“Why fit in when you were meant to stand out” – Dr. Seuss
The beauty of this world and life we’ve been given is that no two people are the exact same. Every single one of us has our own way of learning, living, thinking and interpreting things.
There is no road map for living life, raising children, having a family, finding our purpose or being happy – and why should there be? How boring would that be if every single person’s journey and life were the exact same?
As a kid I remember moving to the DFW area to live with one of my aunts around the age of three. I was born in Fort Worth, but had been raised in south Texas in a small city called Weslaco. I can recall hanging around my older cousins trying to learn English. My aunt, in an effort to help me learn English quickly, asked me to stop speaking Spanish so I could focus on improving my English. By the time I reached kindergarten my English was fair, but I had forgotten most of my Spanish.
I can recall an incident when I was in first grade – our class broke for recess and there was a Hispanic woman who was attempting to pick up her child because she thought school was over. The teachers asked me to follow them and when we got to the woman they asked me to translate for them in Spanish. I confessed I didn’t know how to speak Spanish, and the teachers looked almost as puzzled as the woman. That may have been my first experience, but I encountered many more throughout life.
When I was 23 years old, I moved to Japan. One evening I was out and this Hispanic man stopped me mid track and started speaking to me in Spanish. He asked if I was Mexican and I responded “yes,” in English. Because I responded to him in English he asked if I knew Spanish. I responded no, and his response was, “If you can’t speak Spanish, you’re not a Mexican so don’t call yourself one.” I was stunned to say the least. I thought about what he said for quite some time, but it helped me become more aware.
Regardless my ethnicity, differences, appearance, upbringing, circumstances, past experiences – it doesn’t define who I am as a person. My experiences are what made me realize I have a choice – that we all have a choice. I get to choose who I want to be – we all do, and that’s the beauty of this life!
That is the reason I admire Camp Fire’s vision and core values for our future leaders – our youth. The staff focuses on teaching children how to be confident, caring and respectful, while showing inclusiveness to all regardless any aspect of diversity. They understand that children of all ages are individuals, and therefore learn as such. They promote integrity, honesty and teamwork. They encourage each child to find their spark – whether it’s a talent or just an interest, regardless if they are good at it or not, the staff encourage each child to follow their own interests and passion.
We get to choose how we want to live our lives and who we want to be as a person, and to that end I am grateful to have an organization like Camp Fire around who holds these significant values that help inspire and encourage children in such a positive way.
Breanna Rundles is the Accounting and HR Assistant at Camp Fire First Texas. Before coming to Camp Fire, Breanna worked with youth at a child development center on a military base in Japan. She is completing her Associate of Arts at Tarrant County College and has a son who participates in Camp Fire programs
