Summertime.
Time for self-growth.
Time to experience all that I can,
All that's new and most important,
Time to push my limits.
I repeated this mantra, over and over,
On the bus, on my way to a "seminar"
That I knew absolutely nothing about.
I knew none of the people sharing bus space with me,
I knew nothing of the organization sponsoring me,
And absolutely nothing about what was to come
In the week that I would take part in.
Arriving at Hillsdale calmed some of my fears,
The place looked friendly,
The dorms looked clean, the staff energetic,
The other attendees just as intimidated as I,
Heck, there was even sidewalk art welcoming us all.
The first day, we played ice breaker games,
Got tours, introductions, and a feel
Of what the seminar would be like for the following weeks.
That night, I had silent doubts,
I felt like I would never fit in at this place.
I came from a big city, one of the only ones,
I was sure my family were poorer than most there.
I was quite a bit older than most,
And glaringly, had the wrong skin colour from everybody else.
The next few days were a whirlwind of activities,
Workshops, games, team challenges, general sessions,
Small group debates, guest speakers, lunches, dinners,
Dances, rec times, theatrics, even displays of talents.
And I surprised myself
Each and every time.
I made friends, girl friends at that!
What would usually take me a year to accomplish,
I did in 2-3 days: I opened up.
I spent every waking moment with these people,
And still felt like it weren't enough time.
We shared our experiences, told jokes,
Gossiped about the rest of the delegates.
Even more surprising, I sang and danced.
I couldn't remember ever being so free.
I am always the most self-conscious one,
But not at the Civitan seminar.
Here, I cheered the loudest, danced the hardest,
Screamed at the top of my lungs-
And never before, have I felt so exhilarated,
So liberated.
And the atmosphere, oh, the atmosphere!
Those silent doubts were forced out of me,
Even by the beginning of day two.
No one saw me as different,
I was included.
I laughed, cried, learned, shared,
The same as the rest of them.
And before I knew it,
It was time to go back to the real world-
A world where hugs don't solve everything,
And people are rarely moved to tears
At the misfortunes of the world.
So now here we all are,
Back to our separate lives.
But I know for a fact, that none of us,
Will ever forget that one week-
The things we shared, the friends we made,
And most important-
The kindness that existed all around us.
