I truly believe that God gives His hardest battles to His toughest soldiers. Whether it be a loved one, a friend, or even an acquaintance, I witness this every day. However, I get to spend a whole week with 150 of the strongest soldiers at my favorite place, Muscular Dystrophy Camp.
One of the most resonating lessons my parents have taught me was to help others less fortunate than us. I’m very blessed to say that I am healthy, safe, and loved because millions of people in the world cannot declare the same. My favorite week of the year is when I volunteer to work as a counselor at a Muscular Dystrophy Camp. Meeting some of my best friends, role models, and even helping to further decide what I want to with my life, I all owe to MDA Camp.
Our goal as camp counselors is to create an atmosphere that the disabled children can do everything that healthy children can normally do at a summer camp. From horseback riding with wheelchair accessible ramps or fishing off a pier from their chairs, their disabilities can’t inhibit them here. Although I mentioned that camp is one of the volunteer opportunities I’m involved in, I never consider it as that. From learning many things such as problem solving skills to giving me a more humble look at life itself, the rewards I have received are far more fulfilling than the work I do for the campers.
A cheer that we constantly shout during the week is “H-A-P-P-Y, I love camp!” Our favorite camp chant on its own demonstrates the personalities of these children since they are the happiest human beings I have ever met. Although they are constricted to leg braces or wheelchairs, are in constant pain, and some have fatal types of MD, they hardly ever complain. As a healthy 18-year-old, I complain about homework, chores, 8 a.m. classes, and unimportant issues that hardly at all threaten my quality of life. Muscular Dystrophy Camp, for me, has been the most eye-opening experience in my life. Something my mother says to my siblings and me is “Count your blessings; they always outweigh the negatives.” I believe that in order to overcome anything in life, one must appreciate what they have compared to what they do not have.
Simply put, there’s no place like it. It’s an environment encompassing constant motivation, acceptance, and love. Whether it be campers or my fellow counselors, I get to learn from them every year. This circle expands past the week of camp. Last year, we were struck with a loss of one of our own counselors. Although I didn’t know him for very long, I was privileged to have worked alongside him. He was not only the model counselor, but his positivity and huge heart made him the model human being who we should all strive to be like. Many of us from MDA attended his services. Attendance going out the door showed how much he affected people in every realm of his life. Even if we only got to see him maybe once a year, we were blessed to have spent any time with him at all.
Regardless of disability, every person has something to offer. From personal experience, I can say that the disabled people I know are the most able out of all of us because of their perseverance to tackle every situation life throws at them, with a smile on their faces at all times.
