I remember this day so clearly, Thursday August 1st 2013, I woke up at 7:30 like I did every morning when I was at camp, but I wanted today to be different because it was my 17th birthday! We had our staff meeting like we did every morning and not a single person said happy birthday, they acted so indifferently… I was a little disappointed but I thought to myself that it would make sense that they wouldn't know it was my birthday because I never really told any of them except for Angela, my best friend at camp, so I just decided that it would be a normal day just like any other.
We went outside for flagpole at 8 like we did every morning and I remember walking outside and the grass was very wet and cold on my bare feet. Once everyone had gathered in a big circle I heard one of the counselors start singing O Canada like we did every morning, all the young campers joined in missing every note because they don’t know how to sing yet and it sounded awful but at least they were trying. I started to smell the bacon that Laura was making for breakfast, through the kitchen window but on this particular morning I wasn't excited for it as I usually am, probably because I was still upset that no one had remembered my birthday.
After flagpole we walked inside for breakfast and I was making sure that all the campers had washed their hands, after the last camper comes out of the washroom all done washing his hands I hear Angela calling my name. I turned around and saw a very worried look on her face and she said ‘‘Ryan we need you over here, now!’’ My immediate thoughts were that a camper had hurt themselves and they needed someone to cheer them up while they put a band aid or whatever they would do because I was normally really good at keeping the kids happy and not focused on their wound. So I rushed into the dining hall just as my roommate Alex Mackenzie turns around the corner with something in his hand that I couldn't quite make out what it was and he shoves it into my face. At first I couldn't see but I could feel this thick cream all over me, kind of like shaving cream, I forgot where I was for a second, it all happened really fast and then I heard the whole camp yell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! And they all start laughing and clapping, then I realized that I had been hit in the face with a whipped cream pie.
I licked my lips and tasted grapes, blueberries and chocolate chips all mixed into the whipped cream, it was delicious, like nothing I had ever tasted before. I was so overjoyed by the fact that not only had they remembered my birthday but they actually planned something for me! Then I saw a little cake that Angela and Alex were bringing to me from the kitchen after I had managed to get some of the whipped cream off of my face and the whole camp started singing happy birthday and being a musical person listening to 40 kids aged 9 to 11 that not one of them knew how to sing was quite the experience in itself.
Once I had finished my cake I thanked them all for the amazing surprise and then I gave Angela and Alex big hugs and I made sure to get as much of the whipped cream that was still all over my shirt and around the sides of my face on them as I could. The shirt was ruined and I can’t wear it anymore because it stained purple even after putting it through several washes but it was an unforgettable experience and although it may not sound like much it was the best morning of my life, but it didn't end there.
After breakfast we went into the chapel to sing praise and worship songs like we did every morning and that was a lot of fun but it was only after chapel that the birthday surprises kept on coming! At 10am, right before our morning game Angela told me that she got me a ‘‘servant’’ for the day, one of the campers wanted to dunk Angela with a bucket of cold water and she agreed to let him do it if he did everything I asked him to on my birthday. So during dodge ball that morning he protected me the whole time while I got other people out and even when he was out he kept telling me who had a ball and where I should be looking, I like to think that it was because of him that I won the game of dodge ball for our team!
After that we had archery and he offered to carry a heavy bucket filled with water balloons and ropes while I carried the two bows and bucket of arrows (because of safety reasons, he offered to carry everything but I didn't think I should let a camper carry a bunch of potential weapons). When lunch came around everything went back to normal until that afternoon, at around 5 pm I relieved my camper servant of his duties and went to go get a mop to clean the bathrooms because that was my job after supper but Dan, the director of the camp told me that he would do it for me and that there was a surprise waiting for me in the dining hall.
Curiously I walked over to the dining hall to find my best friend Adam who lives in B.C. but comes to visit in the summer time was there and he was holding a big cake that said happy 17th birthday! I was so happy to see him and then my parents came in to see me too which was great because I hadn’t seen my dad in a month because he was at work in India. So I introduced them to my friends Alex and Angela and then my parents told me that they had something in the car for me… I had already had so many surprises that day that I didn't know how my day could get any better but when they opened the trunk of the car I saw a cajon, which is a rhythm instrument kind of like a drum but it is shaped like a box and you sit on it when you play it. I really wanted a cajon but they were too expensive for me to go out and buy one myself.
Afterwards my parents left and Adam who had decided to stay for the evening came back inside with me to find the cake completely gone… The campers had seen it and ate the whole thing before I even got the chance to have a piece but I didn't mind, I was thinking to myself what a perfect day but it still wasn’t over yet. Later that evening we had a concert and I got to pick some of my favorite songs and the band that had come down played those songs and they even invited me to go up and play the cajon with their band which I did and it was an amazing experience. Everybody was dancing and singing along, the floor shaking every time they would all jump up and land again and the band was perfect, never missed a note the whole time. It was an amazing day and it is one I will remember for a long time.

Ryan Rix