That Big Scary Step

That Big Scary Step

Future Reflections Convention Issue 2014 KIDS TAKING THE NEXT STEP
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That Big Scary Step
by Alyssa Mendez
Introduction by Carol Castellano: Alyssa Mendez is going into seventh grade, and she lives in Georgia. She's going to tell us about attending the Buddy Camp at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.
When my mom told me I was going to Buddy Camp, I didn't want to go. She told me it would be a step toward independence, but I thought it would be boring. I wanted to spend the summer with my friends. My mom said that Buddy Camp would be a valuable experience. She said I would learn new things. That meant it was going to be like school, and I just wanted to have fun.
I didn't want to go to Buddy Camp, so I started coming up with ways to get out of it. First I got angry, but that didn't work. It just got me in trouble.
We did a lot of things to get me ready to go. We went shopping for clothes, and my mom bought me a whole bunch of candy to take with me. Those things were fun, but I still didn't want to go.
The day was getting closer, and I was getting more afraid to leave. Miss Anderson, my TVI, told me about when she was in the training center [at the Louisiana Center for the Blind] and how much fun she had, even though it was scary.
The morning I had to leave, I tried sleeping late, hoping my ride would leave without me. My mom made me get up. I also started begging, but that didn't help. I thought about pretending to be sick, but I knew that wouldn't work either. So I got ready very slowly. We made it out the door on time, though. It was settled. I was going to have to go to camp.
I was mad the whole car ride, and I was mad when we got there. But I was excited to be away from my mom, because I was really, really mad at her! [Laughter] The car ride was long. I was still scared of being away from home for almost three weeks.
When I got to Buddy Camp, the first person I met was Mr. G. [Eric Guillory, director of youth programs]. He was really nice. He helped us with our bags and took us to our apartment. I was going to have a whole apartment to live in with my friends! That made things a little better. There was no TV, and I found out I could only use my phone on Wednesday and Sunday. It was going to be a long twenty days!
Miss Brittany was one of my counselors. She showed us to our rooms and helped us get unpacked. She was so helpful! The first couple of days were kind of boring. Then we started to do more fun stuff. We went skating and swimming. We had to wear sleepshades. They were itchy and made me really hot. Mr. G. said wearing sleepshades would help me learn to use all of my other senses in travel, and that it would make me more independent. It was still kind of scary.
Every day I learned new things. Some of them were things I didn't even know I needed to learn how to do. In home ec Miss Brittany taught me how to cook and clean and wash clothes. When I told my mom, she was really excited about that. She told me I should start applying for jobs and looking for a place to rent when I got home. [Laughter] But she was just joking. I think. She's probably going to make me start doing my own laundry, though.
In technology class, Miss Chelsea taught me to edit and to type more quickly. In Braille class Mr. Kevin made me read a lot and use my slate and stylus. My reading speed got really fast. It was 85 words per minute on the last day. I was really happy, because it was only 65 words per minute when I started.
In travel class, Mr. Clay taught me to navigate. I memorized the streets. Mr. Clay taught me to use all the information I got from my other senses to cross an intersection safely. Most of the time it was easy, and I only almost got hit by a truck once. [Laughter] Mr. G. told my mom I was really confident and a good student. Mr. Clay even gave me a bamboo cane. It's really cool.
Sometimes it was scary, and sometimes it was hard, but I am glad I took that step of going to Buddy Camp. I can't wait to go back next year!

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