Summer Camp

     When I was ten years old in 1975, I attended summer camp located in Malibu. Camp Bloomfield was nestled back in the steep part of Mulholland Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains. The ecosystem was Mediterranean with thick oak brush.

     This was no ordinary camp, it was a part of the Foundation for the Junior Blind, a youth camp for kids who were partially sighted, legally blind or totally blind. Just beside Camp Bloomfield was Happy Hollow, a camp for deaf and hard-of-hearing kids. Their camp was not built yet, but participated in several activities in Camp Bloomfield. This was the first time I ever was exposed to American Sign Language and several kids with a hearing loss. Most of my life, I was around kids with a vision loss. It was fresh and new to me to experience something different. I loved learning sign language and being expose to a different culture. I had a connection.

        The camp session for kids my age lasted two weeks. I had the time of my life. They had regular camp activities from horse back riding, swimming, camp fires, camp fire songs, camp food to everything about summer camp. I loved hanging around kids similar to me. I found my niche. It was so easy to talk to anyone. It was so easy to make friends. It was so easy to be happy.

         Every summer I went to Camp Bloomfield. They had a session for middle school which lasted three weeks and a separate high school session was three weeks. I went all the way through until 1983. For the older session, wWe would have pretend, "New Year's Eve" dances, talent shows, regular dances, carnivals and many other fun activities. Everything camp. I use to call it my "Fantasy Island."

        The Foundation for the Junior Blind was based in Los Angeles. They also had activities throughout the year. I would go to some of their activities. This youth organization was a haven for me when I was permanently mainstreamed in regular public school in 7th grade. Kids are cruel and they will find anything to pick on. I was different. I was a target. I was the focus of a lot of bullying at my middle and high school. I was the ugly dork. I had some friends as I was in drill team, tall flags and then in my senior year I was in Marching band. I had one good friend while in drill team/tall flags. Then in my senior year, I just hung around the band. I did like the band a lot, but there was a gap. The place I always felt fully accepted was at the Foundation for the Junior Blind or Camp Bloomfield.

        In 1984 I was old enough to become a camp counselor. One of the requirements were you needed to have one year of college. I really enjoyed being a counselor. At this time my major was Therapeutic Recreation at California State University, Northridge. I loved camp so much that I wanted to do something in that field. Except a change happened when I was the horse specialist at camp. I knew I loved working with animals. I then realized I wanted to do some studies in veterinary medicine. A semester after camp ended, I transferred to California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. I put camp behind me and moved on to other interests in life. However, camp is a very special place to me, my best times in my life were spent there and will always cherish it. It was my "Fantasy Island" where my wishes did come true.