My name is Emily and I am almost 17 and in 11th grade. I was born with aspbergers disorder but I wasn't diagnosed until age 5. From there my life started taking turns for the worst. I was harassed at school and had no friends. I thought I would never have a great life u til when I was 12, my canter at my temple told my mom about camp ramah. He thought I would have a lot of fun there. I went for the first time in 2009 and I had a blast! This past summer I was extremely happy to be in the Tzophim edah at camp. Tzophimers are entering 9th grade and are age 14. I was entering 11th grade and I'm 16. Now you might be wondering how can that be possible for a 16 year old to be with a bunch of 14 year olds? The answer is simple.
I had to work my butt off to be fully mainstreamed out. For the past 3 years I' ve only been partly mainstreamed. It was nice but I wanted more. When I arrived home last year, it was clear that I was ready to take on the challenge of full mainstreaming. I couldn't wait to return to camp to complete the challenge. Then the day finally arrived to leave for camp. As the session went by I went above and beyond the expectations that my family and therapist had set for me. I even surprised myself with how well I did. Summer 2012 was amazing for many reasons but the main reason was the rosh edah. He was like god in a way. He taught me so many great life lessons and helped me build confidence. This summer 2013, I had his cousin as my rosh. She was also super amazing and helped me to continue to grow. I also had the best tent ever. All 14 of the girls and 2 consulars were the best I could ever ask for. I also met the most amazing 6 young men in the entire world.
Culver city, CA
