Another Great Year Must Come to an End

Day 5 :(

The last morning at camp always feels a bit off. Since there's no morning activities this is the one morning you get to sleep in until the breakfast bell rings. It's not like I don't enjoy sleeping in, usually on the weekend I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing with someone acquiring my presence when it's already past noon, but it's not everyday you can go on a hike or do yoga with your camp buddies. Sleeping in is for ordinary days and any day at camp definitely does not count as "ordinary".

I always do the Sunshine Dance full out (even when I'm not at camp) but it's even more exaggerated and crazy on the last day! As our last breakfast we had breakfast burritos and eggs which I remember was the same meal from the year prior. I loaded my plate with fruit and cereal since I'm allergic to whatever is inside the burritos and being the picky eater I am, I just don't really like eggs... Usually after breakfast we would head back to our cabins to get ready for our next activity, but before we headed back to our cabins to pack instead we did a camp sweep. A camp sweep is when everyone lines up by the dining hall facing the ocean and slowly but surely picks up every piece of garbage so the next session has spiffy looking camp grounds.

Jarred and I at breakfast :)

Emily and my bro Brandon!

My boys Dylan, Alex and Jarred during the sweep :)

The ladies covered the beach from the dock to Frog Rock, Girls Camp leading to the infirmary and Arts & Crafts while the gent's cleaned Boys Camp back towards the High Ropes Course. Cleaning after Art's & Crafts must be a real honor since it was easily the dirtiest... sparkliest and most colorful activity area ever. Once we finished, we went back to our cabins to stuff our luggage with all our clothes smelling like camp and to restore our cabin back in its original order for the Schooner girls in Session 2 and later on Session 3. All my clothes seemed to be scattered about the cabin... the longest part of packing was probably gathering all my stuff since something of mine seemed to be everywhere; in other suitcases, outside the cabin, on the drying rack, in the shelves, under my bunk... everywhere besides the squirrel box, thank goodness!

I was probably the last one to be 100%  packed! As long as my clothes make it back to Arizona in one piece it doesn't really matter how my clothes are packed since I'm practically going to dump my suitcase in the washer once I get home, however I'm a huge perfectionist (one of my more appreciative but annoying qualities) so it matters to me! I rolled and stuffed all my clothes to one side of my suitcase so I had enough room for my toiletries, sleeping bag and pillow which I also have to cram in my luggage. Our med nurse, Miffy, put our medications in our bag before we dropped off our huge Nick & Kelly bags at the boat dock. While we were cleaning our cabin a couple girls from Catboat came in to ask if we needed any help sweeping [heart... melted... from maximum adorableness]. Once we finished cleaning we passed time by signing shirts and taking final cabin pictures until the lunch bell rang.

Schooner with a couple Catboat girls <3

Schooner Cabin <3 You all have a special place in my heart!

The line of signing shirts

I ended up getting a medium CDC shirt since they were all out of smalls. In the end, I'm sort of glad I received a medium because the back of my shirt quickly filled up with loving messages from my cabin friends and counselors. Especially during lunch when I was racing around the dining hall to get signatures from all the other wonderful campers and counselors! We always have a final squirrel before we headed towards the field to wait for the boat to be unloaded of Session 2 campers and their luggage. It's a bit more complicated than a regular squirrel dance... Basically, a line of new counselors form a line from the squirrel box leading to the chosen counselor at the end. All the counselors pass along each item inside the squirrel box which is the amount of time you have to claim your lost item. If you don't claim your item before it is passed to the chosen counselor than that counselor must wear it... somehow. Even though none of my items were lost, I couldn't possibly pass up squirreling one last time before leaving.

"I WIN!"

After our final squirrel, we headed towards the field to sign shirts, once again, and wait for the boat to be unloaded and re-loaded. Between signing shirts and dismissal on to the boat we had a final cabin closing. Favorite part about this year at camp? My favorite part of this year, as usual, was creating stronger friendships with old friends and creating fresh friendship with new friends. Creating friendships at camp is definitely not like meeting new people at school. At school you walk into a class, introduce yourself, start a conversation hoping people will accept you for you. At camp, everyone is already accepting because we have all been-there-done-that in terms of not being accepted. Meeting friends at camp isn't difficult because everyone is so kind, easy going to talk to, understanding and just fun to be around! Some of my strongest friendships are thanks to camp and I'm lucky to have a gateway from everything worrisome in reality to just be normal and treated like an equal.

Our last cabin photo before going on the boat :'(

Waiting for the boat with Emily, Nicole and Tyler

The walk leading to the boat while saying good bye to all the counselors is probably one of the saddest moments of camp, for me at least. High fiving all my favorite counselors for one makes me super jealous knowing they get to stay for another session on the magnificent Catalina Island but I also get really choked up knowing I won't see them for a whole year because their all amazing and I'll miss them. The counselors are still waving goodbye to us when we're on the boat, but that's not all. When you think the counselors are going to walk back to the Dining Hall to greet the next session, they all jump in and continue waving goodbye from the water.

Counselors jumping from the dock

We landed a table of six on the second floor of the boat for the ride back to the main land. I sat with my friends Sammy, Dylan, Alex, Collin, and my boyfriend Jarred. The boat ride just seemed to fly by because before we knew it we were saying our last goodbyes to all the campers and counselors from California at the Catalina Express boat dock. This is probably one of my least favorite parts of camp. I hate saying goodbye to the California campers because I never know if I'll see them again before Camp 2013. As fast paced as Nick & Kelly is trying to load all the Arizona campers on to the buses, there is always time for a couple five minute hugs. I'm definitely going to miss all my California buddies, especially my three Schooner girls from Cali; Kasey, Katelyn and Brianna! <3

Once we loaded on to the buses, Jarred and I relaxed all the way to the airport. Practically falling asleep but managed to stay awake by listening to music (I'm so glad I brought my phone) and we went a little wild taking pictures.

One couldn't ask for a better boyfriend <3

"Practically perfect in every way" 

The heart couple <3

We arrived to the John Wayne Airport and quickly moved through security and back on a plane to the state of ridiculous heat and cactus. I sat between Jarred and my friend Alex and oh... my... goodness... Sitting between these two guys is like sitting next to Bill Murray and Jimmy Fallon... just uncontrollable laughter all the way back to Arizona. I don't think I ever laugh as hard any where else unless I'm with these two fellers. It never really hits me camp is "officially" over until I can see my parents visible faces while coming down the escalator. There was so much commotion around, the tears didn't catch up to me until I was home. I just disregarded my parents because I was too busy saying goodbye to EVERYONE! I said good bye to Jarred by blowing a kiss, even though we'll be seeing each other very soon at parties and Homecoming (pictures to come) and the rest of my Corazon Family! The last person I said good bye to was my nurse practitioner who was a counselor this year for the youngest cabin. She burst into tears when she was trying to describe what a leader I am to my parents.

There is such a difference in my whole attitude and personality when I'm at camp. You don't even have to talk to me to see how happy I am because it just shines through me. I wouldn't label myself as a leader or even anyone with much confidence, but I can definitely say camp has given me enough confidence to live my life the way life should be lived. I have received the gift of life twice and I'm not just going to let that go to waste. I have far too much to live for and no one will bring me down. As Elphaba would say, I'm defying gravity.

Adventure, Target Sports, Nature, Archery

Day 4

Well it's our last day of activities...

This is the day we live our lives to the fullest during each and every activity, enjoying the time we have left to spend with each other. This morning I decided to try something new. Instead of the morning hike, my cabin friends Sammy and Selena joined me to Yoga with Puppy Monster. Surprisingly, my boyfriend also wanted to come along! I actually quite enjoyed yoga because it woke me up, yet it was relaxing. Even after camp ended, sometimes I do yoga on weekend morning's just to wake me up.

After yoga we lined up by the bell to do the Sunshine Dance leading to another delicious breakfast, as expected. The era of Cleanest Cabin Queens has ended and we didn't win the title. But hey, there's always next year! So it didn't really matter to us whether our cabin was clean or messy, so I let my suitcase explode a colossus of clothes all round my bunk. Not my smartest idea to leave it that way considering the ants managed to have a little brunch party in my luggage.

I decided to unravel my tye-die shirt from Art's & Crafts and wear it today. I'm very satisfied with how it turned out! It has a lot of white showing and more color on the back than on the front. We made our way to our first activity which was Adventure with Puppy Monster, one of my favorite counselors. I haven't done Adventure since... 2009 I think, so I was surprised to do it again this year. We did a bunch of team building exercises with Yawl, cabin age ranging from 12 to 13, leading to an exercise that took a majority of the time. We all gathered on a long log and we had to balance while transitioning from tallest to shortest without falling down. Our goal was to do it in under seven falls but we ended up accomplishing it in ten falls instead, which is still pretty good, in what felt life thirty minutes .

Accomplishment yay!

We gave a camp appreciation to Puppy Monster and left for our next activity, Target Sports. We listened to the usual precautions given by Spider and Aladdin and finally started shooting. I used to not like Target Sports as much when I was younger because I wasn't very good at it, but ever since my second transplant I suddenly became a master in the arts of riflery. I guess I have Dakota to thank for that, the original master in riflery! I wasn't the only one who had skill in Target Sports, the rest of Schooner cabin did an excellent job as well! We all could have been on the A- team of top murderers or secret agents... Jedi masters or offspring's of Tom Cruise.

Schooner at Target Sports

Our sexy shots ;)

We left Target Sports and heading to lunch. Lunch was a little different this time since we had a Hawaiian picnic on the field. No mac n cheese but we did get challenged by Tsunami, 13 year old boy cabin, for a Volleyball Tournament during Quiet Hour. Whoever wins has to compost and clean the losers table during dinner. To make the game fair we asked a couple guys from Senior 2 to be on our team against Tsunami who had three guy counselors benefiting their team. So once lunch was over we made our way to the volleyball net and had some time to practice before the boy's came along. Our counselors were cheering us on and the game came pretty close to being tied. It was a game well played but in the end, the boy's won but being the gentlemen they are, they decided to give the win to us. Looks like we have someone to clean our table for dinner!

Jarred and I during the Hawaiian Lunch :) photobomb: Alex level

No time for losers, cause we are the champions!

We played till the last minutes of Quiet Hour and headed to our next activity, Nature. Last year we dissected Earthworms, this year we were dissected Owl Pellets. I remember doing something similar in 8th grade but I don't remember it being nearly as cool. Maybe it's just the effect of being at camp... camp makes science cool (coming from someone who already has a covalent bond in the subject). Our last activity of the day was Archery with Yawl again. I've done Archery since year uno and even with the help of Dakota, I'm still not very good at it. I've done it so many times, I just wanted to let the younger girls get their turn. One girl in particular, Amy, was so sweet and absolutely adorable! Ever since our first activity together she would always run up and hug me whenever she saw me.

Archery

Amy from Yawl! What a cutie :)

Tonight is the night of the dance so a couple girls in my cabin wanted me to do their makeup before dinner. Even after dinner, I had a couple girls from Sloop and Yawl wanting me to do their makeup. Next year I'm making sure to bring extra eye makeup brushes that way when someone asks me to do their makeup I won't get a sty a couple weeks after camp ends. My cabin headed to the Dining Hall looking very... Fabulous?

Pretty gorgeous eh?

Since day 1, my cabin was determined to receive signatures from every counselor in the handbook first. Of course, we had to do a couple hilariously ridiculous tasks but in the end we had the honor of sitting with a very special guest during dinner. That special guest being Captain Compost, the superhero of all things compost! While we were waiting for our number to be called out to eat, my boyfriend walked up to my cabins table and just stared at me... It took me a couple seconds but he was wearing his tye-dyed shirt with writing saying, "Happy One Year Anniversary Shelby <3". I couldn't even express the happiness through my smile I just had to give him a huge hug and continue smiling like a lovey dovey fool.

Sweetest boyfriend on this planet!

Everyone in my cabin, including my counselors, gave him huge boyfriend points and thought what he did was super cute. I think it's clear... he's definitely a keeper! I told him to wear the shirt to the dance tonight to show everyone what an amazing boyfriend he is and what a stud muffin I have. To make dinner any better would to eat mac n cheese and what do you know? We walked up to the kitchen and saw counselors serving mac n cheese on everyone's plate! SCORE!

After Tsunami cleaned our table, we went back to our cabin to get dressed and touch up. I quickly put on my flowery dress which tied into the Hawaiian theme very well, we took some cabin pictures of all of us looking spiffy and BEE-ah-OO-tea-ful and headed back towards the dining hall for a night of fist pumping and being monkeys!

Lovely ladies of Schooner!... oh and Amy :)

Our last night at camp was amazing! I loved dancing with old friends, new friends, meeting more people in one night, taking pictures, and once again slow dancing with my boyfriend. The costume dance last year was considered, "our first date" and now one year has passed and it's like deja vu. Different clothes, more memories, stronger feelings, and slow dancing in the same spot from the year prior.

Heart Couple <3

My little buddy Christian is growing up!

The gang :)

My friend Brandon:)

It was a perfect way to end the night and to end the session. We skidaddled back to our cabins for our final cabin closing... How much has camp impacted you? What does camp mean to you? I have been going to camp since 2004 when I finally met the age requirements and I have never missed a year. Being this close to my final years as a camper sort of feels like growing up. You know you're growing up when you move out, or you enter college or you begin worrying about things you didn't have to worry about before. My graduating year at camp will be really hard for me because I'll feel like I've reached my expiration date as a kid. As much as I want to move out and experience the world myself, there is always that fear in the pit of my stomach of how my life will turn out. Camp has taught me to put a better, more positive perspective in life throughout all the difficult times I've come across. Camp has always been that shimmer of light to motivate me to get back on my feet whenever my heart has brought me down. I guess I thank camp not for just giving me five days of feeling normal and loved but I thank my whole life to camp. Thank you for giving me the confidence I have today, the memories that will last a lifetime, the friends you don't find anywhere else and the want to come back every year!

Kayaking, Giant Swing, Court Games, Notes

Day 3

You know how you're completely unaware of where you are for about five seconds after waking up from a really intense dream? Whenever I wake up at camp it takes me about five seconds to realize where I am. I'm not in my bed, I'm in my sleeping bag. I don't have an obnoxious alarm to wake up too besides my counselor and the sounds of the oceans. These are one of the rare moments when I literally wake up with a smile on my face. No nagging parents or math class to start off the day... just pure happiness.

Yesterday, I went on the morning hike with my friend Sammy. While hiking around a different trail than the day before, we created possibly the best GRACE that ties perfectly into the Olympic "love America" theme:

I pledge alliengence, to this Breakfast
Of the Camp Del Corazon Kitchen Staff
And to this Dining Hall in which we stand
One camp under Big Kahuna and Xena
With Good Times and Seconds for ALL!

Now that it has been recorded, I will never forget it and keep it in mind for next year! This time I went on the morning hike with my favorite man, my very studly boyfriend. I remember last year, before we were even dating, we went on the morning hike together every morning. DEJA VU!

View of the dock, the amphitheater, girls camp, and the courts

And he gave me his sweatshirt one cold morning :)

Hit It Gumbi!

Hey Hefi How Bout Seconds?!

After the sunshine dance, breakfast and we composted our food, we chugged down what's left in our cups to play the cup game. Once our cabin starts the cup game sometimes other counselors and campers will join in and it becomes one huge, loud line of synchronized cups. We didn't win cleanest cabin queens at our last attempt so we swept till the floor was clean enough to lick... theoretically.

This morning was cold but thankfully it started warming up during breakfast. Just in time for kayaking! I would say the weather was definitely on our side. I partnered with my friend Sammy and we kayaked to "Bird Terd Rock" while singing and motivating each other the entire time. Like usual, we played Piano Keys which is where you try to switch with someone else in a different kayak while grabbing hold of each others kayaks in a drifting line. I switched twice yet still ended up in the same kayak. So, Team Shemmy (a name collaboration Sammy and I created) raced the boy cabin, Tsunami, back to shore for our next activity which was the Giant Swing.

The Giant Swing is probably my favorite activity. You put on an a harness that looks much like a pair of overalls. Once you're strapped in, your cabin pulls on a rope bringing you higher and higher into the air (or whatever height you're comfortable with). You let go of the rope your cabin is pulling on and you fly through the air like Tinkerbell! I love the dropping sensation and the rush of the wind in your face while floating through the air. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures... on my camera. So maybe I'll post those pictures once I get them from my friend who took pictures on her camera!

We gave a camp appreciation to Ooops and walked towards the Dining Hall for lunch. Before every meal, besides breakfast, Sammy always says, "I HOPE WE'RE HAVING MAC N CHEESE!". She successfully got the whole cabin into a huge craving for mac n cheese. We didn't have Mac N Cheese for lunch this time but we knew we were going to eat it either for dinner or sometime tomorrow! We headed back to our cabin for Quiet Hour which was the perfect time to plan out our skit for tonight. On the first day during the camp tour, we were given a box with mysterious props inside. Our props consisted of a huge collection of sailor hats so we wrote a poem with a shipwrecked theme to it and ended our skit with free styling to Rihanna.

We continued with our day and headed to Court Games. We decided to play Apples to Apple in the Dining Hall and finished the activity hoolahooping and played tether ball with the boy cabins until we had to leave for Notes. Every year we write to the sponsors of Camp Del Corazon telling them how much we appreciate camp. Last year I wrote EVERYTHING I could think of, taking up all the blank space available. This year I kept it simple with writing one paragraph and a camp appreciation to the sponsors.

During Court Games

We ran back to our cabins for shower hour and got ready for tonight's skit night. We first went to dinner, eating spaghetti instead of man n cheese. No worries, we still have many more meals to look forward to for some cheesy delciousness! Besides, this meal was so delicious I managed to grab seconds and be apart of the Clean Plate Club.

My peasants Dylan and Jarred ;)

Team Shemmy! 

Once dinner was over we rehearsed our skit one more time and headed towards the amphitheater for skit night! I don't know why I was so nervous for our skit. It was very simple and short there was nothing to be nervous about. Now that I think about, I'm nervous every year for skit night. Especially last year when I was rapping about the Wizard of Oz. Good times! We were one of the last cabins to perform since we were one of the older cabins and I think we did splendidly. I also give props to Senior 2, Clipper and Senior 3! Your skits were Hill-ARE-ee-US! It was a perfect way to end the night leading to cabin closing. My high of the day was the giant swing and once again I didn't have any lows!

Arts & Crafts, High Ropes, Wall, Swim

Day 2

The night before, our cabin decided what morning activity we wanted to do. You have the choice of answering trivia at Wake N Wind, going on the Morning Hike or entering enlightenment in yoga with Puppy Monster. As usual, I chose the morning hike like last year. After hiking on a trail wrapped around the camp grounds in my footy pajama's and bunny slippers I was completely awake to do the Sunshine Dance. No matter what, I always have to do the Sunshine Dance FULL OUT, whether I'm in my bedroom or I hear the song playing at the mall or I'm actually at camp (feels less ridiculous when everyone around me is doing it too)!

Once all the cabins were lined up by the bell it was time to do the Sunshine Dance. My friend Marissa and I were chosen to do the Sunshine Dance in front of everyone, since we're such pro's, to demonstrate to the new campers how it's done! Afterwards, we sat down waiting for our number to be called intoxicated by the delicious camp smells of breakfast. Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day at camp! I always over load on the fresh fruit and, how great is it to start the first day of activities with fluffy pancakes and sausage!

YUM!

On the Morning Hike with Aries

Obviously... we haven't done the Sunshine Dance yet

My footy pajama wearin' counselor, Izzy!

Known these girly's for two years; Sammy and Marissa!

Once we finished breakfast it was time to go back to our cabins and attempt the title of Clean Cabin Queens. I have never gone to camp and NOT won Cleanest Cabin Queens so I was a determined little rascal to really kiss up to the med nurses once again this year. After sweeping and placing our shoes into the shape of a heart, we left for our first activity, Art's & Crafts. I made sure to pack a white t-shirt since we were tye -dying shirts this year in Art's & Crafts. I used yellow and blue to make green and I just sprinkled that all over my spiral looking shirt. As of the moment, I don't know if it will turned out good or not but all I do know is that I am definitely wearing it on the last day of activities just because it's lime green!

After giving the Art's and Crafts ladies a bit of a fail camp appreciation we left for the High Ropes Course! Last year, I made it my goal to stand up on the Eagles Perch but I ended up just sitting up there. I don't know why I'm so undefeated by this wobbly telephone pole, but it's completely different when you're actually up there looking down at your cabin cheering you on. This year I had to conquer this thing... it wasn't just a want, IT'S A NEED! I was the first one to volunteer to go first and my belayer, Zoe, was so energetic and reassuring I can do this! It didn't take me long to get up there, but it took me awhile to move both my feet to the surface. Personally, after you have one foot there and you just have to rely on gravity for two seconds while getting your other foot there is the hardest part. That's when I feel like I'm going to fall BUT I'M NOT! My adrenaline was rushing but I kept telling myself, "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FALL! YOU'RE ON A HARNESS! CMON', MOVE THAT FOOT!!" I guess my pep talk worked because I managed to stand on top of the Eagles Perch for a firsty! I was doing the Sunshine Dance, the Squirrel Dance, and shaking my booty while up there but once I lost the feeling in my legs from shaking so bad I figured it was time to come down.

Going up...

Half way there!

Just chillin ;)

After accomplishing my biggest goal for this year, I was ready for anything! I decided to do the Rigidy Bridge and the Catwalk before Lunch.

Made it across the Rigidy Bridge!

#YOLO

Meditation really does exist!

Strutting across the Catwalk!

The bell rang for lunch and I was so ready to eat and relax during Quiet Hour. After that much activity, all I wanted to do was lie down in my bunk before our next activity which was the rock wall. The rest of my cabin was focused on finishing first for this competition to do specific, silly tasks like telling YNOT, "Hey, I'm allergic to bacon..." or asking Ooops, "How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a woodchuck would Chuck Norris?" or showing Flipper some amazing hair flips as our best "flip" and in return get a counselor's signature. So far, we are the cabin with the most signatures so we were so confident we were going to finish first to win the mysterious prize!

It seemed Quiet Hour didn't last very long considering I was still tired but I was soon ecstatic once I remembered the rock wall was our next activity! Two years ago, I made it to the top of the wall in 45 seconds. Last year, I made it to the top in 36 seconds. I'm pretty satisfied with my record, so I went up the wall once, recited a quote and supported the rest of my cabin as they went up the rest of the time.

Our next activity was swimming at the waterfront and I was probably most excited about this activity since we were with Senior 2 and Ketch. After jumping on the trampoline with the littliler ones and chillaxing in the water with the other cabins I was freezing and ready for Shower Hour! Before heading towards girls camp, my boyfriend and I were talking about the dance, which led to him going down on one knee and asking me to the dance with his lovely offering of quartz.

What a gentleman! :)

After he totally made my day, I skidaddled to our cabin for Shower Hour and got ready for dinner and tonight's evening activity. I'll never forget my counselor, Mrs. Boinic, staring at me while I curled my hair. A couple of the girls who were in my cabin last year recalled how I did their makeup which I did again for them this year (which might be why I have a sty on my eyelid the size of a tic tac. Future reference, don't share makeup)! I would say my red and white striped shirt, my American flag shorts and shades along with my blue and white eyeshadow matched the theme well since tonight's theme was all about the Olympics. Our last delicious meal of the night led to an Olympic competition. A team composed of multiple cabins would compete in several obstacles against the other teams. I think our team had a bit of a disadvantage since we only had two other cabins with us, Tugboat and Monsoon (which I may add are two of the younger boy cabins), while everyone else had a team consisting of four cabins. Despite that, I think we did an excellent job Team Alpha Awesome! 

A few of ladies in Schooner!

Even though Team Alpha Awesome didn't win, our name still implied that we are awesome! The night was coming to end and we returned to our cabins for cabin closing. This time my high's of the day was accomplishing my biggest goal by reaching the top of the Eagles Perch and having my boyfriend propose to me on the beach. That was just so sweet! My low's? Pretty sure there are no such thing as a "low" at camp!

It's Better Than The Happiest Place On Earth

Before I get into details about my first day returning to camp, I would just like to thank the Nick and Kelly Foundation and all the sponsors of Camp Del Corazon. I feel like thank you isn't even that expressive of a word to show how appreciative I am, so it will only be proper to show my appreciation in a camp orderly fashion...

Camp Appreciation:

*pat pat*

*clap clap*

*snap snap*

YYYEEEAAAAHHH!

I'll approach this like I approached this last year, one day at a time!

Day 1

If there's one thing I learned to change from last year is to meet Nick and Kelly at the airport earlier. The line grows so fast and I always get there when there's already 100 other kids in line. So, I set my traditional camp alarm, with Blame It On The Boogie as the ringtone, for 3:30 a.m. As early as that is and considering the morning person I'm not, I still managed to wake up before my alarm due to the amount of excitement building inside me! After I got dressed, triple checked my luggage, toasted some Toaster Strudel's my mum and I were out the door in a jiffy. Even though I woke up earlier, left the house sooner with no traffic to sit through, there were still about 50 kids ahead of us, including my boyfriend! 

I was so caught up with seeing all my friends again (and being interviewed for the first time) that I forgot to say good-bye to my parents! And to a shocking delight, Lindsey returned to camp (I guess that's not a huge shocker since there isn't one camper I know who wouldn't want to go back)! I met Lindsey last year and introduced her to CDC after I found out that she is twelve years old and hasn't met anyone else with a heart condition. If I was left thinking I was alone in the world battling for my life than I KNOW my whole attitude would be completely different!

Everyone at Camp Del Corazon is the same. We all have our own personal war stories, different battle scars and we just understand one another because we all have been there, done that which unites us into one big Corazon family! 

Once we were settled into our traveling groups and passed through security, we were 600 feet in the air and eating stratosphere breakfast in no time. We definitely didn't waste any time! After we landed at the John Wayne Airport, we took a group picture and were at the boat dock after a thirty minute bus ride. Once we  got there we were introduced to our cabin!

Schooner Girls!

Last year, my cabin was Cutter. This year, my cabin is Schooner and I already knew three girls who I had in my cabin last year. There were five of us from Arizona; Sammy, Selena, Victoria, Marissa, and myself. The other three girls were from California, Kasey, Katelyn, and Brianna. My counselors this year were Kokopop, Mrs. Bionic, Flipper and Izzy along with our favored fanny pack lady, Miffy, our med nurse (who was also my med nurse last year).

After waiting for our luggage to be loaded on to the boat, we loaded ourselves and were finally heading to Catalina Island! The boat ride took a couple hours, but time fly's when your catching up with old friends. You never notice how close you are to the island until you start slowing down and you can spot the girl cabins from a distance.

After high fiving all my favorite counselors leading to the Dining Hall, we went over all the rules and procedures of composting, lost items, boundaries, which cabin eats first, and all that fun stuff. After eating the first of many delicious meals, we headed towards C's Hut to pick up our luggage and settle into our cabins.

(Note to Self: Next year put something really obvious and eye captioning on your suitcase so a counselor doesn't have to assist you in finding you're suitcase out of the twenty others that look exactly like yours)

Everyone in my cabin knows this place frontwards, backwards, upside down, and inside out so the Camp Tour was a breeze. After the camp tour was dinner, another scrumptious meal, which was leading to Disco Bingo. Unknowingly, I brought the perfect 70's outfit to wear for a night of personal parties and conga lines. I've yet to win a bingo under any category so I'm hoping I'll get some kind of graduating camper luck for my last year as a camper.

Sammy <3

Aries <3

Once Disco Bingo was over it was time to go back to our cabins to pass out from a long day of traveling and excitement. For our first cabin closing we named off each our personal goals for this year. My goals was to stand on top of the Eagles Perch during high ropes and to get thirds at least once and still manage to be apart of the Clean Plate Club(CPC). After our counselors left for their Staff Meeting, my friend Sammy jumped in my bunk and we all stayed up talking and laughing about simple things until a counselor came in and told us we're keeping the entire girl's camp awake... Highly doubtful but it made us go to sleep.

The next day was the first full day of activities at CDC!

The Clash of Individuality

I really need to stop with the pessimistic posts... I blame my cynical mind. 

Although, focusing on the negatives of any situation is so much more easily tempting, it isn't worth the thought process. There is always a bright side in any situation, including the sour pickle I'm in. So instead of continuing with my depressing poetry and ranting I thought I would switch it up. Unlike last time, when I talked about 'what qualities or traits I would change about myself' I thought I would talk about what qualities and traits I pride myself on. 

I would firstly list my optimism. It may sound contradicting considering I also think of myself as a cynic, however, I rely on my positive thinking far more than my negative thinking. I try to find the bright side to any situation and help others going through difficult situations (only if they ask for my advice of course). In the end, everything just turns out better when you have the right "positive" attitude. 

Being sixteen and in high school, I'm constantly surrounded by drama llamas. So I often pride myself on how simply I refrain from drama. Drama is definitely up there in my top 10 of things I have a strong dislike for, along with algebra, bananas, and popularity hierarchy. I just find drama so unnecessary and immature. I'm never the starter of drama, unfortunately, I always seem to find myself as a third person party in someone else's frenzy. If a friend has a problem I will most definitely help them out in anyway I can, but there's still an over crossing line to where I don't want to be involved anymore. 

I'm also a very ambitious person. I love making goals for myself and planning my future (as much as I can plan that is). By knowing my career path, what college I want to go to, where I want to live and all that spectacular independence stuff gives me the motivation I need whenever I'm in the hospital to get back to my normal life. Not only motivation but reassurance I'm going to have a future which I'll make sure I will.

You could say I'm a judgmental person. I would never judge someone by their clothes or what other people label them as but more on the decisions they make. People tell me I have good instincts whether someone is a good person or not. I choose my friends very wisely which is why I have a particularly small group of close friends and a rather large amount of acquaintances. Which I don't mind; I prefer to surround myself with intellectual, genuinely caring people. 

There are always qualities we wish we could change about ourselves but can't. But we wouldn't be considered human without our "wonderful" imperfections. We may have those disagreeable qualities clashing with our likable qualities but at least we can say that we all have likable qualities in the first place. 

The Sixteenth Alliance

Today... On Saturday, June 23, 2012 we celebrate the birth of Jason Mraz... Oh and myself!

I began feeling sixteen ever since my Sweet 16 Party but now that I'm officially apart of the alliance of sixteen year old's, what can I say? I guess I have more bragging privileges...

Driving woot woot! (even though I probably won't get my license until I'm seventeen considering I haven't even earned my permit yet)

Time to rule high school as an upperclassman!

I get to finally begin the dreadful college hunt...

My first paycheck when I finally get a job next summer.

Not to forget about Junior Prom near the end of the school year!

So yeah, you could say sixteen shall be a memorably year. When I was about eight years old, I remember thinking being sixteen and in high school would be so grand! For future reference, turning sixteen doesn't trigger a huge life transformation process... How disappointing.

Personally, I think the most crucial ages would be 16, 18, and 21. Driving, voting, and drinking... duh! Although, being allowed to drink doesn't bring me any more independence than I have today. Firstly, because you know me, always getting wasted at parties every weekend. <-- Lies! Secondly, obviously with two heart transplants, drinking is prohibited along with smoking cigarettes and getting high (clearly that's the best way to live).

Since I already celebrated my birthday like total A - listers, today I celebrated my birthday with my boyfriend. We went swimming , ate pizza and cake, and watched Lord of the Rings. As any normal couple would do...

In other news...


Next weekend I'll hopefully be heading out to California on Friday to attend the annual UCLA Heart Transplant Picnic. Even though I'm not a current UCLA patient, I still miss my cardiology family and I'll be able to finally meet Jennifer (my heart transplant buddy) in person! Along with attending the picnic, I'll hopefully also be visiting another hospital, Cedar Sinai, to talk to cardiac patients with my friend Bill Sears. Bill Sears is my friend who is behind the Shelby Cooper bracelets and he was the first positive influence in my life after I was told I needed a second heart transplant in 2009. He has been living off his transplanted heart for thirty-one years and is still at perfect health for being seventy-two years old. Other than that, I'm hoping we'll have enough time to visit my family who lives in Long Beach and possible go to the beach...


What can I say? I'm a California Girl at heart! 

HaPpY BiRfDaY tO mE!

Other than that... Summer school.

Make-A-Wish Royalty

Well I'm back to reality...

This past weekend I've been living the dream at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel celebrating my Sweet 16 on Friday, May 25th. Before I even go into details, I would like to thank the Arizona Biltmore staff for making this experience the ultimate hotel experience that I will never forget! I would also like to thank the Make-A-Wish Foundation; without the amazing volunteers and the generous donations of ordinary people my incredible Sweet 16 party would not have been possible! And lastly, I would like to thank everyone who attended my bash! It wouldn't have been a birthday if I didn't have my wonderful friends to celebrate it with me!

My day began the minute I woke up when I realized I was in a grand suite and not my bedroom. After I showered and ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant, my mum and I traveled to the Pucci Salon to get our hair, nails, and makeup done.

Ideal Party Makeup: A purple smokey eye with a neutral shimmery lip color and enough cover up to hide my acne ridden face.

Ideal Party Hairstyle: I definitely wanted an updo, but choosing one was so difficult! After I flipped though a styling book, I finally decided on a braided, somewhat messy updo.

Ideal Party Nails: My dream was to have a royal flush on each hand(Ace on my thumb, King on my pointer finger, Queen on my middle finger, Jack on my ring finger, and a Ten on my pinky). Unfortunately, this salon didn't master in nail art, so I settled on a purple to match my dress and a sparkly gold top coat.

Three hours later I was feeling like a total princess even without the ballgown.

We had a car drive us back to the hotel so I could begin the transformation process from ordinary to royalty!

Once I was dressed, we met up with my grandparents who drove five hours from Palm Desert just to be apart of my special day. The plan was to have all my friends meet up in my hotel room and then a limo would pick us up, drive us around a couple blocks, drive us to the ballroom where my party was being hosted and we would make our grand entrance on the red carpet! While in the limo, my friends and I were having a little pre-party by fist pumping, drinking "champagne", and taking pictures. Once I stepped out of the limo, the first thing I saw was a huge crowd of all my friends cheering and the Dj welcoming me by announcing my name as I walked on the red carpet.

The Biltmore planned my party far more superior than I could ever imagined. The ballroom was dark and tinted green with stars bouncing all over the place. One side of the room was completely dedicated to a huge food buffet with macaroni, chicken strips, french fries with assorted dipping sauces, tacos, a chocolate fountain, and the delicious indulgences(I tip my hat off to you, Chef Todd). The opposite side was composed of a photo booth with fun props for everyone to take pictures along with blackjack, roulette, and craps tables. And in the middle was the Dj booth in front of a big dance floor surrounded by round tables.

Six hours sure went by fast! I was preoccupied the whole time by trying to greet ALL my guests, and if I didn't get to their table I surely met up with them on the dance floor during the Cha Cha Slide, the Cupid Shuffle, Cotten Eye Joe, or Macarena. When I wasn't "busting a move" I was taking pictures with all my friends at the photo booth, although, I'm sort of upset I didn't get pictures with EVERYONE! If anything, I wish I was in a little more pictures(what can I say, I love being in front of the camera).

The crown adds to my princess-ness!

Love this photo!

Some of my favorite people!

My Wonderful Wish Granters!

My CDC Girls!

We're the... five best friends that anybody could have! <3

Le Boyfriend <3

Just a few out of the 275 photo booth pictures taken at the party...

During class I would always daydream about my cake and design what I wanted it to look like. But once again, my dreams were far exceeded when I saw a much better designed cake of spongy goodness! You could describe the cake as kooky? The baker incorporated all my ideas like edible playing cards, scattered poker chips, and a huge dice. After a couple hours passed by, all my friends and family sang happy birthday to me and I cut my cake which was more difficult than it needed to be, since the cake was sort of lopsided I was afraid of tipping it over. Thankfully I decided to cut on the most level tier of cake and successfully pulled out a slice of chocolaty superiority!

After my parents made a heartwarming toast and the Dj dedicated the song Firework by Katy Perry to me, because he thinks the lyrics best describe my personality, the regular lights were turned on and it was time to say our goodbyes. I didn't want the night to end, but if the night didn't end sooner or later then I think my voice would've vanished from screaming lyrics while dancing and my feet would have fallen off from partying too hard.

Unless I'm at camp, I don't think I've ever had that much fun! If I had to repeat any day of my life than it would definitely be Friday! Except the second time I would make sure to eat more food, "gamble" at everyone's game table, and take more photos with my boyfriend and everyone else I didn't get pictures with.

How will my wedding possibly top that spectacular of a night!?(better start saving)

A wish well spent! And again, I would like to thank everyone from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and all the Arizona Biltmore staff for any contributions! This party meant the world to me and now it's a memory I will never EVER forget! Not even when I'm eighty years old and can't even remember five minutes ago, than hey, I'll always have scrapbooks!

An Idea Has Sprung

A couple weeks ago I attended Relay For Life to support those battling cancer, those who have survived it, and to honor those who have lost their lives to this disease. It's an overnight fundraising event which takes place around the globe. 

Not that cancer is not a worthy cause, I support it 100%, but living with heart disease my whole life, and meeting others kids with CHD, earns more of my respect. Personally, I would rather be apart of the American Heart Association community than the American Cancer Society. Let's not forget that CHD does not have a cure either. After all, heart disease is the leading cause of deaths in both men and women. In 2010, Coronary Artery Disease(the most common kind of heart disease) alone projected to cost the United States $108.9 Billion. This total includes the cost of health care, medications, and lost productivity. 

After experiencing Relay for Life once again I began thinking; what if there was a fundraiser out there, that was just as world-wide as Relay for Life? But not for Heart Disease... after being a heart transplant recipient my whole life, my focus is on Organ Donation. I believe people are more clueless about the importance and impact of Organ Donation.

 Just to state the facts...

Each day an average of 70 people receive transplants, however, about 18 people will die each day waiting for an organ that can't take place due to the shortage of donors. 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives, and there are about 100 million donors in the U.S today, but let's not forget about the 2.5 million lost lives in 2007. 

The purpose of this Organ Donation fundraiser would be to celebrate those living life who have also endured transplant(whether it was an eye, liver, or HEART transplant), raise money for a cure of rejection, and of course, give people the opportunity to give the gift of life by becoming an organ donor. Because the reality is, the number of candidates waiting continues to decrease the number of organ donors available, and only you can change this! 

Like Relay for Life, this Organ Donation fundraiser would reach out to a teenage audience, like myself. The younger you learn, the wiser you become.  

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Centers of Disease Control and Prevention

Heart Transplantation Compelling Advocacy

This weekend I participated in Relay For Life to help fund raise and support cancer. It was an overnight fundraiser and throughout the entire night someone must be walking around to show 'cancer never rests'. The weather was perfect and many of my friends were there. In the end I managed to pull an all nighter and catch bronchitis. Missing three days of school the week three major projects are due, plus homework? I predict my mind going insane!! I was prescribed an inhaler by my pediatrician and I have a Chest X-Ray scheduled tomorrow morning just for precautions...

Thanks immune system. 

Anyways, about a week ago, a girl named Jennifer emailed me. This girl, who co-wink-a-dinkily is the same age, same grade, and has the same heart condition as me, stumbled upon my blog. She will soon be listed for a Heart Transplant due to Cardiomyopathy at UCLA Medical Center, just like me! Not only will she be transplanted at the same facility I received my first Heart Transplant, but her transplant cardiologist used to be mine as well. I'm proud to say I'm officially what you call a, "Transplant Buddy".

My blog showed her; people, particularly teenagers, with heart transplants are not all restricted. Our lives may involve medications, possible rejection, and long hospital visits, but we know how to appreciate and live our lives to the fullest. We go to school, participate in sports, apply for jobs, and go out with friends just like everyone else. By simply documenting my life experiences in a positive way, gave this girl hope in a way. It showed her; a heart transplant isn't a burden, but a gift. And it showed me; continue blogging because you never know who is impacted.

If she asked anyone for advice, besides her cardiologist, I would be the perfect person with heart transplant wisdom. Not to sound presumptuous, but I have gone through the experience... twice.

I've seemed to narrow my heart transplant knowledge to five crucial tips of compelling advocacy:

Positive Thinking: If you have the wrong mental attitude than I believe you'll be waiting longer for the call. After waiting for what seems like forever, it is very likely to become depressed. My twelve year old self was on the verge of becoming depressed because I was tucked away in the Ronald McDonald House all the time. Don't repeat what I did... which steers me to my next recommendation.

Entertain The Mind: This has to be the most important advice I could give to someone waiting for a transplant. It's obvious you will be waiting for some time... Who knows how long you'll be waiting for the call, but you already fathom the three month rejection period will be three months of isolation. Don't make this experience so boring and... dejecting. You will have oodles of downtime so do as much as your cardiologist will let you!

- Take up new hobbies
- Learn an instrument
- Go shopping
- Sports? Depends on your heart health on whether you can or not.
- Volunteer
- Go outside
- Join a gym
- Eat whenever you're bored
- Chillax with friends
- ANYTHING!

Blogging or Vlogging: Starting a blog or begin vlogging on Youtube would be something I wish I did while waiting Pre and Post Transplant. It's a great way to express yourself and it occupies your mind! Gotta admit, looking back at the blog posts or vlog entries would be interesting to relive compared to your life long after transplant.

Anxiety: Anyone would be scared about the actual operation. If you're not scared of cheating death than you're insane! Asking the transplant surgeons about the operation would probably scare you more...

It's not as scary as you think...

The experience is like an unimaginative painter... A colossus of different colors to paint with but still ending with a blank sheet of paper. Every time I try to recap myself about transplant my mind just draws a blank. I literally don't remember anything from meeting my anesthesiologist to three days after the operation. So it's easy to say you will be very comfortable going in and out of the operating room until you regain consciousness. After the operation, from what I can remember, was super uncomfortable!

I didn't want to move around in bed to stretch my diaphragm the slightest bit. Yet, I still managed to walk around the whole ICU the next day.

I had an ivy in my neck which contributed to my raspy voice, which made it hard to inquire water or chapstick. Luckily, I could still write out my demands...

I never had an appetite unless water and saltine crackers were the only things on the menu. Redeeming my appetite probably took the longest, but I got to the point where I was 89lbs and eating a cheeseburger a day.


Attend Camp Del Corazon: If you think you're alone with taking anti-rejection med's, dealing with annual biopsy's, and living with a scar down your chest than you must attend Camp Del Corazon because it shows you otherwise. Camp Del Corazon is an annual summer camp only for kids(age ranging from 7 - 17) with heart defects. Not only is CDC the BEST experience ever but it also gives you the opportunity to meet plenty of other kids, around the same age, with heart problems. After being apart of this amazing community, you realize a heart transplant (CHD in general) is nothing to be ashamed of, nor a burden, but an amazing gift! In fact, I rather have heart problems just so I can attend this camp! If you're not between the ages of 7 - 17 than you could always volunteer as a counselor!

This is just the beginning of my need-to-know list for awaiting heart transplant recipients. I was able to sum up my guidance, but there is still oodles I could talk about! But for now, I wish Jennifer the best along with any other awaiting heart transplant recipients!

Harry Potter marathon tonight...

My personal Cloud Nine!