Summer Camp: What I wasn't expecting, and why I would go again

I decided to share this early since I will be on vacation all week. :)

Usually, I'm not a camp kind of person. Most of them have big crowds, lots of kids and endless games. A lot of them involve screaming, yelling and a vast amount of applause---all of which wears me down quicker than a candle with no oxygen. However, this year, I got to go to a camp that I walked away very pleased with.

During the week of July 7-12, I was blessed to go to Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC and spend a week at EduCamp 2024: Art & Design. All through June and the beginning of July, I had been looking forward to it---with a degree of nervousness, of course. Thankfully, I had been to the EduCamp Junior: Art & Design 2022 (for Middle Schoolers and below), so I had a vague idea of what to expect. However, knowing that it was the high school version, I was ready---and excited---for intense work sessions and a much more serious attitude....

Oh, did I get what I wanted. I soon found out that the average day ran from 8 in the morning to 9 at night, and only two of those hours were free time. In all, I was involved with the arts (listening to seminars, touring the BJU press, drawing etc.) for about 11 hours a day.

The week had started on Sunday with an Orientation, and, by Monday afternoon, I was exhausted. I told a friend while we were sitting on the bus together, "I already feel like I've been at camp all week." Needless to say, I wasn't sure if I would be able to survive until the end. Being an introvert has its downers.

But then I began to slip into the grind of the week, and it became much less of a grind and more of a rhythm. I enjoyed myself more as each day progressed. Looking back, I'm so glad that I went; here are my reasons why.

1. I got better.

Sounds simple right? Well, it's true. I'm glad I went for the simple reason that I was able to improve. Drawing for 5 1/2 hours each day has its benefits. I was able to get the classes that I wanted (colored pencils and charcoal portraits) and combined together the tips, techniques and strategies I had learned to improve my hobby of drawing portraits in colored pencil.

This kind subject was one of my camp counselors

2. I was glad to meet my kind of people.

Let's face it, most artists are odd folk. They dye their hair strange colors, wear interesting styles and eat lots of snacks. While I wouldn't classify myself as one of those types, I definitely don't fit in at my youth group. However, when I arrived at camp, I instantly felt at home in the crowd of forty or so students.

The ones I hung out with related to my loves. Besides drawing, I also found out that many of them enjoyed writing and were considering illustrating their future books. It was refreshing to reinforce the fact that I wasn't the only one in the world who had that dream...

I wanted to make a distinction between what a skull means today, and what it was from the very beginning: a miraculous part of

God's creation. So, I added the Bible Verse.

3. It was humbling...and stretched my horizons

While I was there, I met a lot of people who were better than I was. The first day or two, I struggled with jealousy. Then, with prayer, I was able to overcome that, and I soon found myself excited, instead of jealous, by the things that I could become if I worked hard. Every time I met someone better than I, it expanded my horizons and gave me a reason to keep drawing. "If I keep working hard," I realized, "This could be the result."

I did this quick sketch at the very beginning of the week to settle into the new colored pencils I was using.

4. The effect of camp will last far past that last time I walked away from the Sargent Art Building.

The best thing about EduCamp 2024: Art & Design is that I can still benefit from it. I may not be in a room with a bunch of kids, getting the instruction of a teacher, but I am able to practice what I learned and apply it to new situations.

Just last week, I drew my first complete, well-done project since I returned home from camp. When I compared it with another drawing that I drew just a week before, the difference was startling. 5 1/2 hours of drawing every day may have been difficult, but I can continue to enjoy the effects for the rest of my life.

Sadly, I didn't get enough time---after all I said about the amount of time spent working, right?!---to finish this charcoal drawing.

I was pleased with the movement it portrayed, however.

And that, my friends, concludes the reasons that I enjoyed EduCamp 2024: Art & Design.

Will I be a professional artist one day?

Maybe not.

Would I go again to EduCamp: Art & Design at BJU?

Absolutely.