Latest / MIDDLE GROUND - Real Conversations on Faith, Identity & Becoming — Through Brynne's LDS Lens of Curiosity, Love and Doubt / How to Lead Youth Without Being Controlling: Letting Girls Own Their Camp Experience with Kim Garrett
Transcript
- Brynne Erickson (00:29) All right, Kim Garrett, thanks for coming tonight. We're to talk about girls camp. It's going to be so, so much fun. Yes. It's been a hot minute, man, since I have been a girls camp. Granted, it was, was that my first calling out of high school? I think it was. So my mom was camp director for like seven years. And so they thought I would be right. So they apparently thought I would be an amazing assistant camp director. Kim Garrett (00:32) you yeah. It's going to be great. my, wow, that's too long. Brynne Erickson (00:59) once she retired and I was like 18 and I didn't know what I was doing. Like it's one thing to plan it. It's another thing or like to go and it's another thing to plan. Right. Kim Garrett (01:04) Mm-hmm. Mm hmm. The logistics are well beyond what anybody realizes while they're there, like the girls at least, you know. Brynne Erickson (01:16) yeah, yeah, especially for a teenage girl. Like I was only 18 and it was fine. Like we had fun. We did it. But I don't think I've been to camp. Yes, is totally the goal. I haven't been though. Probably since I was early twenties. What about you? Kim Garrett (01:26) That's the goal. I just went, I just ⁓ was camp director this literally what a month ago. So just got back. ⁓ I had been an advisor and so I'd gone to camp once as an advisor probably three years ago and then I was in the young woman's presidency. I was first counselor. So I went. Brynne Erickson (01:45) What about prior to that? Kim Garrett (02:03) ⁓ and that capacity. And so I've had like a one year gap. So I didn't go last year. So I've gone quite a few times as a leader. Yeah. I've been in young women's a lot of my adult life, which is great. I like young women's. I think it's very fun. ⁓ was a big part of my life growing up that I'm very passionate about. So, ⁓ yeah. Brynne Erickson (02:10) super incredibly. I love that. Yeah, that's so cool. So you've been able to experience it since you left kind of evolving. Kim Garrett (02:35) Yes, yeah, I've seen it done many different ways. Brynne Erickson (02:39) Hmm. And we're going to talk about that specifically how this last one went for you. but before we do that, I am curious, do you have any, highlights from when you were a young woman? Kim Garrett (02:46) Mm-hmm. man, I feel like there are some stories that I have to tell or else I'm going to get in trouble if I don't. So, ⁓ I have a few testimony meetings, testimonies that, ⁓ were very well known. ⁓ I don't know how to describe this. Like I gave the testimony and people, still laugh about it. So there was, it was like, I think actually Brynne Erickson (03:01) Okay. Really? Like you gave the testimony? ⁓ okay. Kim Garrett (03:24) This might be, was this Girls Camp? think it was Girls Camp or maybe it was Youth Conference. anyway, the song, I can't even remember how the song goes, but All Is Well, All Is Well. I remember in my testimony, was like, all is not well. And like we say that all the time now, all is not well. Like that's how you might feel in life. All is not well, but you know, the pioneers still saying all is well, all is well. So we have a few, you know, quotes and things that live on. ⁓ Brynne Erickson (03:27) Okay. ⁓ I love it. Nice. Kim Garrett (03:54) One thing we did as a youth was ⁓ lots of skits, lots of, you know, funny skits. We would do ⁓ secret sisters and ⁓ I tried to explain this to my girls now and they were like, Kim, what are you talking about? But at the end of the week, we would get a wooden spoon and Brynne Erickson (04:15) Okay. Kim Garrett (04:22) decorate the wooden spoon and by decorate I mean like literally like glue, yarn, ribbon, paint, fabric. It would just be a table of scraps and you would make the wooden spoon look like your secret sister and then give it to them. So as you can imagine, mine always had big curly hair with yarn and, and it was one of those things that now I'm like, this is so cheesy, but back. Brynne Erickson (04:28) Okay. Nice. Nice. Yes. How funny. Kim Garrett (04:48) And then it just felt really nice to be like thought of and it was like silly and lighthearted, but like it was like, it was a gift, you know, like in and of itself. So lots of fun. You know, we would take naps hot, way too hot naps in the tent and eat way too much candy. I loved it. So yeah. What about you? What are your girls camp memories? Brynne Erickson (04:59) I love that. Right? Mm-hmm. That's awesome. Oh, man. My girls camp experience kind of went off to a rough start. I don't know if I told you guys this, but when I was 12, I was kind of new in the ward. So I didn't really know many of the girls, but I went and thankfully my dad was up there as the male figure to the right there to assist if needed. And there were definitely two older girls. Kim Garrett (05:19) I don't know. Mm-hmm. Right, the priesthood holder. Mm-hmm. Brynne Erickson (05:41) that didn't want to be there that they got to come. And I happened to be in the cabin and one of the girls was super upset and she wanted to go home. And she was sitting in front of one of our leaders with aerosol hairspray and spraying it in her face and saying, let me go home. Let me go home. And that like traumatized me. Yeah, that's legit. And I know it was kind of intense for everyone and Kim Garrett (05:45) Mm. What in the world? wow. Yeah. Brynne Erickson (06:10) I feel bad that she got forced or, you know, for whatever reason she was there. But, I mean, she went, that's awesome, but she clearly was not wanting to be there and I did not want to go back to camp. And so thankfully my aunt was the stake camp director back in, ⁓ Connecticut and they do a girls camp out at camp Joseph and Sharon Vermont out there. And it's super cool. Kim Garrett (06:17) Mm-hmm. Mm. Brynne Erickson (06:40) So I did camp with her for the next two years out there and then had an amazing experience and then was willing to come back and try again in my own ward. But yeah, but it was off to a rough start for me. But after that, it was great. We never did skits. That's a new thing for me. like I'm going to, yeah, that's so funny. And my ward was gonna do it. Kim Garrett (06:43) Mm-hmm. Right, got to bring back that, yeah. Hmm. really? ⁓ we always did skits. You bring the random bag of props and yeah. Brynne Erickson (07:09) I've heard all about it and that we were going to do that this year at our own camp, but I guess our girls are doing a glow in the dark dance party instead. So I still have yet to experience skits. Kim Garrett (07:23) The skits, I just always remember being like, this is so random. Like you just like literally just like make it up this year though. We kind of, the girls had the idea to change it up a little bit and it was still skits. We still brought like a random bag of props, but they did lip syncs instead. So it was like, so there was a little bit of like, you know, a store, like it helped come up with ideas because you just acted out the song or whatever. And Brynne Erickson (07:26) Yeah. Kim Garrett (07:49) It was really fun and creative. got to pick their own song and so it was kind of a good mix of both, think. Brynne Erickson (07:55) I love that. That sounds super fun. Kim Garrett (07:58) It was very fun and the leaders made up a dance and did a lip sync and it was hilarious and we loved it. Brynne Erickson (08:03) That sounds amazing. did the girls, was it individually or as groups that they got to think of their song ahead of time? Kim Garrett (08:11) ⁓ they, didn't give them advanced notice. So they, it was their YCL group. They, laid out all the props on a table and we were like, okay, go. And they got to go grab their props and then decide as a group what song they were going to do and what part everyone was going to play. Like I loved seeing, we had one girl that didn't want to be in it. So the girls were like, why don't you be the director? And she literally like helped him choreograph it. Like Brynne Erickson (08:13) Mmm. cute. Kim Garrett (08:38) You know, she was still involved, but she was more like behind the scenes. So it was fun that like there was still an opportunity to have all the girls be involved in a way that they felt comfortable. So I thought it turned out really good. Brynne Erickson (08:48) I love that. Good job. Way to go, girls. That is amazing. Yes. So good. Yeah, camp is an interesting tradition, but I love it. like, I think a parent trap, you know, just there's so many girls camp is a thing. Like it's not just a religious thing. It's a way for to build community. And when you're young, whether it's Girl Scouts or Kim Garrett (08:53) Right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Brynne Erickson (09:15) Yeah, you do it all summer long. You go off to a camp and they do them all over the world. I think it's an amazing tradition that we do have within our faith. I think it's great to build relationships, do things that you wouldn't normally do. There's a lot of people that don't camp and this is the one time. Kim Garrett (09:30) Mm-hmm. Yeah. yeah. Yeah. We had girls express that to us that like, you know, we had to make some changes in our location of the camp and our camp went from being a little bit more of a primitive camp to in cabins. And some girls were like, dang it. I was kind of excited. We never go camping. I was excited to, you know, be in the dirt more. And so we, kind of kept that in mind and had the girls like help with the fire and, know, do stuff like that to keep it a little bit more primitive. as much as we could, even though it had to change. Brynne Erickson (10:07) Do you miss the like check-listy stuff we used to have to do? Like the learning, the first aid, and the campfire, and the hiking, and you don't miss that? I don't know that I do either. Kim Garrett (10:15) No. No, I mean, I feel like we still tried to like incorporate it. Like I was able to ask the girls like, Hey, what are you guys interested in? You know, I want to make sure we learn something. You know, so we did, we had the girls, like anyone that was interested sat around and we taught them about how to build a fire and we let them, it was hilarious. Like, but like cool. But like one of the nights we had the girls teamwork. build a fire and we all sat around and watched them and it wasn't lighting and it wasn't working and they got it done though and it was a great fire eventually, you know. So they just kind of let us know what they were interested in and that's what we did. So instead of feeling like we had to spend time doing, you know, what was it like year threes and there was all these different years that you had to learn all these different things. It was like, Hey, what are you interested in? And we'll have that be our activities, you know, so. Brynne Erickson (11:02) Yes. Yeah. Right. Very cool. Kim Garrett (11:12) which I liked that freedom. Brynne Erickson (11:14) I love that. And obviously you must have had a good enough relationship with the girls that they were willing to have like voice their opinions. Kim Garrett (11:22) Yeah, yeah, we had lots of YCL meetings. So YCL is youth camp leader. ⁓ So the girls that were 16 and older that were interested in being a leader, we gave them the option, obviously. ⁓ We met at my house multiple times before camp and they, we split them up. They got to pick which committee they wanted to be on. There was an activities committee, a bonding committee, a spiritual committee, and a food committee. And so we let the girls with a leader. kind of be in charge of what, you know, everyone got to kind of give throw out ideas to for all the different areas. But then ⁓ the actual committees is who like made the final decision and followed through with it actually happening, you know, the logistics of it and things. So Brynne Erickson (12:12) So you let the girls choose their committee. Did they end up being kind of evened out or did you have a committee that had like no girls in it? Kim Garrett (12:20) ⁓ yeah, it was pretty even. Like I was surprised that like multiple girls wanted to do spiritual. So we just had two girls in each group and I had them give me their number one choice and their number two choice. And then we made it work. So like we had three people want to be in spiritual and I was like, ⁓ dang it. You know, we'll have to have one of you. And it worked out that their second committee choice was an option, you know? So I was nervous about that and it ended up being fine. Like it's surprising to see what the girls were interested in helping out with, you know. Brynne Erickson (12:51) I can already tell that you were very led to let the girls have as much choice as possible. Was that a conscientious thing? Like, how did that come about? Kim Garrett (12:57) Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I just was like, this is their camp. Like this is their memories. This isn't my memories. Even though like for me, I, like I said, I'm very passionate about girls camp. I feel like I really loved girls camp growing up. So like there was a part of me that wanted to come in and be like, okay, I'm going to force you guys to have these great memories, you know, but really if I would have forced the stuff that I wanted to, they wouldn't have loved it as much. Right? Like They probably wouldn't have loved skits as much as they loved lip syncing. And that was their idea. Like I came up, I was like, Hey, should we do a skit? Should we do something? And they're like, let's do lip syncing, you know? So I still fed them some ideas and they built off of that and turned it into what they wanted it to be, you know? And I feel like that made them first off be more like put themselves into it because they picked it, you know, they decided what they wanted to do. Brynne Erickson (13:39) Yeah. Yeah. Kim Garrett (13:59) And so they like put their all into it and we're proud of what they planned up, you know, like so, and yeah, they just, they just showed up. I don't know when you give them the opportunity and we, met a lot and I told them, I was like, Hey, you guys are going to be advocates and leaders and you know, this is your camp. These are your memories. And if you want it to be positive, like that's up to you, you know, Brynne Erickson (14:05) Yeah. Kim Garrett (14:28) And they did, it went really well. Brynne Erickson (14:31) That's so cool. know a lot of time we get kind of, I don't want to say stuck. It's not to say that tradition is a bad thing, but it just seems like sometimes it's like the checklist. Like these are the things we do at camp. So this is what we do. Kim Garrett (14:39) Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Brynne Erickson (14:49) And I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, like I said, but I love that you gave them that opportunity. Like we can do what we know, or do you have another idea that you want to try? Kim Garrett (14:55) Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And that's what I did. Cause a lot of times I feel like when I talk to the girls and I'll just say like, just in general, like, Hey, what ideas do you have? They just give me blank stares. Like they're like, ⁓ I don't know. Like to just pull something out of your brain sometimes is like, I don't know. But to be like, Hey, these are some ideas that I had, you know, did, did, did, did do. What did you guys think? Like, Brynne Erickson (15:09) Right? Yeah. Kim Garrett (15:22) you guys like those ideas? Do you have other ideas? And then they kind of like build from there. So I think it's good to like, kind of as the director, right to direct the conversation, facilitate ideas, make sure that you're still make sure that you're eating food, you know, like make sure you're eating healthy food. Like you can't muffins and donuts for every meal, right? Like you got to like facilitate like, Hey, what, what veggies should we have with this meal or whatever? Like, Hey, what's spiritual? Brynne Erickson (15:38) Yes. Yeah. Kim Garrett (15:52) thought could we incorporate into this activity or, you know, bring in to make this more like grounded in what we're doing, like just stuff like that. I felt like, ⁓ and they came up with awesome ideas and the whole thing just went really smoothly. Brynne Erickson (16:09) I love that you were truly mentoring them on. Yeah, it sounds like it. That's beautiful. Cool. So tell us what your theme was and how that all came about. Kim Garrett (16:13) Yeah, I would think so. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So our theme this year was Daughters of Light. And ⁓ I want to give credit where credit's due. So let me actually look this up. So it was the youth theme. So the 2025 youth album is called Daughter of Light ⁓ is was just a song. So as I was ⁓ trying to find out what our theme should be, you know, praying about it, I met with our young woman's president and she kind of gave me her ideas. The youth theme in general is come unto Christ. So I was like, okay, like coming unto Christ, like thinking about, you know, that sort of idea. And the young woman's president was like, what about stand in the light? And I was like, like, as soon as she said it, it just like didn't sit right. Like it felt very like early 2000s of like checklisty, like this is what you should be doing. This is where you should be. You know, you got to stand. Brynne Erickson (17:22) Mm. Kim Garrett (17:24) Here's the light, you got to stand in that, you know, like, yeah, don't move, don't even. And so I was like, and the Young Women's Present didn't mean it that way. Like, obviously, that's like a very common theme, I think. But it just did not feel like right in my soul of like, that's not the message I want the girls to take from this camp, you know. So I was just going through just a bunch of resources and went to the youth theme and Brynne Erickson (17:25) Don't move, don't deviate. for sure. Kim Garrett (17:50) found the album and listened to the songs on there and this song Daughters of Light came up and it was all about, you know, Christ being the sun and like us being the moon that reflects his light and love back out into the world. And, and I was like, I want our girls to know that no matter what, no matter where they're standing in the light or in the dark or over here, over there, they are light. That's just who they are. They They are his light. you know, I don't, as being a camp director, I don't have as close of a, like, I don't know what's going on in the girl's life in the day to day, you know? So I don't know where their testimonies are at, like as much as maybe some of their, like other leaders. Yeah. But I was just like, I, I want any girl, no matter where they're at in their testimony journey. Brynne Erickson (18:36) leaders and yeah. Kim Garrett (18:47) to just go home feeling like they are worthy, that they are loved, and that they are light. And that just to me is such a beautiful message that I, as studying it, found in the scriptures and in talks and in lots of ways that that's the message Christ is trying to send the youth right now. So ⁓ it ended up being a great theme that was really powerful, I felt like. Brynne Erickson (19:16) So remind me, what was your theme again? Kim Garrett (19:20) Daughters of light. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. Brynne Erickson (19:20) daughters of light. you of light, you are the light. So what did you teach the girls? Did you have moments where you got to share that with them or a devotional or Kim Garrett (19:33) Yeah. Yep. So, it was really fun again, bringing the girls into, ⁓ planning their own theme. I did pick the theme. I was like, Hey, I'm going to like, give us a foundation here of daughters of light. But I came to them and I was like, Hey, what do we want our daily? Like, do we want to have a daily theme? That's like, you know, that we study and focus on. Do we want to have, you know, like, what do you guys want to do? I'm happy to take this wherever you want to go. And I had to go help the bonding committee. And when I came back, the spiritual committee had come up with this amazing idea that, you know, I had had the idea of like, the sun, the moon and the stars, you know, each day focusing on the symbols of those, which I kind of was like, Ooh, this is cool, you know, but when I came back, they were like, what about ⁓ finding the light, using the light and sharing the light? And I was like, I love it. I love it. And so ⁓ that's ended up being our like daily themes. So ⁓ it was each day I had the different leaders and girls do different like devotionals and studies about each of those themes. So how to find the light. ⁓ I did a, like a, you know how they do like a spiritual activity. Brynne Erickson (20:38) Cool. Kim Garrett (20:59) I did our spiritual activity Monday night, so I felt like I wanted to start camp off instead of having it be right before testimony meeting to kind of start off with a bigger spiritual moment. So we did a sunset hike that night. So in the evening, like 830, we started our hike and got to the top of the mountain and saw this like 180 degree view of Brynne Erickson (21:09) Mm-hmm. Kim Garrett (21:27) sunset and the mountains and the rolling hills and it was beautiful and ⁓ I let the girls share ways that they find the light in their life and they shared you know peers and scripture study and you know coming to church coming to girls camp you know they shared all these fun ⁓ ways or meaningful ways that they felt the light in their life ⁓ and I had gone up in advance to this hike. And on the way back from the hike, I had ⁓ strung up lights in four trees that kind of led us home. So on our walk back as it was getting darker, we stopped at each lit up tree and talked about four ways that the light can help us in our lives. So ⁓ see if I can remember them all off the top of my head. One of them was peace. ⁓ One of us was ⁓ just the goodness of people. ⁓ And then there was hope. And no, let's see if I can think of the fourth one. Peace, hope, goodness. ⁓ I can't remember the fourth one right now. I'm blanking on it. But anyway, we like I shared scriptures and quotes and things ⁓ about how those how the light can help illuminate the darkness in our lives. And it was kind of a powerful, you know, it didn't take a lot of effort. felt like Brynne Erickson (22:35) It's okay. It's all right. Kim Garrett (22:51) I definitely had the message in my back of my head is keep it simple, right? Like girls camp doesn't need to be this over the top. And I do feel like it was a powerful moment for us to speak about, you know, the world can seem really dark and scary and alone sometimes. And, ⁓ the light of Christ can lead us, you know, into good places and closer to, to Christ if, if we want to follow that light. So that's kind of what we talk. Brynne Erickson (22:55) Yeah. I love that word want is really important, huh? If that's what you want to do. Kim Garrett (23:26) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Most days. Yeah. Brynne Erickson (23:31) It's working for me. It's working for you. That's Most days. That's a good point. Good point. It's not always an easy path, it? Kim Garrett (23:44) Right. Yeah. So it was, it was cool. So we just had different activities and, ⁓ and then obviously we would sing the song, daughters of light around the fire every night. And it was fun. Cause the first night it kind of was like, ⁓ you know, we're singing the song. And then by the end it was arms around each other. You know, it was a sisterhood and, ⁓ it was just. Honestly, like it seems cheesy not being in the moment, but in the moment it just really was like so bonding and beautiful to see these girls singing songs about being powerful. powerful light, you know, in the world and to be the daughters of that light. So I really felt honored to be a part of that and to facilitate that message. Brynne Erickson (24:36) Did you guys practice the song ahead of time? Kim Garrett (24:40) We did. on Sundays for about a couple months before I would come into Young Women's and pass out the music and we would sing it. Or if we did any like camp activities, like pre-camp activities, we would sing the song. So we did like a camp kickoff about two months before, and that's where I like introduced the song. So there was a little bit of learning it before, but then by the end we all knew it and we're actually going to be singing it in sacrament meeting. ⁓ probably in a couple weeks. So yeah. Brynne Erickson (25:11) Nice. That is so fun. And you shared with me something really cool of how you prepped your youth camp leaders, the girls that kind of oversee all the other girls. And I thought that was super powerful. Would you mind sharing that? Kim Garrett (25:20) ⁓ Mm-hmm. Yeah, of course. So ⁓ when I gathered the YCLs ⁓ to talk about kind of their role of being these youth camp leaders, I wanted, like I said earlier, wanted this to be their camp. I wanted them to be advocates and leaders to their girls. ⁓ It was kind of fun. The YCL groups is what we call them. So they were labeled suns, moons and stars. each group, there was three groups and they each had a symbol. ⁓ And I talked to the girls beforehand and I was like, okay, I want you to come prayerful and fasting to this meeting. And we are going to have you guys pick out which girls are going to be in your groups. And the adults were not involved. So I had the girls come and I was like, this is not a time to pick your besties. This is a time for you to, you know, think about who, ⁓ could use your strength or your support at camp or like who you'd like to get to know better. And so the groups really were ⁓ like random to my, in my eyes, you know what I mean? But they really did turn out really good. And in that meeting, I just talked about how, you know, we can't be mean girls at camp. use this phrase, mean girls. I was like, we need to... you guys, you youth camp leaders need to be the leaders of accepting people. And so ⁓ it sounds so silly, but I pulled up the scene from Wicked where Glinda gives Elphaba the pointy hat and ⁓ Elphaba shows up at the dance and everyone's staring at her because she's wearing this, you know, hideous pointy hat and to kind of show that she's not embarrassed or whatever Glinda Brynne Erickson (27:14) Yeah. Kim Garrett (27:22) not Glinda, Alphaba puts the hat down in the middle of the dance floor and starts doing this dance and everybody circles around and they snicker and they whisper and Glinda just has this look of like, no, what am I going to do? Like how, ⁓ no, I did this to her, you know, and I talked to the girls about how ⁓ Christ asks us to let go of things at times and ⁓ Brynne Erickson (27:39) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kim Garrett (27:52) I compared that to Glinda letting go of her coolness, of her, you know, whatever status she was holding, she let that go. And she went and embraced ⁓ Alphaba in her weirdness, in her quirkiness, and danced with her and showed her this true form of friendship. And that scene has always been really beautiful to me of how we can show up for one another, especially as women. Brynne Erickson (28:19) you Kim Garrett (28:19) ⁓ and so I talked to the girls. I'm like, there are going to be girls in your, at camp that are weird, that are unique, that are quirky, that you would never talk to outside of church functions. And that's okay. You, Christ asked us to let go of our status, of our coolness, of sometimes our comfort, to show up for somebody and accept them and love them exactly as they are. ⁓ and Honestly, I could not have been more proud of those girls. They were so loving and kind. They were perfect examples, I felt like, of how to support. an individual, you know, every single one of those girls were very different. No one in our group is like besties in real life, you know, but you would have never, right, you would have never thought that because they were just this unified group. They were supporting one another. ⁓ It just, was beautiful. And I even asked the girls that were in my car driving home, I was like, I felt like there was no drama. Was there really no drama? And they were like, no, there really wasn't. There was like a few times when Brynne Erickson (29:10) Yeah, outside of church, yeah. Kim Garrett (29:34) people started like saying things or doing something and we'd all just be like, no mean girls, no mean girls. And they'd like, they supported each other in that goal, you know? So it just really was so beautiful to watch. And I hope that can carry out into their everyday life, cause they'll be better for it, you know? Brynne Erickson (29:40) Ha ha ha ha. Yeah. Yeah, that's what this life is all about. Yeah. It doesn't mean we're not robots that are all the same. Kim Garrett (29:56) Mm-hmm. Right, right. There's beauty and strength in everyone's individual-ness. Their individual-ness. Brynne Erickson (30:07) Yes, absolutely. Yeah, you can learn to love pretty much anyone. Kim Garrett (30:15) Mm hmm. Right. Yeah. And you don't have to be their best friend, but you can love them. and yeah, you, you, if you really get curious, right, you can love even their, what seems to be their most annoying parts, but you kind of seem to find it like endearing after a while, you know, when you reframe it in that way. Brynne Erickson (30:16) Right? Absolutely not. that's so awesome. I love that you were able to find a way that connected with the girls that made it meaningful and personal to them and like in their language, right? Where wicked is so hot and pretty much everybody has seen it. ⁓ Kim Garrett (30:53) Right, yes. And I was so nervous to show, I was like, they're going to think this is the cheesiest thing. And literally everyone was in tears. Like by the time we were done having this conversation. And I think setting them up to like have that expectation, I think really made such a difference at camp. Brynne Erickson (31:03) So powerful. Yeah, I have no doubt. That's so cool. And you gave them the opportunity to rise to the occasion. I have taught third and fourth graders and always held very high expectations for them within their capacity, of course. And they always rose and I was always so proud of them and it was so cool. And sure, you had kids that maybe needed the standard to look a little different that catered more to them, right? Kim Garrett (31:24) Right, yeah. Mm-hmm. Brynne Erickson (31:41) And that's, yeah, I just, if you really teach kids how to meet the expectation and encourage them, I think they will. mean, parent, parenthood is a different story, right? But even then, even then, like our kids are awesome. They're resilient. They can do hard things, but it is different in parenthood. Kim Garrett (31:51) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. And I definitely like I had a lot of like, you know, like when we got there, I reminded everybody of the rules and I had like little papers of like ways they could help out hung up around the camp, you know, like there were some reminders. But really, when I was up there, I was not involved in like, like they the girls took care of themselves. They were like the YCLs were helping the younger girls. Like it really was this is really beautiful, you know, moment to see those girls work, working together. Brynne Erickson (32:43) Yeah. And I do love, my girls are the same where they aren't really besties in church or even out of church. They don't really hang out together outside of church. Like church is really, yeah, church is really the mo the moment where the, girls get together, maybe two of them like our buddies or hang out once in a while or in the same groups. But Kim Garrett (32:52) Mm-hmm. Right? Which is hard. Mm-hmm. Brynne Erickson (33:11) It was funny. I had a gentleman from the ward who is their Sunday school teacher come up to me and he was like, they aren't like friends with each other. And I was like, not a lot of them know, but they're friends enough here that they like hanging out together and they have no problem being together. But, and I think that is something cool about church. Kim Garrett (33:27) Mm-hmm. Right. Mm-hmm. Brynne Erickson (33:40) is that you do get to hang out with people that you would not hang out with or even know otherwise. Kim Garrett (33:40) Right. Right. Yeah, no, I think it's such an important part just in life in general is to learn to be together with people that you don't always... that aren't your best friends, you know, like that's just... that's just real life. So I think camp is a perfect place to learn those skills. Brynne Erickson (34:08) Absolutely. Well, well done, Kim. Beautiful execution. Sounds like an amazing experience and thank you for sharing that with us. Kim Garrett (34:15) Thank you. Yeah, it went really well. I was gonna ask you, don't you have camp coming up soon? Brynne Erickson (34:18) Yeah. Next week. Yes, we have camp next week and. Kim Garrett (34:22) yeah. Anything you're nervous about or excited about? Brynne Erickson (34:29) I'm not nervous. We only do two nights. It's pretty quick. My girls are very involved. Yeah. Yeah, it really does. So we just do two nights and a lot of my girls can only come for the one full day. Like they'll just come up for the day and then they have to go back for other commitments or travel or whatnot. So it works for us. I, even though this is my second year being young woman's president, Kim Garrett (34:33) ⁓ yeah, that third night makes a difference. Mm. Yeah. Brynne Erickson (34:59) I didn't go last year because I was pregnant and like I was about to pop and I was not going to sleep on the ground and be in the mountains. I think I was like 36 weeks or something like that. ⁓ I was like, yeah, sorry. Love you. No. So this will be a first truly for me since a long time, but I'm excited. I love my girls. I know them all really well now they're so fun. Kim Garrett (35:02) Mm. Yeah. think that's acceptable. ⁓ yeah, no. You Yeah. Mm-hmm. Brynne Erickson (35:28) The leaders are amazing and we have a new camp director. So she's still learning the ropes as well. And it's going to be fun. I'm just excited to hang out and play. honestly, if we just had food and showed up, I would be content to be like, what do want to do? Like. Kim Garrett (35:40) the thing like it's Exactly, exactly. I mean, even us as leaders, we all slept in one cabin. And even though we had beds, we didn't sleep in the beds. We all slept on the floor in the front room because we just wanted it to be like a big sleepover, you know? So, yeah. ⁓ Brynne Erickson (35:57) ⁓ that's fun. I love that. Well, cool. Thanks again, Cam. Kim Garrett (36:05) Yeah, happy to share.