#campccad

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Holy progress Batman. My non-stop working this weekend payed off, I’m almost done with everything. Like actually done, not just sort-of-done-I’ll-finish- it-later-done. Which is good because the show is in ten days. Gasp.  The entry columns are stained and decorated. The banner is painted. I made some pennant banners for the sides, which are kool-aid stained and sewn together. My hacked together hashtag printer (thanks to some great tutorials, IFTTT, and Picasa) works perfectly. And everything I haven’t mentioned is ready to go or waiting for finishing touches.  I’m beyond happy with the way this is turning out. The anxiety of hoping that people will actually respond well to my show and be happy campers is still lingering in my crazy little brain. But really if I can make just one person smile, I think that’s a win. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

camp is just a bunch of young people having fun in the woods.

I keep remembering how much I love this project. Seriously. SO MUCH. 

This stuff is really powerful, because quality connections are the juicy exciting parts of life. We all want to feel like we are important, involved, fun, approachable people. And if I can make you feel that in ten minutes after playing a silly game with some people you just met? That's pretty amazing. 

So I've got most of the parts of this thesis equation. My next major goal is nailing down execution. How all this comes together and makes the impression that I'm hoping for. Through talks with my teachers, camp friends, and mentors...I think I'm closer to finding the solution. But I'm not there yet. I've got some narrowing down to do, and then by next week I'll have the solution. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Okay so maybe most of my research turns into singing camp songs....but that's important work too, right?  

This week I've been delving into the ACA's Camping magazine. (American Camp Association) And I found some super interesting stuff and people. 

First I found Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and author of Give and Take. He talks about people being "givers" "takers" and "matchers" i.e. people who like to give, people who are out for themselves, and people who do a little bit of both. The main thing I took away was this: good givers ask for help.

Which brings me to my next pool of research. Communication. 

Without good communication camp would fall apart. Seriously. It's important.

And you wouldn't be able to share your entire life's story while sitting on the bathroom floor with your co-counselor after a late night staff meeting if you weren't on board with good teamwork and communication. 

This guy knows a thing or two about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYln_dRiOmM

More research to come, plus more stories about camp, and hopefully good news that a mentor got back to me.