Mason Leadership Camps Blog

Hey everybody!

I can't believe camp went so fast...where did it all go? I bet you are asking the same thing. Now that you are back in your respective homes, I know you are feeling some of the growing pains of returning home to parents, siblings, and friends that have no idea what happened or how it has changed you. I have been to seven Tahoe camps and it is still hard to come home and "come off the mountain" that is Tahoe. No one at home understands exactly what happened at camp, why it was meaningful, and why you are acting like you are. Just wait until you try to show them the DVD or play some songs for them--they will excitedly watch and listen, but they will never "get" this experience like you (and others who have attended) do. Trust me, I know how hard it is.

After coming home from seven of these, here is what I have discovered:

1. It is really important to keep that "Tahoe Love" alive by keeping in touch with people from camp. With email, Myspace, and facebook, it has never been easier to just drop a note to someone and let them know how much you miss them. Even when school picks up and you get stressed, you'll sit back sometimes, wish you were back at Tahoe and you'll smile when you think of those people. Let them know that... Many of you live near each other, so set up regular reunions/outtings--if they are important to you, you will make the effort!

2. Layout five things from camp that you want to implement into your school or STUCO. Make sure you write them out and understand how they will be implemented, who will implement them, and why they are important. Your advisors will be excited about anything you are excited about!

This is where it gets hard!
3. You have to look at your Tahoe experience objectively, and ask yourself, "Beyond the amazing people I met and the way Tahoe made me feel, what did I really get out of camp?" By doing this, you establish the tangible worth of the camp experience for your principals, your advisors, your parents, and yourself. Telling your principal, "I have never felt more alive than I felt at camp" is OK; but, if you could tell her/him, "I learned a lot about appreciating diversity here at school and the art of delegation" she/he is going to be VERY impressed and they will:
A. Want to send kids next year (a must!)
B. Ask you to articulate your experiences to potential scholarship committees or in front of the school board (it has happened!)
C. All of the above (Correct!)

I will tell you what I got out of my first year at Tahoe: I looked at everyone around me and I saw that everybody there lived leadership. It wasn't something they did, it wasn't the position they held, it was who they were. I realized that leadership was a way of life and I realized that I wanted to live it daily--by doing the right things, by helping others, and by taking responsibility. Ryan Holdeman will tell you that he realized that relationships are deeper at camp because people are more honest about who they are, so he determined to be more honest in his relationships at home and appreciate true friendships at home. Whatever it is for you, look deep to find it. This will be something that will be crucial to articulate for college essays, interviews, and resumes.

4. Don't say that you learned "leadership" camp! Be more specific. Many of you will elaborate on your Lake Tahoe experience in college essays and interviews, which is great! When you do, though, you have to be articulate and you have to have a clear understanding of what about leadership, exactly, you learned. You may have learned about your leadership style, how good leaders handle conflict, what makes a leader (and it isn't a title or seniority!), or how you can better support your followers and constituents. Whatever it is, be able to say three things definitively that you learned about leadership. (TIP: Singing silly songs isn't exactly leadership, but being yourself and not worrying about what others think IS leadership!)

5. Identify something from camp that you can incorporate into your everyday life. I don't mean play Tahoe 500 in your street everyday or sing "Man of the Sea" (although I do recommend it in the shower!). I mean that you should look back at camp and say, "What one or two things from camp can I do/work on/live by that will make my life better?" Maybe it was something you got from a JC gift, maybe it was the realization that community service really gives you a sense of worth that you don't find elsewhere--IT DOESNT MATTER!

**This is why this is important**
If you don't find something from camp that you can use in your daily life, the "Tahoe feeling" inside of you will slowly wilt away. If you don't find someway to keep Tahoe alive in your everyday life, Tahoe will become a place you once were, people you once knew, and a feeling you once felt. If you can find a way to do something/implement something from camp into your daily life, then Tahoe is as alive today and tomorrow as it was when we sang, cried, and laughed together at camp. I know this to be true because I have had seven year's worth of practice! Whenever I find myself struggling through life a little, I know I am losing sight of what I have learned at that wonderful camp and what my purpose is in life. As soon as I realize that I am not appreciating people and looking at life in the context of leadership, I snap back into it and I am in good shape again!

My friends, I hope this helps, even just a little. Nothing is harder than coming back home from an experience like Lake Tahoe. Somehow, that special spot on the lake touches everyone in ways you would never expect. But, it is our responsibility as leaders not to live in the clouds (of Tahoe) or to dwell in the past! We must look forward and realize that Tahoe can change our lives, if we just figure out how! If I can help any of you talk/think/cry through things, I am always happy to do so. YOU JUST LET ME KNOW!

I am here for you, always.

Tahoe Love,

Ryan
ryan.m.findley@gmail.com
970-581-9745

(kind of long...I am sorry!)

From iPods to Nike Shox, a new car to that new outfit; we long for cool new “stuff.” Something about stuff calls out to us and we just have to have it, right? Some of you are going off to college and that Mac iBook is calling out to you. For others, that new spring line at your fav store is just screaming your name. While we think we need the things we covet, we know we don’t really—we just want them badly.

You have probably heard this before, though, right? Oftentimes, people will speak out against the endless acquisition of stuff. Whether pastors or rabbis, parents, teachers, or maybe the guy on the street, they remind us of what we already know. We already have enough stuff. We could do something better with our money. We should send our money to those who need it. While hard to hear, they do they have a point. We know that endlessly pursuing more and more stuff will leave us less and less happy with what we do have. I think we all understand this concept, even if we forget it occasionally. I would like to challenge us with something a little different.

Think about any experience you hope to have in your life…I want to see the Great Wall, I want to skydive, I want to climb Mount Everest. Now, how much of your “To Do” list in life is self-centered and just about you? For me, the percentage is alarmingly high. Of course, having a family, taking care of my parents, and serving Africans are on my list—but they are the minority. Most of the things I hope to experience in life revolve around myself. Isn’t that silly? Just like my new kicks or car stereo, I cannot take experiences with me when I leave. Who knows, maybe I get my “memories” in Heaven or the next life, but even if I do, what good are they if they only benefit myself?

What am I saying? Simply, this: our desire to accumulate experiences is every bit as dangerous and selfish as our desire to accumulate stuff. Unless…

Unless we do one of a few things, our desire to check off things on our “To Do” list is all for naught. The first is to incorporate others into our experiences. Take mom with you to visit the Eiffel Tower, run that marathon with your best friend, invite a sibling on that two-week summer roadtrip. The second is to incorporate more selfless items into your list, or add them to those more “selfish items.” So, instead of just traveling through Brazil and Chile sightseeing, work on a service project for part of your trip. For anyone who has been on a mission trip or service trip of any kind, think about the difference between going home from that, versus going home from a weeklong trip to the beach. When you get back from service trips, you are not only refreshed, you are on a high; when you get back from a “relaxing” vacation, you are refreshed, but also (somehow) a little drained. Third, and lastly, you can share your experiences and teach others about the world you have seen. So, if you have seen sweatshops or poor villages, educate your peers about the world. Don’t let your trip be wasted because you don’t share what you have learned or experienced to better educate those around you.

This is where I see Tahoe come in…

You had an incredible experience at camp, no doubt, but what are you doing with it? Have you kept it—the lessons, the memories, the songs, the games, the love—inside, or have you shared it tirelessly? Have you helped your peers come alive like you came alive at camp? Have you left that legacy with the freshman and sophomores that will inspire them to go to camp? Have you shared your experience with people from around the country that you know (cousins, friends from other camps, etc) and encouraged them to attend? These are all ways that you can not only solidify the experience for yourself, but also express gratitude to everyone who made it possible (parents, advisors, JCs, ACs, etc.).

Thanks for indulging me in this, this has been on my heart recently and I felt compelled to share. Don’t feel condemned or bummed about any of this; rather, be encouraged that you can still do all of these things, you can readjust, you can redo. You have so much time and so many experiences ahead of you.

Ryan

As I sit here drinking hot chocolate and watching the snow fall outside, I think of (what else?) all of my time at Lake Tahoe. I know right now the lake is cold as ice and that the snow is probably piling up there, too…but I just keep thinking of blue skies, warm sun, and all of you. It seems like many of you are having similar thoughts, as I have heard from more of you in the last two weeks than in a long time. I love it.

Lately, I feel like I have been hearing a lot of negative things about camps. People say that kids just go to camp, come back excited for a week, and then lose their excitement. They think that you have to have ongoing, continuous programs to make a change in people. I agree in part: if we could spend three months at camp or if we could somehow meet up each month, that would be better. However, I don’t think that fact diminishes Tahoe and the experience we all had there. Quite the contrary, I think it speaks volumes of the unbelievable nature of our beloved camp, considering the impact it has in less than a week’s time.

I need you guys to prove me right, though. I will be making a pitch to hundreds of advisors in December to send their students to Tahoe and they are going to want to know why they should. I can talk until I am blue in the face, but they need real, tangible examples of how students have benefited from attending the camp and what those students have done to better their schools, communities, and the world since camp. Here is the argument I have to combat: Anyone who attends these camps is already great and they would plan an amazing Homecoming regardless of attending camp. That actually may be true, but I know you all do things bigger than that. School events are great because they create a sense of camaraderie, belonging and spirit among a student body. That in and of itself is a noble goal. But the skeptics want more.

So, what is it that you can do—or can continue to do—in the world that makes a difference. What is it that you wish you could fix? Don’t wait, you can make the difference now. As President Kennedy said famously, “If not you, who? If not now, when?”

When I go to see these advisors in December, I need to prove to them that Tahoe is worth what I say it is. So, if you have stories or testimonials about “life since Tahoe” and “what you’ve done (been inspired to do) since Tahoe,” I would really like to hear them. Don’t worry about bragging, I need to brag about you. And, most importantly, I need to know HOW Tahoe made this impact on you, because that’s what they want to know.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, they don’t want this to this to succeed. No, its not some conspiracy, but everyone is a skeptic. You’re part of this underdog effort to restore these life-changing camps and I hope you know that. You are Tahoe. You are the future of these camps. What you do day-in and day-out is the camp. Tahoe is not your AC, your JC, the director, Zephyr Point—it is what you do. So, help me sell you. Do great things, like I know you can and do, and then tell me about the things you’ve been up to since camp, so I can say, “See?”

I miss you all dearly, but I am keeping you in my thoughts as I sit here watching the snow build up like my memories of camp and you all.

Let me know what you’re doing! I need it!

Much love,

RF

Being a hero…

The other day I was driving home and I started thinking about the JCs from camp. I was thinking about how I wanted to pay them for what they did at camp, as a small token of my appreciation. I was thinking about how they all paid for their own plane tickets, they bought their JC gifts, they paid for a hotel, they paid for many camp supplies, they took time away from their jobs (for some, it was their only “vacation time”), they left their families and friends, and they did it all for you. Sure, they all walked away with something, but they really did it for each and every delegate at Tahoe. As I sat in awe of all of them, I thought, “These guys are heroes.”

I thought more about the whole idea of being a hero and what it meant, and I wanted to challenge each of you be a hero. Many of you already are—you mentor an underprivileged elementary-aged kid, you volunteer each Saturday at a soup kitchen, or you help support your family by working—and the rest of you are destined to be. If you think about it, all great heroes did one thing: they made their life about someone or something other than themselves and they gave themselves to the others or to a cause. Superman, Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Paul Rusesabagina (Hotel Rwanda)—they all gave their lives to something larger than themselves and they made a sacrifice (sometimes a huge one) to be a hero.

Here is what I think “being a hero” means for you all and for me. I think it is up to each of us to start or join a cause that we care deeply about. I know everyone is so very busy with sports, STUCO, family, college decisions, etc. but I promise you that nothing will be as rewarding as finding a way to be a hero in this life. You could volunteer at a children’s hospital, begin a neighborhood clean-up project, read to senior citizens, or save money to send to a third world country. Whatever you choose to do may be behind the scenes, but is there anything more hero-esque than doing something altruistically, without receiving praise?

My last thought on this is maybe the most important: As leaders of your school and student council’s, you have the ability to inspire and encourage your classmates to be heroes alike. With your influential positions, you could:

 start a new tradition of taking Thanksgiving dinners to underprivileged families;
 challenge your administration to allow for a free day off of school for anyone in the student body who volunteers 15 or more documented hours in a quarter;
 get your student council to build a Habitat for Humanity home;
 petition your school board to recycle more and use energy efficient lighting/motion-sensor light; buy lunch for anyone who walks, rides a bike, or carpools to school;
 host a babysitting night for single moms in the area and buy them two tickets to a movie;
 partner with the local Special Olympics organization to help with an event;
 you could have your STUCO partner up with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to educate your school about the dangers of drinking;
 you could take on any problem in the world with the help of your student councils and your student body.

Classmates, principals, parents, and maybe even the school board might fight you and your ideas, be prepared. But you have to stand strong and remember that Superman did not bow down to Lex Luther, Gandhi did not bow down to the British, Rosa Parks did not bow down to the bus driver, and Paul Rusesabagina did not bow down to the murderous Hutu militia. It wasn’t about them, it was about who they served; likewise, its not just about you, its about who you serve…who are you a hero to.

Think about who you want to be a hero to, whether through your own actions or the actions that you, as leaders, inspire in others. I know many of you already have service projects with your councils, but think about how your councils and your student body could do more. Try to involve more people and spread the spirit of service throughout your communities.

In some way, this little challenge could be the beginning of discovering your problem to adopt in this world…

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**If you have a cool story you'd like to share about being a hero (either about you or someone you know), just click on COMMENTS below and share away!**