What is it about appreciations that feel so special to me? Is it that appreciating a person deliberately and intentionally is so rare? Especially in the heartfelt way that they are done at Not Back to School Camp, which is the only place I’ve ever participated in such a formal way. My marshmallow heart starts to vibrate as my turn gets closer and closer and my heartstrings are drawn taut by the time I get me four minutes of love. I’m usually crying by the end and feeling held and seen and liked, if not loved. And I love trying to articulate what I appreciate about others when it is there turn too; although it can feel stressful worrying about finding an opportunity to jump in before the allotted time is up. I have the luck to staff with my best friend, Natalie Mama Bear. That is the only one I don’t feel stressed about because we appreciate each other often on our own.
The Appreciation Circle is how we end our post-camp Staff Debrief Meeting right before we end it and have a Staff Dinner. I’ve been through over ten of them now since I’ve been staffing every year starting in 2011, and I loved every one. I often wish I had recorded them since I usually can’t remember the specifics of most people’s appreciations–it’s mainly the feeling of the glow from the appreciations that lingers for me.
Many, if not all, of the Advisee Groups did appreciation circles on the last day of camp as a way to close out their groups. This year, Grace put all the non-Advisor staffers in one of the Advisee groups so they could experience that aspect of camp when their schedule allowed. I was an honorary member of Andy Pearson’s group this year but was tied up with logistic team responsibilities and missed out on our groups appreciations. It was a great addition my already wonderful camp experience as a staffer and I hope we continue to do it in the future.
I appreciate the uniqueness of Not Back to School Camp and the campers and staffers I’ve got to meet in my time at camp. Looking forward to future sessions.
J. Davis, Logistics Staff, Driver
