Well this is day 2 of our Campus Pride Leadership Camp and it has gotten off to an awesome start. Yesterday there was so much good energy in the room as the campers came in and met everyone and began to bond.

We started off today with a morning energizer in each of our dens to get us started. As a pride leader, this time gave me a chance to really bond with my den and get to know them. After our den time was over is was time for the campers to participate in a session entitled "Just Rescue". In this exercise, campers were given the scenario that there were 14 people on a roof and a storm was coming and there was a boat but only 10 people could get it in the boat. Campers were given the task of choosing which 10 people would get the opportunity to get on the boat. They were given a list of various people's descriptions ranging from a pregnant black woman to a person who was HIV positive to a person who held their entire life's savings with them. It was really interesting to look around and see the campers discussing reason people should and shouldn't get on the boat. At the end there was a discussion about the activity and how stereotypes could play a major role in their decisions and the feelings that this evoked. This was definitely a thought provoking and stimulating session.

From this session campers went on to "Who Am I?" which explored their identities and upbringings and how this played a part of their identity. There were so many questions around "culture" and what that meant. The discussions I heard I heard were both honest and enriching. It seemed that campers realized that there are so many different pieces that make up their own puzzle called life but that at the same time their own puzzles represent only a small piece of a much bigger picture.

After an amazing lunch and guest Cuc Vu, campers participated in a "Privilege Walk." This activity asked campers to stand side-by-side and take steps forward or backward depending on a series of questions asked ranging from gender expression to education, to family history. Observing this year and participating myself self last year was truly a first-hand account of privilege and how it affects us as people. Campers watched their single line of equality with each other disappear as experience and "privilege" came into play through everyone's mission to attain "success" (represented by a single dollar bill). This activity evoked a lot of feelings and emotions and also opened the floor to an excellent discussion around privilege and what that means and how it may be different for each of us.

After a short break campers then were able to participate in a session entitled "Justice & Leadership" that really allowed them to sit down with their fellow den members and discuss their own leadership styles and what that meant for their organization. This led directly into an activity where each den created a new den member which demonstrated their ideas of a leader. These leaders were introduced to the rest of camp and I must say that ours Gita Manana was definitely a character and a natural born leader that exhibited compassion, patience, honesty, a sense of humor and drive among many others.

From there was had dinner and discussion or "hot topics" on various topics that campers were interested about. Tonight's topics were "other" an exploration of different types of relationships and practices within them, interracial dating, and greek life.

The final activity was the Maze of Leadership which asked campers to complete a maze by finding the correct path as a group throughout a 6x6 square. They could not speak. Campers had to work together without verbals to lead each other along the right path. Afterward there was a discussion of how this "maze" represented leadership and the challenges that are often faced.

The night ended on a really high note with an amazing message from Mara Keisling, founder and director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. Her message was heart-felt and inspiring and asked campers to really step up as leaders and become a united voice in the community. From there the entertainment kept coming with an awesome performance by well-known performer and nationally acclaimed singer/song writer Randi Driscoll.

Whew! Today has been an amazing jam-packed day and I feel as if everyone has learned so much. I can feel myself growing, questioning, and evolving. After today I am only left with one thought....this is good....