Our LITs (Leaders-in-Training) left for their four-day canoe trip this morning. On this trip they rotate being “leader of the day” and learn and practice a variety of wilderness leadership skills. The LIT summer is a time of enormous transition for 16-year-olds.  From camper to counsellor, from cared of to caregiver, from being a responsibility to taking responsibility, from child to adult.

At the end of 1st session, all the LITs gathered their LIT Directors and spoke to them about how important they were as mentors and supporters and teachers. Morgan and Grant, the LIT Directors, spoke to the LITs about their side of the equation. Here’s what Morgan and Grant said to the LITs:

Morgan

When looking back on my 21 years of life, I have always had the same two dreams. The first, as many of you know, is to one day run a camp of my own. The second, which is just as if not more important to me, is to someday become a mom.

Ever since I was little, I would spend my days daydreaming about having kids of my own and sending them off for their very first day of camp. In fact, just today I was talking to Grant about how no matter what, I want to have kids and send them to camp the second they turn 6 years old so I can see them grow and experience all the wonderful things camp has to offer.

Although you guys might not know this but every single one of you in front of me has given me a piece of both my dreams this summer. Not only have you guys increased my confidence and allowed me to come one step closer to running a camp, but more importantly for the first time in my life I finally feel like a mom. A mom that gets to see her dreams of watching her children grow and enjoy camp right in front of her eyes!

Grant

12 years ago, I stepped off the camp bus red-eyed and scared, surrounded by giant counsellors and campers all taken by a whirlwind of excitement. Now looking back on the last 12 years, it’s hard to imagine myself in any other place during the summer. My home of my heart truly is this place, with some of the formative moments of my life taking place here. Learning about who I am as a person through skill and relationship building to making some of the most treasured friends I have, makes this place special. From the shy and timid junior who stepped off the bus, now to a confident leader who has become one of those giants helping juniors off. I’ve learned that camp is a truly transformative place. A place where I had the opportunity to change, and a place where I now have the opportunity to change others.