Anytown USA Exits..I've Been There..

It's my 200th post! Woo Hoo! So, I've decided to write about something that I think is pretty awesome. You might not think so.

When I was 13 or 14, my aunt and uncle started telling me about this camp called Anytown. They kept telling me, "When you're 17, you're going. When you're between your junior and senior year, you're going." I was all, "Ugh..Whatever.."

Summer of 2000 rolled around. I was 17. I was between my junior and senior year in high school. I boarded the bus with my back pack, my pillow and my insane nerves and rode 4 hours up north to the week that would help mold me into the person I am today.

The bus pulled into the pines and the dirt lot and was surrounded by a huge group of singing and happy men and women. They hugged us as we got off the buses. They didn't even know our names. We were assigned cabins. We nervously met bunkmates and exchanged names, jokes a and what we thought this was really all about. We really had no idea.

Describing what Anytown is all about would take too much time. Anytown fights against racism, bias and bigotry, but it's so much more than that. It's connections to people who you never thought you'd ever have a connection with. You open yourself to things you never thought you would. You push past your comfort zone to learn about yourself and other people. My week was spent with an open heart, an open mind and many tears. It was the best week I've ever had. It was the best camp I've ever been to. I think this camp should be required for everyone. EVERYONE.

While I don't think that prejudice can ever be truly wiped away, whenever I start to have a thought based on a split second look at someone, I always think twice about what it is I'm thinking. Do I really want to think this about this person without actually talking to them first? No, I don't. And my thoughts change.

I left camp a totally different person than when I got there. Anytown USA does exist. It's a place where souls open and are shared. One day, my kids will experience this too.

To learn more about the camp I attended, click here.