Episode 5 - The Weight of the World on Their Shoulders

In kin•dom campfire chats, we asked camp participants to think of a question that they wish someone would ask them about their life journey. With a friend and in their own words, the campers tell their stories of struggle, love, support, and a community found. 

Episode 5:
Speaker 1 - Adult - They/Them (Cabin Counselor)

"My 15 year old self - when I was out socially, publicly - really needed something like this."

Find out more about us by visiting our website, kindomcommunity.org. There you can find information about kin•dom camp and consider supporting our work with a one-time or recurring donation. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kindomcommunity to keep up with all the important information.

Transcript

music  0:00  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build, let's build a place we can go”]  

Narrator  0:09  
Thank you for tuning in to kin•dom campfire chats, a podcast of kin•dom community. This podcast features the voices of LGBTQIA+ persons, both youth participants and adult staff, who attended kin•dom camp in Texas in the summer of 2023. We asked the camp participants to think of a question that they wish someone would ask them about their life journey. With a friend and in their own words, the campers tell their stories of struggle, love, support, and a community found. We invite you to listen with an open mind and an open heart. 

music  0:50  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "This is the place”] 

Tom  0:56  
What is the importance of kin•dom camp that you see as a staff member, and how has that changed your life?

speaker 1  1:05  
Having a space like this that is designated and safe for kids ranging on the, like, queer spectrum is just so important, especially right now. And especially where we are in our state and where we are in our just regular old government. It's so important to allow them this place. They come in and they see other kids, maybe younger, maybe older. They see queer adults like myself, and they even see queer elders, like some of our other staff, and they see generations of happiness whether it's below or above them. I think it's really important to remind them how loved they are, and that there's people batting for them. I, I really love seeing them, it just– they connect so fast, they share their stories so fast. They're so happy to be here. Some of them– so this is my, while we're recording, this is my third time at camp, at kin•dom. And, you know, watching kids that were at the first summer, then winter, and now here again, it's so beautiful to like see them and how they've grown and changed in acceptance. I had kids that came in that literally had never, ever met another gay person before and didn't know, like, what non-binary was, or maybe are having a really hard time understanding what it means to be trans. And it's really, it's so beautiful to watch that happen. And help them understand and help them feel safe and loved and supported and giving them opportunities and to just have fun with no fear at all. And for me as a staff member, as a young adult who grew up in a small town in Texas, who was gay, and at a young age, and came out at a young age. It was really, really hard and alienating for me at the time, you know, with– whether it was other kids, whether it was my parents, other adults, it was just really, really hard. And I think that my 15 year old self - when I was out socially publicly - really needed something like this. I can't even fathom the positive impact that this has on them to just feel so loved and accepted and just make friends. They all text each other, and like, we'll be in the cabin, and they're like, 'can we have our phones out so we can exchange numbers?' And I'm like, 'YES!' And ugh– it's so, like, healing for the inner child of, you know, it just so healing. And I love watching them and seeing them getting to learn queer history, seeing them, ugh– just seeing them smile. It sounds so silly.

music  4:00  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build..."] 

Tom  4:03  
With them being in this space and feeling safe, and feeling the joy of being able to be exactly who they are, what is your wish for them when they leave this space and they go back to the spaces that they live and move?

speaker 1  4:25  
Oh, God, I'm gonna cry.

Tom  4:26  
What is your wish for them?

speaker 1  4:27  
I just want them to be happy. Ugh, I'm so emotional. I– some of the kids, they come in and they're very blunt and they're like, you know, 'I don't have this at home. I don't have this at school.' I have kids that do online school because they had to leave, like, public school and it's in– I, ugh and it's like we have them while we're here. And we can do everything for them while they're here. Like we have mental health staff here for them, we have, you know, queer counselors here for them, we have just people here. We're all here for these kids. And then we know as soon as they go home, that there might not be someone there defending them, there might not be someone there to represent them. And it's, ugh yeah, it's hard. I wish them the best. I hope they come out of here with more confidence. I hope they come out of here, feeling good about advocating for themselves. And I hope they come out of here, being able to talk to maybe their other queer friends at home, and tell them all about how good this was and how affirming and– I hope they've learned something. I mean, I come here, and I learn things. And I feel like I try really hard to like, be aware, and they just, they just know everything. You know what I mean? I hope maybe some kids come out of here accepting themselves more, you know, maybe they come in here with a new a new name, and then I hope that that is healthy for them. Really, at the end of the day, I want them so badly to be happy. Yeah, and yeah, that's it. These kids, I feel, and I felt this before, that they just have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They are carrying all this hate. They're carrying all this political– I mean, everything that's going on politically, they're carrying that they're aware of it. They're also educated on it, which is a good thing, and it's also like, so upsetting to see like, an 11 year old, that is so aware of the laws and so afraid. And when I was 15, coming out, and that was many, many moons ago, when I was 15 coming out, I felt that weight. I felt like where I was, I was carrying that and I was carrying those laws. I mean, when I– like gay marriage was barely legalized. I was, I was carrying all that, was aware of all that. And now it's like, tenfold worse. And so many of these kids, they just they, they want to leave– can we say what state we're in? 

Tom  7:00  
Yeah 

speaker 1  7:00  
They want to leave Texas. They don't want to– they're so upset with Texas. And it's so real, and it's so valid of them. But it's also like they need– we need them to be aware and also vote. And I understand that carrying the weight on their shoulders is hard. And we're here this week at camp to kind of lift that off them and it's for this week, they're not carrying that weight. And when they go home, they might be. And I mean, like, I hope that at the end of the week, they're aware of how much and how important it is to have those advocates out for them. And when they're turning into adults, they need to be the advocates for themselves and they need to learn what they can do. And at the basis of that, they can vote. Love voting, yay, voting. And they can just– it would be so nice to see a big change. And I hope that this camp, and all the other queer spaces, are advocating for big changes in the future. And that, I don't know, I feel when I listen that a lot of the government officials are afraid of the next generation because everyone knows, everyone knows they're better. They think better. So I hope to see that change spark after this camp.

music  8:11  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build, let's build a place we can go”]  

Narrator  8:21  
Thank you for listening to kin•dom campfire chats. This podcast is a production of kin•dom community. You can find out more about kin•dom community by going to kindomcommunity.org or by searching kin•dom community on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Baylee  8:46  
I know it's Baylee. I'm the Creative Director of kin•dom community.

Andy  8:51  
And I'm Andy, the Program Director of kin•dom community.

John  8:55  
And I'm John, the Executive Director of kin•dom community.

Baylee  8:58  
We wanted to talk a little bit more about kin•dom camp and how you can get involved.

Andy  9:03  
kin•dom camp is an opportunity for LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 to 17 to feel safe and free to show up as their full selves. Campers will have the chance to experience all the fun that camp has to offer in a week filled with affirmation community and celebration. This camp is intentionally created to be affirming space. It affirms all genders, sexualities, identities and varieties of belief. The only thing we expect is a commitment to welcoming and celebrating everyone where they are as they are.

Baylee  9:32  
And this isn't just any summer camp - we're talking rainbows and glitter everywhere. kin•dom camp will include plenty of traditional camp activities and recreation plus some specialized programming to incorporate activities and conversations around mental health, yoga, embodiment, and LGBTQIA+ history and culture. Now more than ever, LGBTQ youth are in need of unconditional love and acceptance. kin•dom camp is a space for just that.

John  10:02  
We're always looking for fully affirming, welcoming and loving adults to help us make kin•dom camp a success. This will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with, mentor, and learn from our youth. But most importantly, we ask that you are ready to celebrate everyone where they are as they are. 

Andy  10:21  
Both registration for campers and applications to be on camp staff are now open. You can find these links on our website kindomcommunity.org/camp. If you have any questions you can't find the answers to you can email me at andy@kindomcommunity.org.

Baylee  10:36  
Also, be sure to check us out on socials @kindomcommunity on Instagram and Facebook. We post all of our important announcements and fun camp moments so you'll want to follow along.

John  10:47  
Thanks for listening to kin•dom campfire chats. We are proud to be a safe space for these campers and we are even more proud of them for sharing their stories. We hope you'll keep gathering around the campfire with us as we celebrate all of the stories that make us this kin•dom community.

music  11:05  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build..."] 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai