Camp Twin Lakes X

This week and last week we've had camps for people with developmental and other mental disabilities. The first week was for youth ages 7 to 30, and this week is adults ages 30 all the way up to 68. It's been a very interesting group, and just like with Roger from earlier on, it's clear that the people here aren't so much limited, they're just posed with different challenges. I've been leading a lot of drum sessions the past two weeks, switching with people so that I lead drumming multiple times per day.

The campers usually have a lot of fun, and often get really excited and really into it. One moment stuck in my head - I was leading a group of girls who were probably about my own chronological age in a drum session, and I told them "you all are doing wonderfully, we'll all be pros before you know it!" One girl was particularly moved, and jumped up and said "I'm doing it, I'm doing it! They always tell me I can't, that I'll never be able to but look at me now, I'm DOING IT!!!!" It was very touching, because it was very heartfelt and very real.

This week we have older people - I thought it would be different than working with kids, but it's really not. Other than having more medical issues and being more interested in sex, it's the same as working with kids. There's one guy who's in his late fifties, he looks like he could be a friends dad, but once you talk to him, he's very much at a 6 or 7 year old level. He likes to try pulling pranks on the women, he gets nervous and shaky if he thinks you're going to get angry at him, and so on. During my drum session with his cabin, we went on a 'drum parade' where we sneak up to other sessions and surprise them with loud noises and percussion. Somehow, he had heard about the drum parade before and asked to do it as soon as the group sat down. He had such an awesome time sneaking around to other sessions, it was a sight to see. When we snuck up on the dance and movement session, he ran circles around the group holding his lollipop drum high above his head. It was awesome to see someone so old having such a good time.

Also, I found out from a guy with Savant's Syndrome I was born on a Thursday. The point is, I'm really enjoying teaching drumming, and I'm going to start looking into music therapy programs once I get back to Chapel Hill.

Cheers!