quiet person opens up to you. I love to hear the stories of those who are quieter, especially since I tend to dominate conversations with those who talk less. :) I am learning that when someone is quiet, it doesn't mean they don't have something to say. Give them "air space" to talk, and they will most likely say something much more insightful than anything I would have come up with, simply because they've thought about it BEFORE they said it! Something to think about!

One of the greatest challenges for me was finding time to fit "it all" in. I wanted to do honors, devotions, my hair, run, excel in schoolwork, and develop close relationships, all of which took time! And there was only so much time to be had. Originally, my goal was to do honors, but, after skipping almost all of recreation, free time, and fellowship as well as rushing from meals to fit in school, I realized I was sacrificing time with people. Also, I didn't have the greatest motives for doing honors. Relationships have always been something I really value, and I was spending so much time studying that, though I'd been there for a week and a half, Becca and I had barely talked, despite the fact that our beds were next to each other! I decided honors wasn't the best decision for me, and spent the last few days enjoying really refreshing chat-times with several dear friends. I felt guilty for not doing the extra practicums required for honors, but I don't think God was calling me to it, at least not this year.

Our clubs went really well! Though I was a bit leery of the team I had (two guys, one newby and one who didn't take things too seriously) our club actually went really well! Out of the 17 kids who accepted Christ overall during the week of clubs, SIX came from our club! That was SO exciting! Car-rides to and from our clubs were quite eventful... water-bottles were squirted, candy was consumed, Tangled songs were belted, and lively conversations were... conversed? In other words, there was never a quiet moment in our van. The first day to club the bumper started dragging and we had to rip it off. That was exciting. Cherish, our leader, is quite opinionated about doing what is right, and Austin, my co-leader, was quite opinionated about "getting away" with certain things, which made for some noisy but exciting debates.

Leaving was the most challenging part! There were a ridiculous amount of hugs to pass out, and I did see some tears. :( I can't wait to keep in contact with all the new people I met!
Then, we were off on an airplane to Ocean City! I was going to write about that, but I'm out of space. And all we're basically doing is swimming and walking, and walking some more. Right up my alley. Speaking of alleys... just kidding. That is all.