by Griffin Blum
High school wasn’t the best of times looking back on it. I suppose it could’ve been much worse, but my decision to go to UW was centered on myself not being happy with the person I became in the Bay Area. A change in scenery was definitely necessary, and it was amazing to make friends with so many other freshmen who were just as anxious about meeting new people as I was. However I still felt a lot of pressure to be a certain type of person, and that pressure influenced me to make some mistakes. I made friends I wish I hadn’t, I made some bad choices, and it all just had me wishing for another do-over, knowing you only get so many of those in life. Then the summer began, and I started working at the Lair of the Bear.
The Lair is a UC Berkeley family camp located in the western Sierra Mountains, a few hours north of Yosemite National Park. My family has attended the Lair every summer since I was 8 years old. After my freshman year of college, I was privileged enough to get a lowly job washing pots in the kitchen of that camp. We lived in wooden frames we called “tents” and slept under the stars in the middle of nowhere every night for 3 whole months. Looking back on it, I can safely say, it was the best summer of my life. I had never met any of my fellow staffers before I drove to camp, and for a reserved, antisocial person like myself, I was really scared it was going to be terrible. From day 1, I was blown away by how open-minded and easy to talk to everyone was. I was presented with this sense of freedom I’d never had before, a freedom to be your true self, with no judgment from anyone. It was such an amazing feeling. But as the summer drew to and end, I got depressed that I was going to be thrown back into the real world, away from this new home I’d made for myself. I spent that last week trying to just live in the moment and take in everything I’d experienced, but the second “Ooh La La” by Faces started playing at our Hootenanny, I was given an whole new perspective on my time at the Lair, and my entire life up until that point.
As I’m sitting there drinking with my new best friends, it hit me that all the mistakes I’d made in the past won’t define my future. They’re chances to learn and be your best self. As I listened to the song, I had an epiphany; I am where I am right now because of the person I was back in high school, and I’m thankful for the choices I’d made. The chorus of that song echoed in my head that entire night, “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger.” It resonated so much with me that it’s impossible to really prepare yourself for what you’ll experience in life, and you’ve just got to dive in and live, without worrying about messing up. Sitting there listening to this song, I realized that I was way more prepared for an adult life than I ever thought before, I just had to take off my training wheels and go for it.
I loved working at the Lair so much I worked there for the following two summers as well, and I’m currently applying for the position of Head Cook this summer. I know I’ll miss my time there immensely when I finally decide to stop working there. But if there’s anything I learned during my time working there, it’s not to linger on the past, or worry about the future. No matter what happens, you’ll be ready for it.
Song: “Ooh La La”
Artist: Faces
Album: Ooh La La (1973)
Length of Song: 3:34
Side Note: I wasn’t able to upload the recording of me reading the commentary over the song to the blog, but I’ll attach it to Canvas. If there is any problem, let me know.
AFRAM337 