"An unforgettable week at Panorama Camp". Vilmine shares her experience at our first ever summer camp in the Norwegian mountains!
Hello, this is Vilmine, 16 years old! I was a participant at Panorama Camp from June the 25th to the 1st of July. In this post, I’m going to share with you my expectations before the camp, my experience, and the impression I sit with now, one week later.
When I saw the website for Panorama Camp, I became totally amazed! This Camp had it all; yoga, meditation, mountain climbing, healthy dessert making, volleyball, mushing (hundekjøring?), just to mention some. In addition, the place, where the camp was situated, Nøsen Yoga Retreat Center, was located with the most perfect view, surrounded by mountains covered in snow, and a beautiful lake nearby. I just knew that this was where I wanted to be, the first week of my summer.
I was hoping to learn more about myself, and what I want to do in my life, but I learned so much more! Especially the Mountain climbing had a huge impact on me. We went on a day it was raining, and therefore it was pretty slippery, this didn’t exactly help me with my fear of heights. The instructors told us that if someone had any doubt, they should stay at the hotel, but I wanted to try, so I didn’t say anything. After climbing just two meters up, I turned around to Martine, and told her I was skeptical about continuing. She just smiled at me, and calmed me down; I realized that I couldn’t quit before I even started. On the hike, I met several challenges, but the people around me helped, and not long after I was on the top. This meant a lot to me, and showed that I can be determined, and reach my goals, no matter how afraid I am.
On the camp, we also learned a lot from the daily Young Happy Minds courses we had. We got the chance to know more our positive feelings, and how to take care of them. How we can spread happiness to other people was also an important thing we learned. A lot of the things we talked about on the course, I brought home with me. Now I write down three things I’m grateful for, everyday. Most of them I didn’t even notice before. I think this makes my appreciation for life bigger. An other thing I have started with is to help out more often, without hesitating. If the kitchen looks like a mess, I clean it up without anyone telling me to do it. When I’m finished, I can lay down with the feeling of being helpful, which is positive for both me, and my parents.
When I look back to the camp now, I miss it so much! All of the people I met there were really nice, and had a lot to give me. The camp was an incredible opportunity to have a lot of fun, being active and social, while finding my inner self. I want to thank all of the instructors for being beautiful role models, you gave me the week of my life!