Goodbye Charlie Brown...

I guess the holidays are officially over. Gone are the meticulous decorations my mother puts up, the perfect Christmas tree overloaded with ornaments, the garland I continually knock things off of. Even the faithful nutcrackers have gone. I love the holidays- not just because I like finding people presents and wrapping them or even the decorations. I personally feel the deepest love for the holiday baking season. Ahhh I can practically smell the Christmas tree cookies baking now. I love that the holidays see no reason to restrain your sweet tooth (I sometimes take it upon myself to save on the grocery bill by eating just cereal and sweets). I love when my mom makes dozens of ginger snaps that my brother’s friends fight over or when my dad eats all of the (read: my) puppy chow. But mostly I love the chex mix. For those of you who have never seen me around chex mix, I am positively useless to resist its deliciousness (we have video proof). I used to think that my mom must have done some sort of voodoo on the chex mix bowl we always used to make it come out perfect but apparently its just a lot of Worchestershire sauce (I stand my voodoo theory).

I love the holiday baking season as much as I love the way that the holidays bring out the crazy in all of us. Face it- we all have crazy families its just that some of us are a little more, shall we say, open about our eccentricities. This Christmas all of my family’s craziness was played out against the backdrop of old family movies. According to them not much has changed. Watching these delightfully embarrassing videos I have learned that there are some things that have remained consistent throughout my life. First, I sleep. A lot. I’m not really in my own christening video because I am, well, sleeping- even through the shrieks of my older brother and the commotion that comes with my family. Apparently my talent for sleep through anything, including one of the worst hurricanes in history and various fire alarms, has always been there. Second, I was horribly accident-prone and probably always will be. At my first birthday I almost fall out of chair (this is after I’ve already become close friends with the neurologist at the hospital) and am playing with forks. Yes forks. I couldn’t watch the video out of fear that I would somehow poke Even playing in the leaves I manage to gracefully dive (read slide) into the pile of leaves and sort of can’t get out. Every video we watched have some sort of disaster that seems eminent. When I dancing around being goofy in the videos, all I can think of is: Hello glass window, meet my head. Clearly my affinity for freak accidents is no accident. And finally I figured out what my roommates laugh at when I talk to anyone from my family on the phone: I have a really southern accent. Nothing quite beats hearing my 6-year-old self talk about her “TEE-AR-RAAAAH.” My accent is absolutely ridiculous and can only be described as coming from Hicksville, USA. What’s good is that these videos showed me that, hey, we’ve all got a little crazy in our families so you may as well just embrace it. Even if that means its Christmas day and you all end up dying laughing at how ridiculous/awkward you looked in the 90s or laughing at silly gifts where you receive a twitter shot glass. Ok maybe the shot glass isn’t so normal. Oh well.

The Semester in Review...

Seeing as the semester from hell is finally over, I have come back to the blogosphere after abandoning it so that I could write about physiology and cover the a room of white boards. Alas I have returned and here is a list of all I have accomplished this semester.

1. Spent the entire night in an academic building
2. - Made friends with the early morning cleaning staff
3. - Become a complete and utter diet coke addict
4. - Gone to the midnight premiere of new moon
5. - Danced like a fool on stage for a stroll
6. - Performed as The Spartan Cheerleader in front of half of the university
7. - Yelled at a football player like he was a 5 year old
8. - Managed to go an entire semester without once burning anything or causing the fire alarm to go off
9. - Discovered sparkling wine andre. For $5.
10. - Managed to get more parking tickets in 2 weeks than in entire Furman career
11. - Heard my dad’s voice for the first time and discovered that he had quite the Southern accent.
12. - Did not break a dish for an entire semester.
13. - Got to be the official elf for Christmas crunk. That’s a resume booster.
14. - Discovered that I truly missed my calling in life to be a Disney princess.
15. - Made a blog then subsequently abandoned blog. Oops.
16. - Lady Gaga followed me on Twitter. Win.
17. - Rediscovered S Club 7 episodes on Youtube.
18. - Watched both seasons of Dorm Life online within 2 days.
19. - Officially became a Gleek.
20. - Rediscovered my childhood with the 3 Ninjas Kick Back
21. - Mastered riding a bike in a skirt and with a cup of coffee in one hand.
22. - According to Sporcle am a complete expert on Disney Channel Original Movies
23. - Sang “We Didn’t Start the Fire” at karaoke
24. - Discovered Beast Mode. Greatest Video Ever.
25. - Strangely did not go to a Jonas Brothers Concert. Or the Honor Society one with T. Flood. Weird.
26. - Met the mother of my future husband Ken, aka the most wonderful, amazing, mythical boyfriend ever.
27. - Found out that as a child I apparently had the world’s thickest Southern accent.
28. - Ran into a pole with my bike. In front of people. Classic.

Sweet sweet summertime

I feel like since camp is over I should write some incredibly poignant entry about what an amazing experience I had but truthfully I don't think I can. I wouldn't be doing this summer justice by writing about how wonderful it is there, how much I've changed, etc, etc. Honestly, it was a tough summer. There were times I was so frustrated and exhausted and just wanted to sleep; I was pushed in ways I didn't know I could and did things I never thought I would ever do. But I wouldn't change a bit of it. I came to understand that our campers are more than just campers- they are colleagues, equals, friends. I worked with people this summer with such joy for the world, such hope that I couldn't help but feel happy even with very little sleep. One of my friends told me that he learned that they are not people to pity and they aren't. They are individuals who deserve love and compassion and respect just as much as the next person and one should never doubt their abilities. Camp focuses so much on abilities but reminds us that we all have our own disabilities. I wish I knew how to sum up this summer adequately but I don't think my words would do enough. I learned this summer what it means to be truly selfless and to put others before you and how liberating that can be. Spearhead claims that it is more than just a camp and it really is; it permeates your life and brings you to people who can show you more about yourself and others that you would have ever thought. I hope some day each of you can find an experience like camp but until then enjoy these:

My favorite camper/counselor quotes:

- Love me tender, love me sweet, I like you, You like me....

- Miss Allison that's a rat!

- Hottie boy at 10 o'clock

- My precious cutie pie

- That's culture!

- WENIS!

- Snickers bar!

- Boobies.

- I'm having a magical time!

- Bon qui qui

- It's the climb....

- ALICE!!!!

- I love everybody.

- Those weren't real clowns.

- You're my princess.

-Let's dance up some fun!

- Can we listen to Wicked!?!?!

- Ice cream and cakey cake

- I would want to be a merperson with you...

- We Rock!

- Am I childlike in nature?

- You know what's weird, presidents poop. (seriously ben...)

- Are you my girlfriend?

- I'm gooey, chewy chocolate.

- unnawares

- Do the wookie!!

-Man, I feel like a woman.

- I just love this place...

The Life Aquatic

We found Dory!

Takin' on the Jellies- Kyle was excited

We were in awe.

Will, me, and Kyle


So last weekend me and my friend Will from camp (who should totally go to Furman by the way) went to see the awesome Kyle Synder in Atlanta and we spent most of our time there at the Georgia Aquarium. I am in no way kidding. Apparently when get 3 people who are aquarium nerds you end up there for a while. Basically we walked around and saw all of the animals and read all of the information and touched some stingrays and may have ridden down the sweet whale slide. I don’t think we could have been more enthralled by it- I maybe took about 200 pictures of the fish. The Georgia Aquarium is sweet and it sort of made me miss when I used to want to be a marine biologist, or at least a dolphin trainer.

After our aquarium adventure and the necessary shopping excursion, we ended up at a bluegrass concert. A free one. You’d think this would be a bad choice but it was some of the most fun I’ve had in a while. Everyone there was so different, the bad was good, and it was pretty fun just people watching. We ended up sitting on a Pi Kapp blanket drinking white wine we brought in in a J.Crew bag. The only thing that would have made it frattier would have been a cooler. Or a bowtie. Of course we followed this with an oyster roast/clam bake in Kyle’s back yard because that? Is the natural thing to do after a free bluegrass concert. The evening closed with a viewing of Planet Earth where I promptly fell asleep. Ultimately, I think it was a near perfect weekend- the aquarium, Atlanta, good friends, good food, and lots of J.Crew. The only thing that would have made it better? If I were a dolphin trainer for real. Oh and penguins- they were seriously lacking.

Everyday is a winding road...

Somehow camp is almost over and I have yet to figure out how it has already been 7 weeks. I’m sitting here at my dad’s mom’s house in the middle of nowhere in Virginia with very little internet access trying to convince myself that really being disconnected from the world isn’t that awful. This summer I have slowly realized that having internet constantly at your fingertips isn’t totally necessary and really, Facebook is more than a tad over-rated. Still, I find myself freaking out anytime I can actually read my email- it’s become such a special thing. Even so, it is nice to know what’s going on in the world. I really think that something massive could happen and we wouldn’t know about it; but, part of me feels that we are so wrapped up in camp world worrying about our campers that the world essentially ceases to be as important.
The past 2 weeks have been exhausting but really a lot of fun. We’ve had the older ladies for two weeks and I’ve discovered that they are perhaps some of the funniest people you will meet. I absolutely love being around them and they are usually up for taking a nap so I’m totally into that. My parents actually made it up for a talent show and I was so incredibly excited to show them what I have been doing the past 2 months. Surprisingly, my dad actually really liked it- he did get a birthday party invitation and a girlfriend so I think that he fits in pretty well. Apparently its overwhelming to see that many special people in one confined space because I have become so used it to. There are times that I think I have completely forgotten what it is like to be in a world that isn’t camp and that I may no longer be able to functioning completely in society. I’m hoping this soon comes back. But most importantly, my parents got to see why I do what I do and what a unique place Spearhead is. This week Virginia got to come and I was so happy to see her! I have gotten to see her far more this summer but it was awesome to get to show her what I’ve been doing and why I’m a total “camera whore” at camp- its true, I take a lot of pictures. It is truly exciting to get to show people you love what you are passionate about and why this population is so important and wonderful. I hope that through this blog some of you have been able to see what a wonderful place Spearhead is and how important it is to me. I wish I could share with everyone all of my pictures and stories about it because it really has been a wild ride. Somehow I went down this road in my last real summer as a college student (I’m refusing to talk about the grad school application I’ve started- its too scary) and I don’t really know where it will lead me, but I think its going somewhere good. Either way, I’ve got some great stories out of it and maybe, just maybe, cured my email addiction. Maybe not.

summer reading...

I think you should all go read these books. No excuses.
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime- written from the perspective of 15 year old
with autism. It is absolutely fascinating and so enlightening about how many people with
autism think.
- Look Me in the Eye- John Elder Robinson- His memoir of growing up with Asperger's without a diagnosis. If you know anyone with Asperger's, you will love this.
- Running with Scissors- So incredible and undescribeable. Go read it and you'll know what I mean.
-Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster. But first go read Bitter is the New Black, Bright Lights Big Ass, and Such a Pretty Fat. These books are laugh out loud, pee in your pants funny and are so much fun to read. So read all of them. Really.
- Riding the Bus with My Sister- a really touching story about two sisters, one with special needs and their journey together. A great read, especially if you've worked with special needs.

Apparently I'm a slacker

I feel completely like a slacker but really I could blame my lack of updates on the fact that I dont actually have internet access during the week and I spend 90% of my weekends sleeping but I wont. So for those of you who I havent seen in a while, here's an update on my life at camp and everything in between.
The third week of camp went really well and since it was near the 4th of July we all got to go on a hot air balloon ride. Granted the balloon was tied to the ground so we didn't go too high, but it was a hot air balloon none the less. I've learned so far that the "old lady" cabin is really pretty fun, especially when they can't stand the creepy clown show and they hate it. My favorite camper from the week was definately this adorable woman named Miss Pat who totally had an attitude. She was completely ridiculous and therefore I loved her.
I got to celebrate the 4th in Nashville with the wonderful Allison Renfro! I was so incredibly excited to see her- it has been far too long! I love being reminded how wonderful and amazing my friends are. We got to go to downtown Nashville, hang out at Spa Renfro by the pool, and celebrate at the gorgeous Renfro farm. The farm is absolutely beautiful and it was so wonderful to be in a place where I could just relax and be with such wonderful friends. Oh and Caroline? We can still go to Mephis. I think the best part is that we ended the weekend by going to Barnes and Noble and going to Ben's house to read. Seriously, we're nerds.
Fourth week of camp was...interesting. We had some really fun campers but I did get smacked in the face a few times. Oh, and choked by a 60 year old. That was an experience and yes, my parents asked to see a picture of the lady who smacked me. That was comforting. Other than that, our campers have really fun so far and I have really enjoyed getting to know them as people, not people with special needs. I feel like we are all learning that really we all have disabilites and the best thing is to focus on everyone's abilities, not what they can't do.
That weekend (sorry this is such a long update...) my cousin got married and I got to go with my wonderful friend Nate. My parents had just gotten in from Vegas so I got to catch up with them and here all about their trip. They did call me from the Hoover Dam which made me uber jealous but hey, the present from Cirque Du Solei really helped :) I feel very blessed to have parents who I get along so well with and we all had so much fun at the wedding. Apparently, the Ritters can really throw a party. I got to see so many of my cousins, dance to "Shout" with my mom (if you know us, this makes perfect sense, see my sweet little cousin MC, and tear up the dance floor with Natey. I really cannot think of a more wonderful wedding weekend.
I just finished up with the 5th week of camp and now I feel like I'm on the downward slope of camp. I cannot believe that we have already have 5 weeks of camp. It feels like just yesterday we were all meeting for training and somehow we've already finished 5 weeks. I've really gotten to know so many amazing counselors and I feel like we have been bonded in so many ways. My favorite day was when a bunch of us went up to the lake at night to pray and share about our lives. I dont know if we are all realizing what this summer means for us quite yet but I know that this summer is something big. My cabin this week was fun and they wanted to do something in the talent show so I was really excited...gotta love that Camp Rock.
These campers mean so much to me and I realize that they are teaching me so much about myself- that I need to relax and go with the flow sometimes, what it means to be truly selfless, how wonderful it is to put people before yourselves and how special the little things in life are.
Well friends that's been the last 3 weeks of my life. I wish I was able to share with all of you absolutely everything about this summer so if I see you and make some crazy comment, its probably from camp and I've forgotten that I'm not there. I hope you all are having wonderful incredible summers.
So until my next chance to have internet....adios amigos.