My Summer of Camp

My ride from Alpine to Andalusia was one full of thoughts.  My mind was consumed by memories made over the summer.  I tried to think back and make sense of how so much could happen over 2 months.   I don't even know how to start!  So I guess the first thing that I should say is that I'm HOME (for the week that is).  It's a great feeling to drive up in my car and the dogs run up to greet me. This week, I'll be catching up with people and packing up my room and moving into my apartment in Auburn.  After all, band camp starts next week!

It's weird to look back at the whole summer and think that it's over.  I can't even comprehend it.  Staff training week felt so long because of all of the stuff crammed into one day... but from the start I felt like I belonged there.  I remember having a hard time going to sleep that week because I couldn't stop smiling every night. I hadn't felt like I belonged like that in a really long time.   Basically camp people are the best people ever.  The people that accept your craziness, random dancing, and understand you for who you truly are.  In the past year I've gotten stuck in a rut of tunnel vision.  By this I mean, whenever I walk around campus I'm oblivious to others.  Feeling invisible, I don't speak or smile to most bystanders.  I know this is the norm- but it's quite draining for me. This summer has helped me to undo most of my passiveness and become the same energetic person I once used to be.  I now refuse to be contained by the standards of what is normal- I just want to be me! :) So in an attempt to shortly recap the summer, here's a few memorable moments:

1.  On staff training week, I was stung by a poisonous caterpillar when putting up my hammock.  It was terrible.  That night I had nightmares of thousands of poisonous caterpillars living in my bed.

This is the ugly thing that stung me.  It was killed shortly afterwards.

My arm after the sting.

2.  Tuesday night campout. On Tuesdays, we would make hobo dinners of meat and veggies and put them in tinfoil and toss them into the fire.  While they would cook, we'd take the kids to the campsite to set up all of their stuff.  Our campsite consisted of a tarp on the ground in the woods that the kids would put their sleeping bag on top of.  Most of the counselors had hammocks.  It's pretty much just like it sounds- most of the time the kids would whine and whine about how they didn't want to sleep outside.  Most of the time they got over it, or we even had a group or 2 that wanted to sleep outside, but I had 2 kids that absolutely wouldn't stop crying.  One time a kid brought a fly swatter and an umbrella with them! hehe.  While half of the time I hated campout, mostly I couldn't help but to love it.  Hobo dinners were my favorite meal of the week, and I loved whenever we would tell stories around the campfire and roast s'mores.  The bugs and upset kids were definitely the downfall, but other than that it was a great time!

Protecting the fire from the rain, and Kendall protecting us from the rain! 

3.  Pranks.  Who could forget em?!  I was only involved in 2 of them.  One night, we left campout at around 1:30 a.m. (a kid had to go to the nurse anyway) and so another counselor and I got some cardboard and went into a cabin where a counselor and kids were sleeping and cardboarded her bunkbed up so whenever she woke up it was like she was inside of a box!  We also "spider-webbed" the boys cabin after they hid our shoes.  There were many pranks that I wasn't involved with, like making a zombie apocalypse fort on the aquatramp, shoe pranks (hate those haha), clothes on the flagpole, etc. 

4.  Escape boats.  One day, I was dehydrated and not feeling so good when all of the sudden I look to the lake and see camp's pontoon floating by. Thinking that I'm hallucinating seeing no one in the boat, I start to laugh, and call on people to see if they see what I do.  Then about 5 of us in jumped in the lake to save the runaway boat!

5.  Horses.  For some random reason, I was assigned to work horses.  At first, I wasn't very fond of that idea, but once I worked there, I was hooked.  I loved listening to country music while working in the barn. Even if that involved scooping poop, it's not like I haven't done that before (worked at a vet's office for a year), so that didn't bother me.  I loved the idea of doing hard work and being able to tell the difference.  Eventually they let me lead a few trails, and I enjoyed that also!  One day, a fear of mine came true.  I was riding lead horse, and about 8ish campers and one of my good friends, Jalen, were following me on the trail.  We had more time than usual, and got to go on an alternate path.  Whenever we crossed the road to go back into the woods, there was a small hill.  I told the kids to slow their horses down when we go down hills because horses like to go a bit faster down it.  My horse went down the hill with ease, and so did a few more.  All of the sudden, a horse takes off running down the small hill with a kid on it.  Screaming.  2 more horses took off throughout the woods, and all I could do was watch helplessly. 1 kid had her foot stuck in a stirrup but couldn't get it out while the horse was frantic.  Another kid was laying off of the horse.  Eventually all of the horses weren't in a line, but instead were bunched up together and it caused them to get anxious.  I pulled out my walkee talkee and told the barn director that we needed help.  Then I tried my best to lead the trail back to the barn.  I'm sure my face looked very pale, and I wasn't saying much because there wasn't much to say.  At this point I wasn't sure how the girls were or anything, I was just hoping that they were okay... I got called to go to the ambulance, and I watched as the girls were backboarded.  I got to go with them because they were in my cabin.  God is so good, neither of those girls had broken bones or anything like that!  It was such a relief, it certainly scared me. 

6.  Kids!  Oh, kids!!  There is nothing like being a camp counselor and having the responsibility of taking care of kids.  You are their entertainer, nurse, disciplinarian, parent, and friend for the week.  That involves making sure they get showers, dressed for activities, comfort them when they get homesick, help to mediate fights, and so much more.  Sometimes this means getting woken up at night.  There were some nights when I would be so tired, but duty calls.  Once a kid got duck tape stuck on her eyelid in the middle of the night and I had to get it off!  It was actually pretty funny.  Or hearing crying in the corner of the room.  It's actually not too terrible getting up, because you know that they need you.  I'll miss all of the fun times that I had with the kids.  From making bubble wands, to a cardboard city, to spa day, to them dressing me up, decorating, "raiding" the store, dance parties, making a "cherokee" tree, and so much more, I'll never forget all of the fun that was had, and all that I learned.  They made a great impact on me!

 

7.  Counselors.  I wish I could list all of our good memories we had but it's quite impossible because there were ALOT! The highlight of my summer was you guys, it was great to wake up in the morning knowing that I would have a fantastic day because I know y'all would be there.  Y'all always made me laugh and are the most fun people I know! I love you all and I'll never forget this summer!

In the Cosby Spirit,

Devin <3

Get the Picture, Duh! ;)

     This week I got closure on something I've been needing to say goodbye to for a long time. Although it hurt, I couldn't think of a better way for God to get my attention and show me to move on.  I needed a sign, and I got it :)

     It's weird to think that I've been home for three weeks because I feel like I've only been home for a few days.  I've been trying to cram in as many things as possible with family and friends.  Sometimes I feel like I'll never be able to see or hang out with everyone as much as I'd like to!   While I've been here, I've been able to catch up with alot of people I've lost contact over the past year.  So thankful to "rekindle" friendships... I treasure all of them :)

  In just 2 days, I will leave for Camp Cosby to be a counselor!  I have an incredible amount of packing to do because I haven't even started.  I have to admit that I'm pretty excited.  I can't wait to get away from everything and be in my own little world.  A world of playing with kids, making friendships with counselors, cabins, campfires, hammocking, being outdoors... taking each day as it comes.  It'll be a summer to remember. 

    Here's some random photos over the past couple weeks:

     I may blog every now and then over the summer... but if not I'll be saving up for when I get back! I won't have my phone on me alot and rarely to never be on facebook during the summer so if you'd like I'd love for you to send me letters and I will do my very best to write back! :)

Devin Williamson
2290 Paul Bear Bryant Road
Alpine, AL 35014

p.s. Please pray for me over the summer to do God's will! :) I'll be back around July 29th!

Summer Time!

     As you can see, I have made it home safe and sound! These past weeks have been busy, stressful, fun, sad, happy.......... a mixture of emotions.  The time has gone by really quickly. I suppose I should start where I left off.  My last waterskiing class was on April 28th.  I'm catching myself by surprise because I'm beginning to miss that class.  I've come a long way from the first class... which pretty much scared the poo out of me.  You can read about that experience here.  At the last class, for some reason people started talking about pyramids and I piped in about how that so seemed cool.  Instantly, the instructors were like, "We have someone that's gonna pyramid, awesome!!!!" Whew.  Not gonna lie... I was scared.  At first, we practiced on land.  If you ever had to do stunts with me in cheerleading way back in the day, you know that I shake like a leaf.  Things haven't changed.  Three guys put on their skiis and sat on the dock.  Me and one of the instructors, Danielle, sat on a guy's shoulders.  You know, things suddenly don't seem as scary whenever you have a strong, built, college guy that's been waterskiing for years to stand on ;) As soon as the boat started, we were told to hold our backs tight and NOT pull on our ropes.  It would make our bases face plant.  The first time, we fell.  But the second time, my waterskiing dude got up, and it was time for me to stand up.  I pulled my right leg over to his left shoulder grabbed the guy to the left's neck and placed my left foot on his right shoulder and stood up.  I couldn't believe that I did it!!!  For the rest of the day I felt on top of the world.  Getting down was a little more complicated.  I sat on the guy to my right's shoulder, slid between his arms, put my feet on his skiis and held on for dear life.  Prom pose! :)

About to get up!

     After what seems like forever of not knowing, my summer has finally revealed itself.  I will be working at Camp Cosby as a camp counselor!! There are a few things here that I'm going to be sad about missing, but I know that this will be worth it.  I'll be branching out and having alot of fun!  I've always wanted to be a camp counselor- now it's coming true :) Whenever I went to interview and tour the camp a few weeks ago, I could just see myself working there.  It's a legit summer camp.  By legit, I mean that you can tell that the majority of activities are outdoors, sports, and nature oriented.  I'm also really excited because I think this will help me figure out what I want to do career wise.  I'm hoping that spending 2 months with kids will help me decide if I want to have a job centered around kids.  OH!  I'm also incredibly excited because one of my best friends, Catherine Grace, will be working at a camp just 20 MINUTES from Camp Cosby!!!!  WOOOHOOO!  It's gonna be a great summer.  I can't wait to tell y'all about it. 


      After finding out about how I'd be spending my summer, it was time to concentrate on my finals.  I have never drank so much coffee in my life.   I felt bad the whole week because of the way I was eating... just really glad that that only lasted a week :) I was about to lose my sanity.  The good thing is that people do super crazy things on finals week.  They hand out juice and doughnuts at midnight in the library, and there was someone dressed up in a panda outfit and 2 guys dressed in cow suits and a guy dressed in a cookie suit handing out cookies and milk.  I found out that I made one B and the rest were A's. SO much better than last semester it's not even funny!

     I know I was so excited about leaving, but on move out day I couldn't help but to feel a little bit sad.  Don't get me wrong, I definitely wanted to come home but it was sad to know that I'll never live in that building again.  It was certainly weird to see my side of the room without decorations and looking how it looked whenever I arrived at the beginning of the year.  I won't miss sharing a bathroom, not having a kitchen, and living in a small space but I'll miss all the funny moments and good times, and making a best friend through getting a pot luck roommate!!!  Though I am still glad to have a break so that I'll realize how much I miss Auburn.  But for now, I'm just dandy at home.  I have a little less than two weeks here, and then I'm off to camp! 

     A few of my favorite summer activities so far:

Playing with Sasha! :)

Relaxing :)

Doin werk

A mini road trip!

Shelbs!

More chillin'

Goofing off :)

But I'm not done yet.... :)

All smiles :)

To get you pumped up for today, here's a video!  The girl knows how to dance!!  Props goes to Leigh Ellen for showing me this, cause she'll get mad if I take the credit ;)

Yep, it's gonna be a good day.  So get ready :)

I haven't told y'all much of what I've been up to lately.  This past weekend, I went home for my Grandparent's 50th Anniversary!  50 years is a long time!!!!  Mom worked really hard on the party and it all paid off because I believe they had a great time! Happy Anniversary Meme and Pawpaw :) Also while I was home, my brother and I got to hang out.  He drove me around on the Jeep and we took Sasha with us!  He took me to the Lumber Mill since I had never been there, and it was creepy yet pretty all at the same time.  I enjoyed the bonding time :)

 Had to make her look! haha

The rest of my weekend was pretty chill.  I ended up not going to waterskiing class on Sunday because 1. it was COLD! and 2.  I was enjoying spending time with my family... and I just didn't want to leave.  I did go to water skiing the week before that, and I was improving slowly but surely (even though I wiped out probably 10 times)!  Whenever I was driving back to Auburn from class that Sunday, it felt like I was crossing the wake every time I switched lanes!

So the other night my friend that's in a play-writing class asked me to read a part in her 10 minute play that was kind of like Tinkerbell.  I did my hair and makeup like her!  But whenever I showed up I found out that I looked sort of ridiculous because no one else in her play-writing class dressed for the part.  It was only in front of about 75 people and I only had like 5 lines but I'm pretty sure that you could see me shaking from anywhere in the room. haha!

Attempting to look like Tink!

Tonight I'm going to the UPC concert to see Ben Rector, Needtobreathe, and Young the Giant.  It's gonna be a good night!

Only 1 week and 3 more days! :)  Almost there!!!

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; 

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life; 

Of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 27:1

Sign up for DYW! :)

It's getting to be that time again...to sign up for Covington County's Distinguished Young Woman!  Almost two years ago (wow!), I had this great experience and the program has grown close to my heart.  I can't wait to hear all about the memories that will be made this year.  I want to encourage any upcoming senior girls in high school to take part in this wonderful experience.  I know alot of really outstanding girls that are that age group, so I just hope that they will embrace the opportunity and sign up!  I guess I will start with my story from a few years back :)

I started going to Junior Miss programs when I was little and mom and I would go together.  Mom would always make sure that we'd at least get to see the night when the talents were performed.  I remember watching the talents and hoping that the others wouldn't mess up... it always made me so nervous for them (still does!).  So during my junior year, people would ask me if I was going to do Junior Miss but I never really thought that I'd do it.  I am quite the procrastinator, and it seemed like a lot of pressure. Plus I never believed that I would do well in it.  But eventually, I convinced myself to give it my best shot and see where giving it my all would take me.  I told myself that if it was God's plan it would happen and that He would use me, to just have fun, and that there was nothing to be worried about.  I would pray over and over that I would be myself through all of this and to try my absolute best... and if my best wasn't good enough I could accept that.  My other goal was to not embarrass myself on stage!  At one point of time I remember my mom specifically asking me to drop out because I hadn't practiced my song enough that I was going to play on my flute... lol!!!!  I looked through a flute music book that a family friend gave me to look through and found a Spanish song that was very cute (also entitled "Andalouse"...coincidence?).  I'm interested in Spanish culture so it seemed to fit me perfectly.  I didn't want to have to buy any new dresses so I reused mine from dances.  I wanted to wear my red dress for talent and get a white rose to wear in my hair- how festive!  In order to memorize that piece, I had to lock myself in my room for the weeks to come.  I didn't have a flute instructor so I would listen to the song on Youtube alot.  I got my chorus teacher,Mrs. Crigger, and also my middle school band director, Mr. Tucker, to record the piano part for me at church... they were great!  For self-expression, the question was, "What is your dream?" so everyone talked about what career they wanted.  At the time, I wanted to be a zoo veterinarian.  At first, I just said something really basic that wasn't catchy but then someone suggested to me to say at the beginning, "Lions, tigers, and bears, OH MY!" Which I felt ridiculous saying, but it fit me.  I heard the judges laugh whenever I said my self-expression (we had a discussion in my interview about strange pets I've had)!  Two weeks before the program we started the practices in fitness and self-expression routines.  That's when I really got to spend some quality time with the girls :) Most of them were so sweet, but you're always likely to have those one or two people that try to get you down.  I had this one girl randomly try to tell me that the flute wasn't a good talent and it was very easy.  One tip for those being picked on- don't even give them a minute to think that you're down.  Even if it hurts you, just smile and walk away and keep trucking.  Mean comments from people make excellent motivation.  :)  The nights of the program were awesome- just feeling confident and not caring what people thought.  It was something that I'll never forget.  It was a shock, a completely unexpected surprise, and a blessing. Through the whole experience, I've never felt so loved...my family and friends were there the whole time.  It was so much fun!  Through this program I strengthened some friendships with the participants, gained confidence, met some new people throughout the county at different events, earned scholarship money, and so much more.  I highly encourage every upcoming senior girl to sign up... I'll be happy to give you words of encouragement or help in anyway I can, and I'm sure the current DYW, Ander Helms, or any other past Junior Misses would love to help because we all have one thing in common- we love this program!  :)

Structure-
25% interview
25% talent (onstage)
20% scholastics
15% self-expression (onstage)
15% fitness (onstage)

The Rest is Still Unwritten...

I guess you could say the most eventful thing that happened before last weekend begun started with a yell coming from the bathroom.

"Oh. my. gosh.  Devin.....Devin!....Devin!!!"   shrieked Bess, my suitmate.  Gosh.  What could it be?  Leigh Ellen and I looked at each other with confused looks on our faces.  Honestly, I was scared to go see what had frightened her.  My brain went through as many scenarios as possible.  Could she have fallen and hurt herself?  Could there be some kind of creature in the bathroom?  I rushed to the door, and when I opened it there was half an inch of water on the floor.  Whew, what a relief.  Just an overflowed toilet.  Messes are something that I can deal with, even though it's not preferable. So that night we ended up mopping up all the water while replacing it with Lysol and throwing away the bath mat... that thing had been through enough already.

As for the rest of my somewhat uneventful week, I had a biology test and a psychology test.  I did get to teach an exercise for the "Butts and Gutts" exercise class on Wednesday!  It was so much fun... I was very energized when I got up there but then I started trembling because my butt was hurting so bad.  Ironically the song "Booty Work" came on whenever I got up there.  Go figure!  Afterwards, one of the instructors said, "My butt is on fire!"  Yes!!!!!  Goal achieved.  I do still have to work on my cueing.  And of course building up my strength to actually teach a whole class.

This past weekend was Easter weekend and was also Andalusia's spring break... so my parents and Andrew decided to go to Centre, Alabama for a mini-vacation.  The thought of staying in Auburn without going to see them on Easter made me a little sad, so I decided to stay the weekend with them there!  We had a blast.  Staying with them really makes me realize how much I miss them.  How I miss my mom... she is my best friend.  I love just talking to her for hours about anything.  I probably talk her ears off (sorry mom), but she's the best listener.  And dad... he has the best laugh.  He is also the funniest person I know!  He does has a serious side when it needs to be there though.  And also, Andrew.  We get along better now that we don't live with each other 24/7!  Though I did miss spending Easter with my entire family!  I love them all.  I feel like I don't get to see them too much anymore :( There is less than one month left of school... but at this point I'm still not sure if I'll be home the whole summer or not. Here's some pictures from my weekend:

 Such fluffy clouds!

 Dad and I!

 Pink Honeysuckles!

  Look at that big fish...!

                                     (All of my pictures with mom and Andrew are on mom's camera!)

Lately, I've been thinking alot about the future.  I mean, I know that's normal for most college students, but I've been thinking about it more than I ever have.  I still haven't the slightest idea of what I want to major in.  It seems like God has said "No" to about everything I can think of. I often ask myself, in ten years (or less) where do you see yourself?  Will you be married?  What will your career be?  Where will you be living?  But I think it's all going to be pretty neat to see where I'll end up.  Only God knows :) I think He wants me to put all of my trust in Him and every thing will fall into place. That statement is alot harder than it sounds... but I know it's achievable.  I so often rely on myself to make plans, which is so stupid because my plans aren't even relatively close to how great God's plans are. 

I've probably already put this verse on my blog, but it really speaks to me so here we go again!


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."  Proverbs 3:5-6



                    Oh!  My bio teacher actually granted my wish and brought something cute to class!! :)

Wipeout

          When I woke up early on Sunday morning, I had no idea what I would be in for.  I signed up for a water skiing class with Anthony and Riley a couple of months ago not knowing what to expect.  Whenever we arrived at the Alabama River in downtown Montgomery, we were greeted with people with a wide variety of tattoos and such.  They told us that we could choose to start off our day with barefoot skiing, water skiing, wake boarding, or slalom skiing (skiing on one ski).  Some of the guys that were teaching were trying to convince people to barefoot ski.  They made it seem like no big deal, and so me, Riley, and Anthony ended up going with them.  I've never waterskiied in my life, but I thought that it certainly wouldn't be that big of a deal.  To teach you how to barefoot, there's a big metal bar that sticks out of the side of the boat that holds a rope swing with a plastic piece that you put your legs through.  The object is to hold on to the bar, sit in the swing, bend your legs with your thighs together, but have your calves apart and be pigeon toed.  And then you try to stand up. Sounds simple right?

     After the guys went, it was my turn to give it a shot.  I went into it pretty calm and confident.  I got into the swing, and the boat starting going ever so fast.  My squatting position soon turned into straight legs and I began to flail around in the swing as the water flew into my face and I felt like I couldn't breathe (went into freakout mode).  The water kept whipping my feet out from under me.  The practical thing to do would be to swing them around towards the front, but whenever I'm being splashed so much and can't get a good breath, I began to get frazzled.  I decided to give it another try, but this time i must have gotten caught off guard and let go of the metal bar, but was still caught in the swing.  Everything was so fast that I don't remember what happened, but it seemed like the swing drug me along for a little while and it even seemed like i might have flipped over the bar, until finally the swing broke.  After having the breath knocked out of me, they pulled me back into the boat and they instructor told me, "In my six years of teaching, I've never had a swing break." Lovely.  Sometime during all of this the ski instructor said, "I'm about to pee in my pants.  Do you mind if I pee off the boat?" He was asking me since I was the only girl on the boat.  OF COURSE I MIND!  That's disgusting.  But his question was more like a warning, not a question.

     So anyways, after the guys tried barefooting again, it was my turn to try once more.  I was really dreading it this time.  I could barely even stand to watch Anthony and Riley, it kind of hurt me to watch them and I probably looked green because I was thinking about how much I was dreading it.  But I jumped into the frigid water again and gave it another shot.  After about 15 seconds of getting yanked around I motioned for them to cut it out.  I said, "I just don't really like this... I'm really sorry :(" but they were all nice and understanding.  I was completely embarrassed about the whole thing.  I didn't see anyone laughing at me, but I think it was because I probably looked a little sad being jerked around like that! Thankfully one of the guys on the boat was telling me that barefooting is one of the hardest things to do, and that I should enjoy the other things more.  I was certainly glad to hear that other things may be better!  For the rest of the day I kept replaying the feeling of not being able to breathe through my mind. 

     After all that, we went out to eat and I had the best banana pudding ever!!!  Whenever I returned, the barefoot ski instructor said, "Are you gonna go skiing with me again?" and I replied, "Maybe one day"... shoot... ! Then I was able to go waterskiing, which I was actually able to do and it was kind of fun once I got the hang of it!  I felt like Bambi hobbling around. Today I am so sore right behind my shoulders and on the back of my arms.

       Group fitness training is becoming something that I'm really starting to enjoy!  The other day I got to perform my warm-up in front of the other trainees.  I did mess up alot, but I just felt so energetic and happy up there!!  I'll get to teach an exercise to a song on Wednesday... we'll see how this goes!

      Just to clarify something in my last blog post (someone asked me about it), when I said certain guys need to man up I wasn't talking about manly in terms of they need to shoot more guns, eat nails for breakfast, and act tough all the time.  I mean that they need to quit being whiny, step up and be a leader, and be confident enough in their own skin without being paranoid that someone's going to call them gay (why is the last one such a problem?)! 

   Oh, and in other random news, my organismal biology teacher brought a greater siren to class.  It's an eel-like aquatic salamander.  He may not look like it, but he was a sweet little guy!  He's my favorite so far ;)