UniPoem
Core Lessons in Mind and Body
That's what CLIMB stands for
Making campers look inside themselves, find something, then demand more
Hoping as they navigate their internal avenues,
that when they come to a fork in the road they'll choose
to be different
Hoping that with all of their bravado and all of their flare
They dare to dream; and they, dream to dare
to set the curve... to be a statistical outlier
Core Lesson:
If you show me someone who's different,
I'll show you someone who can make a difference
This is UniCamp. Welcome to life here
Where so many have well... come to life here
A letter to you, campers:
Take deep breaths...
inhale with your nose...
Ponderosa Pines line trail edges like scented land mines, and you can almost taste the vanilla seeping through the cracks in their bark
And when it gets dark... inhale with your eyes
Good intentions are hard to disguise; so while you sit at campfires under speckled night skies...
inhale with your heart...
Allow it to open and expand... then feel yourself evolve
Like seeds I've planted in the soil
I'll water them every day, watch them grow stout
Then hand each of you a flower and let you pick the petals out... one by one
until you believe in you like I believe in you
until your only two petals are "They love me"..."I love me too"
So, even at your lowest point when you feel worthless,
Show you in so many ways, that your life is on purpose
Core Lesson:
Even when you think you have nothing,
You always have something to give... your time, a shoulder to lean on, a reason to smile
More lessons:
Never lie, steal, or cheat
But if you must lie, lay on the floor of your cabin on the last night of camp, because that's the only space big enough for everyone to bunk together
If you must steal, steal glimpses of the tears slipping out the bottom of your friends' eyes when they realize it's time to say their goodbyes
And if you must cheat, cheat time, dip your wrist repeatedly into the creek, until that Burger King Happy Meal Shrek Watch is beyond the point of fixing
Implore those fleeting seconds to stop ticking
Hold out a jar and catch the teardrops you see trickling,
because there is no way to stop time
Core Lesson:
Like the goosebumps running down the base of your neck and out to your fingertips, those moments come to pass... They are ephemeral
But your words don't have to be... You've heard the old adage, "sticks and stones"
Well, if you're not throwing verbal stones, then your words can really stick
Especially words preceded by, "Touchdown, I've never told anyone this before"
Pardon me for a moment while I tune in with every ounce of my being... I lean in and my ears open softly, like the hands of a newborn child learning to extend its fingers...
"Touchdown, I think today was the best day of my life."
"You're more of an older brother than anyone I've ever had."
"Thanks for everything Touchdown. You've changed me a lot."
"To be honest, you're the father I always wanted."
"Love you T.D."
Core Lesson:
From Edith Wharton: "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it"
Well Edith, I want to be a disco ball.
Would you like to help me be a disco ball?:
http://www.unicamp.org/campathon/Touc...