The Journey Mindset
As we journey through the 89th summer at Gwynn Valley, we’ve reached C session which brings forth a longer session for most campers, with a change of some main campers in between. Yesterday, we welcomed new campers on Hillside and Brookside. It’s amazing to see how our older campers support the C2 campers incoming this week; the Young Leaders helping new campers up the Hill and Brook to their cabins, Mountainside guiding campers with dining hall clearing skills at meals and Riverside representing the pinnacle of our adventure programming at camp and even helping out with Sign Up skits in the Lodge! We talk about ‘ growth mindset’ here at camp; someone’s abilities which are strengthened by endurance, dedication and hard work. We see this applied every day from our older adventure programs on training days to our main camp children who are strengthening their physical or tactile skills in Discoveries. As we have just reached our halfway point of the summer, I bring forth the idea of a ‘journey mindset’. A journey mindset refers to the idea of enjoying the experience and celebrating the progress along the way. Often in life we focus solely on the outcome and the end result, which hold value in the grand scheme of things. But having time and space at camp to focus on the journey, allows us to feel the ups and downs in a micro setting, to prepare ourselves for macro challenges.
A non-competitive program is one of our core values at Gwynn Valley and aligns with the idea of the journey mindset in many ways. Being able to enjoy the experience of learning volleyball skills or strengthening your climbing skills, rather than pushing yourself to score or reach the top, are just a few examples of that. The journey mindset allows us to ask ourselves, “What happens if I fail or mess up?” and apply that question in real time. From there, the journey of climbing up the wall can start again. A fresh start with new insights on holds or how to reach them. Oh the joy, seeing the same wall from a different perspective!
That’s what camp is about, finding simple joys in the journey. Singing songs waiting for the Lunch bell to ring or playing line games hiking to The Rock, I admire the little ways staff make a standard experience a grand activity. Simplicity allows us to set a comfortable pace of life here at camp. With the integral piece of technology in most children’s lives today, having an unplugged experience at camp allows the journey of being a child to be simplified. Campers come from many different backgrounds, cultures and places to share this unique experience of camp, a sanctuary for kids to be kids.
Acceptance of the journey is key for our older campers at Gwynn Valley. We recently had our Mountainside campers find out about their Adventures, where they will go on 3 night 4 day expeditions in the backcountry. Two training days set up this journey for the campers, where they hone their technical skills and interpersonal skills in their group dynamic. Campers will go backpacking carrying their food along the way in heavy packs, some will go kayaking or paddling braving the waters in Western North Carolina, while others will face rocks and crags climbing to new heights and bikers will ride the ups and downs in Dupont National Forest. The journey of the Adventure contains multitudes of expectations met, surprise weather and the true forces of nature at play. Accepting the course of their time in the backcountry takes perseverance and being the best version of yourself each day, that can look different day by day.
Sharing this journey mindset in the natural world connects campers further into themselves. While we commune with each other on this land, we share the abundance it has to offer. Tonight, we will have our annual Farm Campfire which outlines the impact of the farm program at Gwynn Valley. About 60-70% of the food we source at camp comes from the Farm. The Journey of corn comes to mind; from shucking corn after lunch, to having it served at the table for dinner and some goes to be dried and milled for chicken feed and cornmeal. We share this space with birds, insects, arachnids, deer, skunks, raccoons, the Tajar and many more animals that enjoy the journey of summer with us. While here, campers have the opportunity to splash and hike in creeks, paddle or tube rivers, kayak the Lake and enjoy Connestee Falls, all provided by the natural world around us.
As we continue our journey of summer at Gwynn Valley, I look back at the last few weeks with celebration and joy for those campers and hope to see you next summer! As we look forward to the rest of our summer here, we await the eagerness and fun of campers yet to take part in this journey.
“Life is a journey, not a destination”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
