“Instead of waking up in a smelly dorm room and hearing the many voices of youth…I now wake up in my own room, hearing nothing…
To be completely honest, I wasn’t planning to write a TAF reflection this year. I felt I wouldn’t be able to write what I truly wanted to say since my mind was focused on preparing for college. But now, with nothing left to do but wait until the school year starts, this will actually be my first time to think about TAF 2009 with no distractions. In previous years, I would record what goes on each day during TAF and my thoughts on them. Apparently, some people liked reading it, but due to my terrible memory and laziness, I won’t be doing that this time. Instead, I’ll just seperate my reflection into sections, like Eric Kao. Here we go…
Hey Mike, how are you feeling?
It’s been a while since TAF and post-TAF chicago, yet today was first time I thought about how much I missed TAF. As I was driving around listening to TAF music, I thought about everything I saw and felt throughout that one week. I miss the lack of sleep, lack of poop, and the oh so wonderful Manchester food. I miss the corny jokes my small group would make. The list can go on, but what I miss most is just the laughing of everyone’s incredibly tired out voices. I can still hear the laughter. I will always hear the laughter.
How was the speaker at TAF?
Bum Yong Kim never ceases to amaze me with his speaker sessions. Almost everyone, including me, was incredibly excited for him to come back to TAF. He has a way of really grabbing people’s attention and realizing what they view as right or wrong in their lives. Bum helped me realize how full my cup really is, even though I tend to be oblivious to the love I receive. When I had the chance to talk to him alone, I regrettably turned that chance down. I wish I could take it back. I took Bum’s last two points as a take-home message.
1) How can I be a janitor to someone?
2) What is one practical action step regarding ethics that I want to do after TAF?
I have yet to figure those out…
What was your small group like?
It took me so long to realize that every small group of mine is different and great in its own way. I always used to compare my small groups to another small I used to have. But this year was different, each person had something unique and ridiculously funny to bring to the table. One distinct memory I had was when Jon wanted us to go to breakfast on the first day at TAF. I thought he was crazy. He and Jamie had to come to my room to wake me up in time to eat. In the end though, I was so thankful we were the first small group to eat together. I couldn’t get enough of my small group. Whether it be Emily’s terrible jokes or Ming’s seductive dancing. During discussion at first, we would get off topic really badly, which didn’t let us share as much as I wanted us to be able to. But once we settled in, we instantly became family. I’ve never felt so open with my small group than I have before. In previous years, I would only share with a counselor or just a fellow member of the group. But this year, I put myself out there, and hoped for the best. They all accepted me and loved what I had to share. I soon realized that each one of us had our own story. I truly felt like we were not just a group, but more of a family. Thank you Ming, Emily, Mike, Justin, Justin, Jon, Jamie, Vicki, Tiffany, and Julianne. Thank you for making my last camper experience a hell of a ride. I wish we could play human knot one more time and actually get it right, so our percentage would go up.
What team?! COORDINATORS!
I found my passion for dance through swing choir when I was a younger camper. It was always one of the highlights of TAF for me. I wanted to be able to spread that passion to others and make it something they look forward to. I was really nervous about being a swing choir coordinator. I just never really had the patience to be able to teach. I was always worrying half the time also. I want to thank my partner, April for being able to put up with me through those late nights of coming up with the rest of the swing choir. We’ve had our frustrating and annoying times even outside of swing choir, but I’m so thankful and appreciative of all that you do, even when I don’t really notice. Your big heart and passion makes up for your size. I’m so blessed that we’re such great friends. On to the rest, the group of coordinators this year was RIDICULOUS. Whenever we would have our late night meetings, it honestly felt that it was a second small group, and I’m blessed to be a part of this group. Everyone did so well in their jobs. We all went into everything with so much heart and excitement. You guys brought life to everything you did. If only we could do one more group chant…
You had little sibs too, right?
Last year’s little sib of mine pretty much made my experience in TAF 2008. Before that, I didn’t care much for the little sib big sib program. Coming into this year, having a little sib was what I was looking forward to the most. During orientation, I saw my little sib from last year, Willy. I got off my seat and ran over to him. It was awesome to hang out with him during the week also. This year, I was blessed to have two little sibs, Jackie and Raymond. I always knew of Jackie since she was the younger sister of Kevin, one of my closest friends. Raymond was a first year TAFer, so I really wanted to be around him and let him feel at home. Both little sibs were incredibly fun and awesome to hang out with. One significant memory I have of them is during the water fair. It was a water gun showdown…and they ended up victorious. That’s what I get for turning around so slowly while they’re practically running at me. Another memory I have is when I was walking to the TAF carnival. I wasn’t aware that we had to be with our little sibs during it, so that’s why I went late. But as I left my dorm, I saw Raymond coming to get me! It meant so much that he would come to get me instead of being with his friends. Once I entered the cafeteria, I also saw Jackie waiting for me. It touched me how they chose to hang out with me instead of being with their friends. It was also fun to see Raymond swing as hard as he could at Justin Yang during whack-a-ninja. I really hope I was able to make TAF fun for you two. I know you did for me.
How was the Identity Dialogue?
The identity was unable to explain in words, as usual. It was awesome to mix girls with guys this year. It helped me listen to other’s stories and helped me realize how blessed my life is. As I shared a significant story in my life, I could feel the arms of others around me. It helped so much to know that even in the dark, they would always be there for me.
What are you planning to do next year at TAF?
After thinking about this for a while, I have decided that I want to be a Youth advisor. I had talked to Jessica Fu about this earlier, and she said that it is a possibility that I could be an advisor in Youth. I personally feel that Youth is where I grew up and found out what kind of person I am. What I’ve been looking for lately in my years of TAF is for people to be able to relate to me. I feel that I can find that relation in Youthers instead of JHers or Juniors. I’m sure there are other campers in the Youth program who are looking for someone to relate to, and I want to be that person that can help them the way my counselors did for me.
If Youth is not an option for me, then I’d happily be a JH advisor. I didn’t start liking TAF until I reached Junior High. People are telling me that JH always has fun, and I’m always willing to have a good time. I’m definitely set to make some laughs and good times in JH. I’ve always wanted to go back to the Junior High program since I felt I was too young to make an impact when I was only 12.
We’re all in this together
As this is my last year as a camper, I’ve come to a realization how fast life is flying by. I can still remember getting off the bus and walking into Calvin College back at TAF 1999. I’ve learned things I didn’t think I would learn, from people I didn’t think I would learn from. As I did the traditional walk through the hallways on the last day with Eddie, I couldn’t stop smiling. I wasn’t sad because TAF 2009 was over. I was happy because TAF 2009 happened. I almost was unable to make it to TAF this year due to family reasons. But what I realized as the week went on, is that this is my family, and I truly needed to come back home. I’ve spread all the TAFlove I could possibly spread in high school. Now that I’m going to college with a full cup, I’m ready for the future. My boo once said, “TAF is a place where you can instantly open up to others. People will dance and sing their hearts out. They do this yet they don’t care about how they appear to everyone else, because they know that others will do the same.” I know once summer comes back around, I’ll be going back to TAF like always. Home is where the heart is, and TAF is home.”
This was Michael’s eleventh year at TAF and he was part of the Youth program as a coordinator.
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