Written by Taiha Salvador
Camp Shawnigan has been the highlight of my summer, 14 years and counting!
Every April when the postcard comes in the mail, I start counting down the days to August when it’s time to go.
The day before camp, I always get a little too excited (i.e. I drive my mother and friends nuts).
Camp Shawnigan has made me more confident in doing things like canoeing, swimming, and doing the rock wall.
When I am there, I feel like I can do anything, or at least, try everything.
I got halfway up the rockwall, not all the way, and I still got cheered on and high fived! For someone with a fear of heights, that is pretty awesome!
Every year I try to do one new thing. This year I used a paddle for the first time and didn’t fall in the lake once.
Camp Shawnigan is a place where you can forget you have a disability.
The staff is always ready to talk to you and to help you and to make you laugh.
I can’t even count how many times I have laughed my head off with my counselors!
Even when I accidently spilled red tie dye all over my counselor’s legs, we laughed instead of stressing about it!
Camp Shawnigan has made some improvements over the years –they now have beds for those who need that for a good
sleep. If you have any dietary needs, they will accommodate you.
We get three meals a day and a yummy snack at 3:30. After snack we can choose quiet time or a movie.
Every year I make new friends. Even though I see some of them just once a year, they are a big part of my life.
The camp has different themes each week, so it never gets boring.
Every time my mom comes to pick me up, I am surprised that 7 days are over.
Time really flies when you are having fun!
I was 14 when I started my first camp and I hope to keep going, even when I am eighty years old.
