On November 18, several other students and I went on a life-changing trip with the Mackay Center to Camp Massawippi. On the first day of the trip we started to settle in, helping the kids unpack and making their beds. We went for a small hike around the camp, bonding with both the kids and the teachers who accompanied us. After a short walk, one of the kids, who I think is absolutely hilarious, had a problem with his wheelchair which was going extremely slow. So we turned back and went to the balcony next to the lake. We hung around listening to music and really just having a good time taking “selfies”.

Soon after, we headed inside because it was getting so cold. I immediately crashed. Believe me when I say these kids put you to work. Once I woke up, it was time for all of us to have dinner. Soon after that, the kids had to go to bed, but that wasn’t the end of the night for LCC students. We all started to play one of the most addicting games ever, involving codes, playing cards and teams. Long story short, it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I had never gotten so competitive in my life.

I was hoping the second day would be a bit easier. Thinking that this would be a bit of a getaway from school, I assumed that we would relax, take it easy and maybe wake up a bit late. I was so wrong. After everyone got ready and made their way to the “village” (the building where we did most of our activities) we had breakfast. Soon after that we went on a hike with the kids up a mountain. I would say that pushing the kids up the mountain while they were in wheelchairs was my workout for the year! Once we arrived at the top, we took some pictures and really just hung out for a bit. I thought the hard part was over, but what I had forgotten was that we still had to bring the kids back down to the bottom of the mountain.

Once we finally got back to the village we chopped down Christmas trees for the kids and hung out. A couple of us built a fire while the kids watched a movie. We all went down to the fire and roasted marshmallows and made smores. After that, we all hung out playing board games and really just having a good time until sadly the kids had to go to bed. Then some wise guy thought it would be a great idea to bring out the cards again, once again huge mistake. Everyone got super competitive. But all in all everyone had fun.

But waking up the next morning we all came to the realization that this amazing trip was coming to an end. It was going to be our last day there. In an effort to show how thankful we were, all the LCC students contributed to making a giant brunch for both the teachers and the kids. We spent the rest of the morning hanging out and just having fun.

I must say it was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. The friendships formed over the course of these trips are ones I’ll truly cherish for the rest of my life. – Alessandro Dumoulin ’15