Summer Camp Ain't Easy, Y'all

Almost two weeks ago, I returned from my spring break trip to Blackville, South Carolina. That week spent working and living with members of the community was like a surreal summer camp. Now that I've really had time to digest my experience, I can honestly say that, even though I didn't spend my time sunbathing on a beach, it was the best spring break of my life.

I got together with a group of 11 other students to "walk with the people of Blackville" as part of the Marquette Action Program (M.A.P). We were basically strangers when we started. We all have different majors, are in different grades and have different personalities and senses of humor. And we spent nine full days together, with probably 48 hours of that in a couple of vans!

Early on in the trip, we talked about what we wanted to do over the course of the week. One guy wanted us to take risks and another wanted for all of us to become so close that we could drop the niceties and get angry with each other if that's how we felt. They wanted an authentic experience, and they both got what they wished for. We bickered, we got frustrated, we pushed each other's buttons. But we also shared our stories with one another, stepped out of our comfort zones, opened up to one another, laughed together, supported one another and lifted one another up. I now have 11 amazing friends, all with different personalities and senses of humor, and we fit together like puzzle pieces.

Tossing the frisbee around at the end of a beautiful South Carolina day

In addition to connecting with my fellow travelers, I also connected with the people I met in Blackville. From day one, I felt welcome and cared for. My group arrived late after two long days of travel and we had a hot turkey dinner waiting for us (with stuffing, peas, pies and all manner of other delicious foods). We were fed like that for the whole trip, with different families, churches and other community members giving us sweet tea and fried chicken until we were ready to burst.

During those meals, I felt like I became a part of the community. Everyone came together in prayer before the meal started, and everyone was joking and laughing and exchanging stories by the time the meal ended. One of our group facilitators was famously nicknamed "Passion Fruit" by a reverend who ate with us, and the name stuck. We came away from those meals with enough inside jokes to last a lifetime.

I also got to visit a lot of people's homes in the area and work on household projects while they chatted with me. One woman had us call her "Ma'am" and didn't ask for our names because she admitted she would forget them, but she was one of the nicest people we met. I talked with her about her family while I raked leaves in her yard. Laughing, she relieved one of the guys from our group of his leaf blowing duties (he didn't quite have the knack for it) and joined us herself. It was great to get to know her and work with her.

I could tell a thousand stories like that: Raymond, patiently teaching us how to use power drills and pounding down the ends of screws that we drilled through to the other side of the wood; Vivian, making us laugh with her blunt words of wisdom and feisty spirit; Miriam, telling me with such sincerity that I'll do just fine with my degree and that I don't need to worry; Evelyn, driving us all over to teach us about the history of the area and find us a beach even though it was a cloudy day; and so many others, whose names I've kept in a notebook and in my heart, who made me smile and taught me how to be a better person.

I am so thankful that I had that week to learn and laugh and eat and spill paint on myself. I actually laughed in my sleep while I was there (which was a little creepy for my roommate--sorry Sarah), and I felt like I was smiling all the time. It was one of my best college experiences because it taught me that loving others ultimately brings about a sense of joy and peace that can't be found through any other means. I'll take that lesson with me wherever I go, along with this one: summer camp ain't easy, y'all (but it sure is worth it)!