I was dressed to the nines and sobbing

Well no, I wasn't dressed to the nines, but crying? I most certainly was. I was in my uniform or costume or whatever it may have been that particular saturday. But whatever I was in, I felt proud, I felt loved and most importantly I felt like I finally belonged and it wasn't because of what I was wearing or that special pin with my name on it.

If you've been well surely you know exactly what I'm talking about, that last day when you can't bear to leave your new found friends side for fear of never seeing them again and never feeling the way you do in that moment.

It's a shame you can't freeze moments and save them for a rainy day, if you could I'd have drawers filled with IMC nostalgia.

IMC, it really is a magical place as awfully cheesy as that sounds. Believe me though the cheese just gets worse from here on out.

It changed me and shaped me to the person I am today. The reason I can be who I am and believe in myself is because of that place. I'm more comfortable in my skin today than I would have been without IMC.

I'll get back to those saturdays though because I could keep you and myself here for hours writing about everything that IMC has done for me and everything thats happened there.

We arrive at camp on a sunday and from there on out you're in an intensive program all the time non-stop. Which might sound really intense I guess, and believe me at times it really was but you almost never notice because of all the fun you're having. Anyway after the week is through of working hard etc etc comes Saturday the showcase.

It's the end of the week, you and your new friends are about to leave to go back home after the showcase is done and then, that's it. It's over.

It doesn't seem like a long time especially to be talking about such strong feelings for the place and people, but what happens there can only be explained by experiencing it. You grow so attached so quickly to these perfect strangers from literally all over the world and at times you really just think to yourself I can't bear to think of my life without you anymore. You truly become changed by the brief presence of these new people in your life.

And when those saturdays come, it's an emotional rollercoaster. It's a celebration, it's wonderful, it's amazing, it's relieving, it's everything but it's also a goodbye. And in most cases you don't know if that goodbye is the last one because it certainly could be. And that's whats so heart wrenching about those saturdays.

And if I've counted right, out of my 5 years there, I've had 10 saturdays of celebrations, performances and goodbyes and I'm truly forever changed and lucky to have had those 10.

In harmony

Katelyn Rebecca