Hey, Camp Fans!
We’re announcing the ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest Winners this week and today concludes our list of seven prize winners. Everyone who submitted receives a $15 gift certificate and seven lucky winners receive larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. Today we have our grand prize winner of the $100 gift certificate! The winner is….
Marina K.!
Congratulations, Marina! You’re our grand prize winner! Marina conquered fears and learned an important lesson during her time at Chimney Corners Camp. Read about the safe risks that she learned to take in her camp story entry:
“I always loved to climb. I would scramble up trees, and I would never miss the rock climbing walls at carnivals. However, I would never get more than three feet up due to my unfortunate fear of heights.
When I came to camp and I heard they had a high ropes/climbing activity, I signed up straight away, putting it as my first choice on the activity preference form. I ended up getting it and I was ready to embrace any challenges that were thrown at me. That is until I first stepped foot onto the four-story tall ropes course. My legs were shaking and my palms were sweaty with fear. Each person below was a minuscule dot from my perspective. I started screaming at the belay monitor to get me down, but she asked me 
if I could try another step. So I did, taking slow, calm, breaths, one foot after the other. And miraculously, before I knew it, I made it across the obstacle course, thanks to the encouraging cheers of the people down on the ground. I couldn’t thank them enough. From then on, leaving the ground and pursuing the sky wasn’t so hard anymore. I started taking on new challenges on my own, such as taking more difficult routes up the rock walls than I may have been accustomed to. Chimney Corners taught me that safe steps out of my comfort zone may actually allow me to grow. For any person with acrophobia (and especially the people with acrophobia who like to climb), CCC would be a great place to learn how to overcome that fear and start taking safe risks, like I did. Maybe next year at Chimney Corners, I’ll get over my cynophobia (fear of dogs) and malushygroviscosiphobia (fear of applesauce). Don’t ask.”
Thanks again for your submission, Marina! What a great lesson to take away from camp! The entire world would do good to get out of its comfort zone a little more often. Anyone else interested in Chimney Corners Camp can check it out right here. As always, thanks for reading!
- John