Day 5. The last day. It takes so long to get here, and yet it gets here so fast. It’s the same every year, but I still seem to forget how it goes.

 

After morning greeting duties in the arrival area, I headed up to teach Vocals. I don’t think I’ve shared nearly enough about the other Vocals Instructors. This year I was honored to share duties with Chaska Potter and Nina Storey. The 3 of us brought a happy mixture to the class and I think it worked. Their strengths and support enabled me to confidently share those qualities myself. In fact, this year saw me invent an entirely new vocal exercise. For reals! And it totally made the girls sing out loud. Wow! That’s so Rock Camp, y’all.

 

 

After Vocals Instruction, it was lunchtime. Today’s entertainment was our very own House Band. We (I was part of a backing vocals “choir”) performed a couple of songs that were made up a few nights ago, and then an entirely new song was made up on the fly. It was an awesome exercise, and it showed the girls how to just go with the flow and not get in their own way when being creative. And I have to admit, it was also fun.

 

Then it got real, y’all. Seriously. It was time for Stage Run-Through, in preparation for the Big Showcase. I have to tell you – I was so surprised at how well the girls did. Each band brought a completely unique song and sound to the stage, and I was so proud.

 

 

This would be a good time to tell you a bit about the band I’ve been coaching this week. They named themselves “When Pigs Fly” and they wrote a song about bullying. My cohort in guiding them through the week has been Anita. She and I were on the same page when it came to the girls’ song: we didn’t help a lick. It was up to the band to write that song and to figure out how to perform it. When they asked if they could do this or that, we told them we didn’t know, as it wasn’t our song. We just said try it and see how they felt. If an idea worked, keep it. If not, toss it. A lot of it worked. And when I watched them perform in front of the other campers, I could tell they were truly owning it and killing it, too. I guess what I felt would be akin to pride. But the truth is, I had nothing to do with their accomplishment. They were solely responsible for their work. They were responsible for their efforts. They were responsible. Okay. I guess I am proud.

 

And then, before I knew it, Rock Camp was over. We Volunteers told all the girls we’d see them at Saturday’s showcase and that was that. The Volunteers had a final end-of-day assembly, and I grabbed my things and inched into Friday evening traffic.

 

I’ve been through this before. This is, after all, my 4th year of Rock Camp for Girls. So I’m familiar with the feelings. I’m ready for the showcase and I’m ready to bid a fond farewell to my Rock Camp family.

 

And that’s what we’ve become. A family. I love these women. I do. And I think I can say this, and mean it… They love me, too. I don’t often feel sure-footed on that front – being loved by others. But with Rock Camp, I am loved and I know it. But I can’t really go on about this right now, as the mere act of writing about it is causing me to cry. I’ll try to dig into this fertile soil when I write my wrap-up. I’ll try.

 

 

 

So it was a pretty awesome final day of Rock Camp. I can hardly wait for the showcase. For reals.

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