Girls Mentor Diary - Day 6

Girls Mentor Diary
Day 6: 28th July 2009
Saara Walji - Venus

When Margaret Thatcher claimed that ‘there is no such thing as a society’, she most certainly hadn’t experienced a Sweden Summer Camp!  Less than six days in, a unique community has emerged at the girls camp. Each Planet valiantly displays a spirit of solidarity, each camper willingly shares the tasks and responsibility and each mentor and admin relentlessly continue to serve their camp society.  This community stands out. The balanced ethos of the camp prepares the community which develops through it to be well rounded in its nature. And that is, what I see, as making this micro society so positive, so progressive.

Being a mentor has blessed me with an opportunity to give of myself, to strive to be as the Prophet describes, ‘the best of humanity is he who serves it’. As an almost automatic reaction, being a mentor pushes you to become so selfless- to be consumed by your campers in a way that makes them a priority above your own matters. I have found that being able to give and forget yourself is so liberating, and incredibly rewarding. At this state of having had little sleep, it is the small acts of kindness and brilliance that you witness in your campers which keeps me going; watching them communicate with other members of their team, passionately prepare a presentation on their own, or hold a door open for another. At this state of exhaustion, it is by feeding off the energy and enthusiasm of the girls that keeps you motivated to serve this, the future generation- we depend on the positive contributions they can make.

I hope that the campers have had as special an experience here as I have.

Sweden 2009 - Mentor Diaries - Girls