“I’ll have practice SAT’s every Saturday, a vocab quiz everyday for four weeks!” my sister, Anica, kept whining as she stuffed another piece of clothing into her suitcase that already had loose t-shirts hanging out from the sides.
On the day after my birthday, June 22nd, my sister was already heading out the door, her journey to camp just starting. I did not think one month was going to be a long time, so I just gave her a sweet hug, compliments, and good luck wishes at the airport.
The first few days I didn’t feel Anica’s absence that much. We were allowed to call her at night, so I could talk to her. She seemed to be having an intense time studying so hard. I started to reflect on my own summer. Most days I just lied around on my bed until it was time to eat lunch. After lunch I watched TV, and ate junk food. My sister was at camp studying all day and learning palates. That was my first lesson learnt. Be more efficient with time.
As time went by and the second week came along, I found myself bored much more often. When I talked to my sister that week, she was tired, but she told us she was getting the hang of it. It was hard work, but because she did it every day, she got into a schedule. There was my second lesson learnt. Find a system that works.
Another source of communication from families to campers were notes that the people at the camp could bring to my sister. I wrote often and called every night. At night they had to study in the study hall until 11:00 and then go to their dormitories. Even if you were tired, you still had to study. There was my third lesson learnt. If you want to be a good student, you also have to exercise and be fit enough to study through the evening.
By the fourth week, I was so excited that Anica was coming back home; I could barely wait for her to come home. At that time, we were staying at a place in Korea, so my dad, mom and I drove from Seoul to Incheon. It was a long drive, and because of the rain and the fog, the trip was hard, but when we arrived at Incheon, we were reminded again why we came all the way from Seoul. Anica seemed to have already become friends with lots of people. There I learnt my fourth lesson. Love the people you are with when you are with them, because sometime in your life you will have to say goodbye.
When my sister’s camp ended, we were all really happy to see each other and I couldn’t have been more thankful for my sister for teaching me all these lessons, just by talking to me on the phone and studying at camp. Of course I was happy, but I was also worried about my own hard days to come. I won’t even have a little sister to teach lessons to!
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