By Lindsay Nielsen, V Form

Building Bonds with Campers at Brantwood

It was 2:47 a.m. I was woken abruptly  by a LED flashlight shining directly into my eyes. “Ms. Nielsen?” one of my campers whispered to me. Her face was red and damp. “We have a problem.” She avoided eye contact. I immediately knew what was wrong. This incident had happened twice before. I rolled out of bed, slipped on my rainboots, and attempted to quietly open the squeaky, wooden door that led outside. After silently leaving the shack with my camper, I walked her to the Wayside (the bathroom) and waited on the porch as she washed up. When we returned to the cabin, I placed her sleeping bag, blanket ,and wet clothes into a plastic bag. Grabbing my sleeping bag from my bedframe, I tossed it onto her top bunk and smoothed out the sides. Later that morning, I washed all of her belongings while the campers participated in morning exercises. I made sure no one knew whose items I was cleaning or rumors would spread like wildfire. (more…)