Be You: Be your Best Self
BE YOU Week 10: Be your Best Self
“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.”
-Oprah Winfrey
For many years we have heard both campers and staff say that camp is where they can be their most true, authentic selves. Being your true self is an important value and we want you to celebrate your differences and what makes you exactly who you are.
We want to encourage you to continue focusing on being your best self all year long. Depending on where you are in life, the focus might be something different. Let’s take a look back at our deeper questions from each week of our Be You series, to help you find an area that applies to where you are in life right now.
- Week 1: What do you like best about yourself?
- Week 2: What activities get you into “flow?”
- Week 3: What stresses you out? What calms you down?
- Week 4: What do you appreciate about others?
- Week 5: What can you do to build up a friend?
- Week 6: What are some positive things you say to yourself?
- Week 7: What makes you stand out from the crowd?
- Week 8: What is a tiny habit you can create for yourself?
- Week 9: How will you bring positive changes to the world?
- Week 10: What are you doing to be the best, most authentic version of you?
This Week’s #GACbeyou Challenge
Journal or share with someone else (can be a parent, sibling, or friend) your answer to this question:
What are you going to do to be the best, most authentic version of you? You can take something we talked about over the course of this series or you can find another area of your life that you want to focus on. By focusing on being your best self, you are going to be giving the world and those around you something special. Everyone and everything will benefit from who you are and what you have to share.
GACspiration
Want to be inspired? Print out this week’s GACspiration and post it on your bathroom door or mirror (just like at GAC)!
Activity Ideas
Assign a family member, friend, and yourself to each day of the week to be the focus of that day. For example, your mom could be assigned to Monday, assign yourself to Tuesday, your best friend can be Wednesday, your sister on Thursday, etc. Whoever is the focus of the day, make sure you are doing something to help them see the best version of themselves. By bringing out their best qualities, you are, in turn, bringing out yours!
We are so glad that you have joined us on this journey of discovering how to truly be you!
Resources
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | Email | RSS
Virtual GAC Events
We have enjoyed helping support our campers, staff, and parents as we continue to navigate social distancing and as families begin online or modified school schedules. We hope you will join us for some GAC community time that we have planned! We will take this opportunity to encourage fun, friendship, and growth.
Upcoming Virtual GAC Events
Wednesday, September 2 at 4pm PT – Afternoon Assembly
Wednesday, October 7 at 4pm PT – Afternoon Assembly
Wednesday, November 4 at 4pm PT – Afternoon Assembly
Wednesday, December 2 at 4pm PT – Afternoon Assembly
Campers are invited to join us for these Afternoon Assemblies hosted by GAC staff. These events will be held in a private Zoom meeting room and will also be streamed on Facebook. The link to Zoom will be sent via email. Please do not share this link with people outside of our GAC community.
We recognize how difficult this time is for all of us. It is our hope that by offering virtual events for our camp community, we can bring some fun and connection to a challenging time!
GATA Webinar – September 9
Our GATA (Gold Arrow Teacher Academy) program had a great turnout for our first webinar and we are so excited to continue on this journey with everyone. There is still time to register for GATA and our next webinar is quickly approaching. Join us on September 9 at 5pm PT/8pm ET as we gather to discuss how to create a positive classroom culture and keep it going throughout the year. We will provide you with strategies for creating a positive classroom culture – a place where kids look forward to going each day and don’t want to leave!
To learn more about GATA and to register for an individual or school membership, please visit https://goldarrowcamp.com/teacher-academy/.
As a GATA member, you will be able to join us for a monthly webinar, engage in weekly teacher chats, and receive no-prep or low-prep connection activities delivered to your email inbox weekly from the experts at fun, friendship, and growth.
To view our first webinar, click here. To access our first PDF which provides you with a list of activities to foster online classroom connections, click here.
BE YOU: Change the World
BE YOU Week 9: Change the World
“This world needs somebody like you.”
– Anthem Lights
At GAC, we believe in bringing positive changes to the world. In fact, it’s one of our core values that our campers and staff leave GAC ready to be leaders by bringing positive changes to the world.
There is a lot going on in the world today. We can choose to complain about what we don’t like about the world (what many adults do) OR we can take a small action ourselves to help bring a positive change.
What bothers you most about the world? What’s something you’d like to change or help fix? Instead of complaining about it, do some research about how YOU can contribute your time or skills to make a positive impact.
Change starts with one person believing in something and being willing to take action.
Adults need to stop asking kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “Where do you want to go to college?” Instead, let’s start asking, “How will YOU bring positive changes to the world?”
This Week’s #GACbeyou Challenge
Journal or share with someone else (can be a parent, sibling, or friend) your answer to this question:
How will you use your unique combination of strengths, skills, and interests to make this world a better place?
Examples of bringing positive change:
- Volunteering to tutor younger kids/ help them learn to read
- Cleaning up trash off of a beach or trail
- Recycling items instead of adding more to landfills
- Educating people about something that’s important to you
- Talking with your family and friends, submitting an op-ed article to your local newspaper, etc.
- Creating art of any kind that brings people happiness
- Music, funny videos, memes, paintings, quote graphics, etc.
Make a list of ways you will bring positive changes to the world and reflect back on them from time to time!
GACspiration
Want to be inspired? Print out this week’s GACspiration and post it on your bathroom door or mirror (just like at GAC)!
Activity Ideas
Create a world-changing calendar for yourself! At GAC, we have monthly kindness calendars and we want to encourage you to create monthly calendars with ways to bring positive changes to the world. Think of daily or weekly tasks where you can do something nice for a neighbor, your community, or a friend. Create the calendar and print it for easy viewing!
Resources
7 Ways You Can Change the World
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | Email | RSS
Gold Arrow Teacher Academy (GATA)
We know that students and teachers are getting ready to head back to school this fall and many of them will be doing so without actually going to their schools. Distance learning is difficult, and it can be especially challenging to build a vibrant and connected classroom community over screens.
Gold Arrow Camp is here to help! We know that our community includes many educators, as well as parents, who may want their children’s schools to be more like camp. This fall, we’re going to share what we learned about building online communities from the online leadership academies for elementary, middle school, and high school students that we successfully provided this summer. Join the Gold Arrow Teacher Academy (GATA) for a monthly Webinar, weekly Teacher Talks, and no-prep or low-prep connection activities delivered to your email inbox weekly from the experts at fun, friendship, and growth.
To learn more about GATA and to register for an individual or school membership, please visit https://goldarrowcamp.com/teacher-academy/.
Early Morning Wakeboarding by Spencer
We love seeing how camp impacts our campers all throughout the year. Whether they are telling us or telling others, it makes us happy knowing the lasting effects that camp has on our campers. Enjoy Spencer’s wonderfully written poem about early morning wakeboarding and the emotions behind his determination.
If you or your camper has something they would like to share with the GAC community, please email it to us at mail@goldarrowcamp.com! We would love to hear from you.
BE YOU: Get Stronger
BE YOU Week 8: Get Stronger
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”
– Tony Robbins
There are many ways to get stronger. We get stronger physically by exercising or playing sports, but we can also get stronger mentally or emotionally by pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones. Sometimes we need to test the waters and see how our bodies and minds react to trying something new. We might start to climb the ladder at high ropes and realize that our heart is racing and our body is tensing. That’s okay. You tried and now you can create a goal to try again. Maybe next time you will push yourself to finish climbing the ladder. Then the next time you will push yourself to climb the ladder and stand at the top for ten minutes. While we are pushing ourselves physically, we are also pushing ourselves mentally. We are becoming mentally stronger knowing that we can trust our body and mind to accomplish great things.
At camp, we like to set goals. Whether you are a camper or a staff member, setting goals is important to the growth you experience during your time at camp. The goals you set for yourself help you push yourself outside of your comfort zone, and in turn, make you stronger emotionally, and maybe even physically. Sometimes our goal is to try a new physical activity, like high ropes or waterskiing, and sometimes it is to emotionally challenge ourselves, like learn three fun facts about a new friend.
This Week’s #GACbeyou Challenge
Journal or share with someone else (can be a parent, sibling, or friend) your answer to this question:
Small things that we commit to doing every day can make us stronger. We get in the habit of doing these things and they become easier and part of who we are. At GAC, we like to use BJ Fogg’s model of Tiny Habits. A tiny habit is something that is so small that if you do it over and over again you will get a changed outcome. Here is a way to create and accomplish your tiny habit:
1. Trigger: After I ______ (pick something you do regularly, like brushing your teeth or picking up your phone)
2. Tiny Habit: I will ______ (do three pushups, write a gratitude note, drink a glass of water, etc.)
3. Celebrate: AWESOME! (pick a celebratory act, like high-fiving yourself in the mirror or giving yourself a fist bump)
When you celebrate your changed behavior, your brain reacts in a positive way and wants that praise more, therefore you will want to keep doing that habit. Once your tiny habit has become easy or part of your everyday routine, you can adjust that habit to keep pushing yourself further.
GACspiration
Want to be inspired? Print out this week’s GACspiration and post it on your bathroom door or mirror (just like at GAC)!
Activity Ideas
Think of ways that you can get physically and mentally stronger that are outside of your comfort zone. What are some physical things that you can do to become stronger? Try to make a tiny habit out of one of those and push yourself to where you are more comfortable doing that activity. Now think of ways you can become mentally or emotionally stronger. Sometimes those physical and emotional actions will overlap. Over time, you will become stronger and more confident!
Resources
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | Email | RSS
Why Kids Should Go to Sleepaway Summer Camp by Julia
Have you ever wondered about the importance of sleepaway camp? We have many articles and stats we could share with you about why it is so important, but the best way to know is to hear from campers themselves. Here, longtime camper Julia shares about why summer camp is so important and the things that are learned while being there.
If you or your camper has something they would like to share with the GAC community, please email it to us at mail@goldarrowcamp.com! We would love to hear from you.
BE YOU: Celebrate What Makes you Different
BE YOU Week 7: Celebrate What Makes you Different
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”
– Dr. Seuss
One of the most important things you can do in your life is to be yourself by being different. Your differences and quirks are the coolest things about you. Let’s embrace our differences to truly be our best selves!
Camp is one of the best places to completely be yourself. You are encouraged to dance silly, play crazy games, and embrace others’ quirks. When we all come together at camp, everyone’s differences in a cabin group are what make the experience so special. We all bring something unique to the table through our personalities, interests, and talents. We need to be recognizing those unique character traits and celebrating them!
Sometimes it’s easier to think that an interest or your personality is not “normal,” but really what does that even mean? We throw around the word “normal” about certain things, but who ultimately decides what is normal and not? Instead of thinking about things as not normal or different, just think of them as the unique set of traits that sets you apart from everyone else. Doesn’t that sound cool? You are different and that’s the best part about you because that means you are truly being who you are!
This Week’s #GACbeyou Challenge
Journal or share with someone else (can be a parent, sibling, or friend) your answer to this question:
This week, think about things that make you happy and that you love doing, but others may view as “interesting” or “weird.” Those are the things that make you stand out and that your friends appreciate about you. If we were all the same, how boring would life be? The things that make us different are the very things that make us stand out from the crowd and make us unique. Embrace the things that make you YOU. Celebrate your differences and keep being you!
GACspiration
Want to be inspired? Print out this week’s GACspiration and post it on your bathroom door or mirror (just like at GAC)!
Activity Ideas
A fun activity to get you thinking about things that make you stand out from the crowd is creating an acrostic with your name! To create an acrostic, write out your name with one letter being on each line of a piece of paper. Next to each letter, write out a character trait or something you enjoy doing that sets you apart from others that starts with that same letter. Here is an example for Henry (the dog):
Hairy
Energetic
Nurturing
Regal
Young at heart
Have fun creating your acrostic! Feel free to share them on social media and tag us using #GACbeyou!
Resources
The Artisan Life’s Positive Adjectives
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | Email | RSS
My Love For Gold Arrow Camp by Wyatt
To put this simply, we have the best campers around! Our campers are so passionate about Gold Arrow and the skills and lessons they take away with them each summer. Summer camp is about more than just having fun, it’s about growing as an individual and pushing yourself to try new things. Each camper takes away from camp something different, but the most important part is that they are each growing as individuals and sharing their discoveries with their families and friends.
Check out Wyatt’s school presentation about his love for Gold Arrow. It is so amazing seeing his happiness while speaking about GAC to his peers.
If you or your camper has something they would like to share with the GAC community, please email it to us at mail@goldarrowcamp.com! We would love to hear from you.