Teens involved in something bigger than themselves
I coached 13 seasons at the college level, and the number one thing that I wished college freshman came with was a view of the world that extended beyond themselves. In our culture, which focuses so much on individualism and competition, it’s rare for young people to experience the beauty of cooperation.
This Monday. we had our second Town Meeting at Tamarack Farm; our whole community came together to discuss topics affecting our camp. One of our topics this week was,“what makes a great community”? It was beautiful to hear our campers speak out about what they wanted to see present in this space. They are creating an ideal place to live and work together. They’ve been challenging each other to contribute to the work that keeps our camp going, form a community without cliques, and gain awareness of the impact of their actions (big & little).
Things you would have loved to see at TF this past week:
The whole camp singing on the porch during pouring rain,
Our campers working together to pull in a big harvest (especially beautiful peas),
A group canning our farm fresh strawberries,
The whole camp hiking to Plymouth Center for the afternoon,
A beautiful meal at tables out on the lawn (with freshly picked flowers on each table),
Campers running with Rainy (our calf) down the camp road on their way to bring him to the Barn Day Camp for grazing during the daylight hours.
Camper-led pouring of the concrete the foundation of a new cabin,
A group of campers continuing to play basketball as the drizzle turned into rain,
Our group brainstorming about what makes a great community.