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I have known Reid Morin for my whole life. He is one of my best boy friends (not boyfriend) ever. From swimming every winter together to going to the same church for our whole lives we just get each other. He use to be more involved in the church more than me because I was just not really all that into church stuff. Sure I went almost every Sunday when I was sleeping over at my BFF’s house (Raleigh Cowan), but it wasn’t the same. Reid was always doing cool stuff and I was just hearing about it like it was part of everyday life. I wanted to be like him and do more with the church so I started asking questions and he started answering. It turned out that the same time I started becoming interested in church which was the summer before 8th grade, he found out that we were going on a mission trip to West Virginia the following summer. I was so excited that I found my pastor and told him to count me in. I told him that I was ready to make something of myself and become a better person and Christian. He told me that that was one of the biggest steps I could take as a middle schooler, and now that I look back on it, it really was a big step for me to realize the importance of God and helping others. The same year I started becoming interested in church I had taken a class at church to become a member of the congregation. That is what really made me decide to get involved. I was ready to make something of myself at church even if I was the only one who knew I was involved. We got closer and closer to the summer months, and we had more and more meetings about the trip. They were still deciding where we which city to go to in West Virginia when they found this supposedly awesome place for a mission trip. The place we were going was Apple County, and we were going with the Jeremiah Project. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but Reid assured me that it would be worth it. So I just went with the flow for once in my life. We took the church van up to the camp site, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen before in my life. Rolling evergreen mountains, with a crystal blue lake at the bottom, brand new log cabins, and a dining hall with food to die for was the basic setting. I was so excited to work within that little rural community. Each day we went to a new house. Our job detail was to paint everything that was chipping, insulate the roofs of houses, and build fences around houses. Needless to say, the work was tough. Every day we were given a challenge to find something that represented God to us. I personally thought that finding God in an inanimate object was bologna. On the fourth day of camp though, I found an unusual specimen. While painting a trailer, a praying mantis jumped onto my step ladder. One of the leaders came over to me and told me that praying mantises were endangered and very rare and that I was really lucky to see one. I was so blessed to see a praying mantis. I felt kind of honored to be in the presence of a praying mantis. That was definitely where I saw God that week. My life felt so changed through this experience. This experience really brought my life a new meaning and taught me to look for God every in life.
Autobiography Project Cont. . .
Our summer voyages north started when I was about 5 years old. Every year on the third Thursday of August we would travel to the Adirondacks to Camp Gorham. Here we would embrace our true natural instincts. We would camp in log cabins with many other families. The toilets were always on the fritz, bears and raccoons were common nuisances, and Dart’s Lake was the center of camp life. Every morning we would awake to the smell of fresh pine air and the smell of camp fire from the night before. We would make our way to the mess hall for breakfast and then on to the days many activities. From horseback riding to archery to tennis to lake activities there was always something to do. The energetic and relaxing feel of this camping experience was a new one to me at the early age of 5. I was usually just a ball of energy. The whole week there were tons of competitions going on from bocce ball to horseshoes. But then on Wednesday there was the coolest event I had ever seen. Dart’s Lake was about 5 miles across and on Wednesday a bunch of people started standing around it for no apparent reason to me. So, I just stood around the lake too. After about twenty minutes some announcer guy started speaking. He told every standing around the lake that there were about 5 minutes before the race started. Naturally I was curious about the race so I sat there and watched. After 5 minutes the announcer guy told every to stand by the lake. Then he said 3, 2, 1 GO! and everyone dove into the lake. I watched them all enviously. I wanted to swim across the lake and back like all of them. They were so cool. That day I vowed to become as good of a swimmer as any one of them if not better and make it across the lake and back. Every year I went back to the Adirondacks I watched the swimming race. Every year I became better and better at swimming. Finally, when I turned 8 I decided to try and swim across the lake. That day I got up to the smell of the night before’s campfire and was ready to swim. My stomach was filled with butterflies and I was contemplating how I was going to do it. I was thinking strategy. I figured that my dad would be rowing in a kayak next to me so if I needed a breather I would have one. Then I figured that I should switch back and forth between breaststroke and backstroke. These two strokes would help to maximize air intake. I was ready to swim and swim the best I could. It was now time for the swim. The same old announcer guy was there. He started the race in the same way, 3, 2, 1 GO! I was off with the rest of the group. I swam and swam and swam. It seemed like I was swimming forever and I was getting nowhere. I decided that I would take my mind off of the race and to just sing to myself. I started to sing my fav Britney Spears’ song, “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” This really calmed me down. I swam more enthusiastically from then on and had more energy to do my best. I then reached the end of the lake in record time for an 8 year old they said. I was just so excited that I did it. I decided that the coming year I would make it across the lake and back! From this experience I learned that when I set my mind to do something and try really hard that I can do it. Swimming across Dart’s Lake made me a better person because now I have learned determination and the key to success which is perseverance. By setting my mind to do what I love and by not making it a competition it was easy and fun for me. To this day I have swum across the lake and back and it is still one of my most favorite things to do ever. The lake really isn’t 5 miles long it is barely even half a mile, but when I was 5 the distance seemed like forever.
Apple County Mountain Scenery
Finishing my first swim across the lake and back
First Mission Trip - Jeremiah Project
Swim Across Dart's Lake
''Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference''
By Robert Frost
Every time I would get candy, I would always eat it up quickly. Every time I would eat my candy quickly, I would always get a tummy ache soon after. I never really understood why I would always get a tummy ache after eating so much candy because the only thing I could think about was how delicious the candy was when it melted in my mouth. Then, luckily, the next few times candy would fall into my hands my boyfriend, Alex, was there. The first time I ate Starbursts around him, he noticed my silly habit. The next time, he did something that I thought was rude. He took my Starburst away from me after I had shoved three of them into my mouth at once. He looked at me with an austere face and told me to eat them one at a time, “like a good little girl.” Honestly, I didn’t think I ever could have slowed down my candy consumption if he hadn’t taken them away from me that horrific day and made sure that I chewed and swallowed after each one. It was long and heartbreaking eating the candy so slowly, but, sure enough, my tummy didn’t hurt after, and I felt much better. This one instance, taught me a lesson about a characteristic that I hadn’t paid much attention to in the past; patience.
Candy Lovin'
Katharine far left and Alex far right
Autobiography Project (first page)
