Under the Stars

Name: Holly

Date: November 24, 2011

November 14^th – 17^th 2011

                        Ponds, green grass, beautiful horses, bright stars and amazing moments. That's what Teen Ranch looks like. The reason I'm telling you this? People may see it differently but that's what was seen in my eyes. Teen Ranch was one hundred and fifty three acres of pure happiness. It was founded by some Christians about sixty three years ago. This Christian camp is nothing but fun and realizing new things about people. This experience brought me closer to people. The best four days of my life.

Food at Teen Ranch was a definite sensation that danced on my tongue whenever I had a meal in that wonderful dining hall. It tasted amazing and I got to try new foods. The food there was never too hot or too cold. It was always perfectly cooked. I know this might sound weird because we were supposed to sit with new people but I always sat with my friends and had a time to smile about. For almost every meal there I sat with my two friends Hannah and Adam. Whenever I ate at Teen Ranch I was excited to see which meal was going to come next. I was always well fed there and the meals kept me moving for hours. It was very satisfying.      

The Fact about cabin life is that it is never easy. The first night I was awake until midnight because my cabin buddies were up playing truth or dare. Then they woke me up at five in the morning because our neighbours Cabin four were thumping around next door. Showering wasn't exactly what I would call 'comfortable'. Sometimes the water was too hot and the next minute, it was freezing cold. In fact, it took at least ten minutes to get it just right. If you were in the shower, usually another person came in the washroom to help. But likely, you wouldn't always be wearing a towel. Awkward moments. In my opinion, getting everyone to be ready for bed on time was a little frustrating. With four people trying to shower and four others that need to brush their hair and teeth, I wouldn't exactly call it picture perfect.

Oscar was an amazing horse to ride during my turn for the horseback riding activity. He was about 1700 pounds with black, grey and white beautiful fur. There was no problem riding Oscar because he obeyed everything I said. Adams horse Mouse was the only problem I had because Mouse kept biting my horses behind. It was actually very entertaining and I had a lot of fun. The field of wheat was a wonderful sight to see. Skating was really something to feel like a beginner about. Even thought I was one of the only girls that knew how to skate, the boys still skated circles around me. Hide was about the only word I could think of for the game Predator and Prey, but left with five points I was sneaky and had a blast!

When I say love was the word that could make Teen Ranch as amazing as it could be, I really want to talk about the night time activities. After dinner when it was pitch black outside, our whole grade would bring out flashlights and glow sticks.  We all gave each other long, warm hugs and lied in the grass looking at the stars.  It made me realize how much everyone cares about each other. I felt like I was in a big, happy family that loves each other no matter what. Teen Ranch brought us all closer together. I will never forget this amazing trip!

This trip made me realize how lucky I am to have so many good friends that care about me. I could be in the best place on earth with the worst people. Or, I could be in the worst place on earth with the best people. Teen Ranch has really changed me and I'm grateful to have these people to be there for me when I fall...literally. There is no way I could describe how much I care about them. It's not where you are that matters; it's who you're with. As an unknown author once said, "The joy is in the journey".