A New Home

Picking up where I left off…
     

     After the lengthy check in process, a counselor escorted me and my parents to the cabin I would call home for the next week. On the way to the cabin, the counselor, who was a former camper, talked to me about her experiences with CCT. Arriving to the cabin, I was welcomed, with big smiles, by two new counselors who would be my cabin leaders for the next week: Those counselors were also former campers at Camp Carolina Trails. After unpacking and getting settled in, my parents told me goodbye and gave me their last hugs for a whole week. It was hard for my parents to leave me to people they had just met; however, the welcoming environment among the counselors and staff set their minds at ease.

   

     Since I was in the youngest age group at camp, there were only a few girls in my cabin out of twelve who had been there before; which was helpful, we weren't starting out “alone.” The first few hours at camp were spent getting to know things about each other such as: names, where you're from, age, grade, school, pets, family, etc. Among that list of things we talked about, there was one topic in particular that would not be discussed at a typical summer camp, How long have you had diabetes? When it came my turn to answer that question in the group, I told them I was diagnosed at age 2 (meaning I had diabetes for nearly 9 years at the time). After answering the question, there were no responses such as, “Oh my gosh you were so young.” or the typical “Oh wow so I guess that means you can't eat sugar.” I realized I did not have to explain myself or diabetes to anyone there, they already knew because they were just like me, and for all of us, that was normal.

   

     When it came time for the first meal at camp, the cabin counselors escorted me and the rest of the campers in the cabin to the dinner hall. Dinner time was very hectic, older campers running around from table to table giving each other hugs and reuniting (probably) for the first time since last summer. Even the counselors were meeting up with old campers and counselor friends, briefly catching up on life the last year. While sitting at my cabin table I watched as old friendships reunited, it was a sense of encouragement and assurance that CCT is a special place.