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| Camp Champions |
Katie Cribb is a senior from La Vernia, Texas.
Starting the summer of 2016 has been kind of a scary. I'm about to start my senior year at Trinity and I have to start thinking about doing real adult things. I decided this summer that I was going to do something that I've never done before and go to a place where I knew no one. Right before school ended, I found an amazing camp called Camp Champions in Marble Falls and decided that is where I was going to spend my entire summer.
I came to Trinity with two things in mind. Joining the cross country and track team like my older brother and hopefully some day doing the masters teaching program. When I was a freshmen, I instantly loved the team and jumped into as many education programs as I could. I loved being at school but the summer was always my biggest obstacle. Summer training has never come easy for me and I have always struggled. The good news is, this summer, I have been training like never before. At Camp Champions, all the kids get a wake up call at 7:30 and we have flag raising at 7:45. This means that I wake up every morning at 6:07 and get everything I need done running wise before 7. At first it was extremely hard, but then I came to a realization. Running made the start of my day a great one. Just like being at school, I had a schedule and I always felt better after I ran. If I had a hard day before or was really stressed out, I knew that I was able to wake up the next morning and run it all out of my system. There's a road that is about a mile long to enter camp, so every morning I run down the road and into the neighborhoods that surround camp. The best part about running here is that we are right on a lake, so even though it still feels like a million degrees, there is a slight breeze to keep me going. Sometimes when I'm running, I'm bewildered by the fact that it's summer, I'm at a camp 2 hours away from home and I'm keeping up with my training. If I ever have a morning where I'm not sure I want to get up, thinking about my team gets me up in the morning.
I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher. Sixth grade was when I decided that I was going to Trinity so it was a dream come true when I was able to come. I knew that this summer I wanted to do something that would help me become the best teacher I could be. Being at Camp Champions has already taught me more than I could have imagined. I spend all day, for 3 weeks, with a wonderful cabin of girls between the age of 10-13. This term (second term) I have eight 10 year olds that I love with all my heart. They are silly, wacky, and weird and I feel that I fit in perfectly with them. During the day, I am helping kids climb walls and our ropes obstacle course. I've learned how to encourage kids to not be afraid and to reach goals that they never imagined were possible. I firmly believe that every kids has a special reason for being on this earth and every day I get to remind them and help them find what that reason is.
It's July 12 and I can't believe how fast the summer is going by. But I can say with everything I have in me that this is the best summer of my life. I came to this camp not knowing a single person, which is something I've never done. It has taught me to take reasonable risks, be more responsible and how to reach out to the youngest kids along with people my own age. Part of the reason this summer has been so great is because I am doing the two things that I love the most in this world. I am working with kids and I am training to be the best runner that I can be. I can't wait to get back to school and be with the team running again. But for now I'm content running in Marble Falls and climbing walls all day.
