This morning I was woken up by Jenna, a junior staffer, and Torin, a camper. I actually woke up a bit before they got to my cabin, Torin plays the saxophone and you can hear from practically a mile away. It took me a bit to get up and moving but I did eventually. I find getting myself ready in the morning is a mild struggle, something about having to leave my warm and cozy sleeping bag is highly unappealing. I headed down to breakfast after waking up a few of my cabin mates.
I got myself my usual potatoes and tofu and sat on the front porch of the cozy lodge with a few of my friends. Kiran, Oscar, Otis, and Tom, to name a few. Larkin came by at some point and asked me to do this very blog, I wasn’t very excited but I put myself on the can blog if needed list and I will fulfill my duty. Elijah asked me to do breakfast clean up for him and I obliged. The pot of cranberries gets bigger everyday, you could have fit three of me in it, I am a small person but it was an impressively sized pot. Ethan told me not to worry about it and that it was his problem, I was happy to hear it.
I put the leftover food in containers or covered them with saran wrap and labeled them for the fridge and/or pantry. Jenna came into the kitchen and checked me in. I loitered in the kitchen for a bit, I love being a worktrader and getting to spend time in there. There wasn’t anything left for me to do so I begrudgingly headed to the cozy lodge for morning meeting. It was Brenna’s birthday and we sang her happy birthday like a choir, it was really beautiful and we made her cry! Big win in my book. We also did our first round of voting on the prom theme for next year, we voted into little cups with little beans. I remember voting for France, I can’t remember all ten of the themes.
The meeting was soon over and I headed to Frida’s (building) for advisee. I’m in Christian’s advisee along with quite a few of my friends. We all checked in and played a game, I think it was hot seat, unsure. After advisee, I headed to the cozy lodge to host my workshop, silent football! It’s neither silent nor football, it’s primarily a game about catching your friends breaking the rules, it’s quite fun. Me, Jean, Leo, Otis, and Oscar all played. Otis lost, twice, we gave them the punishment of having to floss for a good few seconds, dab, and then say, “that’s on fleek”, at evening meeting. They did it once in front of the kitchen to practice, and as their first punishment.
Then it was superhero time, I’m a worktrader so I don’t have anything to do during those thirty minutes. There had been a partner dancing workshop happening in the lodge and the music was still playing. I went in and briefly danced with Beatrice, Esmé, and Umoja. I learned about partner dancing at my first session of camp at the Oregon session in 2022 and have loved it ever since. I taught them a few different dips as the workshop only covered very basic moves. The lodge clean up superheroes kicked us out of the lodge so they could sweep and we moved to hang out on the porch, we kept dancing even without the music.
Speaking of music, there was to be karaoke at lunch and they got started slightly before, I signed up to sing Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber. It was a really good time, I got to eat grilled cheese and gaslight soup with my friends, periodically getting up to and dance and sing to the different songs people sang. I even added a few new songs to my playlist. After I finished eating, I stuck around in the main part of the lodge a bit longer, watching all the people perform. But soon I had to away to the kitchen to do my worktrade, my job is meal clean up, which also happens to be a superhero but that day no lunch superheroes ever showed up. I got to chat with Ethan a bit which is always nice.
I stayed in the kitchen for all of siesta, It started out by just putting food away and then doing various prep work, a very brief stint of dishes, and then it was my time to leave. Part of my worktrade is lifeguarding as in my home life, I work as a lifeguard and swim instructor, and the second workshop slot is swim/canoe time so I have to be down at the lake. I don’t mind it, the lake is a very pretty spot and there’s usually a staffer there to chat with while folks swim. I headed down to the lake, it was sunny but I didn’t expect anyone would come down. Aubrie was the staff observer, it was just the two of us for a bit, we chatted and there were moments of silence. It was nice. Pearl came down to swim, she spent some time warming up in the sun before getting in the water and the three of us talked for a bit.
Pearl and Aubrie swam for the few minutes that were left of swim time and soon it was time to head back up the hills to the rest of camp. Today was Seeing Seen, it’s a very connective camp event that involves sharing with a small group of people in a very calm fostered environment. I hadn’t been in a couple of years but I heard from my friends in Oregon that it was really good this year so I decided to give it a shot in Vermont. We circled up in the field and then they split us up into two different groups and we walked to our meeting spots. Ours was down at the swing that overlooks the road up to Firefly Song. It had a really good view as the sun started to move further down the sky. The mosquitos ran rampant and I cried when I shared, I felt more connected and lighter for it.
We walked back up as a group, carrying the milk crates we had been sitting on. We settled back into the field with the other group sharing a bit about how Seeing Seen went for those that wanted to speak on it. I think most people had a positive experience, this specific event can be a lot and depending on what people choose to share it can have a very heavy impact on the other people in the group, but I feel that the overall goal of creating more connection was successful. There was a thirty minute gap between the end of Seeing Seen and the start of dinner, I chose to go to my cabin and lay in my sleeping bag for a bit. I felt very raw afterwards, I don’t regret what I shared but it was an emotionally exfoliating experience for me. I think being still and getting a moment to hold myself and text my partner for a bit was good for me.
The dinner bell rang, I stayed still for a while longer. I wasn’t excited about dinner, it was shepherds pie, which at camp means basically all lentils. I went down to the lodge and got a serving anyway. I ate the mashed potatoes with cheese that was on top, I went back to the kitchen to see if we had any leftovers that was more appealing to me. Thankfully we did, there was a small amount of macaroni and cheese that we had on the very first night of camp. Me and two others split what was left three ways, I added extra cheese to mine. I ate quietly by myself while listening to music on the side porch of the lodge. I bused my dish when I was finished eating and went back to the kitchen, this time to do my worktrade.
Amora, Caroline, Jasper, and me all worked together to put everything away, we were finished before the check in bell had even rung. The last thing that I did in the kitchen was scream the words to Your Graduation by Modern Baseball with Amora. Jenna had come in earlier while we were still working to check all of us in so the only thing left to do was take off my apron and go sit down for evening meeting.
Once the meeting had started, I was called up to help with the song, I had bothered Jenna about it earlier that day during karaoke. We sang Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Everyone knew the chorus and sung along. The business end of the meeting went by and then it was time. Time for Otis to do their punishment! They made everyone clap as they did it, I think that helped. Benny told me afterwards that he didn’t think it was embarrassing but simply cute instead.
The hug number was given to us by Leander, a gift from his fairy godparent. I heckled Kiran and Tom about what they had been laughing at for half the meeting, they rolled around the floor and did not give me answers. I plugged in my phone to charge and soon it was time for Angel Walk and soon after that, Campfire. We all headed outside to the field, grouping around Aubrie who was standing on the porch, I told her she should crowd surf. She did. We all reconvened after she had been safely put on the ground and she explained what the Angel Walk was and how to go about it.
We all lined up, facing another person and shoulder to shoulder with the people beside us. And slowly the people started to walk through, eyes closed and arms crossed being told what kind things people think about them. When it was my turn to go through, I got a lot of “camp wouldn’t be the same without you”s and a lot of other nice things. I liked it a lot. I hung around for a bit after, I talked to Kilam and Aubrie, Kyson very briefly, and Oscar said they wanted to “run it back” and recon what they said to me in the actual Angel Walk. They proceeded to royally mess it up about four more times, I found it very funny.
Campfire had started up in the cozy lodge, it’s an event where people can get an opportunity to sing a song, share a poem, tell a story, or something to that effect with everyone. I’ve never been to Campfire in Vermont, and that remained true this year. Instead, I grabbed a couple s’mores and my phone and headed to Frida’s to talk with my partner on the phone for a bit. We had planned it a few days before and it was a very nice time. I was oh so sleepy and pretty cold for a lot of that call, but sitting on top of the stack of mattresses against the railing whilst giggling about anything and everything, I had never felt warmer. Might have something to do with the fact that I had gone to my cabin about an hour into the call and changed into warmer and cozier clothing, but I digress.
Soon after that call ended I headed to bed. I elected fairly early on in the session that brushing my teeth or doing any of my usual nighttime routine was an unnecessary task in the cold Vermont night with the even colder water that comes out of the spigots near the cabins. I simply crawled into my bunk and zipped myself up into my sleeping bag. I texted my partner for a bit longer and still managed to go to bed earlier than I had the night before, despite the fact that 1am was fast approaching. I fell asleep as snug as a bug in a rug.
My name is Ben, I also go by Paige and Geode. I am seventeen and I use They/He pronouns. This is the third blog I’ve ever written and my eighth session of NBTSC, I have been coming to camp since I was thirteen. I neglected to share my identity until the very end to really put you in my shoes.
Remember that I love you, Ben <3