Lighting a Candle in the Darkness

I believe in lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness. This quirky little saying means the world to me specifically because of where it came from. This is something commonly heard at America’s Camp, a summer camp for children who lost a parent on 9/11, and is it exactly what the camp stands for. For me it is not only a summer camp but my childhood, and place where I met some of the most amazing people I know.

The camp started in August 2002 to help children grieve and cope with the loss they had just suffered. I first attended two years later, still unsure of what I was getting myself into. I was a shy, and scared nine year old, who was still not sure what her life was going to be like after living in such an upside down world for about three years. When I got there my first summer I had felt more alive there than I had in a long time, and I knew that there would not be a summer I did not return to America’s Camp.

Camp brought me out of my shell, and showed me that it was okay to be happy, and that I was not going through this alone. The friends I made were all so different from me but the bond we shared made our friendship as easy as breathing. Most of our time would be spent, laughing, playing, dancing, or planning pranks, just like all the other nine year olds could do every day. That’s what the candle in the darkness is for me; it was being able to have a childhood when it seemed as if I was forced to grow up too early.

America’s Camp closed its doors for the last time this summer, after 10 years that changed so many lives. As a senior in high school moving on to college next summer, it seemed as if America’s Camp was created to give me the opportunity to be a kid just like everyone else for eight years. As I technically become an adult, and have many changes coming up in the coming months, I can’t help but think about what my life would be like if I never risked getting on that bus to go away to this strange place. I could still be the sad, shy, and anxious person I was nine years ago, I may never have taken some of the chances or opportunities that have gotten me to where I am today. I would have never met the friends that have stuck by me longer than anyone else. I would have never grown up like everyone else. All of these are the reasons I believe in lighting my candle everyday instead of cursing the darkness.