A CAMPER’S TESTIMONY: WHAT CAN HAPPEN AFTER FIVE YEARS AT TLC
Each summer from 13-17 I attended teen leadership camp (TLC) – a 3 day summer camp put on by Teen Leadership Foundation.
Camp is a place where I could just let go and be myself. It was a place where I felt like, wow… I can fit in and be myself here. Outside of camp, I remember having to be someone I wasn’t, trying my best to fit in… at camp, there was no trying, I was just me, I was happy.
Looking back now, and looking at where I am today, I can honestly say I have no clue where I would be [without Teen Leadership Foundation]. TLF was a blessing because I got to meet two of the…goofiest and God loving counselors I know. They became my mentors in life, and because of this, I wouldn’t know where I would be now. If there was no camp, then I would have never met my life long mentors and friends.
They genuinely cared about me. Growing up, I always felt that people in my life were just forced to being there, and if they weren’t they would leave me sooner or later.
There [are] so many things that John and Rosalind [have] done for me, things that I don’t think even they realize. But honestly I think the biggest thing for me was that they genuinely cared. They genuinely cared about me. Growing up, I always felt that people in my life were just forced to being there, and if they weren’t they would leave me sooner or later. My foster mom loved me, and I knew she did, but she was getting paid to take care of me and as a kid I didn’t know if she’d be there if the money wasn’t.
I’ve had other people come in my life and a couple months later, I never hear from them again. With John and Rosalind, they [pursued me and my siblings], and kept wanting to hang out, kept tabs on our grades, kept tabs on whether or not we were keeping out of trouble…Now I’m 20 years old…and now getting ready to deploy after boot camp—[they] still make sure I’m not getting in trouble, keep giving me tips on life, and keep asking me for time to spend with them when I am on leave. For them I will always make time to spend with them because they always found time to spend with me.