I sprint to the empty gym, half barefoot on the burning concrete so that I don’t get burned. My breath was heavy from the sun beating down on my body. I had practically just woken up but I was already up and out of my cabin. My cabin was across the whole camp so I  had to hurry. As I got there, the bass was already blasting through my whole body as if there was an earthquake going on. I started listening as our main pastor today, Chris, was speaking. His voice booms through the loud systems and I’m already getting excited as to what he’s about to say. He starts speaking his magic words and everybody is so engaged while listening. I’m somewhat zoning out because of excitement and nervousness as today was the day to get baptized. They had been talking about it all week long trying to get everybody excited about it and try to help people figure out whether they want to or not. I had been thinking about it all week and listening to all the messages trying to figure out whether it's a good idea and if I even want to. It’s quite a big commitment in the Christian community but it’s also a very difficult decision. Whether you’re wanting to give up your life completely to God or not lots of things come into factor. So many things are going through my mind I can’t keep it all together and as I'm zoning out, my friend next to me in my cabin, Pip, looks at me and says 

“Well, are you?” Half listening to what’s going on, I say, 

“Am I what?” She explains that they’re asking people whether they want to or not. My heart starts beating because I have no clue. I’ve been going to church my entire life but getting baptized is a bigger thing than just going to church and mingling with your friends, playing games, then listening to the same lesson we’ve heard before. I told Pip that I have no clue and she said 

“Well you gotta figure it out sooner or later” honestly it felt a little pressuring given the fact that this was my last day and that I did need to decide if I wanted to or not. 

Soon after, the lesson ends and he stops talking. We rush out of the gym in a herd so that we don’t get stuck in the mob of people. We ran straight back to the cabin to have group time and talk about the lesson. My two leaders, Hayleigh and Alex, were starting the group and they immediately started with baptisms and who was wanting to go for it. Nobody had answered and everybody was just silent as we all sat there looking at each other the entire time. I sat there holding my breath as we all pondered on whether or not we wanted to say it upfront. It’s not even like it was embarrassing or something we didn’t want to admit it was just silence. Suddenly to break the awkward silence, Hayleigh started talking again and explaining how we didn’t have to know our decision at this moment but it had to be soon. I let out a sigh of relief as did many other people who were sitting there wondering. But the more and more she talks about it and tries to help us find our way to our decision, I start to think so much more about the benefits of doing it. As Hayleigh is asking for the second time I suddenly blurt out, “I wanna do it!” Everyone was shocked and excited as I said it out loud. Alex quickly arranges for it to happen by calling the head of the baptisms and my parents. As much of my decision as it is, it has to be okay and approved by the parents which I don’t get because I decided on it. Of course,  my parents didn’t answer right away and it made me worried that I was going to lose such a special opportunity over this. Soon after that moment of worry, My mom decided to reach back out and she was accepting. Now, I had mentioned the idea to my dad but I hadn’t mentioned it to my mom so I know it caught her by a little surprise. 

Hours pass and suddenly the moment has come, we all had rushed to the pool as a stampede of kids just out of pure excitement. The sun, still hot as ever, beams down once again on the hot blacktop. Our little feet tap on the ground quicker and quicker because we just want to get there as soon as possible. As soon as we got there, the pool had already been packed with so many cabins with different kids and different leaders. There was practically no room in the whole place. There was only one little section and we ended up squishing next to this other man's cabin. The backs of our thighs were burning from the concrete as we eagerly waited for everyone to start getting in and having names be called. Chris is speaking again for the second time today and I’m so happy, every time he talks it just feels so empowering and moving and I bet I could say that for everyone that listens to him during service. He starts to call out names one by one and say what location they were from because there were about seven different locations throughout that whole camp. As he starts calling out east side my heart starts beating like crazy. The nervousness is like a ball of fire inside of my stomach just waiting to spew out. Suddenly, my name was called. Everybody starts clapping and cheering because honestly, getting baptized at a church camp is kind of a big deal so everybody is excited. For every person, they ask, “Who are your Lord and savior?” And you respond with “Jesus Christ” and that’s exactly what I did. I know it doesn’t seem like it should mean anything or do anything but when I got dipped under by my favorite leaders, surrounded by all my friends, I felt different after. As if it were a new start to my life. 

Overall, I feel that this whole experience was really important for me because I overcame a tough decision with the help of people that I cared about. It was tough for me too because it had been a decision that I had previously been thinking about in the back of my head for a while now. I’m so glad I could overcome the issue and change my life for the better.