Today is Wednesday, and it is an absolutely beautiful day on campus! The sky is extraordinarily blue, the kids are laughing with each other as they walk to class, and everyone seems to have a smile on his or her face. There is something so special about being in a place where every child can be excited about being himself and the energy of that excitement is lighting up the SCATS community. It is thrilling to watch!
Last night I helped facilitate the game of Ultimate Frisbee that several campers chose to play. At first, as is natural, there were certain children who stood out as the stars of the game. However, as the plays progressed, the Frisbee was suddenly thrown to a camper who had been reluctantly running back and forth along the “out” boundary. Surprised, the camper jumped up and caught the Frisbee with a great move. As the teammates cheered, the camper’s face beamed. For the remainder of the game, that camper no longer trudged along the sideline but was a part of every play and scored several points. It was inspiring.
Upon reflection, it seems like this is small example of how much of an impact being at SCATS will make. From the beginning of the game, that child had the potential to be a great player, but it took encouragement to bring out that talent. Likewise, each child here has the gifts and talents to do amazing things, but sometimes those talents can be forgotten in the hum-drum of everyday life. Being around peers who care as much as they do and dream as much as they do will provide encouragement to campers and help them discover just how special they are. I have already witnessed several of these discoveries and cannot wait to see what the next two weeks will bring!