Lifted

There are many things in my life that just cannot be explained no matter how many words I try to spill. One of these things is CASC-California Association of Student Councils. CASC is a student lead and student run organization that strives to implement a positive change in society-or so I would say.

CASC is... amazing. There are no words to possibly decide how it has changed my life, what we do, and how we do it. There are no words to describe the people you meet and the process that turn us all into family at the end of the camp. There are no words to describe exactly how the curriculum gives all CASC-er's the AH-HA moment. There are just no words, really, for CASC.

Being a counselor for CASC summer camp @ Stanford changed my life. But it's not the curriculum that changed my life. It's not the setting that changed my life but the people-the delegates that I inspired; the delegates that learned from me; the people who I provided an experience for; the people who gave me an experience. Not only did my wonderfully inspiring delegates help make this experience amazing, but also the fellow counselors that I worked alongside. One in particular truly changed me.

I met Donald in my gamma group. I initially thought he was just like any other person-nothing truly special but nothing truly normal either. I gave it to thought only to find out that he'd be one of the only people I truly felt close to at camp. Donald and I had each other in our gamma group, our cluster, and we were right down the hall in our council sessions. Not only did we bond as counselors but as friends as well. We lent each other support and truly cared about each other.

At one point during camp, Donald went and retrieved my jacket for me which resided in my council room. After he got it for me, he waited for me to come down in order to go off to general session. Unfortunately for me, I despise wearing pants therefore I wore shorts. Donald commanded me to go put on shorts. I refused-telling him we were going to be late to GS. He told me it didn't matter and that he'd wait for me. After about 4 minutes of arguing, I gave up my stubborn attitude and decided to give into Donald. I went up and grabbed some sweats. He offered to carry it in his bag so I wouldn't have to hold it but I refused.

Looking back on it, I felt... warm and fuzzy. I have always been the "motherly" type. I've always been the one who takes care of others-sucking things up so others would feel pleasure. When someone actually cared for me enough to force me to un-stubborn-ize myself, I felt...pleased. It feels good for someone to genuinely care for you. It feels really good. I truly appreciate Donald Tan for that. It's amazing how something so small can make you feel so lifted.